Cora Queen of All Werewolves

Cora- Chapter 6

After instructing me to get ready and eat breakfast, Prince Joseph informs me I will meet the Queen for tea. I instantly grow nervous. The Queen. He didn’t call her his mother, which makes me think his entire family is as formal as he is, and my heart sinks at that thought.

He walks to the door to leave but stops. “Why is your link to me closed?”

“I closed them all when you marked me,” I admit. “I don’t know how to open just some of them.”

He turns and stares at me. It makes me feel nervous. “What did you do at your pack?”

“I just left them open,” I shrug. “I didn’t need to close them.”

“You didn’t need to, or you were too weak to?” he challenges me.

My stomach knots. “I wasn’t always so weak.”

“It started once you began giving your sister your food, correct?” he asks. I nod and look away. “Were you able to link at all before I marked you?”

“I CAN link,” I tell him, needing to defend myself. “It makes me tired, though.”

He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. “You need to eat more.”

And with that, he turns and leaves.

I sigh in frustration as Hazel enters the room. “He doesn’t understand what it’s like to be poor,” I tell her, my arms waving wildly in the air.

Hazel smiles at me as she bows. “In his defense, you don’t know how to be wealthy, either.”

I know she didn’t mean to, but I feel bad. I haven’t really considered that this is probably frustrating for him, too.

“I am sorry, Princess Cora,” Hazel tells me. “I should not have gotten him, but I panicked when I couldn’t find you.”

“It’s alright,” I sigh. “I was just scared. I’ve never been somewhere so big.”

She smiles. “Come, ma’am. We should get you ready to meet the Queen.”

Hazel has my breakfast brought up and I eat while she does my hair. My mother used to brush my hair, but never anything like this. My hair has been curled and teased until it’s in a pile on my head. It looks nice, but it’s not me.

“Queen Judith will like that,” she tells me. “I picked out two dresses I think she will like. Which do you prefer?”

She holds them up to show me- one is light blue, and the other is a deep burgundy. “Those are too nice,” I tell her. “Aren’t they for balls?”

“Oh, no,” she tells me, shaking her head. “You do not have any ballgowns in yet.”

I sigh, picking the light blue dress. I think it’s silk, but that can’t be. Silk is expensive, but as I run my hand across the fabric, I’m reminded I’m a princess. It probably is silk.

I look at myself in the mirror. I look nice. I look too nice. “I could sell this dress and feed my family for weeks.”

Hazel nods. “You will get used to it,” she says, placing her hand on my shoulder. “You said you have a sister, yeah? Perhaps you can send them to her when you are done with them.”

Done with them? I can’t even wrap my head around the thought of just being done with the items. I need to, though. This is my life now.

There’s a knock at the door, and Hazel answers it. She bows as my mate enters the room.

“You look acceptable,” he tells me.

Acceptable? ACCEPTABLE?? I tried so hard, and all he has to say is that I look acceptable. My anger begins to rise, but he doesn’t seem to notice as he offers me his arm. I slide my hand into the crook of his elbow and allow him to lead me out, though I’d still like to punch him. Acceptable, ugh.

“You should be warned that my mother is not as kind as I am,” he tells me. My eyes widen because kind isn’t a word I would ever use to describe him.

“I’ll be fine,” I tell him with a fake smile plastered on my face. I’ve handled him so far. I’m sure I can handle her.

Prince Joseph leads me into what appears to be a library. I can barely walk from looking around and taking it all in. There are more books in this single room than I even thought existed.

“Don’t gape, girl,” a woman’s voice calls. “Act like you have some sense.”

Prince Joseph places his hand over mine at his elbow and bows. I follow his lead and bow to the woman as well.

“Queen Judith, I’d like you to meet my mate,” he tells her, motioning to me. “This is Princess Cora.”

The Queen stands and approaches me, circling me as she inspects. “You shouldn’t have marked her, Joseph.”

“I struggled to control my wolf,” he tells her.

Queen Judith turns her attention to her son. She pats his cheek and smiles at him. “Because you are the future king. You are strong, and that has its own challenges,” she tells him proudly before turning back to me. “You marked her, though. Now we are stuck with her. We will have to make it work. She will not mark you until she is trained and can behave properly, though. Am I understood?”

“Of course, Your Highness,” he says with another bow.

She frowns. “She just looks so… poor. She’s far too skinny.”

My mate nods. “She is from the Aurgia Pack. I have the kitchen sending extra food for her at each meal.”

“High fat,” she says, looking down her long nose at me. She’d be beautiful if she weren’t such a b***h. “Does the girl even have a wolf?”

“I do,” I say, trying to keep my voice steady. I hate how they’ve been talking about me like I’m not standing here. It’s like they’re trying to erase me. Both of their heads snap toward me when they hear my voice. “I do have a wolf.”

The Queen smirks. “I’m sure she’s weak.”

“She will grow stronger,” Prince Joseph says, his eyes locked with mine. “I will ensure she eats enough to strengthen her.”

That’s it. That’s my entire introduction to the Queen. I’d be offended if he gave me time to be, but he tells Queen Judith goodbye and quickly ushers me out.

“We will have our meals together from now on,” he says as we walk down the hall. “I need to ensure you’re eating.”

I roll my eyes. “You weren’t concerned until your mother said something.”

He pauses, squeezing his hand over mine. “I never said that. If I remember, I’m the only one who even noticed you weren’t eating. Your parents certainly didn’t.”

I don’t want to argue. I am sure my parents noticed, but they knew Helen needed it more. My father was the Beta. He couldn’t afford to eat less when the safety of the entire pack fell to him. My brothers couldn’t either, so that left me.

He takes me back to my room and leaves me until dinner. He sends lunch for me, so he must not have been too serious about always eating with me. Part of me is happy he did, but the other part is irritated he made such a big deal out of it and then didn’t show up.

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“We will have all meals together beginning tomorrow,” he tells me from the other end of a long, wooden table. “I had arrangements to make today, but it’s all taken care of now.”

I nod slowly as I push food around my plate. Prince Joseph made my plate himself before having a man make his. It would have been nice if he hadn’t put enough food on it for three wolves. I take small and slow bites as I grew used to when I was trying to make sure Helen had enough.

“We will sit here all evening if we must,” my mate drawls. “You will eat it all.”

I look up through tear-filled eyes. “It’s too much.”

“It is not,” he says sternly. “You’d know that if you weren’t starving yourself before.”

“Your Majesty,” Hazel steps forward from her place against the wall and bows. “The Princess is not accustomed to such good and flavorful food. I fear that if she eats much more than her body is used to, she will become ill. I believe she is to stay with you tonight…”

He looks away from her and eyes me carefully. “Fine,” he concedes with a huff. “But you will eat more than you were at each meal.”

I nod. “I will. I’m trying.” Honestly, I am. I’ve not left any meal still feeling hungry.

“I can see that,” he says, his voice kinder than I think I’ve heard it.

After we finish eating, Hazel escorts me from the dining room and toward my bedroom. Unfortunately, we don’t get far.

“Maid,” my mate calls after us. “I’d like you to prepare the princess for bed in my chambers. I’d like to watch.”

Watch? Hazel nods slowly as she looks at me with sympathy. She turns toward my room as my mate’s hand wraps around my arm.

“Come now,” he says calmly. “I just like to see what’s mine.”