2) what am I supposed to do with this?

“I beg your pardon?” I stand and look shocked at the male before me.

“I don’t want my mate to bow before me. You are my equal. You shouldn’t now before me.” He says with a smirk.

“But I…” there are very few times in my life when I’ve been speechless so it’s a rare occurrence. I don’t like not having something to say. Raymond Darla said ‘words are weapons stronger than ones that breaks bone’. Words are important and amazing, I pride myself on having and infinite labyrinth of words, and yet in this moment I have none.

He places his hand on my cheek. “You are stunning. You’ll look amazing in the painting that will hang on the ancestral wall.”

“I can’t be your mate.” I say, my senses flooding back to me. I snatch my skirt and move back towards the table to grab my belongings.

“And why not?” He follows behind me.

I turn and speak as I take steps towards the door that leads inside.

“Because I had a mate. You only get one. I can’t have another one. It’s like a dessert serving. You’re only allowed one.” I turn back around and pick up my pace to head downstairs. I’m in such a hurry I barely register the warriors, that are not our, littered everywhere.

“You have a mate?” He growls behind me as he increases his pace as well.

“Kind of. So you and I, we can’t be mates.”

My breath catches in my chest as I’m slammed into a wall. Strong hands grip me against the cold concrete.

“You are my mate.” He growls. “You cannot have another mate. You are mine. So whoever he is, he’s not your true mate.”

“He was my true mate. For the most part he rejected me.” He is very close to me.

“He rejected you!” The Prince growls down at me.

I throat is cleared next to us.

“What?” The Prince snaps. I take a beep breath as his piercing gaze leaves me.

“They need you for the ceremony, Your Majesty.” Michael says.

“I’ll be right down.” He growls. His gaze turns back to me.

“Let’s go.” He says softer to me while lacing his fingers through mine and drags me down the stairs to the grande hall. As we get closer I start to babble but the moment we stand outside the entrance doors, I pull my hand hard which holts him.

“I can’t. I can’t go in there. Especially not with you. Not like this.” I lift our joined hands. “You go. And I will… not.”

“I will make you a deal, sweetheart. I will go in and take care of the ceremony and you will wait for me. Afterwards we can talk, or not.” He winks at me with a smirk before barking orders at one of his men to watch me. Then he enters the grande hall behind Michael. All eyes are on him, including mine, as he walks towards the dias and sits lazily in his throne like chair, his crown screw atop his head. I can feel eyes his eyes on me. His piercing eyes. Then I feel a second pair. I glance over to see Ben. He looks serious, somber. He looks so perfectly in place up on the dias, standing on Aaron’s left and Angies right. The Beta he was meant to be. And look over it all is the Prince. With his reputation and those fucking eyes.

Well Moon Goddess? What the hell am I supposed to do with this?

________________________________

I’m so drunk by the end pod the ceremony it’s not even funny.

After The Prince left me, I snuck into the back of the hall and all the way to the bar, loosing The Princes warrior that was supposed to watch me. I ordered tequila shot and the rest is pretty self explanatory. I don’t even like tequila but it makes me drunk really quick.

Once the ceremony is done, the orchestra starts playing music and people start dancing. I turn to a rather attractive male also at the bar.

“Would you like to dance.” I smile at him. He looks me up and down.

“Sure.” He says, satisfied with what he sees.

I take his hand and we head to the dance floor. There are many people twirling and whirling around so we easily slip into the sea of people.

As the music pick up so do I. My feet move of their own accord as my heartbeat sinks with the music. At some point I change partners and keep gliding around the room.

The song changes to a traditional dance that all the females partake in so all the males filter off the dance floor to observe.

I don’t know how, but I end up leading the dance with Angie. The two of us laughing like we did the first time we learned the dance. Only this time we aren’t young girls tripping over our feet, we’re grow women dancing at the initiation ceremony of our peers.

As the song comes to a close one of my favourite songs gets played so I kept my dancing. And dancing and dancing. 

And when I’m not dancing I’m drinking. And avoiding both Ben and the Prince which is a much tougher than one would think. But it’s all okay once I’m swallowed by the dance floor.