Their Hidden Princess Chapter 111

Maximus pulled me into his room and immediately brought me to his bed. He sat us both down and I curled into him. My heart was still erratically beating in my chest as I choked on my breath. Maximus ran a hand down my spine, soothing me slightly but not enough that I stopped wheezing.

We sat in silence, save for my huffs and heaves, for a few moments. It could’ve been an hour or five minutes. I didn’t know how long it was taking for time to pass. Finally, Maximus sucked in a breath and spoke.

“What happened?”

My lip quivered but I kept my face neutral. My hand went up to wipe a stray tear on my cheek. “Nothing,” I murmured.

“Clearly it wasn’t,” Max replied, stern but tender. “You came to my room apologizing and I have to wonder what exactly for and what brought it on.”

My eyes fluttered shut. Could I really tell him all my secrets? If he was my fated mate, I should be able to trust him, right? I sucked in another breath but then Mona burst through my thoughts.

The truth doesn’t have to whole, she said. Half-truths are better than deceptions.

I bit my lip. She wasn’t wrong. There were some secrets I wanted to keep. But some I could let go. I grabbed Maximus’s hand.

“I’ve been keeping a lot of secrets,” I whispered. Maximus’s eyebrows immediately furrowed.

“What do you mean?”

I sighed again and squeezed his hand harder. “About who I am,” I murmured. “Some of them I can’t tell you. I won’t tell you for your own safety and mine. But others,” I blew out the breath I didn’t know I was holding. Then I turned to face Maximus. Our eyes met and my chest ached a little more.

“Others I’ve been selfish in keeping.”

Maximus looked back at me. He frowned slightly. His hand resumed trailing up and down my spine. Then, he shook his head.

“Whatever you can tell me,” He said. “I’ll listen. And whatever you can’t, I’ll wait until I can and I’ll listen then. I’m your fated mate, Zora. I trust you above anyone else.”

I brought my bottom lip between my teeth and nodded. It was reassuring but made me feel guilty all the same. I squeezed his hand once more, eyes slamming shut as I fought to have the courage to speak.

“The other day,” my voice came out in a squeak. “When I mentioned multiple fated mates.”

Maximus nodded. “You did.”

I choked on my voice before it came out. “It’s true. I have multiple.”

Maximus was silent. I felt his hand slowly slide out of mine and land in his lap. I pried my eyes open, focusing on his face. His eyes were darting all over the floor like he was trying to process everything. Then he looked back up at me.

“I think… I think I knew that,” he said. I pulled back slightly.

“What?”

Maximus shifted in his seat. “Well at Mate Ball,” he started. “Your bond with Thorne was awakened. Wolves don’t usually have two mates. Not unless their first mate dies. I knew it then that you had more than one.”

I paused. His thinking was rational. But how was I supposed to tell him that I had two more in addition to the broken bond with Thorne? My head started spinning again. Did I really want to do this?

A fated mate will respect you above all else, Mona added. It is your decision to tell him or not. But know he will respect your decision.

I looked back at Maximus. Then, I let the words ghost out before I had a chance to chicken out again.

“But what if there were more?”

“More?!” Maximus eyes popped out of his head. “Zora, that’s completely unheard of. You know how rare a first fated mate bond is let alone a second—”

“I know, I know,” I murmured, cutting him off. “Trust me, I know I’m an anomaly.”

Max frowned again. “I don’t understand.”

“Truthfully,” I huffed. “Neither do I. But I know for certain. I have four fated mates.”

Maximus’s eyes bulged again, color draining from his skin. His gold eyes fixes on mine. “Four?” He said slowly, as if the word was foreign to him. I nodded back. He sat back and stared at his floor again. He repeated the number again, as if trying to wrap his brain around it. Then his eyes went wide. He snapped them back to me.

“Thorne. Me. Lunerly and Kairos!?”

I gave him a weak smile. “Surprise?”

“Gods be damned,” Maximus hissed before standing up. He started pacing across the width of his dorm room. His hand went to his forehead, thumb and fore finger pressing into his temples. Then he looked back at me.

“But you haven’t – I’m the only –”

“Yes,” I said, cheeks heating up. “You’re the only one I’ve been…intimate with.”

“Okay,” Maximus nodded, eyes still wide and darting around as he processed. Then he jerked his head back to me. “Lunerly.”

I sighed. “He’s opposed to completing the bond. I think he’s worried I’ll end up like his last fated mate.”

“Zahara,” Max breathed. “The Queen’s sister.”

I nodded once. Maximus continued to process what I’d just told him. Then, he turned bitter. His mouth curled up into a scowl.

“Lunerly’s marrying Bella,” he snapped. Again, I nodded.

“Again,” I started. “Thinks he’ll hurt me.”

“How fucking selfish,” Maximus spat. I blinked at him.

“Wait, what?” I said. “You were mad I was leading him along and now you’re mad he’s not allowing himself to be with me?”

“Well, I didn’t know your … situation before,” Max said, pacing resuming. “But now knowing what I do know, my ultimatum still stands.”

“What?” I squeaked.

Maximus paused his neurotic pacing to shake his head at me. “You don’t understand, Zora,” he said. “In the cases in the past where wolves have had multiple fated mates, if the bonds aren’t complete between the center and her other mates, everyone suffers. If you don’t consummate the bond with Lunerly, you and I will feel the repercussions. That is, if we don’t break it.”

Well, fuck.

No one had mentioned that.

“It’s so rare that no one teaches it,” Maximus said, as if hearing my inner thoughts. “Only a handful of wolves in history have had more than one fated mate. But they all felt it. Their powers draining from their body until they consummated all their bonds. Then a spike in power when they did.”

Double fuck.

“How does that have anything to do with your ultimatum?” I pressed. “You said either him or you. That doesn’t make sense anymore seeing as your both my fated mates.”

Maximus shook his head. “I can’t be bonded to you if you don’t bond him and Kairos,” Maximus said softly. “It’ll kill us both. As much as I care about you, I won’t let them suck us dry. The safest way to go about it if you can’t complete all of the bonds, is to break them.”

My heart fell out of my ass. Maximus would break our bond? My entire body was screaming in protest at that thought. So much so, that I left Maximus’s bed to press my hands to his chest. I shook my head violently.

“No,” I whispered. “No, don’t.”

“It hurts me too,” Maximus murmured. “But I won’t let myself be the reason you’re in danger.”

“No!” I said again. “Then we won’t. I’ll – I’ll do it with Kairos and Valentin, he’ll – he’ll come around and—”

“And if you don’t have all of us,” he said softly. “Some of us will suffer. And you’ll suffer the worst.”

I stepped back. “So that’s it?” I asked, angry. “All or nothing?”

“All or nothing,” Maximus said.

I couldn’t process anything at that moment. I simply shook my head at him and went for the door. What was it with these men thinking they were saving me by hurting me over helping me?