Their Hidden Princess Novel

---- Chapter 79 "What 'appened?" | mumbled. A pause. "There was an incident," the voice said. Masculine. Incredibly familiar too. "You're okay now. You're safe." "Max?" | mumbled. My voice sounded foreign to my ears. The figure nodded. Slowly, Maximus came into focus. He sat hunched in his desk chair. His face was pale, deep purple bags under his eyes. He looked utterly exhausted. His usually short, cropped hair had grown out a bit. Half of it was sticking up on end as if he had been dragging his hand through it. He gave me a half smile that was laced with nothing but happiness.

"Hin Hi," | rasped out. | pushed myself to sit up then groaned as my head started throbbing again. | threw it into my hands. "I feel like | got run over by a bus." Maximus didn't laugh. | turned my head to look at him. His smile was completely gone. Suddenly, there was nothing funny about my hangover. | lifted my head and blinked at him. "What happened?" | asked quietly. ---- "You were drugged," Max choked out. "Wolfsbane. While it didn't kill you, it inebriated you enough that you seemed severely drunk." | blinked again. "Oh," | couldn't wrap my head around what was happening.

"Then what happened?" Maximus shifted uncomfortably. His jaw was set, teeth grinding together in rage. | could almost hear the noise from across the room "We found you in Petyr's bathroom," he grit out. "With Stefan Jackell. A second-year alpha." | blushed. | was suddenly embarrassed, for some reason. Not that | had any recollection of the moment. But then, it dawned on me. | had no recollection. | had no idea I'd been with him. My heart started beating erratically. "What did he do to me?" | choked out. "Nothing," Maximus said quickly. "I stopped him before anything happened.

Jackell was trying to get back at you for Kairos. For some reason, he seemed to think Kairos would approve of such an assault." I'd never felt that small in my life. | curled in on myself in my bed. Suddenly, Kairos's threats of death seemed like a better fate than whatever it was that the other Alpha was planning to ---- do to me. | felt helpless, laying in Maximus's bed. Tears pricked my eyes, but | fought them back. | wouldn't show weakness. | couldn't. They already saw me as weak enough to - do whatever it is they were going to do. | drew in a shakey breath.

Maximus immediately jumped up and rushed over to me. He knelt next to the bed and tried to grab my hand in his. | yanked it away. "Don't," | snapped. Max looked like I'd shot him. "Zora-" "No!" | yelled back at him. "This is all yours and Kairos's fault! You both saw me as weak and told the others to capitalize on it. This is all your doing and now you're trying to comfort me as if it wasn't!" Maximus's frown tumed into a snarl. "I didn't do shit," he snapped. "I didn't set the hunt on you. Kairos did. | didn't send people out to attack you. Kairos did that too.

| tried to help you, if you remember." He reared back from me, utterly livid. "Furthermore, | would never condone the assault of a woman," he hissed. "Nor would Kairos, if you were wondering. What Jackell did was of his own regard trying to get in with Kairos's good graces. | saved you ---- from that dickwad, not let him continue having his way." | flinched at the thought. Maximus's face fell back into a neutral expression. He slowly reached out and grabbed my hand. "I'm sorry," he said softly. "Thank you," | bit out. "For saving me.

For everything else, the jury is still out." Max looked like he was about to say something. He was cut off by a sharp rap on the door. Neither of us moved. | glanced towards the door then back at Max. He held my gaze. "Fuck off," he grunted. The door slammed open and into the wall behind it. | flinched in Max's bed, grabbing the blankets to cover myself. My eyes nearly popped out of my head as | saw who'd barged in. Valentin Lunerly, headmaster of Alpha Academy, was seeing me in Maximus's bed.