Their Hidden Princess (Zora) novel Chapter 181

**Chapter 181**

The following evening found me entangled in a web of anxiety, my emotional state no better than it had been the day before. Loren, with her perceptive nature, sensed my turmoil immediately. Perhaps it was the way I had been stirring my cereal, tracing the same repetitive pattern for what felt like an eternity. Or maybe it was simply the fact that Loren was an extraordinary friend, always attuned to my moods.

“Do you… want to talk about it?” she ventured, her voice gentle as my spoon glided past yet another soggy Cheerio. I let out a noncommittal shrug, unsure of how to articulate the chaos swirling inside me.

“I don’t even know what there is to discuss,” I replied with a huff, the frustration bubbling just beneath the surface. “It feels like all my fated mates despise me.”

“Zora,” Loren said, her tone steady and unwavering. “You have, like, four of them. How can they all possibly hate you?”

I raised an eyebrow, her logic striking me as absurd. Holding up one finger, I began to enumerate my woes.

“Maximus thinks I’m leading him and Valentin on—”

With a second finger, I continued, “Valentin is still marrying Bella and wants absolutely nothing to do with me—”

I added a third finger, “Thorne hates me so much he severed our bond—”

Finally, I raised a fourth finger, “And Kairos is… honestly, I have no clue,” I mumbled, feeling the weight of despair settle heavily upon me. I dropped my hand back to the table, pushing my Cheerios around in a circular motion once more. “Not a single one of them likes me.”

Loren shifted in her seat, a hint of discomfort etched across her features. “Well, it sounds like Kairos might have some potential!” she suggested, attempting to inject a sliver of hope into my gloom.

I shot her a withering look, and she instinctively shrank back, her enthusiasm dampened. Sighing, I let my spoon clatter against the bowl as I rubbed my eyes in frustration.

“Sorry,” I muttered, the remorse creeping into my voice. “I didn’t mean to snap. There’s just so much going on.”

“I’m not surprised you’re feeling stressed,” Loren replied with a casual shrug. “I’d be a wreck too if I showed up to school, only to discover I was a wolf, and then suddenly find out I had four fated mates. Your parents must have been something special.”

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, the weight of her words pressing down on me. “Yeah,” I murmured, my voice barely above a whisper. “Maybe.”

“Ooh!” Loren exclaimed, her excitement bubbling over once more. “I bet Headmaster Lunerly knows something about it!”

“What do you mean?” I asked, genuinely puzzled.

“Well, he knows just about everyone! I’m sure he could dig through the records and find out who your biological parents are!”

I rolled my shoulders back, a flicker of hope igniting in my chest. Part of me believed that this could be my escape from the mess I found myself in. Loren was eager to pry, and I didn’t have the energy to stop her. The more she poked, the closer she might get to the truth. Or would she?

“I don’t know,” I mumbled, the uncertainty creeping back in. “I’m not sure I really care. My parents left me. Should I even waste my time thinking about them?”

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