Chapter 3

JAREK

When I saw the Princess this morning and the smell of roses encompassed my senses I almost dropped to my knees and worshiped the ground that she walked on right then and there.  Her bright, emerald, green eyes shone bright against her pale skin and her dark black hair.  I watched her from a distance as she bent over to pull the books out of her locker and had to fight back the groan that threatened to escape my lips at the sight of her round ass up in the air.  

But then the other shoe dropped and I realized she was too good to be true.  Wolfless.  My mate is wolfless.  She might be the Princess of the werewolf world but how can I bring a mere human home to the pack.  I would be made the laughing stock of Alphas.  Sure there are some within the werewolf community that accept their human mates but not in the Red Moon Pack.  We are determined to keep our bloodlines pure.  

While I am sitting at the lunch table between Chad and a few of his friends, I can smell her scent as soon as she enters the lunch room.  I try not to make it obvious when I look up to find out where she is sitting.  Our eyes meet as soon as she enters the lunch room and there is a peppy blonde bouncing along at her side.  The Princess's eyes are red and puffy. She looks like she has been crying and I know that it is all of my fault.  

My wolf, Kane, is howling in the back of my head.  Begging me to go to her and beg for forgiveness.  But that is not something that I will be doing any time soon.  I shove my howling wolf to the back of my mind and keep pushing my food around on my tray.  I have suddenly lost my appetite.  

"Isn't that right," Chad says as he nudges me in the side.  

"Huh?" I say as I look up from my tray and realize that someone new has joined the table.  He has jet black hair and odd eyes, one blue and one green.  It is obvious to anyone that is looking at him that he is the son of the King.  

"I was just telling Faris that you met his sister this morning," Chad laughs.  "The wolfless klutz.  She even managed to walk into the school without falling on her face."

Faris just shakes his head as he sits down at the table.  "You all should go easy on Keena," he says with a smirk on his face.  "At least for today.  It is our birthday."  

"Keena," I try her name on my lips and it tastes as sweet as she looks.  Wait.  Did he just say that it is their birthday?  Suddenly a new feeling travels through my body.  Guilt.  I rejected her on her birthday.  I shake my head from side to side and try to rid my thoughts of these feelings.  What the hell is going on with me today?

I look up from my tray to find Chad and Faris looking at me with weird expressions on their faces.  "Dude," Chad nudges me again.  "Are you crying?" 

Reaching up I wipe a solitary tear from my cheek and fake a laugh.  "Nah man," I laugh unconvincingly.  "I was just thinking about how pathetic it must be not to have a wolf and to be the Princess of the Lycan King."  

Chad starts laughing uncontrollably, causing Kane to growl angrily in my mind.  'How dare he insult our mate?  How dare you insult our mate?'

Kane is scratching at the corners of my mind threatening to break free at any moment.  'She isn't our mate anymore,' I remind him.  'Remember.  We rejected the reject this morning.'

'You rejected her,' Kane says with a huff.  

"So you coming tonight?" Chad asks me, bringing me out of my conversation with my wolf.  

"What's going on tonight?" I ask.  

"It's my party," Faris says.  "Well, mine and Keena's.  You can definitely show up if you want to."  

"Will that pretty blonde be with her?" I ask, referring to the peppy blonde I saw her walk into the cafeteria with.  

"She's off limits," Faris says with a growl.  His eyes flicker from blue and green to black instantly.  

I raise my hands in defense.  "Sorry man," I say, trying not to piss off the Lycan Prince.  "I didn't know she was spoken for."  

"She's not," Chad laughs.  "She chose her side when we all shifted at sixteen and Keena didn't.  So she isn't part of our group any longer."  

Looking over at Faris, he only grunts in response.  Somehow I don't feel like he isn't keeping her off limits for the same reason the rest of them are but that is none of my business.  

"So you in?" Faris says once his lycan is back under control.  

"Sure," I shrug my shoulders.  "It sounds like a good time."  

I cut my eyes discretely across the lunch room and catch a glimpse of my mate.  Of my ex-mate.  She is talking to her peppy blonde friend with a fake smile on her face.  She looks down at the tray of food in front of her and pushes it around on the tray just like I was doing earlier.  She peeks up under her long eyelashes and looks across the room at me.  I can see the tears sparkling in her eyes from here.  Once again the feeling of guilt rushes through my body and I feel like I am going to vomit.  She looks like an angel sitting over there and I just broke her heart.  Who am I kidding, without a wolf she probably can't even feel the mate bond. 

Keena lifts her head and looks in my direction.  Our eyes meet for a moment and the look on her face takes my breath away.  When she catches me looking at her she averts her eyes back to the tray of untouched food in front of her.