Surrogate for the Alpha Prince in a Coma novel Chapter 48

Chapter 48

Lillian’s POV

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My heart was heavy with the news, but I had no way of acting to save Ronan. For now, I had to trust in the doctor and his expertise. I had to hope that he was wrong, and that some miracle cure could be found. If I allowed myself for even a moment to lose hope, the misery and devastation was just too much.

With Ronan asleep, and the doctor promising to do all he could, to not give up, I had no choice but to return to my duties as Luna Princess. After coming to some sort of agreement with Grayson, however tenuous, I was eager to prove my intentions pure.

My duties as Luna Princess mostly included attention banquets or brunches or fancy teas. But, after summons from the Queen, I realized that my duties also included attending court as an observer.

The throne room where court was held was like a wide open hall with the thrones at one end atop a small platform with stairs leading up to it.

The court, which I was now a part of, stood on the floor at either side of a long carpet that led from the doorway at the back of the hall, all the way to the base of the platform. While the King and Queen were atop their throne, various members of the pack had the chance to present questions or pleas to the royals for their consideration, while the court watched on.

My presence seemed entirely unnecessary, other than to nod along with whatever the King and Queen were saying, whether or not I agreed. This was what was clearly expected of me, and, in trying to do my role, I did not feel compelled to rock the boat. I wanted no attention on me at all.

I was so tired, so stressed. I just wanted to blend into the background.

Unfortunately, the invitation to court wasn’t just for local members of society, but to visiting diplomats as well. This included any Alpha that happened to be in the area.

Today, it seemed, Calvin was here.

He was on the other side of the carpet when I spotted him glaring at me. The blood drained from my face seeing him, seeing the fury and hatred in his eyes as he looked at me. It must have been a shock when he first saw me, but now he had settled on angry. Rage.

And it stewed inside of him through the entire length of the proceedings.

When the last pack member had been handled, and the King and Queen descended from their thrones, the carpet was no longer a barrier, and the court members crossed it to talk and mingle.

Calvin immediately walked toward me.

I tried to avoid him, weaving through some others in the crowd, trying to keep distance between us. But with his fury and his Alpha movements, and his declining care about propriety, he pushed people to get to me, and reached me before I could escape him.

He hooked his hand around my bicep, keeping it locked there. Guards were stationed at the doors, and I knew somewhere, Grayson had eyes on me too. The Prime Beta had returned from wherever he had been sent off too, and was back in charge of keeping eyes and ears alert around the palace for his prince’s sake.

I hoped I fell under that umbrella somehow. But either way, I was certain Calvin wasn’t going to be taking me out of this room – or I would scream bloody murder.

With Ronan free, he had nothing to lord over me anymore.

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Chapter 48

+15 Bgnus

“Let me go,” I told him, not hiding my plan. My threat. “Or I will scream.”

He tugged me toward the corner of the room, far enough for us to speak privately if we kept our voices low but while still being in line of sight with the rest of the room. Still close enough for them to hear if I screamed.

“Calm down,” he said. “I only want to talk.”

“I have nothing to say to you.”

Through grit teeth, he asked, “How did you escape?”

I kept my lips firmly clamed together.

“Where are you hiding Ronan?” he demanded.

I wasn’t going to answer that either. “I don’t know what you are talking about,” I lied. “I’m here, fulfilling my duties as Luna Princess. I hardly have time for any grand escapes or hiding people.”

Calvin narrowed his eyes. “You couldn’t have just ran away like that. Someone is backing you. Helping you. You are probably putting out for him, too, like you never did for me.’

I drew in a breath, very near screaming.

“Don’t,” he hissed.

“Then stop speaking nonsense and leave me alone,” I said.

“I’m not,” he said stiffly, then huffed. “Gods. Must all women be so difficult? Obviously you want to protect whoever this is, and you see me as a threat against them. But have you ever considered that they might be a threat to me. I am soon to be the Alpha of the pack you call home. Your duty is to protect me.”

“I owe you nothing anymore,” I said. “Not after what you did.”

He didn’t deny doing terrible things. Likely, he had done so many that he couldn’t determine which one I was speaking of.

Ronan’s poisoning was at the top of my mind. But it was a lengthy list.

“Don’t be that way,” Calvin said, and started tracing his hand up and down my arm. I recoiled at once, like I had been touched by a slug. No, that was an insult to slugs. Calvin was much worse. “We can work things out. You don’t need anyone to protect you from me. I’m the one who wants to protect you, Lily.”

“You kidnapped Ronan, then threatened him to make me complicit in your plans,” I said flatly.

“I only wanted to keep you both safe,” Calvin said.

“You wanted to lock me in a prison and rape me.”

“You would have liked it.”

My stomach churned, bile rising in my throat. I tried to walk away, but his caress became a vice once more as he snatched my wrist.

“I can make it good for you,” he said, his lip curling into a smirk. “I know how to be gentle, to girls who listen.”

I turned, ready to smack him across the face, but before I could even raise my hand, another woman was barreling toward us, she stepped into the space between us, shoving me harshly.

Maren.

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Chapter 48

+15 Banus

“You tramp. You harlot. You absolute slut!” she shouted. Her raised voice was drawing a crowd, with others coming toward us, looking curiously. Maren didn’t seem to notice, or maybe she didn’t care. “You had your chance with Calvin, and you blew it. He’s mine now. I’m going to be pack Luna. Me. You can close your legs and get the hell away from us.”

I blinked, more surprised by this outburst than I should have been. Maren had always been ruthless, betraying me while I trusted her, sleeping with Calvin while praising our relationship to my face.

Now, I could see the jealousy in her eyes, in the way her cheeks turned red and her fists curled together.

“You will not take him from me!”

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