Chapter 38

Chapter 38 You truly hate the idea of a mate “Is this really necessary?” Prince William grumbled. Doris raised her brows and glanced over at him. He wasn’t looking at either of them, but he didn’t seem to care enough to stop Lady Katherine from telling her anything. If she was honest, she would’ve expected him to scream at Lady Katherine for even suggesting telling Doris anything before he stormed out of the house. But he didn’t. He sat there calmly, perhaps a bit moody, and allowed her to tease him as she wished. It was obvious he had a softness for the woman, something strong and unbreakable. Doris had to admit she was more than curious to hear more about the cruel prince and where his heart of stone came from. So far, everything she’d heard of him had been from gossip or assumptions. Neither of which are liable on someones actual life. There had to be a reason he was always angry right? “I think it is,” Lady Katherine took a long sip of her tea and cleared her throat. “He’s not as rough on the inside as he is on the outside.” Doris shifted a little, Lady Katherine smiled when she noticed. “I know it seems hard to believe, but I swear there is a softer version of him somewhere in there.” “You’d have to dig pretty deep.” Prince William leaned forward to snag a cookie off the plate and shove it into his mouth. It startled Doris, she had to bite her lip to keep from laughing, she’d never seen a prince eat so aggressively but somehow it made sense for Prince William. Lady Katherine made a face at him before she You truly hate the idea of a mate turned her attention back to Doris. “I suppose we should start from the top then, as he suggested.” Prince William snorted, Lady Katherine only ignored him. “His mother, his birth mother I mean, had passed away only a few months after he was born leaving him with no one but his inconsolable father and a staff full of emotionless servants that only cared about what the king wanted.” “Oh, that’s terrible.” Doris brushed her hair behind her ear. “I heard she grew quite ill from one of the other maids when I first came here.” Doris saw Prince William tense from the corner of her eye, Lady Katherine only sighed. “Yes, well there have been many theories on how she’d become so sick but we won’t dwell on that today.” She set down her tea cup gently before she continued. “After the tragedy, no one stepped forward to be his mother figure until me. His two brothers Martin and Jack were showered with love their entire lives from their mother Luna. Daniel was as well when he was bom from one of the king’s mistresses, but William was the only one that was left out in the cold. “William’s mother was the king’s fated mate, so when his father met her—Luna Queen was pushed to the side. He flaunted their love across the kingdom and soon William was born as the result. Once she died—the king changed.” Lady Katherine glanced at Prince William but he still had his gaze on the fire. “He sees a lot of his mate in William, I think.” “By that she means he pretends I don’t exist most of the time.” Prince William said bitterly. “Yes, well.” Lady Katherine frowned. “It’s difficult for him to look at William without seeing her. He’ll never see his mate again-”

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You truly hate the idea of a mate Doris asked. Prince William shot his gaze to her and she blushed. “I apologize” “Don’t be sorry, my dear. You’re free to speak as you wish here, don’t let his emotions scare you.” She smiled kindly. “But yes, he neglected William a lot when he was a boy. Often he would have me watch him and I could never have a child of my own-no matter how much I wanted one. William quickly became that light for me.” Lady Katherine leaned forward to squeeze Prince William’s hand . “He was the cutest little boy I’d ever seen, I fell in love with him immediately and raised him as my own when the other mistresses refused. I always thought how foolish they were not to lend their heart to such a lovely boy, but some people in the castle care more about politics than love.” “They probably wanted one of the other princes to look after since my father actually loved them.” Prince William looked down at their hands as he spoke. Doris felt a small part of her heart soften for him. She could hear his sadness drip in even when he tried to hide it. Doris was naive to think he had a grand childhood just because he was a prince. There was a difference between happiness and fortune, she never knew he was deprived of one and filled with the other. “You must have felt so alone,” Doris said gently, he raised his eyes to hers and for once they looked like a calm sea. “Did you get along with your brothers when you were younger?”

“My brother Martin was the one that was held the highest above us since he was the crowned prince. He was always in a lesson or being pampered by the royal staff at all hours of the day. We never really had a chance to bond. Though, I don’t believe we would have anyway. We’re complete opposites.” Prince William ran his fingers though his hair and You truly hate the idea of a mate sighed. “Jack was kept separate by Luna Queen, she wanted him safe above all else. He acted as if he already owned the castle and everyone in it by the time he was ten.

Needless to say, we didn’t get along in the slightest. He always made sure I remembered what happened to my mother and that his was still alive.” “How awful!” Doris said, the side of Prince William’s mouth almost lifted. It shouldn’t have been a surprise to hear Prince Jack was just as rotten as a little boy as he was as an adult. “As for Daniel… he was innocent and happy his entire life. No tragedy touched him and I think I resented him a lot for that. He never showed interest in building a bond, but he was always kind enough to me. More than the others, I suppose. Still, he preferred other company even when we were younger. I think he knew how our brothers felt about me and decided to keep his distance as well.” Doris frowned and shifted her body more towards him. For once she wasn’t afraid to be soft with him. It wasn’t as though he was completely undone in front of her, but he was far from the Prince William that kept his wall up higher than she could stand. She wondered if he’d ever shared any of this with Melody. “None of your brothers were there for you when you were a kid?” “They knew I was different, they knew our father held some of his own resentment for me so they treated me as the black sheep of the group. It was obvious from a young age that they expected nothing from me. My father refused to even give me a territory because he thinks I’m irresponsible which was one of the greatest shames that a prince could suffer.” Prince William broke eye contact and shook his head. “None of them stood up for me or vouched in my honor. I know they all expect me to You truly hate the idea of a mate fail and be nothing. For a long time, I was almost ready to be exactly what they all expected.” Doris placed her hand over her heart, he watched her movements with curiosity.

She couldn’t believe Prince William was shunned from his own family at such a young age-just because his mother had passed away. If anything, Doris would have thought he would’ve been the one to be the ruler of the pack. His mother was the fated mate of the king, but the king only saw his own misery in the prince. “I think they’re why William despises the idea of fated mates and falling in love.” Lady Katherine said sadly as she watched him. Doris felt his eyes immediately shift back onto her. Doris couldn’t help but flush, she almost went to itch the mark on her neck but she didn’t want to draw attention to it. A part of her was still unsure if he even saw her mark the night he tore her dress off. In the moment, she was positive he saw it. But thankfully, he hadn’t said a word about it since. “You truly hate the idea of a mate?

What about Melody?”

Her Unwanted Mate on the Thr