CHAPTER 16
After seeing that exchange, I calmly turned on my heels and made my way back to my room. I didn’t want anyone to see the hurt on my face, more specifically; I didn’t want Alex to see the look of hurt and betrayal.
I was in the room for only a few minutes when the door flew open and Zander made his way in. I ignored his presence and instead focused on straightening the already straight duvet.
“Let me explain first,” he began but I refused to speak, “We used to be a thing, yes, but it ended a long time ago, long before I met you. We are just friends now.” I stayed quiet and he let out an exasperated breath, “Please say something.”
“She’s really pretty.”
“Not as beautiful as you are,” his reply was instantaneous.
I finally looked up at him and he took that as permission to walk over to me and hold my hands with his.
“I want nothing to do with her, I promise you,” he pleaded with me with his voice to believe him, “She wasn’t supposed to arrive now; she was supposed to arrive in two weeks with the other guests.”
“What is happening in two weeks?”
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about after breakfast,” he gestured for me to sit down and I did slowly, “Your birthday is in two weeks and I wanted to hold our mating ceremony that day.”
“What?”
“I wanted it to hold on a day that was very special to you and I was supposed to formally ask you today but this happened.”
I didn’t know how to react. All I could do was let my mouth fall open and closed repeatedly like a fish. Zander was patient; he just calmly waited for me to pull my thoughts together.
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“You want to officially mate with me,” I probably sounded like a broken record but i wanted him to confirm that I had the right idea.
“Yes I do,” he stroked his thumb over the back of my hands, “And to prove that; we are going on a date today.”
That caught my attention, “What?”
“I’ll have Helena help you get ready.”
“But-.”
“I’ll come to get you in an hour,” he kissed my forehead softly; “We can clear out any doubts you have then, okay?”
“Okay,”
He gave me a soft smile and left the room. I stared at that door longer than I probably should have but today felt like a fever dream. First I fought with Alex- a well trained royal- and I won. Then Zander’s ex girlfriend came over and now I’m going on a date with the man I am going to be officially mated to in two weeks.
I don’t know how long I sat there but my door opened and Helena walked in. When she saw my state, she shook her head with a small laugh.
“I’m going to need you to process faster,” she said, “because I have less than forty five minutes to get you ready for your date.”
That seemed to snap me out of whatever stupor I was in and I gave her a nod showing that I was ready.
We probably spent more than forty five minutes considering how good I looked when I stared at the mirror. Helena had done beach curls with my hair and it looked better than I had seen my hair look in a very long time. She dressed me in a short white sundress and black and white high tops. For makeup, she went very natural with a little foundation and light pink lip gloss.
I was still admiring my reaction when Zander walked into the room. He was in a simple button up shirt and slacks and as he ran his eyes over my body, I saw his eyes darken considerably.
“I need to get you out of this room before I never let you leave,” he muttered to himself, “You look amazing princess.”
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CHAPTER 16
“You’re welcome,” Helena said as she all but pushed me out of the door, “Behave, both of you.”
I smiled to myself as Zander held out his hand for me to take. I didn’t waste any time in taking it and he led me out of the palace doors and towards a beautiful black Ferrari. I’m sure I drooled a little when I saw it.
I tried to keep my questions to myself as he drove us to our destination but I couldn’t help the jittering anxiety. There was a black SUV following a few feet. behind us and I knew it was standard protocol. He was the prince after all, it was only normal that he would have guards following him around.
He parked the car in front of a large building and when he led me inside, my mouth fell open. It was a beautiful garden with elaborate flowers and a huge fountain in the middle. He led us to a gazebo at the far side that was already set for an
intimate dinner.
“Please sit,” he pulled out my chair for me and I couldn’t hold back my smile as I sat down, “This place was built a really long time ago and it isn’t open to the public. It is kept strictly for special events hosted by the palace.”
I instantly understood what he was insinuating, “Like a mating ceremony for example.”
“Exactly like that,” he confirmed, “I figured that it would be best for you to see it before the day. It will be decorated and will look almost completely different by then but yes, this is where it will hold.”
“It’s beautiful,” I admitted, “Although, I thought the ceremony would hold inside the palace.”
“There will be a party after for strictly the royals that will hold inside the palace but this is where the main ceremony will happen.”
I hummed to myself. I didn’t realize that palace events were this complicated. Just then, a man arrived dressed in a waiter outfit and he poured a glass of champagne for each of us. He asked if we would like to eat anything and Zander requested for ‘the usual‘. I couldn’t wait to see what that was.
“I don’t know much about your family,” I said after a beat had passed, “We aren’t taught much in the packs. Only that you’re the prince but we never hear about the
CHAPTER 16
King or the Queen.”
A dark look passed across his features, “My parents are dead.” There was a tone of finality to his voice but I wanted to know more.
“How did they die?”
“I don’t want to talk about my parents Lyla.”
“But I thought we would use this time period to get to know each other.” I was confused, “You probably already know everything about me. I’m sure you had a background check done on me the moment you decided I was to be your mate.”
“You’re right,”
“I just want to know some more about your past and who you are now.”
Zander sighed and held both my hands, “My past isn’t pretty; let it be left alone, in the past where it belongs. What matters is my present and all there is to know is that I’m the prince, I have a little brother and I am about to take the most beautiful girl in the world as my mate.”
I knew he was being dismissive and a part of me wanted to figure out why but another part of me just wanted to let things be. He has been good to me since the moment we first met and he wants me to be his mate.
If he doesn’t want to talk about his past then the least I can do is respect that.
I let out a small sigh before nodding, “Okay; I won’t ask about your past again. But I have one more question.”
“What is it?”
“Why did you take me as a mate?”
He hesitated before speaking, “You aren’t a normal werewolf Lyla. My wolf can sense it and I am sure that others can too. You’re a werewolf–lycan hybrid and while I am not sure of your family root, I can assure you that you are eligible to be my mate.”
“I don’t understand,” I began but he cut me off.
“I don’t know much but when I do, I promise to let you know.”
CHAPTER 17
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