SHE'S MY MATE TOO

Audrey's POV

The rest of the day passed in a twinkle of an eye. I could not even pinpoint what I did with it. After Alaric had left me alone in the room with warmth oozing out of my body, I decided to go for a stroll and walk till I could get him out of my mind, with only a thought on my mind. I had to find a way to keep his mouth shut. 

I had to reject Alaric and find a way to stop everything he did to me. And soon, it was evening, and I was seated in front of a mirror after a hot bath that the maids drew for me. 

I was lost in my thoughts about Alaric, trying to figure out why and how he had such a significant effect on me. It could not only be because we were mates. I was attracted to him,too, but was I that much attracted to a stranger?

A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts, the maid in my hair rushing towards the entrance to open it. I watched her through the mirror as she conversed with whoever was there before she closed the door and approached me, placing a squared box in front of me.

"The maid claimed the Alpha asked you to wear this to the party. She said he had it made for the likes of you." 

At the mention of Asher giving me something, I picked it up. My eyes were in a hurry as I peeled all the rap out. A smile lit up my face as I came in contact with the most adorable necklace I've ever seen in my entire life, not to talk of the engraved words on it, 

"Princess…" I muttered, picking it up. 

It was like a sparking gold that would catch many eyes on my neck, especially with all the glitters on the 'princess' word. 

The smile on my face widened as I brought it to my neck, allowing it to rest on my skin. With a glance to the maid, she took it from me and wore it on my neck, smiling at the mirror with her eyes on it,

"The Alpha is thoughtful. He must love you for this." 

I smiled more, nodding to myself. Asher loves me. Even the maid could see that Asher loved me. The only thing in my way was my mistake with his brother, which I had to clear before Asher figured it out.

"Dress me up quickly. I need to see him." I said to the maid with a proud smile. 

Soon, she was done with my makeup, dressing me in a full gold princess gown. I stood before the full-length mirror, staring at my pretty self. I touched the arm of the shift, bringing it a little more down to balance the off-shoulder part. 

The gown perfectly fit my upper body, stopping at my waist before bringing it accessible and comprehensive to the ankle bone of my feet. My hair was combed back, dropped to my core, and gave me a princess-style look.

"I love this," I muttered.

"I'm glad you love it." The maid muttered.

With a nod, I walked graciously out of the room, remembering the steps my dance master had taught me on walking out. Through my afternoon walk, I knew the way to the party room, and I didn't need to stress over it. I had just climbed the stairs when the door opened, turning my head to meet the eyes of my greatest nemesis. 

My lips parted at the sight of him. If I had thought Asher was handsome, Alaric was smokingly hot and dangerously attractive. His long hair was raised high into a manly bun, his black eyes glowing effortlessly, and his dress, Gosh, was shimmering. 

He wore a blue tailcoat with gold buttons and tiny glitters of gold at the neck, matching it with black pants. 

"I know I'm hot, but you don't have to drool like that all over me." His voice brought me back to life, and I hurriedly composed myself.

As Alaric walked towards me, I felt my body tense, where we had stopped in the afternoon, coming over to me again. I cleared my throat and took a step back on the staircase, lowering my eyes to the ground,

"You look lovely, Princess. The maid did her work well." 

I blushed internally. It was great he was complimenting me. At least, I'm not a bad match for his impeccable handsomeness.

"And that necklace fits you as I had imagined. I'm such a thoughtful person. I should have added 'MY' to it, My Princess. What do you think?"

My head snapped up instantly, my eyes widening as I stared at him in shock, "You…You made the necklace?" 

"Who did you think is capable of such beauty, Princess? The maids? Or who?"

"I thought the Alpha Asher did this for me," I replied absent-mindedly, touching the engraved words.

A dark chuckle escaped his lips as he glanced away from me, returning to settle his eyes on me, "You think Asher has the time to make you a pretty necklace?"

"Well–"

"I did it for you, Princess. You're my mate. You deserve the best." He cut me off before I could reply.

"I'm not your mate," I replied instantly.

"I don't intend to accept you as my mate, Alaric Nightshade. I don't think we can work. You have a typical thing in you, your whole stance screaming that all women belong to you, and you belong to them also, and I, Audrey, cannot deal with that." 

"So you're rejecting me?" He scoffed out.

"Nope. Nope. I'm pleading to you." 

He lifted his brow, staring at me to continue with my words. 

"I'm pleading to you to let everything between us be bygones. I don't want anyone to know that I slept with you, not to talk of the."

"My brother, is that it?"

I gulped down, noticing the conflicting emotion in his voice. I nodded at him, flickering my gaze somewhere else before sighing deeply. I heard a scoff from him, managing to take a look at him as he flexed his jaw.

"You like Asher that much? You like him so much that you're rejecting the great Alaric Nightshade, whom every lady would kill to lay on his bed with him?" 

"Yes," I said without even thinking.

The hurt on his face could not be avoided, and he glared as he stared down at me. He scoffed again, nodding at me as he folded his arm to his back.

"Then…"

"You used me! If anyone is to be hurt, I should be. I called you, Asher, yet you didn't even stop me that night to tell me you were not! Don't go around carrying that face thinking I hurt you!"

"We better leave for the party, princess." 

Without further utterance, he walked off, leaving me by the stairs. I closed my eyes for a brief moment.

"Audrey, you shouldn't be sad. You did nothing. He's at fault. It's not your fault." I chanted to myself.

After deeply comforting myself, I opened my eyes and went to the party. The hall was booming with guests and park members dressed in the finest silks and gold clothes. My heart beamed with joy as I sighted Asher talking to someone. I was going to meet him when the hall lights went off.

"It is time for the Alphas to find their mate." A voice from one angle or a place said. 

They turned on the light again; this time, everyone had settled, putting Asher and Alaric in front of the room. My eyes clashed with Alaric's, and a part of my heart ached as he took it off me in a heartbeat. I watched as the priestess gave them two cups, both drinking from it, and a loud growl instantly left their mouths. 

Suddenly, something snapped at me. Nope, Drea snapped at me, and I instantly began to feel the heat all over me. 

"What's going on, Drea? Alaric is our mate. You don't need to do this. We know it already." I mind-linked her, scratching my whole body simultaneously, trying to keep myself from flying over to him and pinning him down in front of the crowd.

Alaric did not even bother to go through the crowd, walking towards me and bringing murmurs to the mouths of everyone. 

"She’s my mate.” He announced for all of them to hear. 

I could feel different eyes staring at me, the ladies he belonged to, malicious gaze on my body, death intent, already cursing in their mind why I had stolen the man that belonged to them. But that was not the end, as Drea did not calm down. 

Suddenly, Asher stopped before me, our gaze locked with my heart beating rapidly. 

No. No. It can’t be. It can’t be.

“She’s my mate too.” He announced without breaking our gaze.