Chapter 23

Maksim watched Ella sleep all night long. He never moved from her side as the color to her skin returned and her shivering stopped. It took a long time, but she eventually fell into a deep sleep and her muscles relaxed as Maksim covered her face with light feather kisses.

By morning, Ella was sweating. She opened her eyes to gray skies and Maksim's light breathing. Her heart did a flip in her chest as she realized his arms were wrapped around her and his shirt was off. Ella tried to move back a few inches but Maksim stirred in his sleep and pulled her closer.

He was crushing her to his chest. Ella tried again to wiggle out but it was like trying to get out of iron chains. Defeated and desperate for some arm space, Ella called to Maksim.

"Maksim," her throat was sore and her voice cracked as if she might lose it any second. "Maksim."

Maksim's brows furrowed as he moved his face closer to Ella. Instead of releasing her, the prince only pulled her closer.

"You're hurting me," Ella began to gasp for air.

Maksim's eyes snapped open. His heart started to race in his chest as he looked down into Ella's eyes. He took a second to register what was happening and as soon as his brain clicked he released her from his arms and jumped out of bed.

Horrified, Maksim stared down at Ella as she gasped for air on the bed. She rolled over to her side and turned away from Maksim as she filled her lungs with air.

"Fuck," Maksim said under his breath as he got back on the bed and hovered over Ells.

"Baby," he said with concern as he touched her shoulder and gently rolled her over on her back. "I'm so sorry. Are you okay?"

Ella nodded her head as she sat up slowly. Maksim pulled away and untangled her legs from the blankets. Ella looked down and realized she was fully dressed. No wonder she was so uncomfortable, she thought, she slept with her bra on.

"Do you need water?" Maksim waited for her to speak. "Are you hungry? Are you cold?"

Ella shook her head as she patted her hair down. She slowly moved to the edge of the bed and set her feet down on the soft rug. Maksim followed her movements as if he was waiting for her to fall. He was ready to catch her. His eyes followed her as she stood up carefully and looked around the room.

"Where are we?" Ella asked in her raspy voice.

Maksim's heart tugged at the way her voice sounded. He frowned as he took a step closer and inhaled her scent to remind him she was safe and next to him.

"We're at my aunt and uncle's house," he said to her as she continued to look around. "She brought you here last night, do you remember?"

Ella looked at Maksim and nodded her head, "Yeah....I remember her and your dad picking me up from the bus stop."

"Ella," Maksim couldn't stop himself from touching her. He placed one hand against her face and leaned his forehead against her. "Why didn't you call me? What were you thinking? Were you going to sit out in the snow all night?"

Ella's eyes dropped to her hands, "I had nowhere else to go."

"What happened? Why were you out there?"

"I.... I got kicked out of my house," As Ella said the words aloud in the daylight, their weight became very real. She felt the panic in her begin to rise as she took a step back from Mackey and wiped her palms on her sweater.

"What?" Maksim asked to make sure he heard her correctly. "Why didn't you call me?"

Ella looked up at him and blinked several times. Was he really asking her why she didn't call him after he refused to see her when she showed up at the palace.

Maksim realized what he was saying and mentally smacked himself. How could he have been so stupid?

"Ella," Maksim reached for her hand. "I am so sorry for everything. I am an idiot. I take full responsibility. I will take any punishment you give me. Baby, please, I am so sor-"

As Maksim made his long apology, Ella's head turned to look around the room. She spotted the door behind Maksim and slowly pulled her hands out of his and stepped around him.

"Where are you going?" Maksim asked as he followed her.

"I need to use the bathroom," Ella said as she turned the door knob.

"There's a guest bathroom in here," Maksim put his hand on her lower back and guided her to the left side of the room where the small clean bathroom was.

Ella stepped inside and quickly locked the door behind her. Maksim took a few steps back and stood in the middle of the room as he heard Ella turn on the water. His jaw tensed when he heard her weeping inside and trying to cover it up with the sound of the water. He moved closer to the door and knocked.

"Ella?"

"I'm okay," she lied trying to make her voice sound even. "Just give me a minute."

"Okay," Maksim said, not knowing what to do. He moved back to the bed and sat on the edge as he watched and waited for the door knob to turn and for Ella to come out. Even all the way across the room, Maksim could hear Ella sobbing inside.

Eden, Maksim opened his mind-link looking for help.

Morning! How is she? Eden linked back from downstairs.

Not good, Maksim's heart shook. She's in the bathroom crying.

Give her space, Mackey, Eden said gently. Let her navigate this on her own terms. Just be there for her. That's all you can do right now.

Okay, Maksim nodded with his eyes still on the door.

I'm taking the boys to school and then I'm going to work. Will you two be okay?

Yes, Maksim sighed. Thank you.

Alright, there's breakfast on the table. Come eat when you are ready.

Thank you again, sunshine.

Maksim closed his mind-link and ran a hand through his hair. He picked him his shirt from where he had dropped it last night and pulled it back on. As he waited for Ella, he made the bed and fluffed up the pillows. He was moving around the room picking up all their stuff when his eyes fell on Ella's bags by the door. He walked over and tried to move them to the chairs by the window when her wallet spilled out.

Maksim bent over and collected all her cards and a few photo booth pictures of her and Lily when his eyes landed on her ID.

Date of Birth......December 16......

As Maksim stood staring down at the ID card, he felt the ground from beneath his feet be snatched away. It was her birthday......

They threw her out of the house on her birthday in the middle of a snow storm......

Maksim swallowed back the bitter taste in his mouth as he neatly put all the contents of the wallet back. He placed Ella's bags on the chair and moved the curtains to let some light into the room. Just as he finished, Ella opened the bathroom door and walked out.

Maksim looked over his shoulder and found her eyeing the neatly made bed. Her bare feet shifted on the hardwood floor as she tugged on the sleeves of her sweater. Not wanting her to get sick, Maksim picked up the new pair of fuzzy socks Clare had left in the room the night before. He walked over to Ella and guided her to have a seat on the bed.

Ella followed him without question and watched as he picked up her legs and put them on his lap. He wrapped his warm hands around her tiny icicle feet, heating them up, before he put the socks on them. Once he was done, Ella moved her legs off his lap and moved back a few inches.

"Are you hungry? There's breakfast downstairs." Maksim said slowly.

"I'm not really hungry," Ella sighed as she leaned back against the pillow.

"You should eat."

"What about you?"

"I need to shower first," Maksim ran a hand through his already messy hair.

"I'll wait until you're done then."

"Are you sure?"

Ella nodded.

Maksim got off the bed and pulled his shirt off. He grabbed the fresh towels from the table by the bathrooms and quickly jumped into the hot shower. He didn't want to miss a second with his mate, especially not on her birthday. He needed to make her day better. She deserved to have a special day.

He racked his brain trying to think of what to do. It was too soon for a party. She was definitely not up for that. Maybe a nice dinner? Or they could stay in and he could have the chef prepare something special for her at the palace. The possibilities were endless but nothing seemed right.

As Maksim got out of the shower, he wrapped the white towel around his waist and picked up his phone. He quickly texted Margo and asked her to do him a big favor. When she agreed after a few minutes, Maksim smiled to himself as he stepped out of the bathroom.

The first thing he noticed different about the space in front of him was that Ella was not there. His heart leaped up to his throat immediately as he wondered where she was.

Did she leave?

No, she couldn't have.

"Ella?" Maksim called her.

No answer.

"Ell?"

Still no answer.

Maksim's heart began to pound as he started to sniff the air. Her scent was everywhere in the room. He followed it from the bed to the door and then out into the hall. As he was led closer and closer to the first floor, Maksim's steps picked up. His wolf started to wrestle with worry thinking she left.

Directly after landing on the first floor, Maksim turned his head in every direction. He desperately sniffed the air until he caught the scent of magnolia once again. He followed it down the halls to the back of the house where Eden's spell work space was.

Ella stood with her back towards Maksim as she examined the family photos on the wall. Her head was tilted back as she gazed upon a smiling portrait of Alec and Eden at the beach with their boys.

Maksim sighed in relief as he rushed over to her. He heard Ella gasp in surprise as he grabbed her hips and lowered his nose to the crook of her shoulder. Her back rested against his bare chest as he inhaled her scent and tried to calm himself.

"I thought you left," Maksim confessed his worries into her ear.

"I'm sorry.....I.....I needed to walk around for a bit."

"It's fine," Maksim kissed the back of her head. "You don't have to apologize."

He slowly turned Ella around in his arms and walked her back against the wall. Her eyes watched him carefully as he pushed the hair out of her face and leaned in closer.

Maksim felt Ella still and not in the good way where she waited for him to kiss her. He slowly dropped his hand and took a step back, trying to recognize the look in her eyes. She looked away trying to hide it, but it was all over her face. She was scared......

Maksim was speechless. He didn't know what to say in fear he might say the wrong thing. He realized he was moving way too fast. He was trying to get over the apologies and arguments and dive right into kissing her and holding her as if they hadn't just spent the last few months not speaking to each other.

But why was she scared? Was it because of what happened in the morning? If he hadn't woken up on time, he could have suffocated her.

"Ella..." Maksim needed to say something, but what was the right thing to say. "I..."

"You should go change, Maksim," Ella avoided looking at his half naked body wrapped in a towel.

"Yes, good idea." Maksim said as he cleared his throat. "I'll go change. Just....don't leave, okay?"

Ella nodded her head once more.

Maksim rushed up stairs and pulled on his clothes from the night before. He tossed the towel into the laundry basket and ran back downstairs to Ella. She had moved on from Eden's workshop to standing outside Alec's office.

"What are their names?" She asked as she picked up a framed photo of Arden and Ian.

"This one is Arden. And this one is Ian." Maksim pointed to the boys.

"I think.....I think I remember their mother," Ella said as she put the frame back. "That day at the stable when I had that cut on my knee. She was there with Clare."

"Yeah," Maksim nodded his head. "That was Eden."

Ella moved onto another picture as Maksim followed her around with his eyes. She was surprisingly very calm. She was crying or panicking or yelling. One would never know, just by looking at her, that she had almost froze to death the night before after being kicked out from her home.

Could she be in shock?

Maksim made a note to contact Rye. But his first priority was to make sure she ate something.

"Ella? Can we eat? I'm starving."

"Sure," Ella nodded her head as she moved away from the picture frames.

Maksim led her to the breakfast bar in the kitchen and pulled out a stool for her. He held her hand and helped her onto the stool before filling her plate with scrambled eggs, fruits and pancakes.

"Watch out for cardamoms," Maksim said as he made his own plate and went to go sit next to Ella. "Eden has a habit of putting it in everything."

Ella picked up her fork and poked her eggs. She took a small bite before setting the fork back down.

Maksim waited for a few minutes until the silence became too much to bear. He cleared his throat and turned in his seat to look at his mate.

"Ella,"

"Yes?"

"What happened last night?"

Ella stilled for a split second. Maksim's eyes stayed glued on her as she reached out and took a sip of her water before carefully setting the glass back down.

"My dad saw me sneaking back in after I got home and got angry," She said as she sighed. "We fought and then he told me to leave."

"What happened what day after the video leaked?"

Ella's shoulders dropped. Maksim's hands itched to pull her closer but he stopped himself. He wasn't sure she would answer him until her quiet raspy voice spoke up after a long drawn out pause.

"They told me if I wanted to stay in St. Vincent and at home I had to cut off all ties with you. They blamed me for everything wrong happening to the family. Mia called me the king's whore, papa took away my phone, Piper wasn't allowed to speak to me, the neighbors told their kids to stay away from me....... "

Maksim's hands balled into fists as he listened to Ella's words. He wanted to tear the whole world apart and mend her broken heart. He was plotting murder in his mind when he realiazed he was also to blame for the pain in Ella's voice and eyes.

He too had hurt her. All his snarky comments, rude remarks, angry glares. Maksim wanted to hand Ella a silver knife and tell her to take her anger out on him.

"Ella," he pulled her stool closer and cupped her face. "Baby, I can not begin to explain how sorry I am for everything I did. Words will never be enough to make up for it. I am so sorry. Please forgive me. I promise I will make it all right again."

Ella's eyes began to tear as Maksim apologized to her. She reached up and placed her hands on his wrist as a sob broke her down.

"No, baby," Maksim pulled her to his chest and held her. "I will make it all better."

"How?" Ella asked as she pulled away to look at him. "I.....I have no family. No home....I have nowhere to go."

"You have me," Maksim said with urgency. "I will take care of everything. You're my mate. You belong with me. Please give me a chance and I promise all this will be better."

"I.....I want to go see Lily," Ella choked.

"I'll take you to see her," Maksim said. "Just stay with me. Please baby. Where will you go? You belong with me. We were made for each other."

Ella began to cry harder as Maksim begged her again and again to give him another chance. He promised her he would never hurt her again and he would do whatever she wanted. He just wanted her next to him.

"You're my queen," he said. "How can I be the king with you? Don't you see, we need each other."

Ella slowly lifted her baby blue eyes. Maksim could see the fear and the uncertainty swim in them and for a second his heart stopped. His own fear consumed him as he thought she was about to push him away.

But when Ella slowly nodded, Maksim felt a flood of relief wash over him. His heart jump started as his wolf began to howl in joy.

"Really?" He asked not believing the miracle. "You'll stay?"

Ella nodded again. "I'm your mate...... I'm ready to take on my role."

A wide smile broke out across Maksim's face as he pulled her into his arms. He buried his face in her hair as he kissed the side of her face over and over. Ella lifted her arms and wrapped them around Maksim's neck as he swung her off the chair and spun her in the air.

When he sat her back down, he pushed her hair out of her face and gazed into her brilliant eyes.

"I want to take you home," he said. "I want to officially introduce you to my parents."

'Okay," Ella nodded. "I'm a little nervous."

"They will love you," Maksim kissed her forehead.

____________________

Shortly after breakfast, Ella went upstairs and changed her clothes. Maksim informed his parents he was bringing Ella home as he waited for her with her bags downstairs. He could hardly contain his excitement. When Ella came down stairs dressed in a white sweater and black jeans, he thought his heart might stop. She was so beautiful.

"Let's go home," Maksim said as he held his hand out for her.

Ella gave a small smile as she placed her hand in his and let him walk her out to his car. She watched him walk around to the driver seat and settle himself in before he picked up her hand and placed a kiss upon it.

"Everyone is very excited," he informed her.

Ella took a deep breath to prepare herself. She held onto Maksim's hand tightly as he drove through the snow covered streets. Her heart pounded in her chest as she worried about them not liking her.

"They already love you," Maksim chuckled when Ella voiced her concern.

"Do they know.....about my family?"

"You don't have to worry about that, I'll take care of everything."

Ella turned her eyes back to the road. She counted backward in her head to calm her nerves as they got closer and closer to the palace.

To say Maksim's family was big would have been an understatement. Everyone had gathered in the family room and started to sign happy birthday as soon as the new couple walked in. Maksim held Ella in his arms as he sang loudly and kissed her cheek. When they were done singing, he walked her over to his mother and father and introduced her.

Mavi pulled Ella into her arms and wished her happy birthday once more before apologizing for her son's behavior. Owen kissed her forehead and wished her many returns of the big day. Rye and Xavier were next.

"Welcome to the family, Ella," Xavier said as he shook her hand.

"Mimzy," Maksim pulled Rye aside as Ella spoke to Xavier. "I was a bit worried about her this morning. She was acting too calm."

"Could be just how she copes with stress," Rye said. "I don't think she's in shock, but I will definitely keep an eye on her."

"Thank you,"

"Maksim," Rye stopped him before he could go back to his mate. "You might want to take things slow for now. All this might be overwhelming for her. You don't want to put her in shock, right?"

"No, of course not," Maksim frowned.

"Then maybe slowly ease her into our crazy family."

"Okay," Maksim smiled. "Thank you, love."

Rye patted his cheek before she let him get back to his girl. She watched Ella as Maksim came to stand by her side and found something very odd about the girl's body language. She wasn't in shock. But she wasn't herself either.

As Rye watched her she realized Clare was watching Ella too. Slowly, Rye walked over to the girl and followed her eyes.

"What are you thinking?" she asked.

"She's nervous," Clare said.

"Who wouldn't be meeting this nutcase of a family?"

"No.....she is nervous about messing up. Of making a mistake."

"She'll be fine."

"Let's hope so," Clare sighed as she watched her brother's beaming eyes and proud smile.

After a few more minutes of introductions and embarrassing family stories, Maksim announced he wanted to steal his mate away.

"I don't want to share her just yet," he said as he took Ella's hand and took her away from the family room.

Ella followed him down the hall as Maksim kissed her hand and told her random facts about the palace. He was so happy he could almost fly off to space.

"And this is now our room," Maksim said as he pulled Ella into his old bedroom where they had rolled around on the floor.

"Our?" Ella asked in a small voice.

Maksim looked over his shoulder and saw the uneasiness in her eyes.

"Shit," he said quickly. "I'm so sorry. I keep doing it. I'm trying to take things slow."

"It's okay, maksim," Ella squeezed his hand.

"You can have your own room if you want that," Maksim said quickly. "You can have a whole floor to yourself."

"What do you want?" Ella surprised him by asking.

"Me?"

"Do you want me to stay in my own room or do you want me to stay here with you?"

"I want you to stay here with me. I want you right next to be all the time."

"Then I'll stay here," Ella smiled.

Maksim searched her eyes as he slowly pulled her into his arms. He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her against his chest.

"Happy birthday, Ella," he whispered to her. "You have completed my life. You were my missing puzzle piece."

Ella's lips pulled back into a soft smile, "Thank you."

"I have something for you," Maksim said as he let go of her. Ella took a step back as she watched him pull out a little blue box from his pocket.

"Happy birthday, my love," Maksim said once more as he handed Ella the Tiffany's box.

"You really didn't have to," Ella shook her head.

"I wanted to," Maksim smiled. "Open it."

With hesitant fingers, Ella slowly undid the ribbon and opened the box. She gasped slightly as she caught sight of the teardrop diamond necklace sitting inside of it.

"Do you like it?"

"Yes," Ella said as she pulled the chain out from which the diamond hung. "Thank you so much."

"Here, allow me," Maksim said as he took the necklace and stepped behind his mate. He waited until she pulled her hair up before looping the necklace around and securing the hook.

"Let me see," Maksim gently turned Ella around as she let go of her hair.

"How does it look?"

"Beautiful," Maksim smiled. "Like you."

Ella tucked her hair back as Maksim took a step forward. He cupped her face and lowered his mouth towards her.

"Can I kiss you?" He asked.

"Yes," Ella nodded.

Maksim smiled as he lowered his lips upon her soft mouth and kissed her tenderly. The sparks danced between them as his hands wandered into her hair and pulled her closer. Ella placed her hand against his chest and pressed her lips against his as he pulled at her.

After a few seconds, Maksim leaned his head against her forehead and sighed. He felt Ella leaned her head against his chest and wrapped her arms around his body. The feeling of her was indescribable.

But no matter how jolly and elated he was feeling..... There was something nagging at him from the back of his mind. Everything should have been perfect.

But it wasn't.  

At last everything is going well for them hehehe don't you just looooove it when things are perfect?