The Alpha Prince And His Bride
Book 3 The Alpha’s Substitute Bride – Episode 19

~HUNTER~

Isabella’s scent was still smeared on every part of my body. I desperately wanted to crowd her against the wall and inhale her sweetness all over again. It made it difficult to think clearly, especially since she wasn’t far from me. I had to fight the urge to turn around, pull her into my arms and take whatever her body offered to me. I was beginning to think that this was all my body wanted now. It’s all I could think about, in fact, if anyone were to try an attack on me now, I was sure that I wouldn’t even be able to protect myself for a good few seconds. My mind and body were constantly tangled with my wife . . . My wife; it was still weird to me how natural it was for me to call her my wife. It felt right and like it was meant to be.

The images of her beautiful hald-naked body flashed before my mind and I almost stumbled forward. My fists tightened at my sides and I needed to break something. This was what I wanted to avoid all along. I knew the moment I’d gotten a taste of Isabella I would be a complete goner. She was just so damn irresistible and I was beginning to think that I would do anything to keep her safe. I jumped off that cliff without a second thought about my own life today and I knew that I would do it a second time without any regrets.

I heard her soft breaths behind me and even that was attractive. It was painful denying my body what it wanted, so very painful.

I needed a distraction. I could think of one good one. My sister had kept a lot of things from me. I needed to find out what they were. I’d already sent some of my men over to her house to ensure of her safety. I wanted to visit myself and make sure that she was okay but I didn’t have the strength to leave Isabella’s side after what had happened. Her safety was my priority right now and nothing would change that.

“I need to tell you something.” Isabella whispered, bringing my attention back to her.

I paused to hear what she had to say. If it was about her leaving me to visit her sister again, I was not about to listen to it. My wolf was already angry after almost losing her twice already; I couldn’t let anything happen to her again. I already felt like a failure and I needed to prove to myself that I could protect my wife.

“It’s about your sister.”

I stopped walking immediately and turned to face her. “What about Esma?”

Did she possibly tell her something that she didn’t say to me?

“She told me some things that she didn’t want to say to you . . . But I think that it’s important that you know in order to keep her safe and away from any harm.”

So Esma did tell Isabella things that she’d never spoken to me about. But why would she do that? In the past she would tell me everything. In fact, she never even spoke to Maggie about any of her problems, it was always me.

Then how did she trust Isabella so quickly?

I took a step closer in her direction and hit her with my most penetrating gaze ever. “Tell me what she told you.”

“I’m not sure if I should . . .” Isabella mumbled. “Esma trusted me and she didn’t want to tell you for your own good. I just wanted to let you know that you should bring her home here with you and let her tell you the truth when she’s ready to tell you.”

I narrowed my eyes. “I want you to tell me.”

She crossed her hands over her chest causing her breasts to poke out. I tried my best not to get distracted by them and focused on her eyes. “I’m not going to do that. I don’t want to break her trust. Instead, listen to me and bring her here. The security that you sent back home to her will not be enough to protect her from the men that want to harm her. She will need a lot of protection and I believe that here is the best place for her.”

I watched as she walked away without waiting for me to respond. I clenched my jaw and stifled a g***n at how badly I wanted to go after her.

If Isabella was this worried about Esma then how dangerous were these men that were after her and what exactly did they need from my sister?

Why would anyone want to kill her? My sister was the kindest person that I knew, too kind for her own good.

I walked into the backyard and gathered my men one by one. After ordering a few of them to bring Esma back here, I explained what I wanted from them.

“As you all know, my wife Isabella has been put in danger multiple times since she got here. I don’t want another one of these events or anything similar to it reoccurring. Your main focus from today onwards is to protect Isabella. Put her life above mine, I can take care of myself, I just want her safe.”

They nodded their heads with determined looks in their eyes. These men have never failed me . . . The only time I was let down was the day of Maggie’s death and some of them weren’t even present that day. The others that were there couldn’t hold off the amount of men that came for her. I never put any blame on them and I never will unless they did something that disappointed me.

I had faith in them however. They were always loyal to me and continued to be loyal.

Now it was important that they stayed just as loyal to Isabella . . .

. . . . . . . . .

~ISABELLA~

I looked out the window and saw that Hunter had all of his men surrounding him. It looked like he was tightening security around the house. I was guessing that the last two attacks on my life had him on edge.

If I was thinking about running away, this was my chance. When he had all of his men on every inch of this house I wouldn’t have the opportunity to visit my own sister!

My fastest way of getting to my family was by shifting into my wolf. That way I would already be at the castle by the time Hunter realized that I was gone. I took another look at Hunter and felt my heart begin to ache. I didn’t want to leave his side . . . Ever. But if I stayed here his answer would still remain the same. And I wanted to be there for my sister, if I didn’t attend the ceremony, they would all be worried about me and I didn’t want that.

I could tell that my wolf did not agree with me leaving however. She wanted to stay here next to Hunter . . . Another reason that pointed towards him being my true mate. She was the calmest around him and I would be too if he didn’t drive me crazy half of the time.

I couldn’t stop staring at the way he moved and spoke to his men. He had the power to hold anyone’s attention. His men looked up at him with so much respect and admiration that even I was left enchanted by the beauty of it all. Hunter looked back at them with pride and I could tell that he cared for those men just as much as they cared for him. I found myself smiling at the thought that this man was my husband. I would be the luckiest girl alive if he would just give our relationship a chance.

I sighed and moved away from the glass. I had to leave now.

I grabbed the bag on the bed and carefully rushed out of the house when I was sure that no one was looking at me.

Hopefully I got enough time to spend with my family before Hunter found me . . .