Accidental Surrogate

Chapter 143

3rd Person

There was a time when Lydia had dreamed about witnessing a Prince’s temper tantrum – mostly because she always imagined it would be her son, and she would have been so thrilled to be a mother and queen that she wouldn’t have cared about a childish outburst. Seeing a fully grown man, an Alpha she was hoping to seduce, rant and rave was a different thing entirely. Prince Damon had arrived back from the failed meeting with Sinclair to discover that Ella was long gone, and promptly torn her bedroom to sheds in the heat of his anger.

Walls punched, curtains torn, furniture toppled and broken – at this point it looked like a tornado had swept through the room, and Lydia was both disgusted and alarmed.

She wasn’t sure whether she should make her presence known or not. The guards had fetched her after they returned and filled her in on the situation, but Damon’s destructive fury worried her. Ella’s warnings about the man abusing his mate rung in her ears, and right now she had no trouble believing it. Lydia was furious with herself for not noticing the small army infiltrating the palace, but she’d been preoccupied trying to plan a romantic dinner for the Prince once the ransom was completed. In her mind Damon would have returned to the palace to retrieve Ella once Sinclair agreed to surrender, completed the trade and come home to celebrate with her. However now she was more worried that the Prince would blame her for concocting the plan and missing the invasion.

Lydia tried to make herself as small as possible, hovering just inside the doorway and praying to become invisible. He wouldn’t kill her.. would he?

The way he was shouting and cursing sounded much like an overwrought toddler, but this man was twice her size and could easily snap her like a twig if he wanted to. What have I gotten myself into? She thought anxiously, true doubt assailing her for the first time.

Right on cue, the Prince whirled around and saw Lydia, cowering with her arms wrapped around her slender body. Her body language reminded him so much of his late wife that a fresh wave of Wrath slammed into him. He didn’t need to be reminded that his mate had been taken from him, especially not by this schemer. “You!” He seethed, jabbing an accusatory finger in Lydia’s direction, this is all your fault! Where the hell were you!”

Her eyes widened, “I-” Before Lydia could say another word, the Prince crossed the room and slammed her back against the wall, wrapping his powerful fist around her throat.

soo well, but your plans have done nothing but backfire! I told you he wouldn’t give up his campaign that easily! I told you he

to tell him exactly how Sinclair’s emergency

have some nerve – waltzing in here as if you aren’t

despite the fact that she could barely

know. I wanted to rub it in his face that you’d transferred your allegiance to me and you know what he told me? He told me that you came slinking onto his doorstep after you left Sinclair, promising to give him a whole litter of pups and bragging about all your experience as a Luna.

you did it because you had nowhere else to go.” Tears burned in Lydia’s eyes as the cruel man taunted her with her worst failures, but this only seemed to egg Damon on. “And I let you

and Lydia dug her fingers into his hand, trying

I can

being close to me is weakening public sympathy for me.” He paused, a dawning light overtaking his features as Ella and Sinclair’s clues about

raced through possible distractions. Like the Prince, there were details hovering at the edge of her consciousness, just out of reach. She knew she had the key to her own survival within reach, she just had to pull the puzzle pieces together. The longer she stayed silent, the angrier

claws break the skin of her neck. Hot, thick blood trickled down her clavicle,

that absolutely rankled the seething Prince. Fortunately for Lydia, she forced the words out before he

no one had ever heard of Ella until after she was already pregnant with Sinclair’s child? He’s the most famous man in the territory and the tabloids follow him constantly, but no one ever heard a single word about him dating someone new. And if Ella is supposed to be a cousin of Aileen Crentin’s, why did I never meet her? I was at Aileen and Hugo’s wedding, and I can tell you right now that

think they’re lying about

Prince blinked, processing this idea. He only gives it a moment of thought before shaking his head. “They said she hadn’t known about her relatives here until recently, besides I’ve never seen a pair of mates more