Beta: Cade (completed)

11

Don't worry. I've dried my tears from an exhausting finals week. Good news is I'm done until the middle of January so expect some updates coming your way!

"Sophia, huh?" Cade's voice cut through the silence of the office.

I glanced at him over my shoulder and nodded. Eleanor and Aaron had been gone for a few minutes, but it still felt like they were there.

"Do you like it?"

"The name?"

He nodded.

"Better than Tessa," I said. "I knew Tessa wasn't my real name anyway."

"You did?"

"Master said when he was a child he had a dog named Tessa. That was why he gave me that name."

Cade frowned at my explanation. "Why do you still call him that?"

"Calling him anything else feels too personal," I admitted. "Only the girls he kept around on a regular basis called him by name."

He folded his arms over his chest. I didn't care if Cade didn't like it. I wasn't calling him by anything other than master.

"Come on. I'll take you back to the pack house."

"They want me to have dinner with them," I mentioned.

We left the office and walked down the sterile hall. It even smelled sterile.

"Is that a bad thing?" He asked.

"They said you could come too."

He stayed quiet for a minute. I wasn't sure if he was thinking it over or if he didn't want to go. I mean, I didn't even know if he had technically broken off his engagement. I was sure if things fell through with me he would go right back to Becca.

"Do you want me there?" He asked.

I shrugged. "You probably know them better than I do."

"Only on a professional level. Christian knows them better."

We made our way into the lobby where Liz talked to Christian in hushed tones. She looked flustered, but that was to be expected with the former king and queen around.

"How'd it go?" She asked, instantly turning her attention to me.

"Fine, I guess. This is all just really weird," I muttered.

"I'm sure it is. You should take some time to process it."

I nodded in agreement. They all looked like they wanted to ask more questions. Hell, I had more questions. I had a family now. I had parents and a brother and a title. I wondered if my brother had kids or a wife. I wondered if he would feel guilty for not connecting who I was at the Order. Then again, I was taken when I was a baby. It wasn't really fair of me to blame anyone for not recognizing me especially when I was assumed dead.

The entire drive back to the pack house was silent. I didn't know what to say to say to Cade and he seemed like he was lost in his own world. I knew being royal drastically changed things. I just didn't know exactly how much things would change.

"Cade?" I asked.

"Yeah?"

"Are you disappointed I'm royal?"

He glanced over at me before returning his eyes to the road. "Why would you think that?"

"I'm just asking."