The Palace

Stephen

Walking the halls of the palace every day was always the same. People would stop and bow to me as I walked by. Some would never look at me, while others would smile and greet me politely. It's a never ending cycle that I have no choice but to endure. I walk toward the entrance knowing that my visitor will arrive at any moment.

A few months back I found a girl that I was interested in. My father had taught me I was supposed to wait for my true mate. As king, he had done everything he could to try to force the issue of true mates. Being fated to one person he said was a gift from the Goddess herself.

Up until the moment I met her, I felt the same way. But there was something about the blonde beauty that captured my very soul. Every minute was filled with thoughts of my sweet angel of a girlfriend. I had skipped training no matter what kind it was today. My distractedness has gone beyond just something basic, it was taking over everything in my life.

I had never been a fan of learning all the history and rules of being a wolf. I would doze off or zone off while listening to my tutors. I would always go to battle or fight training. Now I was skipping out every time that she came to the palace.

I had done everything I could to keep my dad from finding out what I was up to. I knew that once he found out that I hadn’t waited for my mate he would lose it. If I heard it once I would have heard it a million times that you were only supposed to have sex with your mate.

I had slept with my angel after the third date we had. Something about her that night had made it impossible to resist her. She had kissed me and it felt like my body was on fire. By the end of the date, I had lost my virginity and had tried almost every sexual position out there. My Angel was happy to give herself to me.

She had met her mate, and he had rejected her. He was power hungry and wanted to find an alpha female to be with. She said that it had broken her, but once she met me her heart started to heal.

After a few more dates, she told me about what her pack life was like. The alpha’s daughter would bully her every chance she could. She would call her names and then it eventually became physical. I had asked why she never told anyone about it and she said that the alpha never would have believed her. The entire pack thought the girl was a perfect child and they would never listen to anything contrary to that.

I had told her I could get her a transfer to another pack but she said she didn’t want to leave her parents. Since she had lost her mate, her parents and brother were all that she had. Hearing that had made me feel sorry for her and I spent the rest of the night showing her how important I thought she was.

Even though I felt strongly for her, my wolf Henry didn’t like it. He wouldn’t allow me to take her to my room. He said that our true mate was the only one that should be allowed there.

I had given her a tour of the palace, but I made sure to keep her away from my room. I had to keep up appearances when it came to my parents. My mother was desperate for me to find my mate. She always was going on about how she wasn’t getting any younger and she wanted grandchildren.

I pushed the guilty feelings I had of guilt when it came to my parents. I had never lied to them before. I made myself believe I wasn’t lying, since they never actually asked about this. They seemed to be in the dark about what I was doing and I wanted to keep it that way until the ball.

My mother and father insisted we hold a ball in hopes of helping me find my true mate. Over the years, my father’s relationship with the alphas had deteriorated because of the strict laws he had put into effect. This ball would hold significance for me and him.

“Stephen!” I hear a voice call out.

I turn to see my beta and best friend Diego running up to me. The look on his face tells me that I will not like what I’m about to hear. Diego has always been the straight arrow of the two of us. He always did what he was told and never disobeyed. He’s here to try to pull me to training, which I have no intentions of going to.

“I’ve been calling your name and looking for you for ten minutes. Are you going to go to training today?” He asked.

“Nah man, I have something I need to take care of today. Plus, the ball is tonight and you know my mom is going to have all kinds of crap she’s going to want me to do.” I say, trying to joke around.

A look crosses his face that I have been seeing more often lately. It’s a dark look that’s only there for a moment, but then it’s gone. Something has been bothering my friend but he won’t tell me what it is.

I hate that he’s keeping secrets, but then again so am I. I haven’t told a single person about my girlfriend and I don’t intend to until tonight. I plan on claiming my Angel tonight.

I know that there’s a chance that my true mate will be at the ball. Even if she is, I still want to claim my girl. I know that a true mate is supposed to be this magical thing that improves your life, but I don’t believe that. What I have with my girl is real, and it doesn’t come from some mate bond that is given to me by a goddess.

The feeling I have and that she has is real. We love each other as a person and not because that is who we are destined to be with. I don’t want someone telling me who I can love and I think the idea of it is somewhat cruel.

What happens to someone’s mate when they die and have never met? Does that mean they don’t get to have a true mate? Doesn’t that seem unfair to them? Why should one person get their mate while another does not?

“You know your dad is going to start noticing your absence if he hasn’t already? If you want to take over the kingdom, you’re going to have to put in more of an effort.” Diego says with a bit of a harshness.

“Trust me, I know what I’m doing. Have I ever steered you wrong in the past?” I ask, trying to get him to see it’s alright.

“No.” he says begrudgingly.

“Then trust me when I say I’ve got this. There’s nothing to worry about.” I slap a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll see you later at the ball.”

I walk off heading to the entrance that I told my Angel to meet me at. I want to spend the rest of my day buried inside her and enjoying the last day we have to hide. Tonight I will declare her my mate in front of everyone at the ball.

“Hi Baby!” I hear her squeal out as she enters the palace.

I pick her up and kiss her, spinning her around. Every time I see her it’s like the first time all over again. Her beauty and kindness shine through and I know without a doubt that she will make an amazing Queen Luna.

“Damn, I’ve missed my girl.” I say as I hold her close.

“I’ve missed you too. I was almost too afraid to come tonight.” She whispers in my ear.

“Why?”

“Your mate could show up. Then where will that leave us? You’ll leave me to make your father happy, and I’ll be all alone while you have your mate.” She answers with tears filling her eyes.

“Listen to me my Angel. I’m going to declare you my mate tonight. It doesn’t matter if my true mate is there or not. You are what I want, and I always get what I want.”