Mated To The Hybrid Prince - Chapter 102: Chapter 102

(Lily’s POV)
“The princess is my mate.” Dev muttered to us.
Silence.
The words seemed to echo in the air, heavy and sharp. “What?” Aria whispered, cutting the air.
Tobe stared at him like he'd just grown two heads. “You're joking, right?”
Dev only shook his head, his expression serious. Aria leaned forward, disbelief etched on her face. “For real? How long have you known?”
Dev looked down, then lifted his gaze slowly. “Since the first day I saw her in school.”
The shock on Tobe's and Aria's faces deepened. My breath caught in my throat.
Aria’s voice rose with frustration. “And you didn’t think to tell us? We’re your closest friends, Dev! You know everything about us!”
My chest tightened, but my question came out quieter than theirs, more confused than angry, because I’d known that Dev and Zelda were mates after hearing Zion and Dev talk that day we went cliffing. I cleared my throat. “But... how is she here in your house? wearing your shirt? When did she even arrive in the human realm?”
Tobe suddenly glanced at Dev, then at me “You knew, didn’t you? Lily” he asked with furrowed eyebrows and guilt clenched my gut. Even Dev looked surprised. He whispered “you knew?”
And I nodded slowly. “I overheard you and Zion.”
Aria bit her lips “Wow! Seriously, Lily? You knew and said nothing to us?” she growled, pointing at Tobe and her.
I spoke quickly “It wasn’t mine to tell..”
Aria scoffed, the sound sharp and disbelieving. "That’s your excuse?!” She leaned forward angrily “We’ve always told each other everything, Lily. Everything. You knew they were mates and never once thought we deserved to know? We trusted you."
Tobe stood, fists clenched and jaw tight “I thought we were brothers, Dev. Not just friends… the ones you share everything with, no matter what. Did our relationship mean nothing to you?”
Dev stood too, his voice calm but heavy with emotion. “Tobe, you know that what we have means everything to me. I’m sorry, but I was still trying to make sense of it myself before dragging you all into it. I didn’t want to cause further drama.”
Aria crossed her arms, “Really? We all trusted you with everything, Dev. Yet you couldn’t do the same?”
Tobe turned to her, eyes hard. “Oh please, Aria. Should we talk about how you rekindled things with Lucien and didn’t breathe a word for months? Acted like nothing happened? Please, don’t act all righteous now.”
Aria recoiled, caught off guard. “That’s different!”
“Is it?” Tobe snapped. “You kept it quiet because you knew we'd say something and you didn't want to hear it. That’s exactly what Dev did.”
I stood too, trying to calm the storm. “Okay, can we all just breathe? This isn’t helping anyone.”
“No, Lily,” Tobe said, turning to me. “You're not off the hook either. You helped him keep the secret. You chose sides.”
“No! That wasn’t it at all..” I gasped.
“You know what pisses me off the most?” Tobe said bitterly, locking eyes with Dev, then flicking his gaze to me. “It’s like I’m always the one in the damn dark. I’m always the last to know about things. Like I’m not even part of this....” he muttered, making a circular motion at each of us, “...anymore.”
Then Dev chuckled mischievously, making us turn to him.
“Really Tobe?” Dev said slowly, locking eyes with him, “Are you sure that you aren’t hiding anything from us too?”
The room shifted. I blinked. Aria and I looked at each other, eyebrows raised..
Tobe narrowed his eyes. He clenched his fists, then suddenly exploded. “Fine! I’ve found my mate, and she’s human!”