Their Hidden Princess Chapter 106

I didn’t sleep that much that night.

I was torn between the embarrassment of having to talk about sex with my mother, the shock of her telling me I should sleep with four different men, and the guttural anger at not having a choice of if I wanted to do so.

I slammed my hands over my face for the hundredth time as I tried to find a way out of his mess. I pushed my face into my pillow and groaned so Loren wouldn’t hear me. Not that she could, over the sound of her snoring.

I slammed my pillow over my head. Somehow, after hours of tossing and turning, I fell asleep. I still felt like shit the next morning when I woke up at the ass-crack of dawn for training with Valentin.

We may have talked about fucking, but that didn’t stop our morning sessions! Oh, no. That would never stop as long I was the vampire-slaying-wolf-savior.

I made sure to drag my feet to leave my dorm.

Maximus was waiting for me in the hall, arms across his chest like a disappointed mother. Someone should’ve told him I already had one of those. I gingerly closed my door behind me and raised my eyebrows at him. He scoffed before turning and walking out of our building. I followed him across the lawn to the gym. Neither of us spoke the entire time.

Unfortunately for me, my mind was filled with thoughts of the last time we’d “consummated” our bond. I walked into the locker room all hot and bothered. It was confirmed by the way I noticed steam surrounding me. I huffed and dunked my head under the ice-cold shower.

When I emerged with soaking wet hair, Maximus and Thorne looked at me like I was a basket case. Valentin, who seemed to have mind-reading abilities, just stared at me with intense eyes. He shook his head before addressing all of us.

“Today we’re going to do something different,” he said. “We’re going to have you all fight as a team.”

Thorne scoffed. “A team? You expected the feral dog that is Smith to be to fight with two sons of High Alphas? Good luck.”

“Watch it,” Maximus growled under his breath.

Valentin gave Thorne a smile laced with poison. “You’ll be fighting with a High Alpha too.”

This set Maximus off. He jerked his head to glare at Valentin. “You’re fighting with us?” he snapped. “Why? And who will we be fighting against?”

Valentin lifted his hand into the air then swished it. Eight large sparring dummies, the kind made from sand, floated into the air then circled the four of us. Maximus and Thorne looked annoyed; Valentin looked smug. I was still in awe of the magiks that Valentin seemed to be able to control.

“These dummies are trained in vampire fighting style,” Valentin said. “They’ve taken my studies on vampire techniques and adapted their own skillsets to meet them. It’s the best case we have on replicating how a vampire fights.”

He walked over to me and stood back facing me. Then, he lifted his hand a second time and flicked his wrist. Slowly, all eight of the dummies started to wobble towards us in a rhythmic way. Valentin dropped into a stance in front of me. Maximus and Thorne, flanking my sides, tentatively did the same.

Valentin turned over his shoulder to look at us. I didn’t miss the slight smirk on his lips. “Communication is key!” he shouted. “Trust one another and trust Zora. That is how we take these things down.”

“Fucking creepy,” Thorne mumbled next to me.

“Stop bitching and take them down then,” Maximus snapped before he lunged at one of the dummies.

All at once, they attacked us. I watched Valentin strike the first one, skittering it away from and the other others. He then slammed his hand forwards and knocked it even further back with some telekinetic magiks. I was too busy staring at it to notice another one had charged at me.

I immediately whipped my leg around and sunk my heel into the spot in between its shoulder and head. I grunted as I made contact, not expecting how hard those things were. I jumped to my other foot and swung the one previously on the ground up to hit the thing right in the stomach. With the full force of my lower body, I shoved it backwards. It hit the wall on opposite side of the gym and fell limp to the floor.

One down.

I turned back and saw that Maximus had also tossed his dummy across the gym. Thorne was grappling with his on the floor. Max smirked as he walked over, picked the dummy off Thorne like it was nothing, and tossed it to land on top of his first attacker. Thorne rolled over and looked pissed.

“I had it!” he snapped.

“I wouldn’t describe it that way,” Maximus hummed. Another dummy came charging at the men, looking a bit like an overgrown toddler. Maximus threw his hand out at the last moment and punched it away from Thorne, who turned to growl at Max is response.

“Back off Wolfham!” he snapped.

“Some knight you are,” Max snorted. “Can’t even keep a bag of sand from taking you down.”

Thorne shoved Max in the chest. “Fuck you, mate!”

Max shoved him back, sending Thorne stumbling off the mat. Then Maximus turned and kicked another dummy in the head before tossing it to the mat and punching the thing right where it should have a face. By that point, Thorne was on his feet again and charged Maximus. He tackled the taller wolf to the floor and the two landed in a pile of limbs next to the dummy. They scrambled to get the upper hand on one another, not necessarily landing punches, but grabbing at shirts and hair to prove dominance.

I watched Valentin turn over his shoulder from where he was fighting two more dummies to look at him. He scowled. “Gods above,” he hissed. He used his magiks again to make one of the dummies snap in half at its waist. Then his slammed his elbow into the back of the dummy’s head.

It was hot as fuck.

I was stuck staring at him as he marched over to where the two other wolves were rolling on the floor. He pushed his palm towards them and Maximus flew off from where he was strangling Thorne into the gym mat. Then, Valentin ripped Thorne up to his feet by the back of his shirt, scowling the whole time.

“Is your problem with Wolfham really bigger than defending your mark?” he snapped. “Get it together!”

As if he suddenly remembered I existed, Thorne whipped his head to look at me. Then his eyes blew wide. He and Valentin both started for me, but it was too late. A weight slammed into my side, knocking the air from my lungs and sending me toppling to the floor with whatever attacked me. I was pancaked to the floor.

“Help,” I squeaked.

Then, the weight was lifted. I looked up and Valentin had his palm outstretched again. Behind me, a dummy was flying through the air. I huffed and got myself to my feet. Valentin looked pissed. He turned to glare at Maximus and Thorne.

“Whatever the fuck is going on here,” he snapped at them. They both blanched, shocked to hear the put-together headmaster cursing and snapping at them. “It should not take precedence over watching your mark. You both let Zora get hit. It’s entire unacceptable. Dismissed!”

Maximus and Thorne both looked towards me. Max had the dignity to look apologetic. Thorne just looked angry. They both left the gym. The doors clattered to a close and then Valentin turned one me.

“Why are your fated mates trying to kill each other?” he hissed. “Are yo u trying to set yourself up for failure?”

“They don’t know about the prophecy,” I said back. “They still don’t know I’m the Princess.”

Valentin let out a puff of air and dropped his arms to smack at his sides. “You haven’t told them?”

I shook my head.

Valentin looked incredulous, shaking his head back at me. “It’d make this a hell of a lot easier if you did. They’re going to learn eventually, you know?”

“I know,” I snapped. “But I’d like to think they still like me for me, not my title.”

“They’ll like you regardless,” Valentin snapped. “The fated mates thing does that.”

“Then why don’t you like me?” I threw back.

He paused for a beat before turning to look at me. His eyes and tone held all the same anger. “It’s not about me liking you,” he hissed. “It’s about protecting you from me. It’ll do you good to remind yourself of that once in a while.”

With that, he stormed out of the gym and I was once again, alone.