Chapter 289

289 Lunch with a Prince

“Y-yeah, that’s me. I’m glad you remembered,” the girl replied, tearing away from the dazed state she’d been in. The prince then took a look at the woman that was with her. For a moment, it seemed as though he would recognize the woman, but later brushed off his suspicions. “Is she a relative of yours?” He asked, taking a seat at their table despite the numerous red flags his wolf was raising.

“Yeah, you could say that,” Madeline replied, “I was meaning to talk to you, by the way. What brings you here? Those men don’t look like they’ve come shopping for clothes,” the girl asked, skipping formalities. Honour’s mother was petrified by how close the two of them seemed.

‘Wasn’t she avoiding Lina back when they first met?’ the woman thought. The spectacle before was unlike what she would have expected. However, the reply given by the prince was enough to wipe the thoughts from her mind.

“Well, we got an alarm that Lina’s credit card had been used, yet we’re sure she’s supposed to be in school. Father thought I should check it out and ensure my sister is still the same one I know. Honestly, how can one girl cause me so much trouble after I just returned?” Drake sighed.

“I’m sorry, your highness,” Honour’s mother intervened, “That might have been my fault. Or Lina’s for that matter.”

“Oh? Please do explain,” the prince’s expression turned serious. The woman reached for her handbag and showed him the blue card she’d used to purchase Madeline’s clothes.

Drake stared between the card and the woman, trying to piece together any possible reason for the woman having the card. When his mind came up with none, he sighed, settling deeper into his chair, “I think you have a lot to tell me.”

“Yes, your highness, but I would prefer it if you asked your little sister instead. She seems to be the mastermind behind all this after all,” Honour’s mother was defeated. ‘And here I was... trying to keep my distance from royals. I should have known it would be impossible the moment Lina came into Honour’s life, but then again, that might just be the person she needed. Trading one thing for another.’

“Little sister, when did you become such a handful? I was only gone a week,” the prince cursed. The pack warriors checking the store finally stopped when Drake sent a message through the mind link. “I’ll take that card from you now, please.”

.....

The woman reluctantly handed over the card, pouting while she did... ‘That was going to pay for lunch as well.’

“Alpha Drake, you found it. What shall we do with the per...”

“Go back to the palace without me. I’ll catch up when I’m done talking to them,” Drake cut the man short. Without further conversation, they bowed and exited the restaurant. Drake sighed and rang the bell at their table, “I hoped this would be a minor case of my sister entering some sort of rebellious phase and it would all blow over...” he paused, finally taking in the significance of Madeline’s presence, “but I’m guessing that will not be the case.”

“No, it won’t,” Madeline replied, “There is trouble. Something terrible has happened. It took everything I had just to get here,” Madeline replied solemnly, “I get the feeling that I’m too late.”

“So you’re willing to tell him everything?” Honour’s mother exclaimed, “How do the two of you know each other anyway? I know for a fact that the prince has never visited you.”

Before the girl could speak up, Drake intervened, “I met her on one of my trips to find my mate. They have a warm little pack in the South.

She has the cutest of passions that just made her impossible to miss. Not to mention the way her eyes kept flashing grey when she was intimidated or anxious. Who would forget such a person after all that?”

Madeline shrunk back in her seat. ‘Oh please, Mother Earth. Swallow me...’

“Hey, that’s supposed to be private. It’s not like I make them change colour on purpose.”

“I know you don’t, but I do wonder if you have some sort of control over them,” Drake replied questioningly.

“It’s more the other way round really. They are supposed to be grey all the time. Keeping them amber is what’s complicated,” the girl answered sadly, “I was supposed to learn how to keep them amber so that I could pursue my dream without anyone noticing my strange eye colour...” her words stopped there, seemingly hitting a wall.

Drake was stunned for a moment shaking his head as the waiter placed his food on the table. He ordered his own and did his best to contain himself while the food was set for the others to enjoy, “This reminds me. How goes your dream to open up a restaurant?”

“Oh, that... I was doing great. I’m thankful for the support you gave me that one time, but... Now I don’t know where to begin,” the girl lamented, covering her face, her mind flying through the dangers of her returning home.

So much had happened since the prince had left the Golden Moon pack and she was now starting to wonder whether his help was for better or worse. Punishing Victor had clearly made him worse off a person than she’d believed him to be.

“Well, if you’re here for long, perhaps you could intern for a bit at one of the restaurants here in the capital. I could recommend you,” the prince offered.

'

“Really? You would do that. It would be great,” the girl’s eyes lit up, staring at the prince in excitement. There wasn’t a hint of her former gloom left in her eyes...

‘Such a quick transformation,’ Honour’s mother grinned. This girl was like a rollercoaster of emotions.

“Yeah, I would. Lina will soon be out of school anyway. The two of you can have a grand tour of the town. If you’d like, you could pick whichever place you would want to work from,” the prince replied.

“I’d rather you recommend a great place for me to work,” the girl mumbled.

“That can work as well,” he replied eyeing his food as it was brought almost immediately after he’d ordered it, “The fish here is the best. I’m so glad I came here today.”

“Weren’t you here to bust your little sister?” Honour’s mother asked.

“Of course, I was. I was supposed to drag her back to school. They are supposed to be having exams soon,” the man replied, although his attention was completely overtaken by the food before him.

“You say it as if you would have let her off the hook if she wasn’t nearing any exams,” the woman countered.

“You have me there. While I would hate to change the topic from my adorable little sister, might I ask where you’re living while you’re here, Madeline?” Drake asked.

“I’m living with Honour at the moment,” the name startled the prince for a moment.

“Huh, I don’t remember them having a guest house,” the prince thought to himself.

“We don’t have a guest room, but we are more than happy to host family,” the woman replied.

Drake looked at the woman once more and the resemblance between her and the wolf he seemed to care so much about became so clear that it felt like a lens finally snapping into focus. ‘Oops...’

“Oh my... I hadn’t recognized you without Honour around. You’re Honour’s mother, aren’t you?” the prince asked, bowing slightly in respect to the woman before her.

“Huh, why are you bowing to me? I’m just the mother of any other random werewolf you could find out there,” the woman panicked, “You don’t have to show me that much respect, your highness.”

“Oh, but you’re mistaken. You’re the mother of my little sister’s best friend. The mother to the girl who’s stuck by Lina’s side no matter what she’s been through. That alone demands respect for raising a noble beautiful young lady such as her,” the prince countered.

“Honour, what have you been getting yourself into?” Honour’s mother whined. When the prince wouldn’t stop bowing, she calmed herself, “Very well, although I didn’t know just how close she was with Lina,” she lied.

“Huh,” Madeline exclaimed before getting a death glare from the woman that shut her up. Drake missed the small exchange as his food was now a cause for more concentration. Madeline chose to change the subject to something that had been bothering her, “Why did your food get served almost instantly?”

“I’m royalty, little wolf...”

It was that simple.

.......

Lina walked Honour home that day, stopping at the entrance to the small cottage once they were there, “Aren’t you going to get in?” Honour asked her.

“No, I’m going to head on home. I have a lot of reading to do,” the girl replied nervously.

“You’re worried about, Crysta, aren’t you?” Honour tried.

“She didn’t even come to say anything the entire day. She wasn’t even there at the Den. She has completely vanished. It’s bothering me. Not to mention the fact that she’s closed herself off from the mind link,” Lina rushed out.

“Or she could be simply ignoring you. Have you tried that one?” Honour chuckled.

“I will try to look for her. I’ll also try to get some work in so I’m not completely clueless in the exams,” the girl was just full of excuses.

Honour noticed her discomfort and bid her farewell. The royal was gone before anything else could happen. Honour, on the other hand, rushed to her room expecting to find a certain werewolf and was shocked to find her room empty.

The sleeping bags they’d used the day before were organised and folded in the living room, but from the state of the house, there didn’t seem to be any sign that someone had been around.

Resorting to something she rarely did, she tried catching their scents. Her mother’s, along with the strange yet familiar scent of their guest were faint. ‘They’ve been gone a while.’

The girl rushed to her grandmother’s room and knocked as urgently as she could without startling the old lady before entering. The woman was comfortably knitting in her chair, by the bed. Newspapers that she no doubt had already finished reading and an empty cup of tea lay on the table on her side, “Welcome back, Selene. Your mother has not been around the whole day if that’s what you’re asking.”

“How long do you plan on calling me that?” the girl asked her. This was one of the few times she got to hear that name and it irritated her eardrums.

“Instead of getting angry at me, try to consider that it is your name. Whether you like it or not,” the woman replied harshly. Placing her knitting on her lap, she sighed, “Maybe you will be more comfortable with it... when the memories return.”