Aurora Jaxson holds me for what feels like forever. I enjoy every moment of it, too. He sways to the side and steps when necessary, making it easier on me as his thick arms show me where to turn and when to stop. I give into his control, feeling this powerful prince be so gentle in this moment.The music inside comes to a halt and so do we. I subdue a shiver, but he notices anyways, peeling his uniform coat off and sliding it over my shoulders. He smells of cedar, of his perfectly musk scent, and he leads me back inside while waiters pace through the ballroom with trays of food. The entrees are immaculate, set out for everyone in array of beef steaks, exotic fish and herbs, and chicken dipped in creamy sauces. My stomach growls as we sit at the table, Jaxson getting to be next to his father while I sit directly next to Ann.She takes my hand under the table, gleaming, and I don’t feel the need to speak on the last time we had been together. T

Jaxson My father is waiting in his office, the gala still playing out downstairs. I’ve decided not to return to the party, holding my hands in my lap as I take a seat at his desk. Tears are sitting stale on my face, cold on my neck, and they don’t show signs of stopping. My father seems perplexed at the sight of me weeping. I’ve never done it before in his company.“Son, what is it?” he asks, leaning forward over his desk, his head cocked. “I have a lot of people that need my attention tonight, this isn’t a good time to be upset, Jaxson. We have to keep appearances and even Aurora needs to participate. Did you find—”“She’s dead,” I say meekly.Even if the words aren’t true, they break me like they are.His eyes widen and he sits up straighter. “Why—I don’t—What did you just say?”“I found her in the orchard,”

Aurora I talk through the link with Jaxson constantly, needing to hear his voice in hopes it will make up for the fact that I can’t feel his touch. Luke tries to get me to cheer up, to get me out of bed and join him outside, but I never feel ready for something like that.I pretend to be dead, and I act dead, my heart dead as well.I wait through the day to hear from Jaxson, hoping he has solved the problems by now, but as days turn into weeks, the pauses of silence elongate more and more. I go awhile without hearing from him. It worries me, but in the same breath, it is only affirming to my initial feelings that maybe we aren’t fated mates.Luke tried for an hour to get me to leave bed this morning and I finally obliged, seeing that Mary hasn’t been coming around the cabin anymore. Ever since the night Luke and I held one another in an innocent embrace, I’ve noticed she has no interest in staying here anymore. In one

Aurora The last few days have been chaotic, to say the least. It’s grown tiresome to block Jaxson out of my mind, and Luke refuses to speak to me most days. He is conflicted, same as me, but he still comes by to drop of groceries and etcetera. I have yet to see Mary, something odd going on with their relationship.I get the feeling he has told her what happened because he seems so distant to me now, so lost in his own world, and it breaks my heart to think of the predicament we’ve gotten ourselves into. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss Jaxson sometimes.Even waking up with him in bed beside me, something so simple, I wish I had more of before I destroyed it all. He was just starting to learn my little quarks, and I had just started to see his eyes on me even when he didn’t think I’d notice; I always noticed. I just threw it away after a month of feeling so disconnected from my mate.Luke perches on the

Xander It wasn’t hard to realize my dear brother was a filthy liar. He spread word that his mutt of a mate had been killed, and I almost felt jealous over the fact that someone else beat me to it, but I soon figured out just how false that claim was.I’ve come to grow a following out here in the wilderness. Rogues look to me for assistance, and in return I gain them as my personal errand runners. That’s how I came to find out that a little royal mate was found somewhere in the middle of the woods, alone most of the time, and baring a striking resemblance to the mutt fated to Jaxson Knight.I had to see for myself. She has certainly caused more trouble out here than I could imagine. I even saw her playing around with some commoner, letting him feel her up in the kitchen, and then watched him leave her alone and vulnerable for the rest of the night.I could have taken her right then, but I didn’t have the resources I do