Love Athena

Chapter Fourteen

Camila, alongside the older half of the royal family, remembering the Alpha ball at the last minute led to another meeting that Freda especially would have wished to avoid.

They unanimously concluded that all the room's inhabitants would attend the ball to keep an eye on the five Alphas in question.

After the meeting, Camila began the slow walk to the prince's room. When Freda had learned that Camila would be staying the night with the prince, she had immediately offered to pack Camila a bag, telling her to get comfortable with the room first.

Camila's understanding of the word comfort was to be at ease, but she was certainly not at ease due to the many uncertainties surrounding the situation.

Camila had never stayed a night in anyone's room, not even in her father's when she was a child. She never needed bedtime stories or had nightmares that would require her to run to her father's arms in the middle of the night.

Prince Alexander was not her father. She did not know if all they would do was sleep or something else.

"Mila, I can hear the wheels in your head turning," the prince said. There was a skip in his step and a grin on his face. Anyone who looked at him would know that he was overjoyed.

"Relax. I won't do anything you don't want me to," he said with his hands still in his pockets.

As they got to the royal wing of the palace, he gently placed his hands on her shoulders to steer her in the right direction. Soon, they got to his room. He reached around her and opened the door.

She took a few steps in and turned around slowly. The room was larger than her house. It had two floors; the higher floor had the bed; the lower floor had a walk-in closet, bathroom, kitchenette, and a plentiful collection of video games but what caught her attention were the open books sprawled across the reading table.

"You've been studying." She turned to him to see him still in the doorway with an uncertain look on his face.

She took a few seconds to process why he could be nervous.

"Are you worried that I will not be satisfied with the room? I am. It is practical," she said. He broke into a smile.

"You're probably the only person in the world that would say this room is practical," he said, shutting the door behind him.

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Coming from you, it's perfect," he said, wrapping his arms around her. They stayed in silence until someone knocked on the door.

"Freda?" the prince asked.

It would not be Freda. Freda never knocks and if she does, it is never gentle.

"Alex?" the person said.

"Oh, Anders." The prince separated himself from her to open the door.

"I have been told to deliver this to your dearest," Anders said. Prince Alexander took her bag from Anders.

Anders looked around the prince at her. "I hope you'll keep the boy in check since rewarding him for good behavior with sweets doesn't work anymore."

"Anders!" the prince exclaimed with his cheeks turning pink.

Anders ignored him and kept talking, "You should have seen him when he was little. I keep a truckload of pictures under my bed. I could show them to..."

"That's enough. Goodnight, Anders." The prince slammed the door. She could hear Anders' laughter in the hallway as the prince walked back to her.

"Ignore him," the prince said while avoiding eye contact, clearly embarrassed.

"I think he's lovely," Camila responded immediately.

The prince paused and turned to her slowly. "Did you just make a joke?"

"Did I?"

"Well, no. It wasn't a joke but it was some form of humor. I think I'm rubbing off on you," the prince said with a proud smile.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"That one was definitely a joke," he said, tugging at the edge of her lips. "I've never seen you smile before. I'm sure you'd look ethereal."

Her eyes fell to the ground with her heart.

Smiles were another added to the list of things she could not give her mate.

He noticed her mood change immediately and grabbed her, pulling her to himself. "Hey, hey. I don't mind. I'm sure it'll happen real soon. If you can frown and cry, you'll smile."

He looked at her with so much acceptance that Camila knew she didn't deserve it. He'd leave her soon and move on to someone better but in the meantime, she'd enjoy the love she showed her.

"Let's sleep. The Alpha ball is tonight." She took her bag from him and moved to the bathroom to change.

She opened her bag and immediately regretted letting Freda pack for her.

"Is everything okay?" The prince asked after Camila probably made a sound of annoyance.

"Freda did not pack me nightwear," Camila said, holding the silky see-through negligee with her fingertips.

"Oh," the prince said. There was silence for some moments before they both spoke at the same time.

"Could I wear something of yours?" she asked as he said, "You could wear something of mine."

"Of course. I'll...be right back," he said. The smile in his voice warmed her. She knew she was going past the point of no return with him but could she do anything about it?

He knocked on the door. "Camila?"

She opened the door, took the clothes from his hands, and shut the door all in a second. She was sure he stood stunned behind the door but she needed a moment to put herself together without seeing him.

She quickly undressed and put on the long shirt that looked like a knee-length dress on her. Not bothering with the pants since they were too big, she took a deep breath and stepped out of the bathroom.

Nothing could prepare her for the shirtless prince that she met on the bed facing away from her. Her eyes traveled down his sculpted back.

How would she survive the night pressed against him?

"I always sleep without a shirt. If you're not comfortable, I could..."

"It's fine," she interrupted.

You two have slept together before. You just need to repeat the innocent action.

He turned around and his breath hitched.

"Come here." He beckoned to her. She dropped her day clothes on the ground and obeyed immediately.

He pulled her into his lap. "I love the sight of you in my clothes. I'd also love to kiss you senseless but I have something more important to attend to."

Before she could ask him to clarify her statement, he placed her gently on the bed and situated himself at her feet.

"You were in those shoes for hours," he said and began to rub her feet.

She bit her tongue to prevent herself from making any unbecoming noises.

It felt amazing...

"Just give in to it. Relax."

That was the last thing she heard before she fell asleep. Sometime during the night, she had sought warmth in the prince's arms but before he woke up, she was gone.