Fated Eclipse: The Illegitimate Princess And Her Alpha Suitors

Chapter 46: Of Unfortunate Encounters and Missing Reason

The embrace was sudden.

Violent, even.

Duke Aurelgrave’s eyes widened in utter shock as Lord Hawthorne’s arms wrapped around him with the enthusiasm of a man greeting a long-lost brother rather than a mere acquaintance.

For one dreadful moment, Aurelgrave could neither speak nor breathe.

The force of the earl’s greeting crushed the air from his chest.

In the midst of this chaos, the delicate napkin Aurelgrave had been carrying so carefully slipped from his fingers.

It drifted downward and landed upon the ground.

Hawthorne, entirely unaware of the small disaster unfolding beneath him, stepped directly upon it.

His foot pressed the linen deep into the floor as he continued enthusiastically embracing the duke.

”I say!” Hawthorne exclaimed with alarming cheer. ”How fortunate to encounter you here!”

Aurelgrave’s face slowly changed colour as different expressions took over his face.

First was shock, then disbelief, and finally pure revulsion.

With considerable effort, he pushed Hawthorne away from him. The Earl was a huge man, and even someone like Aurelgrave, who had done his fair share of training, had a bit of difficulty pushing the Earl away from him.

The earl stumbled back half a step.

Aurelgrave took a long look at him.

A very slow look. He began from the Earl’s smiling face... downward and then back up again.

The duke’s expression twisted with disgust.

”Have you,” Aurelgrave asked in a dangerously controlled tone, ”gone entirely mad?”

Behind them, Lord Thorncrest had doubled over.

The duke’s dignified composure had completely abandoned him as laughter overtook him in full.

He braced a hand against his side. The sight before him was simply too much.

Hawthorne blinked at Aurelgrave.

”What?”

”What?” Aurelgrave repeated in disbelief. ”You rush at me like an overexcited hound and embrace me while completely unclothed, and you ask what?”

Hawthorne’s expression shifted as understanding dawned.

His face reddened almost immediately.

”Oh.”

He coughed lightly.

”Well,” he said, gesturing vaguely towards Aurelgrave. ”You see, I was merely... pleased to see someone else.”

Aurelgrave stared at him as Hawthorne attempted a dignified explanation.

”Myself and Lord Thorncrest are presently in a rather... delicate situation.”

Aurelgrave lifted a brow.

”I assure you,” he said coldly, ”I do not care in the slightest what situation you and Thorncrest have managed to place yourselves in.”

Hawthorne nodded quickly.

”Yes, well, quite understandable.”

”And furthermore,” Aurelgrave continued with rising irritation, ”do not attempt such a display again. We are not friends.”

Hawthorne blinked.

”Ah.”

”We are acquaintances,” Aurelgrave finished sharply. ”Nothing more.”

The earl nodded again.

”Yes, of course.”

He shifted slightly closer.

Unfortunately, this movement caused him to step once more upon the unfortunate napkin now thoroughly crushed beneath his foot.

Aurelgrave’s gaze slowly dropped.

He stared at the ground. Then he released a quiet, deeply irritated sound.

Hawthorne noticed the expression.

”What is—” He paused as he glanced down.

The linen beneath his foot was flattened and stained beyond recognition. Hawthorne lifted his foot hastily.

”My apologies, Your Grace!” he said immediately.

But Aurelgrave was no longer paying him any attention.

His thoughts had drifted elsewhere.

The snacks had been meant for Lyria. He knew she was serving punishment in the stables, and that punishment was long hours of labour which she would be subjected to. There was no doubt she would be hungry, and he had thought of bringing her the snacks as a form of apology for what happened between them earlier in the morning and also as a start so she could see just how genuine he was about her.

He looked down again at the ruined napkin. The delicate pastries were crushed beyond salvation.

Aurelgrave exhaled slowly.

How irritating.

He had no idea why he had even passed through this part of the courtyard. It was not a place he particularly enjoyed walking through.

And yet here he was.

Standing in a quiet field.

With two naked noblemen.

One of whom had just destroyed his carefully prepared gift.

He growled softly.

”Hawthorne.”

The earl looked up at once.

”Yes?”

”Move your legs.”

Hawthorne obeyed immediately, stepping away from the ruined cloth.

”I am terribly sorry,” he said earnestly. ”I had no idea you also carried snacks about as I do.”

Aurelgrave stared at him.

Hawthorne tilted his head thoughtfully.

”You do not particularly appear to be a man with a sweet tooth.”

Aurelgrave’s jaw tightened.

”You know nothing about me,” he said through clenched teeth.

Hawthorne blinked.

”We are acquaintances,” Aurelgrave continued. ”As I have already stated.”

The earl nodded again.

”Quite right.”

Aurelgrave sighed quietly.

The ruined napkin lay between them like the tragic remains of a battlefield.

”Well,” he muttered under his breath, ”I shall simply have to do something else.”

Behind them, Thorncrest finally regained control of himself.

His laughter gradually subsided.

Straightening, he brushed imaginary dust from his arm and approached the pair with composed amusement still lingering in his expression.

”Aurelgrave,” Thorncrest said pleasantly.

The duke turned toward him.

”Yes?”

”Would you be so kind as to assist us?”

Aurelgrave folded his arms.

”And how precisely do you imagine I might assist you?”

Thorncrest gestured calmly toward their current state.

”You see before you the unfortunate victims of thievery.”

Aurelgrave looked them over from head to toe, then back again.

”I see before me two grown men standing naked in the middle of a field.”

”Yes,” Thorncrest said. ”That would be the consequence of the aforementioned thievery.”

Hawthorne nodded helpfully.

”Our clothes have vanished.”

Aurelgrave just raised one brow at that.

”We went for a run,” Thorncrest explained. ”In wolf form.”

”And when we returned,” Hawthorne added, ”our garments had disappeared.”

”Completely gone,” Thorncrest confirmed.

Aurelgrave stared at them.

His brows slowly drew together.

His blue eyes moved from Hawthorne...

To Thorncrest...

Then back again.

”You are telling me,” he said slowly, ”that both of you removed your clothing in the open fields, ran about as wolves, and returned to discover them missing.”

”Precisely,” Thorncrest replied.

Aurelgrave blinked.

Then he asked calmly,

”And this troubles you?”

Hawthorne looked offended.

”Of course it troubles us!”

Aurelgrave’s confusion deepened.

”Why?”

Hawthorne stared.

”Why?”

”Yes.”

Hawthorne opened his mouth and then closed it. He turned toward Thorncrest.

”Why?”

Thorncrest ignored him.

Instead, he looked directly at Aurelgrave.

”Because,” Thorncrest said patiently, ”we have no clothes with which to return to the palace.”

Aurelgrave stared at them as though they had both lost their senses.

His expression was a mixture of disbelief and growing irritation.

After a moment, he spoke.

”Why did you not simply return in wolf form?”

Silence followed his words.

Hawthorne blinked.

Then slowly turned his head toward Thorncrest.

”That,” he said carefully, ”is an excellent question. Why didn’t we?”

Thorncrest did not respond. Instead, he looked back at Aurelgrave with mild patience.

Then he asked evenly,

”Tell me, Aurelgrave...” he said. ”Can wolves walk freely inside the palace buildings?”