Page 21 of Alpha's Hated Mate

“Maybe this pregnancy happened before the coup?” I say. “In history class, the professor said that Natasha of Hino was supposedly Alpha King Leon’s presumed consort before he met Luna Queen Crystal. Maybe the Alpha King has an illegitimate child or . . .”

She’s biting her nails now, the worry deep on her face. “Whoever was holding her hostage . . . I think he was experimenting on her,” she says. “Who would have the balls to do that to a member of the Alpha King’s court and the prince’s consort?”

“No one.” I look up at the time. I’ve got class soon, but somehow it doesn’t seem all that important now. “What are you doing for the rest of the afternoon?”

“Nothing,” she says. “I mean, I’m supposed to go to class, but I was planning on skipping, anyway.”

“Good. I think we need to find out exactly who Natasha was.”

Her lips turn up slightly, all her trepidation washed away. “So now you’re interested?”

I smirk. “Let’s just get to researching, shall we?”

Chapter Ten—Saffron

Idon’t even know how many books we’ve been through, but I’m getting tired of reading about the royal family history . . . especially when there’s nothing in it about this Natasha woman.

We’ve been here for hours looking up information about a coup from twenty years ago, and while I could probably do an entire dissertation about the Alpha King and maybe even the Luna Queen, there’s not a damned thing about this Natasha person other than that she was Raphael’s consort and involved in the coup.

The library is cleared out, and Aydan and I are still in a study room going through the latest stack of books. Aydan rolls up his sleeves and leans over one of the books. His golden hair is a little mussed and falling into his eyes as he reads, and there’s a bit of stubble along his strong jawline . . .

I have got to stop checking him out. Being cooped up with him all this time is starting to mess with my head. I stand up and stretch, diverting my attention briefly. He glances up at me, his green and blue eyes shining like gems in the soft light.

“I think we’ve hit a dead end,” he says.

“No kidding.” I look over the stack of books on the table in front of me, Aydan partially hidden among them. “How can so many things be written about one incident and almostnothingabout one of the chief participants?”

“Well, because she wasn’t exactly a ‘chief’ participant. She was the girlfriend of the chief participant.”

“According to these books, sure.” I cross my arms in bitter defeat. “For all we know, she was the mastermind of the whole thing, and they just . . . erased her because she was a female.”

He chuckles, and the sound soothes something in me. “You’ve been hanging around your hybrid friend for too long,” he says. “Females are just as strong as the males.”

“And yet, we’ve been here for hours and Natasha of Hino remains a mystery to us. Coincidence? I think not.”

He leans back in his chair and stretches his arms behind his head. “All right. Let’s go over what we know about her.”

I start to pace. I’m tired of this. “She was Raphael’s girlfriend.”

“And before that, she was the presumptive consort to the Alpha King. What does that mean? They were betrothed?”

“Or maybe everyonepresumedshe was going to be his Luna?”

He smiles a little and says, “Which is pretty interesting in and of itself. He probably didn’t like Natasha and rejected her for Luna Queen Crystal?”

I shrug, dragging my feet across the floor in little arcs as I pace. “I’m sure Natasha would’ve been pissed. It would explain why she then sided with Raphael in the coup.”

We both fall silent with nothing but the sound of my shoes scraping the floor. He sighs and says, “Could you stop that, please?”

“Stop what?”

“Your shoes. The sound is annoying.”

I stop and stare at him as he looks back down at the book in front of him. He brushes a bit of his hair out of his face. Maybe it’s the late hour, but I suddenly don’t feel like following orders. Not that I ever reallydo.

I drag my toe in an arc across the floor, ignoring him. He looks up at me, sapphires and emeralds telegraphing a warning, then he sits up and stares at me, watching me move with slow deliberation. “Are you trying to irritate me?”

I do a quick twist and turn around. My skirt flies up slightly, flashing a little of my thigh. “You, Aydan Vaultmore, are not my Alpha. I don’t have to listen to you.”

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