Rejected, Broken And Forgotten
Chapter 23

Paris’ POV

I walk out of the bathroom on the plane. I am dressed in this long princess gown, and I wouldn’t say I like it. I had to wash Meran’s b***d from myself, and it feels good to know she is no longer on this earth to torment her children. London is wearing the same dress as me. I still feel like someone was using us to kill Meran, but for now, I do not care as long as she is out of our lives for good. Walker walks past me and k****s me on my cheek as he walks into the bathroom to get dressed.

“Princess, your shoes,” Jeffrey says. Damn, I was hoping he would not notice I still had my sneakers on. Why did Jeffrey have to come to the plane to ensure we were appropriately dressed? Because he is a control freak, that is why!

“No one can see I am not wearing those shoes. The dress is long, Jeff. Come on, cut me some slack,” I say.

“Nope, you better wear these shoes, Princess,” Jeff says. I put on the damn shoes and glare at Jeff. I laugh when I see Walker walking out of the bathroom, looking as uncomfortable as I am.

“We do not make good royals,” I say.

“You think? Damn, this tie is suffocating me,” Walker says as he pulls on the tie.

“Try walking in my shoes!” I say as I lift my dress and show Walker the uncomfortable heels. Walker laughs as I almost trip. I wouldn’t say I like high heels.

“You look stunning, my Princess,” Walker says.

“You are laughing at me, and I will make you wear these shoes for a day!” I say, pretending to be mad. Walker looks at my shoes, then at his feet, and lifts his eyebrows.

“I think they might be a bit too small for me, Princess,” Walker says in Jeffrey’s voice. I laugh, and Jeffrey glares at us.

“Make fun of an old wolf, you two kids look stunning and like the Prince and Princess you are,” Jeff says.

“Wow, I am not a Prince, Jeff, my man,” Walker says. Jeffrey shakes his head as he walks to where London and Nathan are waiting for us.

“You are the future of Mercia and even Sussex, Prince Walker,” Jeff says, and I can see Walker does not like the title.

“Prince Walker, you look handsome in your suit and tie,” I tease him.

“Princess Paris, you are begging for a whipping,” Walker says, but he smiles. I know he will never lift his hand to me. We all walk to the limo, and I still feel alert as one never knows what or who is watching us. I still can not shake the feeling that something is wrong. Meran did not know about Walker and his wolves in the woods, and maybe that is why the fight felt like it was all planned. Walker is holding my hand, and I feel he is as tense as I am.

“What is wrong?” I ask.

“I don’t know. Something feels off. I know Meran and her men did not know about the wolves and me in the woods, but the fight was too easy and ended too quickly. I don’t feel the satisfaction I always feel after a fight. It feels like something is amiss,” Walker whispers to me. We have been whispering in each other’s ears since we got into the limo.

“I know, right? I feel the same,” I whisper back to Walker.

“Do you two mind? It is rude to whisper in other people’s presence,” London says. I can see she looks irritated and not happy with Walker and me.

“I am sorry. Walker and I are mates, and I did not tell you as I was not sure how to explain everything to you on the phone,” I say. We have not put on our masks yet, and London looks at Walker sitting next to me. Nathan seems uncomfortable, as if he also feels he does not belong in the presence of the royals.

“It is your life and your choice. I don’t see how that has anything to do with me,” London says. She sounds angry at me, and I do not know why. Is she mad that I got a mate? Doesn’t she want me to be happy? Not that Walker and I have sealed our bond yet.

“As long as you remember your mission, I can care less who or what your mate is,” London says. Even Jeffery looks strangely at London. It is as if she is jealous of Walker and me. I do not like this side of my sister. It is the first time I see her spoiled Princess side. Walker is frowning, and I can not blame him. She called him a what!

“Listen, London, I do not know what your problem is, but you will not insult my mate. I like Nathan, and I will never say anything bad about him. I am happy for the two of you, and I was hoping you could be happy for me, but you are acting like a spoiled brat!” I say.

“He is taking your attention away from what we planned. You must keep Oliver busy until the rebel prince can take over the Kingdom of Mercia! I can not and will not marry Oliver! Do you hear me? I can not live without Nathan,” London starts crying.

“Wow, you do not have to marry Oliver. He found his mate and will not leave her for anyone,” I say. I realize that London does not know that Walker is the rebel prince.

“I am sorry I was rude, but I am worried! You see, Nathan and I are going to have a pup,” London says. Nathan looks at Jeffrey, who looks shocked.

“Well, I failed! I told you never to have a pup before you and your mate sealed your bond or got married!” Jeffrey says.

“We have!” London shows us her mark she was hiding with her hair, and Nathan pulls away the collar of his shirt to show us his.

“Well, I will be damned! The King and Queen are not going to be happy,” Jeffrey says. Wallis is holding Lindsey’s hand.

“It is all our fault. When they saw how happy we were, they sealed their bond. I did not know she was pregnant,” Wallis says.

“It is not the end of the bloody world! So London is pregnant, and she has a mate. Oliver has a mate, and the two do not want to get married. There will be no peace treaty, so all we must do is fight to end the bloody war!” I say.

“Yeah, f**k the marriage to save Essex and Mercia! We will fight for the freedom of Essex and defeat Mercia,” Walker says.

“I am sorry, but who are you? I can feel you are a citizen of Sussex, but who gave you authority to fight for us?” London says. I laugh.

“I am the rebel prince you are putting all your hope on,” Walker says with a smile.

“He hates being called that as he is no Prince, according to him,” I say.

“Wait! What? Are you mates with the rebel prince? Why didn’t you tell me?” London asks, and she smiles from ear to ear. Well, at least she does not look like she is about to cry anymore.

“It is not up to me to reveal Walker’s secret. He only tells those he trusts,” I say.

“I forgot the rebel prince’s name is Walker Brooks! I should have known when you called him Walker,” London says. Ben and Carl are quiet. They are staring at us while we are talking.

“Are you a real freedom fighter? You look strong. Can I join your army?” Ben asks.

“Yes, I am a real freedom fighter, but you must grow before joining my men and me. I will train you in the meantime,” Walker says.

“You promised that one day we would return and take revenge on our old pack and mother. I am glad you took revenge on Meran, but we still need to take out the Ravenstone Pack,” Ben says.

“We will. I have not forgiven them yet, but we must sort everything out before we can go back there. You will also meet the King and Queen, who are your grandparents. You are a Prince now, Ben,” I say.

“I do not want to be a stupid Prince! I want to be a freedom fighter like Walker,” Ben says. Carl looks at Ben and smiles.

“That is my boy,” Carl says. I look at London, and she smiles.

“As long as you remember your mission, I can care less who or what your mate is,” London says. Even Jeffery looks strangely at London. It is as if she is jealous of Walker and me. I do not like this side of my sister. It is the first time I see her spoiled Princess side. Walker is frowning, and I can not blame him. She called him a what!

“Father knows it is not Ben’s fault what Meran did, and since he is the only father Ben knows, he decided to keep Ben as his son,” London mind-links me, explaining why Carl calls Ben his son. I forgot that the King wants to keep London and Ben here, but I will explain to the King that Ben needs to come with me to America for a while.

Finally, we reach the castle. I still feel that something is off, but I push it back in my mind as Walker helps me out of the car. We walk to the palace, and I am relieved when London and the rest of the group are safely in the castle. Walker looks around, and I see him frown when he looks at two wolves and a she-wolf standing at the door of the big ballroom. I know it must be John, Oliver, and Cecelia. Walker takes my hand, and we move away from them. He can not get too close to Celelia as she may pick up on his scent. Everyone is wearing their masks. Cecelia, Oliver, and John have golden cat masks on. I will remember that in case they cause trouble. We are all wearing golden wolf masks. We go to the throne room, where the King and Queen are waiting for us. We will all enter the ballroom at the same time. I can see the Queen is happy when she sees London. She hugs her and k****s her on the cheeks. She then turns to Ben. She has tears in her eyes as she hugs him.

“I am your grandmother, little one,” The Queen says.

“I am not little anymore, Grandmother,” Ben says. I smile as I see the King and Queen fuss over London and Ben and remember the night I first met them. They did not fuss over me, but I am used to it as I do not like to be hugged or fussed over. I think the King and Queen could tell that I am not like London and Ben.

We all move to the ballroom, and the King makes a speech welcoming everyone to the ball. He then walks over to King John, and the two start talking while the rest of us start dancing. The servants serve drinks and food, and we all eat and have a good time. I keep my eye on Cecelia to ensure she does not get too close to Walker and blow his cover. Walker does not even seem interested in her or any other she-wolf. He only dances with me and holds me very close when we get too close to Cecelia and Oliver. Cecelia frowns, and we quickly dance away.

“What is wrong?” Oliver asks Cecelia.

“Nothing, I thought I got a familiar smell, but it must be my imagination,” Cecelia says. I am listening to what they say, and Walker smiles at me.

“Don’t mind them. I don’t think she or Oliver are expecting me here,” Walker says. He steers me outside onto the balcony. Walker pushes me against the wall and k****s me with all the passion inside him. I feel my knees go weak as he k****s me, and I feel him getting hard.

“Wow, I think we should stop,” Walker whispers, but he k****s me again. I know I belong in his arms. Walker pushes me away and walks away from me to gain self-control. I smile as it feels good to know I have that power over my mate.

“Let’s go back in before I lose my self-control,” Walker says.

We walk back into the ballroom and dance the night away. The masked ball served to get London and the rest safely into the castle. We will have to think about what to do later, but we are happy that they are safe now. London is pregnant, and a royal pup is on its way. I know I will have to become the warrior Princess Essex needs, but I will have to do it without my mate, the King, and everyone else in the palace, who will worry about me fighting a war, knowing. I need to have a plan to end this war and help Walker defeat Oliver. I still feel that the fight with Meran is not what it seems, but I know we will find out soon enough what that was all about.