The Silent Princess

Chapter 9

Kyle’s POV

I mind linked dad while Elizabeth and myself were finishing up our breakfast. I wanted to know how I can stop Elizabeth’s random thoughts from coming into my head. I was shocked to hear them. It’s the first time it’s happened to me.

Dad said it’s the same as a mind link. We shut it down or put a block up if we don’t want to be contacted. He thought I didn’t have the ability and I must have unknowingly placed the block in my mind. He thinks I unknowingly pulled it down too, when I felt Elizabeth’s anxiety this morning. Either that or it was as Elizabeth said; my magic thought it was time I needed to learn.

I’m not sure if we have witch blood in us. Yes, I can hear thoughts now, but it could be caused by something else. I am the prince. I agree with Elizabeth though, I will have to look into this with dad away from prying eyes. It’s bad enough her parents were killed, and we think it’s because her father and his gamma were mated to a witch. We don’t have any proof. We don’t even know who attacked them, they only killed everyone except the seven of them.

We finished our breakfast and headed out the front to meet up with Hunter and Jacob. They have been organizing the tour of the kingdom for the last two weeks. Mainly to try and impress the ladies that came. I only want to impress one of them.

“To start our tour, we will take you to the botanical gardens. There’s something for everyone there, from paddle boat rides on the lake to the exotic flower show around the grounds. You don’t have to see the flowers to enjoy their splendor. The smells are intoxicating”, Hunter begins, shifting from one foot to the other. I know I was a bit preoccupied yesterday, but he is never this nervous around others; especially females.

“We will have a picnic by the lake and this afternoon, we will head over to the mall for some shopping; Prince Kyle’s treat”, Jacob says as Elizabeth scrunches up her nose. I guess she isn’t as keen on shopping as they thought she would be.

“Don’t you like shopping?” I whispered in her ear.

She shakes her head at me and signs; “that is more Helen’s and Josie’s thing.”

“Let’s get going” Hunter says, leading us to the two parked SUVs out the front. I walked over to the first one and opened the door for my princess. She smiles at me and I scoot in next to her, buckling up my seat belt as she does the same. Helen is led to the front passenger seat by Hunter before walking around to the driver’s seat, while Peter and his mate Shelby sit in the very back. Peter accepted to be Lucas’ Beta. I heard Eden and her mate Ethan are going to live in the Silver Falls Pack too. Ethan is the third child of the Grey Moon Pack’s Alpha, Tristan. They are getting their affairs in order before they head over to the Silver Falls pack lands. The others head to the second SUV, which Jacob is driving.

Elizabeth leans on my shoulder as I interlace my fingers with hers. We were enjoying the comfort we were giving one another when she sat up suddenly, staring at Helen in the front seat. I didn’t realize Hunter and her were holding hands. “You and Helen are a couple now?” I linked him.

“You can say that” he chuckles back at me. I noticed Elizabeth’s eyes were glazed over too, talking with Helen. “You aren’t the only ones who found their mate yesterday. Helen has only spoken to Steven, Peter and Shelby about it.”

“Oh my, Goddess. Why didn’t you say something?” I practically screamed through the mind link at him. He gave off another chuckle while glancing at me through the rearview mirror. “Helen asked to keep it on the down low. She didn’t want to take away from Elizabeth finding her mate.”

Elizabeth lets out a long breath and slumps back into the chair next to me. I have learned it’s her way of sighing. “Everything alright?” I asked her, pecking the side of her head.

She lets out another breath and signs; “I wish she would have told me. I’m happy we are finding our mates together and both get to live here. We can stay together.” I know what she means. Hunter kept it a secret from me too. It’s a big thing to find your mate, and they should be celebrating with us.

We get to the botanical gardens and head for the lake area. I headed over to the paddle boat hire and the older lady behind the register bows to me. “Can we have five paddle boats, please?” Hunter told me they are equipped with ten, so I know they have them.

She does up the transaction, paying with my credit card. She bows again, and we head down to the water’s edge as she unlocks the paddle boats for us to use. We all head out in pairs and start paddling to the middle of the pond. Steven is frowning at me again; I wonder what his problem is?

“Is everything ok?” I asked Steven through mind link.

“Yeah” he sighs, not wanting to have this conversation with me. “It’s not you, specifically. I’m losing two more of my daughters. They will be permanently living away from me.”

I was slightly taken aback to hear him call Helen and Elizabeth his daughters. “He had raised them for the past eight years. It’s only fitting he sees them as his daughters”, Josiah states, looking out over the water at Lucas and Steven paddling together in one of the boats.

“You can always visit and if you miss them that much, you can move to this pack.” I told him, and he gave me a small smile. He may not take me up on the offer; but it will always stand, nonetheless.

We head back to shore ten minutes later and Lucas suggests we swap partners. Myself, Peter and Hunter weren’t too thrilled with the idea. He was adamant he wanted me as a partner. I suggested Elizabeth go out with Steven. If all else fails; it may cheer him up a bit. Josie smiled and said she was happy to go out with Jacob again, while the others paired back up with their mates.

I take a seat on the paddle boat and head out with Lucas. “How is everything with my sister?” he asks, looking at my hands.

I immediately signed; “Fine. We worked out our differences.”

“Great. I couldn’t think of a better man to be mated with her”, he says, and I give him a genuine smile. If I had a sister, and he was mated with her; I would be happy for them too.

We keep paddling for a while until we reach the middle of the lake. Lucas turns to face me; his expression turns to a frown. I know what he is going to say; he didn’t find any more information. “I found something in those booklets your grandmother had. Don’t sign anything, I don’t want others to see what I’m about to tell you”, he whispered, and I pushed my hair behind my ears. That was a sign we made up together to say OK. That’s why Lucas, Hunter, Jacob and I won’t cut our hair short.

“It speaks about an enchantment called the three monkeys” he says, looking around the lake to make sure everyone else was far away enough. I’m confused about what three monkeys have to do with the enchantment that was placed on them, but whatever. I’m sure he is going to tell me.

“The three monkeys? Monkey see, monkey hear, monkey speak?” he says, dropping his voice lower; I could barely hear him. “Sound familiar? The only problem is it doesn’t give us details about the enchantment or how to reverse it. It just says there is one. We know it hides our witch side and Bruce thinks the concealment itself and the loss of my hearing, Liz's voice and Helen's sight go hand in hand.”

“So, you are no further along than when you first started”, I signed to him. I know he said not to sign; but no one will know what the comment was all about.

“Not really. We have a name now. If only I knew how to reverse it” he says, dropping his face. He has been trying to find a clue for the past two years. Dad told him about some books my great-grandmother had in the library. That’s as far as we were able to look into it. Witches tend to keep their information to themselves and have their own libraries, while werewolves are the same with our own set of books. Little is known about what happens regarding hybrids and their abilities. I think that’s why people attack. They are scared of the unknown.

“Did it say anything else?” I signed, making sure I got all the facts before dismissing anything.

“Not the book you gave me. I went to the coven and spoke with Grandpa, hoping he might have more information. He knew the same information I did about the three monkeys and is still looking for a solution”, he explains, and I nod my head, putting my hair behind my ear again. “There’s more. He called me last night because of you and Lizzy being mates. He found something regarding the mate bond with the enchanted, but it was very vague. No surprises regarding witches and their secrets.”

This piqued my interest. There was something written down about my mateship with Elizabeth. Does it mean I can help them? Or will I get affected by the enchantment? Elizabeth did promise she wouldn’t reject me again. She might break that promise if it means she is protecting me from the enchantment. “Stop pondering what ifs. Before we mark Lizzy, we need to talk to her. Maybe talk with her grandfather and your father about it” Josiah said, sitting up in my mind. He had been listening quietly to what Lucas had to tell me.

“We will need to talk to Liz and Helen before either of us mate” I said quietly, and Lucas looked at me with a frown before I realized I hadn’t signed it. I retell him by signing, and he pushes his hair behind his ear.

I hope we come up with a solution soon. They have lived like this for far too long. I won’t live without Elizabeth and, if it means that I get enchanted too, so be it.