Her Second Chance✔ (Completed under edit)

15

Cari

"Are you ok?" She asked him as they stepped onto her grandfather's porch back in the Nightwolf territory. Andre was still strung tight, tension ridding his every movements. Somuch that he had barely said anything as he drove them back.

"I hated him looking at you like that, like he wanted to claim you as his."

"I don't want him Andre."

"I know you don't, but I know enough of people to realize most would love to take anything I hold dear from me. You're the most important person in my life. Now that he knows I'm a prince..."

"Is that why you told me about who you are?" She asked. "Because you knew your grandmother would tell everyone?"

He looked down at her, his face serious and earnest. "No."

"Then why did it take you so long?"

His hand went to cup her cheek, his fingers tangling with her hair. Those deep eyes of his holding her captive. "All I could think about from the moment I got here was you, nothing else."

Her lungs constricted, blood rushing to her face until it flamed. She breathed through parted lips as she became short of breath. "Why didn't you tell me when we were talking on the phone and skyping?"

"Would you have been comfortable talking to me then?"

Frustration bubbled up inside of her at that. "You always have an answer don't you? Is that part of being a prince?"

He had the nerve to smile down at her! Cari pulled away from him and her fist was already connecting with his abdomen before she remembered he wasn't her younger brother or cousin. With a gasp she looked up to meet his shocked eyes.

"Carissa," his tone was stern. "Are you going to be like those human females who abuse their mates?"

She lifted her chin stubbornly even as her heart was racing. Why had she done that? Even if he was her mate he was still a prince and his guards were a discrete distance away. What kind of an image was she setting? Oh Lunar, how she hated that she now had to think of her image.

"You deserved it." She said with mutiny as she saw the glint of amusement in his eyes.

"That's called victim blaming." He continued in his severe tone. "Are you always so violent?"

"Are you always this good at avoiding answers?" She countered, her arms folding over her middle in a stubborn stance.

He smiled, something that softened his stark intimidating features and made her weak in the knees. "I'm trying to avoid this fight getting out of hand."

"We're not fighting." Her denial was pious. "I have questions and you're avoiding answering them."

"I believe fists were thrown, that qualifies as a fight."

"A fist, now you can see I'm not princess material."

He drew closer, taking her by the arms and loosening her stance. "Is that what is bothering you?"

With the lump of fear blocking her throat she couldn't answer so she just nodded. Even though she was noble born, their family had nothing to do with the royal court. She couldn't even recall the last time anyone, even the alpha families, had attended court. What did she know about protocol? People would now be watching her with expectations.