Madeline’s POV
“This is just getting ridiculous,” I said, shaking my head. “This is getting out of hand. He needs to let me help him.”
Ellie sighed, crossing her arms over her chest.
“He isn’t going to do that, Maddie,” she said. “It’s dangerous.”
I looked at her and resisted the urge to roll my eyes.
“How?” I asked. “It’s not like they can tell when I read their minds. It’s not like they can feel it. I could be reading your mind right now and you wouldn’t know.”
Ellie sighed again.
“It’s not about that, Madeline,” she said, shaking her head. “It’s about what happens after. Dimitri doesn’t want to risk it and we all agree with him. It’s not worth it. He will find him without your powers.”
I furrowed my brows in confusion.
“What could happen after?” I asked. “They will want to know how we found out? As if Dimitri would want to explain that to them. They don’t have to know how we found out. We can just…”
“It’s not about that, Maddie,” Ellie interrupted me. “It’s about you. Dimitri doesn’t want to risk you getting hurt. You saw what happened yesterday. You still don’t know what you can do. You didn’t even know you were using your powers to take away Dimitri’s anger. You could expose yourself accidentally while trying to read their minds. You could get hurt doing it. It’s not worth it, Maddie.”
I took a deep breath and released it slowly.
“I can practice here,” I said. “No one would find out.”
Ellie raised an eyebrow at me.
“What if you lose control over it?” she asked. “What if you can control the emotions of a large group of people? What if your powers got out of control and you did something that every single one of them would notice?”
I tightened my jaw and gulped.
“It’s not worth it, Maddie,” Ellie added, shaking her head at me. “Dimitri will find another way to figure it all out.”
I forced myself to take a deep breath. What Ellie was saying made sense, but I was still convinced that they were too careful. I was sure that nothing bad would happen. I was sure that I would be able to figure it out and everything would end.
“What if the traitor isn’t even here?” Ellie asked, making me furrow my brows.
“Alpha Alistair said…,” I spoke, but she interrupted me again.
“He has no proof, Mads,” Ellie sighed, shaking her head. “That is just his opinion.”
I bit the inside of my cheek and gulped. I had to tell Ellie what I found out at breakfast.
“I think it’s Alpha Lucius,” I said quietly.
Ellie furrowed her brows. She was silent for a moment.
“Why do you think that?” she asked.
I glanced toward the door. I couldn’t let Dimitri know that I used my powers to read Luna Jennifer’s thoughts. At least not yet.
“I read Luna Jennifer’s mind and…,” I started speaking, but Ellie’s loud growl interrupted me.
“You what?!” she exclaimed as she stood up. “I told you not to do that, Madeline!”
I sighed and shook my head at her.
“Well, nothing bad happened, did it?” I mumbled. “I controlled it and now I know…”
“You were lucky!” Ellie exclaimed, interrupting me again. “You could have lost control over it! You could have hurt yourself!”
Ellie started pacing around and shaking her head.
“Oh, Dimitri is going to kill me,” she muttered. “He didn’t want you to go because he was afraid of you getting hurt.”
“I didn’t get hurt, Ellie,” I said, making her look at me and narrow her eyes. “Everything is fine. I am fine.”
She took a deep breath and released it slowly.
“Thank Goddess for that,” Ellie said quietly. “But you risked so much, Maddie. You fucked up.”
I sighed and crossed my arms over my chest.
“Well, it’s too late now,” I said. “I did it and I know something. Do you want me to tell you what I found out or not?”
Ellie tightened her jaw and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and released it slowly.
“You are driving me insane,” she mumbled as she opened her eyes. “What did you find out?”
I glanced toward the door again and approached Ellie.
“Alpha Lucius thinks that Dimitri doesn’t deserve me,” I said and I felt bile rising and burning the back of my throat. “He thinks that Dimitri isn’t good enough for me and that I deserve a better, stronger mate. He would also like to…”
I stopped talking to take another deep breath. I was disgusted by what I had to say next.
“Do things to me,” I mumbled quietly. “He believes he would be a better mate for me.”
Ellie’s eyes widened.
“Oh, Dimitri is going to rip him to pieces,” she mumbled, shaking her head a little.
I nodded and took a deep breath.
“I just don’t understand why he told that to Luna Jennifer,” I said, furrowing my brows. “She is his mate. Why would he admit something like that?”
Ellie sighed and sat back down on the couch.
“Alpha Lucius is known for his adventures outside of the mate bond,” Ellie explained. “His mate can feel it every time he cheats on her so it’s not like she doesn’t know about it. I am surprised that he talks about something like that with her, though.”
“Maybe she overheard him talking to someone else,” I said, shrugging a little.
Ellie nodded. “That’s more likely.”
She sighed and narrowed her eyes slightly.
“Did you hear anything else?” she asked and I shook my head.
“No,” I said. “But that is pretty huge, isn’t it? If Alpha Lucius thinks that Dimitri doesn’t deserve me, maybe he thinks that he doesn’t deserve to be King either.”
“Maybe,” Ellie mumbled.
“We should tell Dimitri,” I said, but Ellie shook her head.
“Not yet,” she said. “Let me look into him a bit more, okay? Dimitri will rip him apart if we tell him and Alpha Lucius could be just a horny old man who is jealous of Dimitri and thinks that you are pretty.”
I raised an eyebrow at her.
“Do you think that’s possible?” I asked.
She nodded and sighed.
“He is a pervert,” she mumbled, rolling her eyes. “I wouldn’t be surprised if it was just about sex for him. He wouldn’t be a good King anyway. He always ran from any kind of responsibility. I doubt that he is interested in that.”
“Okay,” I said, taking another deep breath. “See if you can find something useful. Dimitri doesn’t need to know about it if it’s just about me. I don’t want to stress him out even more.”
Ellie nodded. He wanted to say something else, but she was interrupted when the door opened and Dimitri walked inside.
I smiled immediately. I missed him.
“Hi, princess,” he said as he closed the door and approached me. “Are you tired?”
He wrapped his arms around me and I sighed contently.
“A bit,” I said, placing a kiss on his chest. “Is the party over?”
“Mostly,” he said, placing a kiss on my temple. “A few brave ones are still drinking and talking. I excused myself. I missed you too much to stay longer.”
I smiled at him and he caressed my cheek.
“Let’s go to bed, princess,” he said softly and I nodded.
Dimitri looked up at Ellie and smiled.
“Good night, Ellie,” he said as he took my hand in his. “I will see you tomorrow.”
“Good night,” Ellie said quietly.
Dimitri started leading me out. I looked at Ellie and she gave me a small nod.
I will figure it out. She mind-linked me. Don’t worry.
I gave her a small smile just as Dimitri closed the office door. I focused on him and tried to forget about everything that was going on. He was more important than anything or anyone else.
He smiled and leaned in to kiss me softly. I melted into his arms and my body relaxed immediately.
