Her Unwanted Mate On The Throne

Chapter 137 For the people

A burst of joy and anger hit her at once when their eyes met across the clearing, it almost made her

stumble over. William slowed his horse to a stop when he saw her-he even had the nerve to smile at her

as if it would make her forget everything.

And it almost worked. When his dimple made an appearance, she almost forgot why she would ever be

mad at him. He looked like an angel when he smiled. It was… quite the sight.

He must have noticed the look on her face. His smile slipped right off as if it was never there and Doris

almost pinched herself for being the reason it was long gone. Part of her always worried that she would

never see it again.

The guards took their horses straight to the stables, but William dismounted right in front of her. “Has

something happened?” He asked when he neared her.

“Why didn’t you mention to me where you were going?” Doris blurted out as if she couldn’t hold the

thoughts in a second longer. William furrowed his brow. “I thought you would still be sleeping when we

got back.”

A few guards came out of the stables with bags slung over their shoulders. Her face heated up as they

stared at her. She wanted to shout that she wasn’t talking to them, she was talking to William and she

didn’t need an audience.

She cleared her throat, “Where did you all go?”

“We went to find some food and supplies for the villagers. There wasn’t much available from the nearby

villages, but we gathered all that we could.” Patrick filled in for her. He gestured for his men to follow him

into the cabins and left Doris alone with William once again.

William took a step closer and lowered his voice. “Did something happen while we were gone?”

“No. I was just-”

“Worried about you.” Cordelia sang in her mind. She wanted to scream at her wolf to silence her.

William flickered his eyes over her face as if he was trying to read her thoughts.

“I was just concerned about you, is all.” Doris forced out. The edge of his mouth lifted slightly and she

wanted to stomp on his foot for all the horrible thoughts he had just put her through . “You should have

left us a note or something.”

William leaned down a little to be eye level with her. She almost gasped at the sight of his blue eyes, so

stunning out in the snow. When he kissed her, she could have fallen into him for more than just a simple

taste.

“I should have told you, you’re right. I sometimes forget that I have a mate who wants to know — where

I am.” He admitted. Doris felt her blush thicken on her cheeks. “All of my past lovers wouldn’t bat an eye

if I left them for hours or days. Most of the time, I think they wouldn’t have cared if something did

happen.” ?

Doris parted her lips to respond, but nothing came out. Not once had William shared a part of himself like

that. It was like he gave her a small peek inside his insecurities and it made all of her anger melt away.

Doris moved up on her toes to kiss him again.

“Aw. This was not the fight I was hoping for.” Enzo grumbled from behind them. Doris quickly turned to

see him with a mock disappointment on his lips. “Where’s the name calling and hair pulling? I was hoping

for a show.” 1

William looked utterly confused, Doris glared at Enzo. “Will you go back inside to nap or

something?”

“I can’t lay down for another moment, I’ll go absolutely insane. Where was your prince off to?”

William rolled his eyes to the sky. She was only surprised he didn’t start cursing at Enzo to leave them

alone. “We went to get supplies. There’s no food here for the villagers to survive off of once they get

better.”

Enzo’s face softened immediately. He straightened his shoulders and stepped right back into his role as

a leader. “Where is it?”

William jerked his chin towards the nearest cabin. They all piled inside and Doris felt the warmth coat her

bones the second she stepped foot in.

Piles of food were in the possess of being put away. Canned goods and meats. Even some hunted

animals were laid out on the table. The sight made Doris sick, she turned away from it and focused on

the rest.

One thing stood out to her above all others: there wasn’t enough to feed an entire village for more than

two days. It might have looked like a lot of food, but Doris knew well that this amount of food was served

at the palace daily. When she glanced around at the faces in the room, she could tell they all already

knew that.

“We did the best we could with what we could find. It seems the neighboring villages are suffering just as

much.” William said. He raked his eyes over the room. “It’s enough to get them fed while they recover.

Doris nodded slowly. She remembered how violently hungry she was when she first took his blood. Even

Enzo looked at the food longingly as if he was ready to tear through a few boxes on his own.

“We can make this work. We can’t eat more than a portion of this food ourselves, but perhaps I can make

a lot of soup that can stretch them out longer than two days.” Doris suggested.

“How long would it last them?” One of the guards asked.

“Half a week, maybe more if they didn’t indulge more than their share.” Doris said. “I can make two kinds

and the rest will be for their other meals.

“I think that would be very kind of you, Doris.” Enzo smiled at her. She could see a hint of sadness in his

smile and she knew what he was thinking. How would this village survive after they were gone?

Doris got to work on the soup the second all the men left the kitchen. Not one had offered to help and

she made sure she glared at each of them before the door closed.

Soon, the kitchen was coated in a delicious scent that made her stomach roar. She couldn’t eat all of

their food, as much as she wanted to. The guards that came with them ate more than they could afford at

the moment and she didn’t need to lesson that by snacking on the food that surrounded her.

Once both soups were done, she brought a portion of it to their cabin and stored the rest away to serve

to the villagers when they woke. She ignored the sounds of their screams as she passed by-she knew

there was nothing she could do to help them. They had to suffer through their nightmares alone, just as

she did.

All the men drained the pot of soup just minutes after she returned. She was lucky to get a serving out of

it before they emptied it for themselves.

They all wandered into their separate corners and went to sleep for the night. She didn’t mention her

anger again with William. Especially not when he kissed her goodnight and wrapped himself around her.

She almost resented the idea that he was her home in a walking form. What would she do when he

finally did leave her? 1

The next morning, the silence was gone. Doris crawled out of bed when she heard a burst of voices

down the stairs-William’s included. She learned quickly that he always woke much earlier than she did.

After she was dressed, she hurried down the stairs to see everyone in motion. Enzo caught her eye and

smiled widely at her from across the room.

“The villagers are awake! We’re warming your soup for them now. We had to hurry in case they started

to bite at our hands.”

Doris laughed a little and went to help immediately. She barely had time to speak with William as she

helped clean up and serve them all. The day was wild and a little exciting to see all the people she swore

were close to death-now were alive and well.

Or, well enough. Even if a bit of sickness still lingered in their gazes, they were up and happy. “How did

you find a cure?” One of the villagers asked her.

“Oh! I don’t know, I suppose the tea helped a lot.” She said quickly before she moved away. She didn’t

need anyone finding out about William and his blood. She’d call it all magic tea if she had to..

When the day was through and Doris finished washing all of the dishes, a new unease entered her. Their

food stock was even lower than she expected it to be.

They might not even last after tomorrow.