Page 2 of Bound By Fate

“What else did she say when you left her?” I hissed at the maid again. “And why did you leave? It’s your job to stay with her!”

Maywin balked at the reminder, pursing her lips with shame as she hung her head, dark strands of hair falling in her eyes. The orchestra continued to play in the background, the wafting of roasted garden vegetables and lobster bisque wafting toward me as the servants waited for my order to serve, standing by in the hall, the silver carts laden with covered dishes, prepped to move on my command.

But how could I give a command when the guest of honor was nowhere to be found? All eyes were on me, covert as they were trying to be. I stared steadfastly at Maywin, waiting for a response.

Maywin visibly gulped. “She just asked to be left alone, Alpha. I wanted to stay, but she insisted I go. She seemed to be overwhelmed with the festivities, like she was tired.”

My eyes narrowed. “Was she tired, or did something happen? Was there another attack?” I spoke so low, I was surprised she could hear me at all.

But she had, and the question appalled her.

Maywin gasped and shook her head so vehemently, her braid came fully loose. “No, Alpha! I would have never left her if that was the case, and obviously, I would have called for help!”

I believed that. I wished a quarter of my staff were as loyal to me as Maywin was to Zephy. But I still caught the glint of panic in her eyes, a shroud of worry encompassing her, as if she already suspected that Zephyrine’s request had been completely out of character, and I was again on my feet.

She had confirmed my concerns.

I shouldn’t have left it for so long. I should have gone to check on her already. Something is not right here. Where the hell is Aradia? She should be back now, too. It doesn’t take her any time to move around with her abilities.

All eyes at the table turned to me speculatively, as if I were about to make a toast, but I offered them a nervous grin instead.

“Forgive me,” I told the party attendees with as much geniality as I could muster. “But I must see what’s keeping our bride-to-be.”

“Oh…” Sabine whimpered, glancing at her husband worriedly. “Is she causing trouble?”

The question startled me, as if Sabine had expected her daughter to be a problem.

“Oh, no, Lady Sabine. I’m sure she’s just being fashionably late,” I fibbed. “Or perhaps she’s decided to change her dress.”

Zephy had never been late for anything, and her mother immediately saw through my lie.

“I’ll talk to her,” Sabine croaked, her complexion waxing as she moved to stand.

Nikkoli returned his wife’s aghast expression and also stood, but I calmly gestured for Zephyrine’s parents to sit down. Until I had a handle on what was keeping Zephy, I didn’t want to start a scene.

“I’m sure it’s a case of pre-nuptial jitters,” I reassured them. “Every bride has them, I’m told. I’ll check on Zephyrine, and I’ll return shortly with her on my arm. Eat, drink the local wine. We grow the grapes right here at the palace, you know? I’ll take you on a tour of the vineyards during your stay.”

Smiling cordially, I turned away from the table, and my guards immediately joined my trail.

I pulled my phone from my pocket, and I called Zephy on the phone that I had recently given to her. The call went straight to voicemail.

My grin faded immediately.Fuck!

The rubber soles of my brand-new dress shoes tracked along the marble floors of the ballroom before I ended up in the winding wooden hallways, leading toward the main staircase.

The head of my Royal Guards and long-time friend, Ryland, chose that moment to tout tradition to me.

“You’re not supposed to go to her room, Alpha,” Ryland reminded me, falling into stride at my side.

His voice was no higher than a whisper, but he might as well have yelled it, the words irritating me as much as they did.

I whipped my head toward him, my eyes flashing. “I wouldn’t need to be doing this if your guards were doing their jobs,” I fired back sharply. “Are they still stationed in front of her room? Where is she? Why isn’t she down here?”

Ryland appeared taken aback by my question, and he nodded slowly, although I caught the uncertainty in his eye, which only increased the speed of my steps.

“Radio up and find out what the hell is going on,” I snapped when he didn’t do it on his own.

“No one has alerted me otherwise, Cade,” he promised, his words low and comforting. “If there was a problem, they would have called me first. All is quiet in the palace.”

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