CHAPTER 121
CHAPTER 121
CHAPTER 121
“Maybe that was why they came after her. She once lived among them; she knew things that no other hunter did, and she used them to her advantage. She was ruthless, and they couldn’t stand it, so on one of our missions they isolated her and ended it. It wasn’t enough that they killed her husband; they took her life too and left you all alone.” It was a lot to process. I never thought that a story I once thought to be fiction would one day be my reality. “I never knew why they took you away. That part never made sense to me, but for years I thought you were dead, not until we heard the rumors of the werewolf prince’s human mate. We traced the rumors and found out that they were true, and not only were they true, but you were the one he was mated to. I needed to let you know what happened in the past so that you could make an informed decision. I promised myself that I would protect you after your mother died, and even though I haven’t done much through the years, I'm doing what I can now.”
To say I was overwhelmed would be the understatement of a lifetime, and he definitely noticed.
I didn’t say a word. I just sat there looking into space until he shut the door behind him, and when that door shut, I melted.
I felt the tears rolling down my eyes faster than I could register them. These tears weren’t the loud ones. I don’t think I had it in me to sob or scream, but it hurt. I don’t know why it hurt so much; I had always known that my parents didn’t die normal deaths, but it still hurt so much.
Maybe it was because I had made peace with the race that ended my childhood. Maybe it was because I had fallen in love with the next king of the race that ended the lives of my parents, or because somehow, I had begun to see a future with him. A future where I would lead by his side as the queen of the very race that scorned my mother and almost stopped me from even existing.
It felt like I had betrayed the very people I spent years mourning. So they really ended my parents' lives? And for what? A feeling of superiority? Just because they felt like my mother wasn’t worthy of being mated to one of their own? She didn’t choose that life for herself; if they had a problem, they might as well have taken it up with their goddess. Why torment an innocent human?
Then they killed my father. Why? Because he stood by his mate no matter what they said or did. I guess he was too trusting. He thought that they could actually change. He couldn’t see how deep the cruelty and greed had eaten into them. He trusted them blindly; that was his only mistake.
BEN’S POV
He agreed. I was almost skipping on air when I realised what that meant. I still needed the king and queen’s blessings, but having one person on our side was a huge win.
I thought of Princess Evelyn, and a fierce surge to protect her rose in me. I knew I loved her already, but I had no idea what she thought about me. What if she despised my low status?
It didn’t matter because I’d do whatever I could to make her fall madly in love with me. I needed to get approval from her family because I didn’t want her to feel the burden of fighting for me to be accepted. I didn’t want the pressure of our differences in society to affect our relationship. I had seen what it had done to my parents, and I didn’t want the same happening to us.
Not long after, I was met with the overwhelming scent of raspberries and mushrooms after rainfall, and I had taken a deep whiff before my mind caught up to the meaning of it.
By the time it caught up, it was too late. Just as I was about to turn on my heel and make a run for it, I caught sight of the most beautiful woman to have walked the earth.
She was tall but slender. She had an air of grace to her that I couldn’t really explain. She was perfect, and my wolf agreed. He was fighting desperately for control, and I was barely reining him in as it was; he had been beating me up from the very first day I walked away after finding out that she was my mate. He refused all the reasons I gave, saying that there was no way our mate could be like that, and I knew he was right, but she wasn’t the only member of the royal family. To mate with a royal was a big deal, even if she was not the next in line for the throne. She was still the apple of her family’s eyes.
As soon as her eyes landed on me, I felt her freeze. She stood there barely moving, almost as if she was trying to hold on before the moment disappeared. I did everything I could to make sure that I didn’t look into her eyes because I knew the control that I was barely hanging on to would leave in seconds. I wanted nothing more than to hold her tightly in my arms, but right now I didn’t have what it took to protect her… or our love, and so with a heavy heart I gave a curt bow and said, “Princess Evelyn.” As a form of greeting, then I walked away. Or at least I tried to.
She didn’t even let me take two steps away from her. She grabbed my hand, and I instantly felt all my senses come alive with that one touch. It was like I had been touched by a live wire, and I was absolutely loving the feeling. I didn’t even notice that a groan of satisfaction had slipped out until I felt her grip tighten. I felt my face heat up in embarrassment, but I still refused to turn around and look her in the face.