Chapter 182
Chapter 182 Innocent by nature
Doris forced herself to eat when she remembered that she had a baby to take care of inside her. A baby
that made her three times more hungry than she usually felt. She would have much sooner eaten a book
rather than the food that was served to her on a fancy tray.
She knew it was unlikely that Prince Martin would have poisoned her through desserts and soup-but the
back of her mind still cautioned her to be on alert. Already he showed signs of an unstable man, but she
didn’t have much choice. It wasn’t fair to starve herself because she was afraid.
Prince Martin must not have known she was with child, he hadn’t mentioned it once. Although, he hadn’t
mentioned that she was his mate recently either. His strange denial to what was happening made her
feel even more uneasy. 2
What would he do if he found out she was pregnant with William’s baby? Would he try to sicken her until
it shriveled up inside her? Would he tell her he would raise it as his own as if some secret part of her
would ever want that? The fear of the unknown was more terrifying than what might actually ur, but it
didn’t stop her thoughts from trying to scare her. 2
Doris slept horribly throughout the night. She tossed and turned so many times, she doubted that more
than a few hours were spent actually sleeping. By morning, she felt her exhaustion start to finally take a
hold of her as she pulled herself out of bed weakly.
Doris dressed herself quickly before anyone coulde. She had to be awake, she had to be on alert
just in case he came back. She paced the room until finally the lock utched and Beth came through
with a tray. As usual, the door locked behind her.
“Oh my goodness, Beth!” Doris quickly crossed the room to her friend. She took the tray out of her grasp
and set it aside before she threw her arms around her. “I was so worried that something happened to
you! I’m so d you’re okay.”
“Me? Doris, I thought you were going to be killed! I swore it was thest time I was going to see you.”
Beth pulled away to look at Doris. “They were fine to me once we arrived but I thought he was going to
take you here to kill you just to get back at you for what Prince William did.”
“L… I thought I was going to die too, but-“ Doris chewed on her lip and nced at the floral walls. “He
said he built this ce for me.”
“I’m sorry. What?” Beth took Doris’s hands and pulled her to the bed to sit. A momentter, she felt a
wave of dizziness hit her before it soon passed. “What on earth are you talking about?”
“Prince Martin. He said he brought me here because he had this ce made for me.” Doris looked
around at the room and it was obvious that Prince Martin didn’t really know her at all. Not as well as he
thought he did. While she loved flowers, he painted ones she didn’t favor. He brought desserts because
she had a sweet tooth, but he didn’t know which ones were her favorites so he included as many as he
could.
“Are you saying he’s in love with you and built you this house for you to live in?” Beth’s eyes grew wide.
“That is… I mean I knew he always had some sort of feelings for you, but this is crazy.”
“I don’t know why he did this. I barely spoke to him at the castle-1 didn’t know he cared for me this much.
I thought it was just a crush that would eventually fade!” Doris ran her fingers through her tangled hair. “I
don’t know what’s happening.” “Sometimes people grow attached to others without them knowing. I knew
he looked at you with affection but I didn’t realize… this.”
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“We have to get out of here, Beth. I don’t want to risk any more time here in case he has something else
nned for me. Men never react well when they’re rejected.” Doris sighed. She wished she could call out
for William. She wished there was a way for him to find her through their mating bond.
Was there a way?
It didn’t matter. Her wolf was silenced inside her and it might be days before she woke up again.
“I was able to see a lot of the house, my room is all the way across the building. I was led here and given
a tray for her by these tworge men that didn’t say much else.”
“What did the house look like? Are there others?” Doris whispered. She nced at the door to make sure
it wasn’t open. “How many guards did he bring?”
“I think there are many guards, more than I could guess. I passed quite a few and could hear more far
away. The house looks like arger version of a in cottage house that wasn’t fully decorated. Many of
the areas were in with a few pieces of furniture but no life.”
Doris dropped her head in her hands. “I don’t think William will ever find me here. It looks like we’re in the
middle of a forest from outside of my window-who knows how far we actually are from the pce or the
kingdom.”
“That’s not true, we could be close by. Don’t you remember that the pce has many off properties
around the kingdom? They have areas like this for the royals to rest in if they were eyer traveling.” Beth
nced around the room as if she was finally taking it all in for the first time. “If William knows where
those ces are, he will eventually find you.”
That could take weeks, Beth. Especially with all of the snow.” Doris didn’t want to admit that she was
terrified of not surviving that long. “Wait… I think I might have an idea… Or the start of one at least.”
Beth leaned closer with wide, desperate eyes. “What is it? Are you going to use your wolf to get us out of
here? I saw you fight back at the camp-I know you can take a few dozen men down. Easily.”
“No, he used a drug to put my wolf to sleep so I couldn’t defend myself or try to escape.” Doris said
quietly. Beth gasped. “No, I have another idea. Men may react badly when they are rejected, but they will
fall into your hands if they think you’re giving them exactly what they want.”
Beth looked at Doris suspiciously. “Okay, what would you do?”
“I’m not sure entirely yet, but I could y along with whatever he throws my way. I know he sent you here
to win my favor, perhaps I could tell him how thankful I am.”
“Oh.” Beth frowned. “A girl back at the castle used to do that to one of the royals. She would do whatever
he asked even though she hated his guts. He always thought she was in love with him, though. She got
a lot of gifts.”
“If he trusts me, he won’t be so strict. His leash on me will loosen and I can try to get a weapon to fight
back or try to escape when he isn’t around.” Doris stood. It sounded easier said than done, but she had
nothing else to work with.
“What can I do to help?” Beth asked. She watched as Doris started to pace the room while her thoughts
ran wild.
“If Prince Martin asks you about me, feed him the lies too. Tell him I talked about him and that I
complimented the room. Just little things to grow the seed in his mind.”
“It’s a dangerous game, Doris. He won’t like his feelings being toyed with when he thinks you’re finally
opening up to him.” Beth warned.
“I know that, but I have to get us out of here and I don’t have any other options. We could be days of
travel away from the pce, I don’t know how long I was out for.”
“I wish I could tell you. He knocked me out the minute they did the same to you. I suppose it was so I
couldn’t find the way back to camp even if I tried.” Beth bit her lip in thought. “It’s worth a try, Doris. He’s
clearly obsessed with you and might take every crumb he can get from you.”
“Exactly.” Doris said. “If he thinks there’s a chance, he might be more willing to make me feel as if I’m not
trapped here.”
“It could blow up in our faces, Doris.” Beth said gently. “It might go wrong, he might see what you’re
doing.”
“I know.” Doris said. She offered a small smile. “But I have to try at least.”