Mated To The Cruel Prince
Chapter 468: In Heat

Chapter 468: In Heat

"Did he hurt you?" Andre checked on her as soon as Aldric left, looking like he was about to touch her before hesitating at the last minute, as if remembering the "advice" his brother had given him.

Islinda’s lips pressed together at the thought. She and Aldric needed to establish clear boundaries. Just because she was his... hostage? It didn’t mean he had the right to make decisions for her. She had a right to privacy as well.

"No, I’m fine," she answered him.

Andre’s eyes narrowed suspiciously; he didn’t believe her.

"I mean it," Islinda said, rolling up her sleeves to show Andre that she wasn’t hiding any bruises.

"We just... talked?" Her face turned beet red.

"Oh," Andre finally understood, scrunching up his nose. "No wonder you reek of him."

"I smell like Aldric?" Islinda panicked, tugging on her tunic to check, but there was no smell. "I don’t smell anything at all."

Andre sighed, "Just be grateful you can’t detect it."

Islinda frowned, "Is it that bad?"

"Oh, no, Aldric doesn’t smell bad. At least he keeps good hygiene. But scent is important here. If potential males were to smell Aldric on you, they might see it as a challenge and think he’s asserting his dominance." Andre gestured, "You know, staking his claim."

"Aldric has no claim to stake, and thank the gods there are no potential males here to start a competition," Islinda said in relief.

"Don’t you like Aldric?" Andre asked.

"W-what?" Islinda was startled by the sudden question.

Andre looked at her, "The way you keep denying your relationship with Aldric, and yet both of you are clearly together."

"It’s not that..." Islinda paused, taking a deep breath. "It’s complicated."

"Or maybe you’re making it complicated. Either you’re Aldric’s woman or you’re not, or you’re both my brothers’ woman," Andre said.

"Andre!" Islinda cautioned him, her face flushing. "I wouldn’t start a harem like your father. Besides, don’t you even see your own family?"

"In my defense, no family is perfect. And a harem? Although I’m sure it guarantees the best sex," he said suggestively, winking at her.

"By the gods," Islinda pinched the bridge of her nose. She was rendered speechless and let out a frustrated grunt instead. "This is not funny anymore, Andre. And why are you so interested in this matter anyway, other than being concerned for your brothers? Moreover, this is not what we came here to discuss. Why do you always divert the subject?"

Andre muttered under his breath, "Maybe then, other potential males can send the right signal."

"What?" Islinda didn’t hear what he said.

"Never mind," Andre dismissed it with annoyance, leaving Islinda more confused.

What’s with all the royal princes today? First, Theodore behaves out of character by soothing her panic, then Valerie acts like an ass, Aldric says foolish things, and now Andre is strangely grumpy. Is everyone going through menopause? Islinda wondered if the Fae went through something similar since they lived long lives.

"I have discreetly sent out a request for a witch, and I’ll let you know once we have one. I don’t trust the witches from the palace; they’re all spies for the Queens," Andre said.

Islinda rolled her eyes, "And you say having a harem is fun?"

Andre ignored her sass and continued, "I would have suggested writing to you, but I’m afraid it might be intercepted. So I’ll visit you to update you on the plan."

"Well, I advise you to wait a little before visiting Aldric’s castle. He kind of has it out for you now that he thinks you have feelings for me. I thought he was smart, but it seems he’s dumber than I thought. Can you imagine, the two of us together?" Islinda gestured between them and burst into hysterical laughter.

She would have continued laughing if it wasn’t for the fact that Andre didn’t seem amused and even seemed to be scowling. She swallowed and wondered if she had gone too far with her joke.

The laughter abruptly stopped, and she cleared her throat. "The point is, you should wait until Aldric calms down before we do anything. He already suspects something between us, and we don’t want to give him any more reason to be suspicious."

Then it hit her. "Also, as a spy master, shouldn’t you have your own people planted in Aldric’s home?"

Andre averted his gaze, looking uncomfortable. "I’m not saying anything."

A knowing smirk formed on Islinda’s face. "So you do have people."

"I never said that," Andre insisted vehemently.

"Fine, don’t tell me. When the time is right, just give me the signal, and I’ll know what to do. Although we might have to move faster considering I don’t even know how much time I have until my birthday."

"You have nothing to worry about. I’ll look into that as well," he assured her.

For a moment, Islinda just looked at him, her gaze slightly uncomfortable.

"What? What’s wrong?" Andre asked, somewhat self-conscious. "Do I have something on my face?"

"No, silly," Islinda smiled and took a step closer, wrapping her arms around his shoulder to give him an affectionate hug. "Thank you."

Andre stiffened, groaning, "You want to get me killed, don’t you?"

Islinda chuckled, "Don’t worry, I’ll handle the dark Fae prince. You have nothing to worry about."

"Well, here goes nothing," Andre finally gave in. He returned the hug, innocently rubbing her back. But as the hug lingered, he couldn’t help but inhale her intoxicating scent, igniting a primal heat within him.

Andre found himself unable to control his desires - the urge to bury his nose in her neck, inhale her scent, and kiss her sweet lips. The image of that night flashed in his mind, and he longed to engage in passionate acts with her right then and there. He didn’t even care if Aldric found out and was furious enough to kill him. He wanted a taste of Islinda.

Luckily, Islinda broke the hug at that moment, sensing the change in Andre. She asked in concern, "Are you alright?"

Her question snapped Andre out of his lustful haze, and he blinked in confusion.

"Of course," he stammered, rubbing his temple as a slight throbbing started.

"Are you sure, Andre? Because you look a little out of it right now. Maybe I can -" Islinda began to say.

"I said I’m fine! Maybe you should go to your little lover before he thinks we’re up to no good!" Andre snapped at her.

Islinda was startled and looked at Andre, a mixture of confusion and hurt in her eyes. How could he say something like that to her? What did he really think of her?

"Fuck, I’m sorry," Andre tried to apologize, but Islinda’s expression had hardened, and her mind was made up.

"Have a nice day," Islinda said, spun on her heels, and stormed away.

"Islinda, please, I didn’t mean to yell..." He shouted after her, but she didn’t look back, already gone.

"Fuck," Andre kicked the air in frustration. He didn’t know what had happened except that he was battling with a whirlwind of emotions.

He desired Islinda, and it wasn’t a bad thing for a virile male like him to have such urges. And Islinda, he had to admit, was kind of beautiful. No, she was hotter than anyone he had ever seen. But getting involved with Islinda while Valerie and Aldric were always lurking nearby was a disaster waiting to happen.

He may like her, but he couldn’t act on those feelings. Yet, when she hugged him, he felt an overwhelming need to be with her, to mate with her. It was confusing. And now, with her gone, his mind was functioning again. Could it be that Islinda was in heat? It wouldn’t be impossible since she was no longer fully human, but possibly half-Fae. However, she was unbounded, and only bounded couples were affected by the heat wave. Andre knew he had to look into Islinda; something wasn’t right.

Meanwhile, while the palace couldn’t wait to get rid of the dark Fae prince, a certain dark Fae horse shifter and her not-so-delighted mate anxiously awaited Aldric’s arrival.

"Don’t you think our position is precarious, Maxi?" Isaac asked, feeling sick as he looked down at the ground from their elevated vantage point.

While he had the idea that Aldric was on his own in this mess, his mate and assumed fiancée had better idea and it was to climb up the tallest tree close to the palace and spy on the situation. Unfortunately, Issac didn’t do well with such great height even though he wouldn’t die if he "mistakenly" slipped and fall.

Unfortunately, Maxi did not answer him and he tried again.

"Maxi, it’s been over seven hours and I’m feeling dizzy. Maybe we should come down for just a —"

Issac did not get to finish that statement because Maxi pinned him with a deadly glare. He had to admit it, his mate was pretty scary when furious and even more dangerous with her mind made up. And he wasn’t sure he wanted to be a victim.

So he swallowed and gave in.

"Fine. You are the boss."

Issac resigned himself to his fate, knowing that arguing with Maxi was futile. He leaned back against the tree trunk, trying to calm his racing heart as he stared out at the palace below. The tension in the air was palpable, and he couldn’t help but worry for Aldric’s safety.

After what felt like an eternity, they finally spotted Aldric making his way towards the entrance of the palace. Maxi’s grip on the tree branch tightened, her eyes locked on him intently. Issac couldn’t tear his gaze away either, his heart aching at the sight of his mate looking so determined and alone.

He could only pray that they released Aldric else his dominant mate might raze that palace to the ground.