Beta: Cade (completed)

10

"A royal?" I asked flatly. "I don't think so, Christian."

"I was thinking about it and right around the time you would have been taken into the Order the royals went public with their missing daughter. I was really young, but I remember it."

I shook my head. "I wasn't missing though. My parents gave me away."

"That's what the Order wanted you to believe. After you left it clicked. You have all the same features, you ended up at the Order right around the time the royals reported you missing, and you have the same birthmark."

"Are you sure about this?" Cade asked.

"Mom's ready to take the DNA sample for confirmation."

I looked up at Cade. I knew there was no way I was part of the royal family. The Order had been raided several times by different packs, often led by the royal family. I had been present for a few and no one ever made a connection like that. Surely if I was the missing werewolf princess someone would have noticed.

"I seriously doubt it," I said.

"Then we rule it out, but don't you at least want to know?" Christian pressed.

"I've been in raids led by the royal family. There would have been someone that would have recognized me."

"They thought you were dead. No one expected to find you."

"You don't have to do it if you don't want to," Cade said.

"What if you're wrong?" I asked.

"Then it stays between the four of us and no one will ever know," Christian assured.

"How do you get the DNA?"

"I'll just swab the inside of your mouth and we should have an answer by tomorrow morning."

I nodded absently. Part of me did want to know if I had parents out there. Maybe it would be better not to know though. What if they really did give me away? Would I really want to know that they were still alive, probably having a family while I was left to rot with the Order? I wasn't sure what that would do to me, but I was curious.

Christian walked up to me with a swab in his hand. "Open your mouth."

I did as he asked and he brushed the inside of my cheek. I watched him slip the swap into a glass container and stick it in his jacket pocket.

"We'll need you at my mom's office."

"Okay, but can we go tomorrow?"

"Of course. It's late anyway. You should rest."

"I'll take her to mom's office in the morning," Cade assured.

Christian nodded and turned to leave the room. I was slightly annoyed that he had interrupted whatever was going to happen between me and Cade. If anything was even going to happen.

Being alone with Cade was still a little uncomfortable since I knew what I had on my mind. I wanted him, but I didn't at the same time. I knew he had sex with Becca at least once since I had been there. I was not okay with having sex after someone else. Call me crazy, but I wanted him to be completely free of her.

"Well, I should get some rest," I trailed.

"Being a royal changes things," he said quietly.

"Between us?"

"Yes. If you are a royal, there's no way they'll allow you to stay here."

I scrunched my eyes. "If I'm a royal nothing changes. I'm not going back to being told what to do."