Their Hidden Princess (Zora and Maximus) novel Chapter 265

Chapter 265

Zora’s POV

As the evening wore on, my eyelids drooped, but I couldn’t find sleep even when I tried. I was close to the fire, resting on furs, and thanks to Neo, I had food in my belly. But, even as comfortable as I should have been, I found myself shivering with cold.

Though the fire at my front was warm, the night air at my back was chilly, even under the furs. My clothes were still damp from the rain, and slick against my skin. I felt like the chill was infecting me, bone -deep, and I shivered.

Neo watched me for a while from the other side of the room. I pretended not to notice. But then he stood

1. up.

“Where are you going?” I asked him at once, worried he might go back into the storm for anything he perceived that I needed. He already fed me, and he couldn’t fight the weather.

“Just going to grab more furs for you,” he said. Heading toward the bedroom side of the cabin, he lifted the top of a crate at the foot of the bed. From within it, he pulled out a couple more furs, one of which seemed extra fluffy and warm.

As he brought them over, I reached out for them. Some of my current furs slid down, revealing my wet shirt.

Neo’s gaze went onto that shirt, as it formed a second–skin against me.

“The furs?” I asked, feeling a little silly sitting there with my hands outstretched.

He looked at them and then at me again. “This would work better if you removed those wet clothes.”

I flushed.

I wasn’t a prude, really, but Neo remained a stranger. Could I really get naked in front of someone, I didn’t know how he really was?

But he was right. If I wanted to get warm and stay warm, I needed to get out from these wet garments. “Maybe… um… Maybe if you turned around,” I said.

His piercing gaze skewered me, and I felt almost as if I was naked already. But then, after a hard swallow, he turned slowly around, putting his back to me.

Unsure if he might turn around again, I tried my best to stay covered by the furs as I removed my clothes and put them into a pile. I even kicked off my panties and added them When I was naked, I carefully

reached out to lay my clothes nearer the fire so that they would dry and warm.

Then, I burrowed myself under the blankets once more.

“Okay,” I said. “I’m ready.”

Chapter 265

He turned around again, still holding those same furs. His eyes went to mine, and then went

double–checked to make sure everything was covered, and I was. Yet Neo looked at me like he could se everything, and his eyes burned.

That look set a fire inside of me that warmed me from the inside out, and I had a wild idea of inviting thi under the covers. Sharing body heat was the best way to stay warm after all.

Immediately, I shook the thought away.

No. I didn’t care how my body burned for him, or what the strumming of the potential mating bond whispered in my heart. Neo didn’t know who he was. And until he did, I couldn’t possible accept him as

mate.

He could have had a whole other life he had been leaving behind? I wasn’t going to swoop in just because of a gut feeling. I had to be sure. We both had to be.

Clearing his throat, he gently draped the furs over me, and I sighed in relieve at the added weight and

heat.

He stilled.

Looking up at him, he seemed surprised by my noises. Had I said something wrong?

Before I could ask, he turned away from me, adding distance back between us as he returned to his spor on the other end of the fireplace.

With my heart racing like it was, I didn’t think I’d find sleep anytime soon. If I couldn’t sleep, I decided that maybe I could be halfway productive.

“We should talk about what we are going to do when the rain clears,” I said.

“Why?” Neo replied.

I blinked, confused. What did he mean, why?

“We can’t stay here forever,” I said.

“Why not?” he asked.

“Why….not?” I repeated, even more confused now. Did Neo just want to stay hidden away in this little cabin forever?

“We have everything we need right here,” he said “Shelter. Warmth. I can hunt for us, and tend the fire

“And what would I do?” I asked.

“Whatever you wanted,” he said, like it was that simple.

Admittedly, there was a certain appeal to forgetting all the responsibility and the danger, choosing instead to live a quiet, simple life with a handsome man.

Chapter 255

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But running away was never the kind of person I was. And denying me the choice was something my mother had done to me as a baby.

That wasn’t even considering four very important reasons I needed to get back to my old life as soon possible.

“I have to get back as soon as possible,” I said. “Please don’t think I’m not… tempted. But I can’t turn m back on my life.”

Neo frowned deeper as he stared into the fire. The sparkle crack of the flame made his skin glow brilliant orange, as shadows danced along his shoulders and arms.

I couldn’t stop watching him, as at the high contrast between his fire–facing front and the deep, dark shadows behind him.

As handsome as he was, and as much as I didn’t mind being here with him in this moment, my heart went to my mates. They must have been so worried, practically frantic, not knowing what happened to

1. me.

How would we find each other again, when I didn’t even know where I was? Or how to get back? “You could always teleport to them,” my wolf whispered in my mind. “You could go right now.”

I didn’t believe that, and she chuffed in response.

“You know how,” she whispered. “You teleport. That is how you got here, after all.”

“That was on accident,” I answered in my thoughts. “I’m not sure I could do it again.”

And, with how wrong things went to get me here, I was afraid to try again. What if things went wrong again, and instead of finding someone like Neo, I ended up somewhere worse – trapped and alone. What if the vampires found me? Or what if I zapped myself right into the middle of the ocean?

“If you follow the bonds, you will find them,” my wolf said in my mind, clearly far more confident than I

was.

I remained unsure.

“We want to see them again…” my wolf whined a little now. My own heart ached.

Of course I wanted to see them, but….

I glanced at Neo again.

“Even if I could do it,” I whispered to my wolf. “I promised I wouldn’t leave Neo behind. He likes this cabin, but he doesn’t know who he is. Someone could be searching for him. I want to make sure he’s okay.”

My wolf chuckled slightly inside of me, “Silly girl. Why don’t we just take him with us?”

Chapter 25

to the morning the rain had cleared. Neo had gone out returning with more game before I had even awoken, so es / blinked my eyes opened, he had breakfast already roasting over the fire

My clothes were died, gently folded, and placed in a pille near my head. Even my bra and panties wen there, which made me blush slightly,

Neo was likely toying to be good to me, to show me what a capable provider he could be. I knew he wanted to stay here.

But that just couldn’t happen, no matter how well he provided for me. I needed to stop the vampire wmies, to save the werewolf Kingdom, and the human one too.

And I also really just missed Max, Valentin, Kairos, and Thorne.

“I was thinking about practicing teleportation today,” I said.

Neo immediately stiffened. “Why?” The word sounded cold and reserved.

“Because,” I said, trying to thaw him with kindness and warmth. “If I can better master teleportation, the I can take you back home with me.”

For a moment, nothing happened, but then, slowly, he swiveled toward me, his gaze cutting. “You would take me with your

“I’m not going to leave you behind. I promised, remember?”

“Yes. But I had thought you might have forgotten.”

“I didn’t.”

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