Chapter 91: Asking permission

Hazel slowly closed her mouth. She hadn’t thought about that part. She had only imagined walking around Basileia, looking at beautiful places, and enjoying herself with the women without worrying about anything else. She certainly hadn’t expected a simple request to turn into a discussion about whether they would survive taking her outside.

Akeelah suddenly snapped her fingers. "Well well, there’s another way!"

Everyone turned toward with a raised brow.

"Why don’t you go to Caius and ask him for permission? He’s your mate, after all. If he agrees, nobody can complain about us taking you around."

Hazel nearly jumped off the bed. "Me? Go to Caius?"

"Yes, you!" Akeelah answered, looking amused. "Unless you want us to carry you to his chamber and leave you at his door."

Hazel stared at her in horror. She had only just managed to stop blushing whenever she remembered the previous night, and now they wanted her to walk straight into Caius’s chamber and ask him for permission to go sightseeing?

She didn’t even know how to face him properly!

The image of his silver eyes watching her while he held her in his arms flashed through her mind, and her cheeks immediately turned red. Then she remembered what the women had told her about the old Caius, and her nervousness grew even worse.

What if he had already returned to being that terrifying man they were talking about? What if he looked at her coldly and asked why she was disturbing him? Worse, what if he laughed at her request?

"Ahhh..." Hazel groaned, pulling a pillow against her chest. "Why does everything have to be so difficult?"

Janet raised an eyebrow and moved closer to the bed.

"It’s not difficult at all. All you have to do is kiss him and rub his chest a little."

Hazel’s eyes widened.

"JANET!"

"What?" Janet asked innocently. "I’m only giving you advice. If you want something from your mate, you should learn how to ask nicely."

Akeelah immediately joined in, grinning from ear to ear.

"Or you can beg him! We already told you that you would end up begging him so much, didn’t we? So, tell us, how many times did you beg him last night?"

Hazel made a strangled sound before pulling the bed sheet over her head.

"Damn! Guys, please stop!"

Their laughter filled the room, and Hazel wished she could remain under the sheet until everyone forgot what had happened. She could barely believe that these women, who were supposed to help her, were enjoying her embarrassment instead.

Janet laughed so hard that she had to hold her stomach.

"Look at you! You’re almost paralyzed from embarrassment, and I haven’t even finished talking. Do you know how difficult it was to treat you this morning? You could barely move when I came in to heal you, yet you’re pretending that nothing happened!"

"Janet, I swear I’ll never forgive you!" Hazel shouted from beneath the sheet.

"That’s fine. I have a lot of beautiful places to show you, and I’m still willing to take you there. But first, you need Caius’s approval."

Hazel slowly pulled the sheet down until only her eyes were visible.

"Can’t you just ask him for me?"

"No," all three women answered at once.

Hazel stared at them in betrayal.

"You’re all terrible people."

Rita shrugged. "We’re terrible people who want to stay alive."

Akeelah nodded seriously. "Exactly. I like my head where it is, thank you very much."

Janet sat beside Hazel and gently pulled the sheet away from her face.

"Listen, you don’t have to be so afraid of him. He’s your mate, and from what I’ve seen, he seems willing to listen to you more than he listens to anyone else. If you ask him nicely, he might even agree without making you beg."

Hazel gave her a doubtful look.

"Are you sure we’re talking about the same man?"

"Absolutely," Janet replied. "But if you’re too shy to approach him alone, you can wait until Alexander or Ethan is with him. That way, you’ll have someone else there, and you won’t feel so nervous."

Hazel considered the suggestion. Somehow, the idea of asking Caius for permission while one of his friends was present sounded much better than walking into his chamber alone. At least Alexander might make a joke or two to distract her, while Ethan could probably stop Caius from frightening her with one of his cold looks.

Still, she wasn’t sure whether she could bring herself to ask.

"What time should I go?" she finally asked.

Janet smiled as if she had been waiting for that question.

"Let’s see. Caius usually has meetings with the Alphas during the day, but he should have some free time later. You can wait until Alexander or Ethan is around, then go and ask him. Just don’t spend the entire day hiding in your room because you’re embarrassed."

"I’m not hiding!" Hazel protested.

Akeelah pointed at the bed sheet still wrapped around Hazel’s body.

"Then why are you dressed like a frightened ghost?"

Hazel looked down and quickly threw the sheet aside, making the other women burst into laughter again.

"You’re all going to regret this," she muttered, crossing her arms.

Before Janet could tease her again, the door opened, and a maid stepped into the room. She bowed respectfully to the women, then turned toward Janet with a serious expression.

"Lady Janet, Doris has arrived."

The laughter stopped.

Janet’s smile disappeared as she slowly stood up, while Akeelah exchanged a troubled glance with Rita. Even Hazel noticed the sudden change in their expressions, and her curiosity immediately returned.

"Doris?" Hazel repeated, looking between them. "Who’s Doris?"

Nobody answered her right away.

Janet looked toward the door, her expression becoming more serious than Hazel had seen all morning. Whatever Doris’s arrival meant, it was clearly important enough to end their teasing at once.

Hazel sat up straighter, suddenly forgetting all about her plan to beg Caius for permission to explore Basileia.

Something told her that her day was about to become far more interesting than she had expected.