Chapter 16

I could see the hesitation on his face, stopping him from reaching out with confidence to take his brother’s hand. I tugged on his shoulder, tip-toeing to his ear to whisper, “You can do this Caleb, I know you can.”

His jaw set firmly in determination, and he shook Lucas’s outstretched hand.

“Fine, until the ball, brother.” Lucas said, and the two of them scampered off like they couldn’t wait to get away from each other. I dashed after Caleb to catch up with him, there was so much we needed to discuss, but when I exited into the hallway he was already surrounded by a group of men.

I glanced between their faces as they murmured quietly to Caleb, it was the same group I had seen that night at the bridal shop! Joseph was even among them, his dark glasses flashing as he nodded his head along with the conversation.

“Excuse me,” I said, walking up to Caleb. “We need to talk.”

The quiet chatting amongst the group stopped, and although Joseph smiled at me in greeting, the men around him watched me like they were expecting me to be intimidated and run off.

I swallowed, ignoring them and staring instead directly into Caleb’s sea green eyes. He paused for a moment, almost looking surprised that I had the audacity to interrupt whatever this meeting was. But, then he gestured for me to come towards him, “What is it, little fiance?”

I couldn’t help but smile. It was a small win to be included in this mysterious group, but it still made me feel like Caleb trusted me and considered me a partner in the plans we were making.

And being trusted made me feel like I could trust him. Not entirely, he was still an ass, but just a little bit.

“I need to know who is going to be in charge of the food for the Alpha Ball.”

Joseph released a stunned breath, “What?”

“It’s not that complicated of a question—“

“No, it’s not that,” Joseph responded, rubbing the back of his neck with a confused expression. “I just got the notice that our usual caterer is ill and in the hospital. I couldn’t get through to him to find out how he caught it, but I know he’d been considering finding someone new.”

Caleb nodded, “It’s a shame, he made some incredible steaks.”

I raised my eyebrow, irritated. “You really have nothing else to say about a man in the hospital?”

He shrugged, “He’ll probably be fine.”

“Well, what names were you given to consider?” I asked.

Joseph pointed at a pair of men standing underneath the central archway of the hall. I blinked, a bit startled since I hadn’t seen them come in. The taller man had a mole on his left cheek, and the shorter one had greasy hair that looked like limp spaghetti.

“Those two, one of them owns…” he glanced down at the notepad in his hands, “Taste of the Party Catering, and the other owns Savories, which I think is a restaurant.”

I stared more intently at the two men, who by now had noticed me. Their expressions remained blank, but it suddenly dawned on me why I was startled by their appearance. I recognized them.

I didn’t know their names, but I must have seen them before in my past life. That can only mean one thing, that they were somehow associated with Lucas and would be working with him to ensure Caleb’s downfall. I couldn’t let them cater this party.

“No.”

Joseph coughed. “No?”

The two men glanced nervously at each other and started over to the group.

“They won’t do. Neither of them will work. You’ll have to find someone else.”

Caleb looked at me carefully like he was searching for the explanation in my eyes. “Care to explain?”

I stammered, “Well..” I couldn’t tell him that I had been reborn, and certainly not in front of all these other people! I had to come up with something.

”Whoever takes on this job has to have enough experience to make the party a success, your claim to the throne is dependent on it. So, for two candidates who have never worked with the palace before and who don’t know how the kitchens work, the timing of events… it could be a disaster.”

“I have plenty of experience!” The taller man exclaimed, “I’ve run my business for thirteen years, and I know the ins and outs of parties like the backs of my hands.” He looked at the floor, putting on a weepy facade I didn’t believe. “And ma’am, I have a sick mother at home, I would do anything to get this job.”

The other shook his head, “I have been cooking just as long as he has, and I cannot tell you how grateful I would be for this opportunity. You know, Prince Caleb’s support for the Hollywood Orphanage gave me a real chance at life, that’s where I was raised—”

The taller man interrupted, “Prince Caleb, you’ve been such a kind man before…”

I zoned out a bit from their pleas, shocked at how much kindness and money Caleb has apparently spent on charities and good works in the community. I really thought he was an extravagant playboy, but funding an orphanage? Who was this man?

“Ruby.” Caleb said, pulling me out of my thoughts.

”You’re going to have to trust me.” I responded, firmly and with as strong a voice as I could muster.

The two candidates immediately panicked and started talking over each other, and the rest of the group erupted into chatter.

“Maybe she’s the mole, does she not want the ball to succeed?”

“Why is your fiance being so difficult?”

“You can’t let her make all of your decisions for you, Caleb.”

“Ruby, follow me.” Caleb said, “Everyone else, you’re dismissed. You’ll hear from me with my decision later.

They looked dejected and irritated, but there was nothing they could do to ignore the instructions of the prince. I followed him through the hallway and into a side room, where the afternoon light shone through a cloud of dust particles. It looked like no one had been in here for a while.

“I think those two men might have defected to Lucas.”

For a moment my jaw hung open, and the words threatened to spill out of my mouth. There were so many other things I could say to convince him, but could I really trust him with every piece of information I had?

I didn’t know for sure what he would do if he found out I was truly born again, he might think I was lying. Or worse, that I was the mole who was trying to sabotage his attempt to become King.

The horrible thought occurred to me for a moment that perhaps he has been using me, all this time that I thought I had been making use of him. Would he turn on me if I gave him too much power?

Caleb considered me, shaking his head softly. “I know the boy from the orphanage, and yes, he definitely doesn’t wash his hair, but he’s been very nice every time I’ve met him.”

I look up into his face. “Every time?”

He shrugs the question away, “I used to volunteer there on the weekends. I haven’t been as much recently, but I still try to go down and see the kids when I can.”

I raised my brows, surprised at the gentleness in his voice. He liked kids?

I tried to sort through my memories of my past life, and finally the last piece of information clicked.

”Wait,” I said, “the civilian woman who has been mating with the bear-man.”

Caleb cocked his head, “What about her?”

“She’s going to be hired to work as a waitress at this Alpha Ball. Lucas knows this because of that boy from the orphanage, he gave Lucas that information.”

Caleb’s eyes darken, his expression dangerous. “How do you know so much?”