Chapter 20

Giselle's POV

I stumbled back to my room, a nervous wreck with Cynthia holding me closely. In just two days I'd arrived I had faced so many hardships, even more than I had experienced in my own pack. I couldn't believe someone had tried to kill me. The idea still irked me but I was more disappointed in myself. If Cole had been a second late I shuddered to think what could have happened to my baby. My face went pale just from the thought of it.

"Giselle are you okay?. You look so pale. Should I call the doctor to attend to you?," she asked frantically, already walking to the door in haste.

"There is no need Cynthia"

I stopped her before she could leave. Calling a pack doctor to treat me would call for unwarranted attention and I didn't want the people in court to see me as a weak Luna.

"But you look too pale and tired. Let me go and get lunch for you. You need to eat something"

Cynthia raced out of the room heading to the kitchen and I continued to sit at the foot of the bed staring listlessly at the ceiling. I looked at the documents and files opened on the table and decided to try to take my mind off my problems with work.

I strode over to the dinner table and took out Cole's laptop that I had seen previously lying on the table in his office and got to work. Before long I'd gotten some new ideas added to the proposal I had previously presented to Cole. I was so focused on the work that time flew by and I wasn't able to eat the lunch Cynthia had prepared and dropped off hours ago.

By evening time I was done with most of the items I was finishing up on and I smiled to myself as I looked through my proposal. I had a very good business acumen and I was glad I could use it to help Cole.

I stretched my arms out and craned my neck to relieve the sore ache in my muscles. I stood up to go take a shower when my legs gave way under my feet. I had been sitting down for almost four hours straight and my legs were still exhausted and I began to fall to the ground.

I braced myself for the impact of the fall but it never came instead a warm strong presence held me and broke my fall. I looked to see who it was and I smiled inwardly at him. He'd saved me twice in the same day. He pulled me closer and hugged me and this time I didn't pull back. I reveled in his warmth and heat as I embraced him.

My body responded and it became lighthearted as all his strength transferred to me. He took a strand of my loose hair and tucked it behind my ears tenderly. His touch on my skin turned me on and I wanted to kiss him.

"Are you okay?. I was worried because you didn't notice my presence at all though I had been watching you for over an hour now. You look really pale"

He looked at me with such concern that I could almost believe he was in love with me. I shook my head at such a thought. Of course he wasn't in love with me, he was only asking because he was worried about his child. I moved over to watch his face closely, a brief hope in my heart.

It was stupid of me but I still held onto the hope that Cole and I could be a real family despite our circumstances.

He continued to play with my hair and rolled it around his hands as he continued to look at me tenderly.

"I noticed you didn't eat at all. Don't you have an appetite for the food," he asked looking over at the untouched lunch I'd left on the table.

I smiled guiltily avoiding his eyes. "I wasn't very hungry before"

"You should, even if you don't have an appetite. Remember you are not only doing yourself harm, you are also harming our baby," he admonished me gently.

And with that he scooped me up from the floor and carried me out the door.

"Where are we going?"

"To get some food," Cole said matter of factly

Judging by the expression on his face I decided not to argue. It was easier to just go with the flow for once and let him hold me without a care in the world. We arrived at the main kitchen and I blushed in embarrassment to see the kitchen staff were still bustling about doing their chores. I had expected the staff would be few as it was already late.

I gasped in wonderment at the spacious kitchen and the amount of staff that were working there. In my pack we only had just four kitchen staff but here in the royal court there were so many staff in the kitchen. Some were washing dishes, cutting vegetables and preparing the ingredients for breakfast tomorrow.

A plump woman with a chef hat propped on her head appeared suddenly before us and bowed to Cole and me.

"What can I do for you sire?" She asked him quietly. He turned to me and asked what food I was craving for. I looked at the array of food that was being prepared and my stomach rumbled in response. It seemed like my appetite was back already.

Cole, having heard my stomach chuckled and gave out instructions to the chef on what to prepare and she ran off quickly to do his bidding.

"What did you ask her to prepare for me," I asked curiously.

"Just a simple dinner that you would love. I made sure to instruct her on the change in the type of food you will be eating from now on. You need more carbs and protein to give you energy because of the child. I'm sorry I didn't notice how much the baby was draining your energy"

My heart felt touched by his words. He was trying to look out for me and I felt grateful for that.

We made small talk here and there and I couldn't help but notice the way the kitchen staff addressed him fondly. He was treated with loyalty that wasn't forced and it was quite clear they were fond of him. It made me see him in a new light especially because apart from my grandfather, all the alpha I'd encountered only had their selfish interest in mind and didn't care if their actions affected others. I was sure he would one day make a good alpha king in the future.

Twenty minutes later the head chef appeared with different servers holding a large tray of dishes as I looked in surprise at the sheer amount of the food.

"Are we expecting more people to join us or are we hosting a banquet?" I asked Cole wide-eyed.

He simply chuckled and stood up to take a plate. He began filling up the plate with all the dishes the servers had brought and placed the food right in front of the room, gesturing to me to eat.

"I can't possibly finish this large plate of food"

"You have to. The chef had taken extra care to suit the meal to your taste so you have to eat"

He pushed the plate closer to me again, handing me some utensils and waited for me to start eating before reaching for his own plate and filling it with food. I looked at him in amusement as he picked at his food with his hands. He picked out some lettuce and onions from his food, dropping them on the table as he ate.

I couldn't hold back a chuckle as I watched him and he snapped his head up in surprise. It was the first time he'd seen me laugh and I could feel the look of surprise on his face. The more I ate, the more my exhaustion began to seep away and I was soon feeling very relaxed and excited. Cole was very good company and he made sure I was comfortable in his company.

"So how was the rest of your day after I was almost killed," I asked nonchalantly with a grin. I had meant it as a joke but the expression on Cole's face wiped the smile off my face.

His face turned cold and he stopped eating. He didn't say anything for a while and I decided to apologize to him.

"I'm sorry. It was meant as a joke. I also want to apologize for not moving away in time when I saw the arrow coming towards me. In my defense I'm not usually this weak but the past few days have just been really tiring. I can only imagine what your men must think of me now"

Cole frowned. "You don't need to apologize. It's not your fault. I should have been more careful and more prepared for Tiffany attacks. I'm also very sorry for putting you in between my family's problems. I should have noticed earlier that you needed my strength and I will make to take care of you when I can"

I looked at him in surprise at his words. It was very rare to see an alpha much more a royal member of the family apologizing and holding himself accountable for his actions. I guess Cole really was built differently. I kept on seeing different sides of him that made me admire him more and more.

"I also want to apologize for getting angry at you the other night. It was stupid and childish of me and going forward I'll respect any decision you decide to make"

I smiled and nodded at him in response. A weight suddenly left my shoulders and I was glad we had settled the misunderstanding between us and maybe we could one day turn our fake marriage into a real one. It was a long shot but the more I got to know Cole the more I was beginning to see him in a new light.