As Iris didn’t show up, Cane brushed off Kellan by saying she was sick. After all, the Prince expected her to come with them when they visited the orphanage, as he wanted Iris to be part of it. Her role would project Cane and herself in a good light in the public’s eyes.
Kellan was trying to help the Alpha, so the people could warm up to him as well. At least, that was how he wanted himself to be perceived from an outsider’s perspective.
However, when the Prince saw how Cane kept staring into the distance, as if he was waiting for someone, he couldn’t help but tease him. "You already miss her? The mate bond between the two of you must be so strong."
Cane ignored that comment, as he went into the carriage and sat down calmly, waiting for the Prince, because they shared the same carriage. It would show the people that the two of them were close and Cane was on good terms with the Prince.
During their ride, Prince Kellan explained a few things about the capital city and answered all Cane’s questions about this place and the people. He seemed very genuine to let Cane learn about a lot of things.
And if it was not for Iris’ strange behavior whenever she was around the Prince, Cane would have put his guard down. He could see the quality of compassionate leadership in Kellan, no wonder his father and the Alpha of the Celestial Moon pack were his strong supporters back in the day when he was still the Crown Prince.
"I hope to get along well with your mate," Kellan said out of the blue, after he talked about the main livelihood of the citizens. "We had a pretty good relationship when she was still young, unfortunately, she forgot about that."
Kellan shifted his attention from the road and looked at Cane, trying to figure out what the Alpha was thinking when he heard that, but it was hard to read what was in his mind, thus Kellan continued.
"I see her as my own little sister, but I guess she doesn’t think the same way. She must be upset because I didn’t stand up for her when Mason bullied her, so she must be thinking it’s a bad idea to have another brotherly figure."
In a way, it made sense, as Kellan wanted to emphasize the point Iris forgot about him because he reminded her of Mason. Both of them knew how badly Mason had treated her.
Kellan used to visit the Blue Moon pack and would always be accompanied by Mason.
"She doesn’t hold a grudge," Cane replied simply, he leaned his back and reciprocated Kellan’s gaze, yet those eyes showed no malicious intention when he talked about Iris. "And yes, I think it’s a bad idea for her to have another brotherly figure."
In other words, Cane wanted the Prince to give up entertaining himself with the idea of having a brother- sister relationship with his mate. That sounded absurd and unsettling.
Thankfully, Kellan could read the room quite fast, as he simply smiled and dropped the topic altogether. He had confirmed his suspicion; Iris had completely forgotten about him and even if she did remember something, Cane was still clueless.
"What are you doing here?" Ethan asked.
Iris came to the warriors’ quarters after she sneakily found out where Ethan was from Hanna, but the maid didn’t have any idea her missy would come here, or else, she would have come with her too.
"I just happened to be passing by here." Iris blinked her eyes, as she pulled at her long curls nervously, obviously, she was lying.
"You are with Redmond too much, so his bad traits have rubbed off on you," Ethan sighed, as he shook his head and Iris immediately realized he caught her lie. "You have been here for an hour."
"How did you know?" Iris was surprised again that the gamma was able to tell.
Yet, Ethan simply tapped his nose, indicating he had smelled her scent long back, which made Iris’ face turn so red.
"If you are looking for the Alpha, he is not here, he is with Prince Kellan." Ethan frowned and tilted his head. "I thought you knew about it. Didn’t he tell you? Also, why are you not with him?"
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