is here to give a demonstration on how they work. Promise me you’ll be the first to message me?” She patted her hair, which was neatly pulled back into a bun.
“What? The prince—here?” I craned my neck, searching for his tall, dark form among the crowd. The market had been busier than usual, and sure enough, I hadn’t noticed the royal guards coming in two by two. I instantly recognized Xander leading the troop, though his face seemed more worn and tired, his chin unshaven.
“I need to go,” I said while I hastily tried to tie up the tablecloth with all of my charms. “If anyone needs me, tell them I’ll be back in a few weeks, or send them to my cottage.”
“Is something the matter, dear?” Lucinda asked, holding my bag as I dumped my possessions inside.
“No, nothing. I’m just needed at home.”
“Don’t you want to stay and meet the prince?”
“No, I definitely do not,” I snapped out a little too harshly, instantly regretting it. Taking the bag from her, I pulled the hood of my cloak over my face and kept my head down as I tried to shuffle through the crowd that was already gathering.
He’s here! I was an idiot for not paying closer attention. I couldn’t let him see me like this. There was no way I could answer his questions; he would feel betrayed.
Trying to make a hasty retreat, I didn’t notice the horse-drawn wagon before I stepped out into the street.
“Whoa!” the driver cried out too late.
Turning, I saw the horses and grabbed my stomach.
Strong hands pulled me out of the way of the horses. My hood fell back, and I looked up at my savior in surprise.
“Rosalie?” Xander said in shock as he stared deep into my eyes, but I quickly turned my head to the side, refusing to look at him.
His hands were like iron bands on my arm that tightened when he looked down. His jaw clenched, and his eyes turned dark and foreboding.
I didn’t wait, just pushed him away, running as fast as I could toward the woods while pulling my hood up to cover my raven hair, but I couldn’t run far. Soon, I was out of breath and stopped by a creek. I sat on a rock and waited, tears running down my face. I could use my magic to disguise my scent and trail, but that wouldn’t be fair. He was a wolf, and he would find me, especially now that he had seen what I had stolen from him.
I was scared of Xander’s wrath, for I had sinned greatly against him, and there was nothing I could do to seek his forgiveness.
The snap of a twig alerted me to his presence, and I waited, sitting on the rock and soaking my feet in the water, the cold easing the swelling. Another twig snapped, and when I looked up, there he was, staring at me from across the creek. Xander’s wolf had indeed followed my scent. His ears were back, his nose sniffed the air, and his amber eyes bored into mine accusingly. His lips curled, and I heard his bark of admonishment.
Ignoring him seemed the best option, so I continued to look at the water until I felt the change in the air as the wolf shifted into my copper-haired prince. He stepped through the creek and stood before me, his boots now in the running water next to my bare feet.
“You swore a blood oath,” Xander said angrily.
“I did what you asked,” I replied humbly. “Your kingdom is saved. I kept my end of the bargain and left, leaving you free to wed another.”
“Rosalie, that’s not what I meant.” His voice was filled with emotion as he kneeled on the embankment and reached for my hands. Grasping them between his, he put one on my protruding stomach and felt for the life within. At Xander’s touch, my baby kicked back in excitement, and fear took hold of me.
“You promised me that you would not take my firstborn child.” His hand balled into a fist so tight his knuckles were white, and he became very still. I was afraid of him and what I had done.
“I swear I didn’t know,” I cried out, keeping my face low. “Not until weeks after I’d had already left.”
“Goodness, woman, I thought something had happened to you. I searched high and low for you. Your mother refused to tell me where you were and accused me of losing you.”