The Hidden Luna Queen (Maeve and Xaden) novel Chapter 108

THIRD PERSON POV

Look at her, Isabelle thought with a scoff. Daring to enjoy herself.

The afternoon of the banquet had come and, as a prettily-dressed Maeve mingled with Xaden and Charlotte on the far end of the banquet hall, engaging in private, light conversation with one another, the dubious first Luna Princess observed from a distance. Delicately sipping at the glass of wine in her hand, she felt a familiar rage swell inside her, remembering the outcomes of their last encounters.

Maeve having the audacity to insult her in front of the royal family at the last banquet.

And then days ago in the hallway, when she dared to ignore a potential summons from the king himself.

She couldn’t stand how self-important Maeve thought herself to be. There was no right for her to talk back against people with more influence and power than she could ever dream of having.

This time, however, Isabelle felt absolutely certain she had come up with a plan that was sure to throw Maeve off her game. Something that she would never expect, nor something that Xaden could defend.

All of a sudden, there were small, timid tugs on the back of her sleeve.

“So… why am I over here, again…?”

Isabelle suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. She found herself in the company of the ditzy daughter of an alpha of some inconsequential pack, so much so that Isabelle could not even remember the name of it or where it was located. To some, she might be considered pretty, what with her short, curly strawberry-blonde hair and light green eyes, but her less-than-impressive intellect was a turn-off to many men.

In any other case, Isabelle would never dare to be caught with a girl like this, but she served a greater purpose today.

“I told you,” she said with a forced smile, turning back to the woman in tow. “You are here to make friends with that black-haired girl sitting over there.”

Bewildered, the curly-haired girl followed Isabelle’s pointed finger to the silhouette of Maeve, who was still lost in her conversation with Xaden and Charlotte, blissfully unaware she was the target of yet another plot.

“She does look nice, I guess…” she admitted. “But I already have lots of friends.”

“Well… not so much to make friends, per se,” Isabelle drawled, suddenly taking on a deep expression of sympathy, enticing the girl to draw closer to her. “You see, she really wants Prince Xaden to like her, but she does not know what to do. You used to visit with him from time to time, didn’t you?”

The girl’s slight blush in response told her everything she needed to know.