Chapter 165
The moss green, dark and questioning but with a warmth and kindness that at least one of her sons inherited.
“This is Gabe and Darian’s mother?”
I nodded my head and skimmed my eyes over the tiny text under the frame.
‘Queen Eleanor Hayes’
“She’s beautiful,” Nora cooed.
She really was and you could almost feel the warmth coming from the frame. I wondered what she as like, all I knew about her was what Gabe had told me. Did Darian ever think about her?
I’d have to ask him someday. Judging from the painting she was truly something special, smiling even though I’m sure somebody told her not to.
We continued down the hallways and poked our curious heads through every door. There was storage, doors leading to staircases and we explored every inch of it.
Some rooms had large windows with beautiful panoramic views and others were darker, and gloomier but with every ounce of prestige as the rest of the palace.
There was a humongous library with three floors, books lining each shelf as far as the eye could see and Mathilda spun around, tilted her head back, and danced under the high ceiling while she looked at all of the spines that to her were like magic.
The number of books we read together when she was little, the stories she would come up with hoping to one day write a book of her own, and the stacks of perfectly placed and organized titles by her bed were unfathomable. I hope she brought them with her, they were her most priced possessions.
I’d have to check that later.
Her squeals filled the library and echoed up every level until it bounced against the ceiling and slammed back down on us like a heavenly sound, and not at all like a bird trapped in a net.
I winced and massaged the point under my ears whilst Nora joyfully watched as Mathilda ran up the stairs and brushed her hand over each and every spine on the books she could reach.
There she goes, this was her heaven, I could leave and be back in three hours and she wouldn’t even have noticed.
“Mathilda, no!” She was about to take the ladder that was attached to the big bookshelves and I could see her climbing to the top and then falling back down…not a pretty view.
“Please!”
“No!”
“Please!” Her tone became edgier.
Oh hell.
“No, let’s continue!”
“Pleeeeeease!” that had to be the longest ‘please’ I’d ever heard, it continued for like fifteen seconds.
“No.” Steady and clear, with no room for argument, I learned that from my mother.
She walked back down with a pout and crossed arms.
This was just the beginning, wasn’t it? It’d be years of attitude and pouting, a lot worse than this and I was the adult now.
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Chapter 165
Holy hell.
“We have a lot more left to explore, but I promise that one day you can climb that latter as high as you want and read every book in here,”
She looked at me with furrowed brows and a pouting lip.
This was new to me, I didn’t know if I should say ‘that’s that’ or offer her cake.
“How about we finish exploring and then we’ll get some cake and tea?” Nora winked.
That sure turned the frown upside down and Mathilda skipped out of the library and hurried down the hallway we hadn’t covered yet.
So cake works, good to know.
I gave Nora a grateful smile and we closed the doors to the library.
I had no clue what the time was but after a lot more exploring we still hadn’t covered everything- though our exhaustion was the final judge and we decided to head into the kitchen in the main building and grab some cake and tea. After we’d eaten, Mathilda was barely keeping her eyes open so we followed her to her room and I helped her get ready. My face lit up when I saw the stacks of books from home lined around her bed, perfectly organized by genre and title just like they had been.
Mathilda crawled into bed and I gave her a peck on her forehead before I turned off the light and closed the door.
Nora lifted her shoulders, “now what?” She asked.
A dumbfounded expression broke out on my tired face.
“Now sleep,” I said and saw her off before I headed into my room… Darian’s room…our room.
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The Alpha’s Hunt
