Her Unwanted Mate On The Throne

Chapter 78 If we don‘t hurry, we‘ll catch another storm.

“Do you know how long it took to find you? You’re frozen.” Doris definitely felt like a thawing turkey. Her teeth chattered when she parted her lips to talk. “W-where are we?” “Some cave in the middle of nowhere.” William said as he sat next to her. Doris shivered and tried to pull his coat higher on her shoulders. He pulled her closer to him and offered a bit of his own warmth but she could barely feel his body against her. “How did you get so far out here?” “I don’t know, I-I just kept walking and realized I was lost.” Doris whimpered. Every slight move actually hurt. It felt like burns on the inside of her body and she realized she had never truly felt cold until now. Even with the fire blazing in front of her, she was frozen. William wrapped his arms around her small frame and Doris laid her body back against him. He felt stiff, as if he didn’t truly want to be the one to warm her but forced himself to so she wouldn’t die. It was a nice enough thought, at least. Even if a part of him would always despise her. “How did you find me?” Doris asked with a slight tremor to her voice. William shifted a little beneath her. “I followed your scent. It took hours before it was strong enough.” “Hours?” Doris whispered. She had been out there for hours and he never gave up looking for her? A part of Doris softened and she tried not let herself feel that way. It was a doomed feeling that would lead to nothing, she had to remind herself that every time he showed her a side of him he kept hidden most of the time. She knew he had a bit of kindness beneath all the rough exterior, but she didn’t want to get so attached to it when she knew it wasn’t safe. She heard the howls of wind grow harsh and try to enter through the pockets of air around the rocks he placed in front of the entrance. She was surprised it didn’t knock them right out of place with how loud it sounded. She weakly held her froze hands out towards the fire and let them defrost slowly along with the rest of her body.  “Why did you come for me?” Doris asked suddenly. Why did he even bother? She had been in so much trouble since they first came here, she didn’t understand why he even wanted her alive at this point. It would have been easier to let her go and move on. She slowed him down and made him do horrible things to defend her—was she worth that? “Why wouldn’t 1.” William grumbled. It sounded more like a statement rather than a question. “I saw you leave before the storm hit.” Doris curled and uncurled her fingers just trying to get feeling back in them. “I didn’t think you would care to, is all.” It seemed like the wrong thing to say almost instantly after she said it. His body turned hard as a rock against her back. He shoved her off him and stood. She watched as he wiped his pants as if he wanted any trace of her off of him. His warmth was immediately missed, he looked down at her with a bit of distaste and she forced herself to live without it. “It’s so hard to believe that I would?” He spat. Doris pressed her lips together. “It’s—” Doris hesitated and he narrowed his eyes at her when he heard it. “I’m just not sure if you even like me most of the time.” “You can believe what you want. Nothing I do will change that.” William went to sit on the other end of the cave. She could feel his anger as if she could slice through the air and grab it to crush against her fingers. It was as alive as he was. “That’s not true. Actions speak louder than words, which is why I’m confused.” Doris admitted and pressed her face into his coat. It smelled strongly like him and part of her wanted to bottle the scent and take it with her wherever she went. He didn’t say anything to her words. Perhaps he was confused himself. Perhaps he fought a similar battle she did where they both wanted to dance around the truth until their

He interrupted. “If we don’t hurry, we’ll catch