Chapter 8: Real Talk

When dinner was finally over, Mikki didn’t feel like going to her room. Her brothers and Max had gone to Ace’s office to have some more drinks, and she was drunk enough to know she couldn’t join them.

Not that she wanted to or was even invited to, since it was supposed to be a men’s moment. She decided to go to the rose garden again, have a walk to sober up before going to her bedroom.

To be honest to herself, she wanted that night to be a big moment for her somehow. It was the night the world would know she was a fiancée, that she was going to become a Luna of some pack.

Oddly enough, she never had a real conversation with the man she was supposed to marry. Was that how all couples had their engagement night?

As if the Moon had heard her, at that exact moment, as she walked past the trees and roses under the moonlight and the bright stars in the sky, Max’s voice called her name, almost like a spell.

At first, she thought she was imagining it, after all, the wine had been really hard on her tonight. But when the calling repeated itself a couple of times, each one louder than the previous one, she realized he was actually there.

“Princess, are you alright?” he asked, finally reaching her and touching her arm. She looked up, meeting his eyes, making sense of his presence.

“Oh, yes. I’m sorry! I didn’t hear you,” she apologized, trying to pull herself together.

“It's okay,” he shrugged. “I just thought I would come and talk to you before the night ends. I mean, not that you care about it, but I’m a gentleman after all, and this is supposed to be your night," he explained, shyly.

“Isn’t it supposed to be yours too?” she asked, raising her brows. She didn’t know why she was feeling so bold all of a sudden. Perhaps it was the wine, but the anger she was feeling towards him had vanished entirely, and now she just wanted to get to know him.

She wanted to get things out of him as much as she could. Anything that could make her get to know his heart a bit better.

He smiled, and her heart skipped another beat. He had the most beautiful smile she had ever seen.

“I guess it is,” he confessed. Max cleared his throat and looked away, something he seemed to do a lot, Mikki noticed. Couldn’t he look at her? She couldn’t blame him if he didn’t, since she wasn’t the one to talk to in the first place.

She could barely keep an eye contact with him for more than five seconds without wanting to give herself entirely to him. “I think we started on the wrong foot, didn’t we?” he asked, sincerely.

His statement surprised Mikki. She was actually waiting for him to be his sassy self and make some provocation towards her instead.

“Yeah, I think we did,” she replied honestly.

“I apologize. I tend not to weigh my words before I speak and sometimes I end up offending others. It’s not my intention,” he explained. “I'm not used to talking to Royals, especially not a princess.”

“You don’t seem to have that problem when talking to my brothers,” she pointed out, suspiciously.

“That’s… different. You’re different,” he stated.

“How so? I’m just a normal person,” she said, even though she knew it wasn’t true. Not that she considered herself different from anyone else, but it just was what it was.

She couldn’t change her background, but she also didn’t want him to see her like an untouchable and delicate woman. She didn’t want to be treated as a distant person, at least not by him.

Max laughed slightly.

“That’s very hard to believe, princess,” he declared.

Mikki raised her brows.

“Do you really see me like this? Do you think this will even work out if you keep seeing me as an untouchable princess?” she burst out.

Max looked at her intrigued.

“I don’t mean to offend, but it’s difficult to look at you as an ordinary person,” he stated.

“You will have to, if you really intend to marry me,” she said, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “I don’t want my husband calling me princess forever. I’ve heard that enough for more than one lifetime, and I’ll continue to do so from others for the rest of it, so you should probably start practicing it now.”

Max stayed in silence for a few seconds, only examining her. And when she thought he was going to finally say something, he widened his smile once again, making her even more confused.

“Why are you laughing? I’m being serious,” she added, defensively.

“I know. And you’re right,” he simply said.

“So why are you laughing?” she repeated. “Did I say something funny?”

Max shook his head and looked deep into her eyes.

“No, I just thought you looked incredibly beautiful while being angry at me,” he confessed. “And I also liked the sound of you calling me your husband, although it caught me by surprise if I’m being totally honest.”

Mikki wasn’t expecting that. It was a compliment, wasn’t it, she wondered. She wasn’t completely sure, but one thing was certain, her heart had erupted in flames after hearing his words. She could also feel her cheeks burning up from the realization of what she had just said.

“I guess I can start calling you Mikki then,” Max continued, ignoring her embarrassment, which she was grateful for. She didn’t need him teasing her because of it now.

She started walking, not bothering to ask him to accompany her, even though she knew really well he would do it anyway. After a few minutes of silence, Max took the initiative to continue the conversation.

“I’m sorry if I offended you by saying I don’t see you as an ordinary person. I didn’t mean to say this as a bad thing,” he explained. “It's just hard to ignore traditions sometimes.”

Mikki understood that. She knew how hard it was for her to ignore the things she learned over the years, she couldn’t even imagine what it was like for the commoners to start doing so either.

“I’m sorry,” she said wholeheartedly. “I know you didn’t mean that. I know this better than anyone, traditions suck sometimes.”

Max laughed at her statement, which made Mikki feel really good. It was nice to know that she was capable of entertaining him. His laugh sounded sincere and not forced, which was a good start, she supposed.

“I guess it will take me some time to get used to it, so please, bear with me, will you?” he pleaded, his sapphires sparkling over her like she was being showered with the most beautiful starry sky.

And suddenly, a weird thought crossed her mind as if she hadn’t been dreaming about it ever since she met him. She just wanted to kiss him. She had to. It was more than a desire, it was a necessity. Her body was begging for it.

Maybe it was the wine, she tried to reason with herself. She couldn’t give in to such carnal and primitive desire. She knew better than that. But he was so close; and those eyes, she couldn’t possibly ignore them.

His lips and his smile were waiting for her to make a move. And before Mikki knew, before she could come to her senses, she stood on her tiptoes and leaned forward. She could feel his entire body tense with her approach, his heart was beating as fast as hers, she could hear it.

Everything happened in a blink of an eye. His scent was intoxicating her, as she was well aware it would happen, but now it was stronger and harder to ignore.

But when her lips were inches away from his, when she could feel his warm breath on her cold cheeks, when she could almost feel his taste on her tongue, he grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her away from him gently.

And the moment ended before it could even begin.

Mikki could feel her body screaming in frustration. She wanted to scream at him. Why would he do something like that? Did he not want it as much as she wanted it? She could feel he did, it was written all over his body and face.

So why did he pull her away?

The look on her face probably gave her thoughts away, so Max started talking before she even had the chance to.

“I'm sorry, Mikki,” he looked almost as if he was in pain. “But you’re drunk and as much as you want me to ignore the fact that you are a princess, I wouldn’t take advantage of you. Or anyone, as a matter of fact,” he explained.

She could understand it, and she felt even more attracted to him because of it. How much more perfect could he get? A man that is considerate and respectful towards women? That was definitely hard to find, or at least she was told.

But it didn’t stop her from being angry the same way. The frustration in her body was almost palpable. She didn’t want to hear him giving her any other excuse, she was starting to feel embarrassed for even trying, so she simply said goodnight, explaining that she was really tired, and excused herself before she did any more harm to their still inexistent relationship.

Max called her a few times, but she simply ignored him, unable to face him again.

She just wanted to dive her face into her pillows and pray that the Moon made her forget this moment completely.