The Alpha: Claiming His Enemy's Daughter
Chapter 278: WHERE YOU SET YOUR HEART

Chapter 278: WHERE YOU SET YOUR HEART

The way Iris looked so uncomfortable around Prince Kellan didn’t go unnoticed by Cane. Her whole body screamed discomfort and after a few months of being together, he learned a few of her habits and knew her body language whenever she felt something.

It was not difficult, since she was the most honest person that he had ever met, almost as if she would always have a hard time hiding her true emotions.

"So, why do you look uneasy around him?" Cane asked her gently. The room was quiet and it felt peaceful to have this deep conversation with her.

Iris fiddled with her fingers again. Her brows furrowed slightly, as she opened her mouth and was about to answer him, but then she closed it and thought over her reply. It took a whole two minutes before Iris could come up with something and the answer was not satisfying.

"I don’t know," Iris said in a defeated tone. She had been thinking about this matter, about this weird feeling she felt when she saw the Prince, even when she saw him for the first time in the main hall, but she couldn’t figure out where this feeling stemmed from. "I don’t know why I feel uneasy around him. Maybe because I don’t know him well..."

The last reason was an excuse, because there was no way it could be the reason why she looked so anxious around him, yet Cane said nothing and let her talk.

When Iris didn’t say anything, the Alpha finally spoke again. "Did he ever hurt you?"

Iris shook her head. "No."

"’No’, because you don’t remember it, or ’no’ because he had never hurt you?"

Iris felt Cane was a little bit aggressive with his questions, there was a hint of acrimony in his voice, she almost thought this was not a light conversation, but an interrogation instead.

The way Cane stared at her sharply made Iris falter to find the right answer, but still, she couldn’t give him a definite reply.

"What are the things that you remember when you were with him? He said you met with him a few times when he visited the Blue Moon pack."

"I don’t remember, Alpha..." Iris replied in a small voice. "I only remember he came often to the Blue Moon pack, but I don’t remember my interaction with him." She was telling the truth. No matter how hard she tried to remember it, she couldn’t recall any event with him. "I swear, I am not lying to you." Iris stuck out three fingers, as a gesture that she swore upon her life.

It always bothered her when someone didn’t believe her, because Mason used to call her a liar and that fear engraved so deep within her without her knowing it. She would get anxious whenever people didn’t trust her, especially those who she cared about.

Cane stared at her sharply, he was deep in thought and the way he looked at her made Iris feel so small and a little bit scared of him. She didn’t know what he was thinking about her unsatisfying answer, nor was she aware what he was feeling right now, but such intense gaze made her lower her eyes and stare at her fingers instead.

Why did he look angry? Iris couldn’t understand that. Maybe he was angry because she couldn’t give him the right answer? But, Iris couldn’t figure out why she forgot about her interaction with Prince Kellan completely. Was it because she was so young?

The more she tried to remember it, the more she felt so unwilling to do so, it almost felt like she was being forced to step into a dark room, when she was so afraid of darkness. It had been like this since she was a child, she was afraid of things that she couldn’t see, she was afraid of something that she might find out there.

Probably, she was also afraid of something that she might recall when she tried harder than this to remember. It almost felt like there was a tug of war in her mind.

For a while, the two of them remained immersed in their own thoughts, as silence engulfed this closed room.

During that time, Iris thought Cane must have tried to talk to her, but because she didn’t look at him, she didn’t know what he was talking about. She felt uncomfortable with his questions and the way he looked at her.

Iris only lifted her head when Cane stood up and sat down right in front of her, he was so close, until she could smell his scent.

"Prince Kellan asked you to come to the orphanage, in his opinion, it will be good for them to have a female figure, after they lost their parents. He thought you would suit the role."

More than that, having Prince Kellan on their side would win public opinion, it would benefit Cane in the long run when he had to finish the task that was given from the King. More so, there was no harm in introducing Iris on this occasion, winning people’s hearts would calm them as well, giving them the reassurance that they needed.

In the course of time, he could use such support to suppress the King, even without the golden stamp. It would provide a safe net for him, if he made use of public sympathy well.

Yet, Cane had his own considerations. He stretched out his hand and caressed her soft hair, playing with her curls between his fingers.

"That’s what he said." He emphasized the words.

Iris blinked her eyes, she didn’t see anger in his eyes anymore and this was a relief to her. "And what do you think?" she asked carefully.

"You will never accomplish anything when your heart is not set on it."

In other words, if Iris was forced to do it, the end result wouldn’t be as expected. Cane knew how traumatized those children were when they lost their parents and having someone that didn’t want to be around them, nor having a heart to do so, was not a solution.