Her Unwanted Mate On The Throne

Chapter 122 Closer and closer.

It was all one big blur that Doris could barely register. William grabbed her arm and took off in a run

towards the trees. She felt as if her feet barely touched the ground as they pounded through the snow.

She knew that William would start to drag her if she didn’t hury and she didn’t feel like losing an arm to

him.

An arrow zipped past her head and thudded into the snow in front of her. William forced her to start to

run diagonally instead of a straight line. Doris almost tripped over her own feet, but William straightened

her before she could fall. She didn’t know how close they were to being caught, she didn’t know if they

were right behind her about to clasp their hands around her body—she only ran. Even when the back of

her throat burned and her body tried to give up on her, she ran.

They disappeared into the trees and the silence engulfed them. Doris heard her breath almost burst her

ears as they dodged the trees and turned a different way. There was no time to think, only move. She

trusted William enough to follow him blindly through danger and hope he would lead them out on the

other side. It wasn’t that long ago that she would have refused to trust him for even a second.

“Down there!” William called to Enzo who was slightly ahead of them. Shouting erupted from behind

them and she desperately wanted to see how close they were behind them. She resisted the urge, if she

turned her head it would’ve been over for her. Up ahead, Doris saw Patrick and the rest of the guards

waiting down a small hill.

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They mounted their horses and several had taken off already at Patrick’s command.

“Come on!” William said. She wasn’t sure if he meant himself or all of them, but Doris pushed herself just

a bit more even though her insides wanted to bleed. How did he seem so unaffected?

William picked Doris up at her waist and skidded down the hill, passing Enzo on the way down. He lifted

her on an empty horse and pulled himself up without a second to breathe. Doris gripped onto him tightly

and saw Enzo mount his own horse and take off seconds after they did.

The group of guards halted at the top of the hill and started shouting at them as if it would make them

stop. Faster than she expected, they were out of sight. She faced forward again and allowed herself to

breathe despite the harsh gallops of the horse. Her throat burned so bad, she thought it would start

bleeding soon.

Her mind started to catch up with her, she gripped William tighter and was thankful they were even alive.

She closed her eyes and let him take her somewhere far and safe. If safety even existed in these lands.

They rode the horses hard until she could no longer recognize their surroundings. Her face was

completely frozen by the time they finally stopped to rest. Snow started to fall slowly around them, she

only hoped there was no storm headed their way after everything else they had to deal with.

William slid off the horse and helped her down. He glanced around once before he lifted her sweater.

“Hey!” Doris snatched the fabric and forced it back down with red cheeks. “What are you doing?”

“Doris.” William said impatiently. “Let me see. I need to know if you need some of my blood.”

“Some of your blood? For what?” Doris lifted her sweater herself and saw blood covered the side of her

stomach. She didn’t even feel the arrow that must have skimmed her skin when it hit the ground. Her

fingers traced the wound as if it was some sort of alien thing that wasn’t a part of her body. She winced

at the touch. “I… I didn’t even feel it.”

“That’s because of your adrenaline. It’s normal to not feel anything in the moment for smaller wounds.”

William gripped her hand to move it away. He leaned closer to see how deep it was. His warm breath

caressed her cold skin and sent a shiver down her spine. “It seems to be more of a surface wound, but I

want you to have a taste just to close it faster.”

William dropped her sweater instantly when Enzo came over to them. He looked even more haggard

than before.

“Your guard spotted a few caves up ahead. They’re a bit small, but I think you two should manage.” He

brushed his hand across the horse they stood by. “I’ll have them hide the horses as best they can, but I

won’t be able to move until morning. Don’t worry, I won’t be dead.”

“Enzo, we can take care of the horse. Please, go rest.” Doris rubbed his arm. He offered a small smile

and turned away from them. He staggered a little on his way into one of the small caves up ahead.

“Do you think he’ll be okay?” Doris asked. William gestured for his men to hide the horses and turned

back to her. “Maybe you should offer him some of your blood before he passes out.

“He’ll be fine. He’s been through it, but he’ll be healed by morning. If not, I’ll pour him a whole cup.”

William gripped her arm and led her towards one of the further caves. The men were quick to clear out

the area and make it seem as if no one was near. Many of them disappeared into another cave, but of

course the prince always had his own.

“I hope so.” Doris whispered and ducked into the small space. It was barely big enough to hold both of

them—she knew there was no hope for a fire unless she wanted to get burns along her back as she

slept.

Doris sat herself against the wall and closed her eyes. Nothing inside her cared about how she looked or

what awaited them the next day. All she cared about was the sweet sound of rest.

William kneeled in front of her and opened his coat. She opened her eyes and watched him with raised

brows.

“I thought you might have wanted this.” He said as he pulled out the loaf of bread he’d taken from the

kitchens. Doris gasped and gripped the squished bread in her hands. It was half the original size, but it

looked just as heavenly.

“Oh my, this-I can’t believe you still have this.” Doris said in disbelief. She laughed a little. His hand

rested on her thigh and for a moment she swore he smiled at her but perhaps she was only imagining it

again. He wasn’t one to smile for longer than a second. Doris broke the bread in half and held it out to

him.

His fingers grazed her own as he accepted it. Doris quickly bit into her own before her thoughts started to

wander. It tasted better than she expected, she wished she had taken the entire try before they left-even

if it had gotten her killed it would have been worth it.

They ate their bread in silence. He moved to sit next to her with his leg pressed into hers. She forgot why

she was even mad at him, but a little distance still settled into her chest. Perhaps it was her own heart

reminding her not to get too close to him, even though she was long past that point.

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to convince them.” William said quietly. It was one of the first times she had

heard him lack confidence in himself. Doris swallowed her bread and turned towards him.

“Is this a risk you think is worth taking?” Doris asked.

He turned his gaze on her and she only then realized how close they were. His eyes lingered on her lips

for much longer than a normal amount.

“Yes. I’ve been planning this for years. I wouldn’t have come all the way here and tore through some of

their trust if I wasn’t sure.”

“Then that’s it. All you can do is try. People are unpredictable, but that doesn’t mean they can’t change.”

Doris reached her hand up to brush across his face. She offered a smile.

William gripped her hand. “I don’t know what to think when I’m around you.” He admitted.

“What do you mean?”

“Half of me wants to throw you out in the snow and the other half wants you beneath me every time I

hear you argue with me.”

Doris felt her cheeks flush a little. “I could say the same about you.” Doris whispered. She allowed

herself to be a little bold and ran her hand up his thigh. 1

William’s eyes darkened with desire almost instantly. “I don’t like to be teased.”

“I heard it could be fun.”