Mated to the Alpha King (A Royal’s Tale Book 1)

The room stood still as the phone continued to ring. It was as if Chronos had decided to freeze time in layers of icebergs, guarding it with the haunting silence that seemed to be consuming the room, the only sound being the persistent tune blaring from my iPhone.

My eyes fixed on Roman’s for a second before he got up and, at a speed no normal human could move at, grabbed the iPhone.

“Stay the fuck away from Theia!”

A chuckle cut through the silence surrounding the rest of us in the room. Roman turned to look at Bryce with an incredulous and murderous expression.

“Ah, it’s little Princey Romanov, Daddy’s little heir! Always so lonely and afraid. Scared Theia will leave like Mommy did, Romanov?”

I shriveled as three loud growls rang through the room, merging to sound like a single loud roar

I felt like I was being watched, like I was about to lose everything I held dear. I felt helpless. I felt bad for Roman. He didn’t need this!

Bryce’s arms tightened around me as he brought me into his cocoon.

“Tsk tsk tsk, for a royal, that growl came out like a joke! Have company, Romanov? Surely not your cousin. My Theia seems to have forgotten all about his pathetic self. Ah! Where is my Theia, by the way? Tell her to receive her phone calls in the future, will you?”

Roman’s gaze shot towards me, but I shook my head aggressively, motioning Roman to just disconnect the call—as if disconnecting the phone call would get rid of him.

There had been another titter before the man added, “You’re always so easy to rile up, boy. Tell me, will you run away this time, too, Romanov—just like you ran away from home, all because of that sweet gypsy’s premonition?” The man chuckled from the other end of the line. His sarcastic titters sent shivers down my spine, and I shuddered at the sight of Rome’s face.

He had lost it.

Now standing in his place was a glaring Roman, whom I had never been exposed to before—half human, half beast.

“I will kill you,” Roman spat out darkly.

I shuddered at the promise in it.

Matthew, now alert and fully prepared for Roman’s unsteady state, glanced at Bryce before he strode between Roman and me.

Roman caught that and snarled at Matt. Matthew jerked back a little.

Bryce pulled me deeper into his cocoon.

The threat seemed to amuse the man because he let out another cold, shrill laugh.

“Fucking cunt,” Bryce cussed under his breath, against me.

“Speaking of ‘kill’ ”—the man chortled amusedly—“you might want to retrieve someone from the old mill downtown. Poor thing must be smelling like the worst parts of purgatory. Clean your territory up a little, will you, Romanov?”

“Fuck you,” Roman retorted coldly, flinging the phone at the wall opposite him.

The man’s shrill laughter came to a sudden death as the iPhone crashed against the wall before falling to the floor in pieces.

Roman turned to me with an unreadable expression. “I’ll get you a new one.”

“Her room isn’t bugged.” Bryce crisply broke the silence.

“Neither is the rest of her house. I checked personally. There are no strange recording devices—anywhere,” Matthew chimed in, moving to sit on the edge of the bed.

Roman let out a puff of breath as he dropped to the floor, bringing his hands to his hair and clutching it in a death grip.

“How did he know—about everything, about . . . me?” Rome looked up at Bryce, wide-eyed, and I jerked back at the vulnerability on his face.

“The fucker is a psycho!” Matthew declared, with hard eyes and an extremely serious expression.

“I agree with Matthew. It’s obvious he knows what he is dealing with. Sources tell me that he isn’t even from our territory. Logic tells me that he isn’t just a common wolf.”

Roman’s eyes widened before he finally got up and moved to also take a seat on my large bed.

“He’s royal?”

“Without a wolf scent? We can’t just rule out human, guys,” Matthew muttered thoughtfully.

I felt Bryce nod against my temple. “I agree, he could be anything! We’ll get him, though! Just one slip, one scent, and we will have him!”

“You might want to retrieve someone from the old mill downtown . . .”

I shot up in bed, catching all three guys by surprise.

“He’s killed someone!”

Their voices hitched in their throats as the fact cut through the three guys.

“Fuck.”

“Wait—maybe it’s a trap?” Matthew spoke quickly just as Bryce picked me up and began walking towards the window.

“Well, he’d fucking better be ready to die either way,” Bryce growled. He looked down at me and mumbled, “You’ll stay in the car, okay?”

I nodded and, holding on to him for dear life, closed my eyes.

Then . . . I felt him jump.

***

The soothing sound of a violin coming from somewhere down the lane seemed like the opposite of how I was feeling right now.

The run to the castle had only taken a minute or two.

The drive downtown, however, was mind-wrecking.

I felt sick—sick to my stomach.

Matthew sat in the seat beside mine, and I could feel him fiddle with his fingers, glancing at me from time to time—always so alert.

His eyes glowed light brown in the darkness, announcing just how well-equipped he was for this—for hunting, like the actual wolves.

They all seemed to have been made for this.

“Fuck!” Matthew breathed, sounding shocked.

Just then, loud police sirens began sounding around the area, echoing from all the surrounding concrete buildings.

Matthew and I watched, holding our breaths, as Bryce emerged from the mill and began talking to the two officers who now stood outside their cars.

The men nodded and bowed before one began punching some numbers into his cellphone.

“He’s calling the crime-scene investigators. They found Amber’s body.”

I stared at Matthew, shocked, unable to organize the chaos in my mind into words. What the hell was happening here? What the hell did the man want?

A blur later, both Rome and Bryce entered the car, their hands and chests bloody.

“What the hell happened?” I exclaimed, finally able to convey the loudest of my thoughts.

“She was suspended in midai—” Bryce’s explanation was cut short when, suddenly, Rome’s cellphone went off, blasting a tune I had never heard before.

“Matthew, mate, could you get that. My hands are a mess!” Rome muttered, and Matthew leaned in and took his cellphone from his front pocket.

Bryce turned to give me a reassuring look. He also motioned me to lean forward and, when I did, placed a tiny kiss on my forehead.

“Everything is going to be okay. We’ll get him, love.”

“Fuck!” Matthew suddenly cussed loudly. His head shot more towards Bryce than Rome before he read the message:

“Little Romanov,

“Behold the dead body of Theia’s assaulter!

“Apologies for the foul odor; the body is, after all, a few weeks old.

“Hopefully you’ve got the CD beside the body? Watch it. It holds the confession.

“I name the CD The Last Few Minutes of Amber, the Bitch Who Died.

“Sweet dreams!

“— S”

I cringed in my seat, while the three men sat frozen.

“The scum will die next,” Bryce promised the silence, then he turned the key in the ignition and began driving away from the old mill.

We drove past the crime-scene investigators as they turned the same corner as us. Their driver gave Bryce a salute, to which he stiffly nodded in response before pressing on the accelerator again.

***

“You sure you’ll be fine?” Matthew mumbled as he got me up my window.

I looked down, trying to make out Bryce and Rome in the darkness, and when I couldn’t, I turned to my bed and began walking towards it.

“Yeah, I guess,” I mumbled back, pulling off my sneakers and disposing of them beside my bed.

“Everything is clear,” Matthew muttered as he got out of the closet.

He turned to me and smiled before moving back towards the window. “Alpha will be here in a while. I’ll be here by the window till he gets back, okay?”

I nodded. “Okay.” A moment later, I added, “I’m going to take a shower,” just as I walked out of my closet with a handful of clothes and supplies. Somehow I felt dirty.

Matthew turned to me from the window before nodding and returning his gaze outside.

A slow sigh left my lips as I began walking into the bathroom. How had life come from peaches to pain?

***

Light—it always takes just a second to destroy it; just blow out the candles.

Darkness, however, is always there.

Even while the candles are lit, the darkness is always there in the shadows.

I suppose that’s how life is: happiness can be so easily extinguished, and evil hides in the shadows.

My sigh echoed from the mirror as I watched the girl in it—wet, flat-haired, scrubbed till red and raw. I wiped the tear that had slipped down her cheek.

The girl staring back at me looked like she was tired—on the verge of giving up—and so, so terrified.

I reached out and placed my hand on the mirror, and she mimicked my action, our palms now touching with just the glass between us.

I sighed again and turned away to quickly work on drying myself and fitting in my clothes—shorts and a tank top, the comfiest I had.

After rubbing my hair with a large T-shirt for the last time, I dumped it in the hamper before opening the bathroom door and walking into my bedroom.

The room stood in the darkness, and I almost reeled back into the bathroom in fear of it.

“Theia?”

I looked, frozen, at the doorway as Bryce walked out of the shadows and into the light from the bathroom, his hair freshly washed and hand-combed backwards except for a stubborn strand that had somehow managed to fall on his forehead, caressing his right eyebrow.

He moved forward, and his thin light-blue button-up shirt and dark wash jeans glowed.

He walked up to me slowly as I stood rooted to the ground. A sigh left his lips as he slipped his arms around my waist and pulled me forward against him.

“You okay, love?”

I visibly relaxed in his embrace, his voice melting into me and relaxing my every tense nerve. “I am now.”

“Let’s get you in bed,” Bryce mumbled as he bent low and, with his arms under my thighs, picked me up bridal-style. He then began walking towards the bed.

A little giggle left my lips as my back collided with the mattress with a thud before Bryce slipped in beside me.

The silence around us stretched forever, and all we did was lay tangled in each other’s arms.

Occasionally Bryce would turn and twist me to fit in with him better or slip his hands under my tank top just to lay them against my bare skin.

But the silence still stood.

“It was Amber; we saw the video.”

I turned to face Bryce. “I want to see it.”

He fidgeted beside me, and I looked at him seriously.

“I want to see it—please!”

He sighed as he stretched an arm towards the nightstand and grasped his cellphone. After fiddling with it, he handed me the phone before pulling me into his cocoon again.

“Isn’t it clear by now why I did it? I did it because I love Alex! Alex belongs with me, and that bitch was just a hurdle in my path! And look . . . I know you wanted her, but—” Amber turned in the video and looked straight into the camera. Her expression changed from smug to furious in a second. “You’re recording this? What the hell, Se—” The camera suddenly went out of focus before clearly falling to the ground. Blood then splattered all across the screen, and the scream that followed had me letting out a scream of my own.

Bryce quickly snatched his iPhone, and he pulled me against him. “It’s okay! It’s okay! Calm down! Ca—”

“Theia, hunny, are you okay?”

I whimpered when I heard Dad’s concerned voice as he knocked on my door.

“It’s okay. It’s okay,” Bryce whispered in my ear, drawing circles on my bare back.

“I-I’m fine, Dad, just . . . a nightmare,” I yelled shakily, hoping he would go back to bed without further worry.

“Are you sure, hunny?”

I sighed and hid my face against Bryce’s chest, clutching his shirt in my hands. “Yes, Dad, promise.”

“Okay, I’ll see you in the morning then.”

“I love you, Dad,” I called out, already hearing him taking steps away from my door.

His footsteps halted. “I love you, too, Fuzzybottom.”

“ ‘Fuzzybottom.’ ” Bryce chuckled into my ear, and I felt my face heat up with embarrassment.

I slammed a fist against Bryce’s hard chest and almost cringed when raw pain shot through my hand. “Shut up.”

“Okay, okay . . .”

Good boy.

I smiled and leaned into him.

“So . . . ‘Fuzzybottom,’ huh?” Bryce chuckled huskily again, only this time he also moved back, grasped his shirt, and tore it off of himself.

I stilled as his hard chest came into view.

When had he gotten so . . . refined?

“I love it when you do that.” Bryce hummed as he slipped back beside me, sliding his arms around my waist and nestling them just under my tank top—skin to skin.

I look up at Bryce curiously. “Do what?”

He chuckled as he brought his pointer finger to poke me in my cheek, softly. “Do that. I love it when you blush. You glow.”

Damnation, he is perfect!

Feeling my blush deepen, I stretched up to plant a kiss on his chin. “I love you.”

Bryce’s grin widened as he dipped lower, then he caught my lips with his.

Sighing happily, he pulled away.

“I love you, too . . . Fuzzybottom!”

***

“Hunny, can you pass me the butter, please?”

“Sure, Mom.” I smiled as I picked up the butter dish and passed it to my very curious-looking Mom.

Waking up in the morning had been a task. Untangling myself from Bryce’s strong limbs was a task even more difficult. But I managed, and as soon as I also managed to get my feet firmly on the rug, Bryce was up and ready to murder.

It took him a minute or two of glaring to realize that it was nothing, that he was worrying for nothing, and when all was settled and he was calm, he gave me a little forehead kiss before jumping out the window like he always did.

And well . . . a brush, a shower, and dress-up later, here I was!

“I can swear those bugbites are increasing by the night! Are you sure we don’t have to call the bug exterminators in to clear all the . . . bugs, hunny?” Mom gave me her more dad-like smirk before she proceeded to butter her toast.

I sighed as I tried to angle away from Mom and discreetly pulled on my collar, trying to hide the love bites.

“No, I just have very sensitive skin. I’ll close the windows from now on.”

Mom put her hands up in surrender. “Whatever you say, hunny. I mean, I’m just saying, if you really want to keep Alexander out, it’s no problem at all.”

I thanked the Lord when I didn’t get whiplash from turning to face her so fast, my eyes wide in alarm.

I was literally freaking out.

“W-wha—? Pshhh, who’s—? Who’s Alexander, Mom?” I frowned, sitting at an awkward angle, trying to look as serious as I could while wiping my sweaty left palm on my jeans under the table. My right, however, was holding on to my cup of tea.

Mom giggled as she waved her hand around as if it was no big deal. She leaned across the table, and automatically, I found myself leaning towards her too.

If Dad walked in on us, we would look like we were conspiring for World War III. And that would be a hard thing to get away from—a suspicious Dad. Damnation, Theia! Couldn’t one day be just . . . calm!

“Did you even listen to what I just said?”

My eyes focused on Mom again, and I frowned. “Hu— Oh!” I went silent for a second. “No.”

Mom sighed as she brought her cup to her lips and took a long sip.

“Theia, Alexander was your . . . boyfriend . . . before . . . you know. I didn’t know how you’d come to accept him so quickly”—she eyed my neck and then looked back up at me, and I felt my face heat up with embarrassment—“but maybe I do now . . . Anyways, with your amnesia, I actually thought that having Alexander around would be a good thing, that it might, you know . . . help you remember? But then the doctor insisted that it was a bad idea and that it would do you more harm, and well . . . your dad didn’t say anything against it . . . and we just . . . We wanted so much to just protect you . . . So much . . . We—” Mom shook her head as she wiped away the tears trailing down her cheeks.

I reached for her hand and squeezed it comfortingly before getting up and walking around the table to her. Dipping low, I pulled her into a hug, burying my face in her hair like I’d always done when I was a kid.

Lavender—it was the same scent as always.

I smiled as she tightened her hold on me.

“I love you, sweetie—so, so much.”

“I love you, too, Momma.”

“What’s going on here?”

Mom and I stilled in each other’s arms before I moved back and turned to Dad. Beside me I saw Mom put on a soft smile.

“Just a little bit of a mother-daughter talk. You have no business being here, husband!”

My dad grinned as he reached over to place a kiss on my forehead before leaning down and kissing my mother on the lips, her face still wet and blotchy from crying.

I felt my heart swell upon looking at them.

He settled himself in his seat before replying, “Everything concerning you and my Fuzzy-B is my business, wife. Now, pass me the butter . . . please!”

My mom laughed, shaking her head. She picked up the butter and extending it to dad. She then quickly dabbed her face with her handkerchief, grumbling about how it was great she hadn’t done her makeup yet.

I only grinned as I settled back into my own seat before bringing another spoonful of Frosted Flakes into my mouth.

***

“Theia, seeing as you’re ‘not feeling well enough’ for going to school today, can you clean the table up, hunny? I have to go get ready.”

I gave her a thumbs-up as I got out of my seat and began picking up the clean bowls and butter knives. “Sure, Mom!”

“Thank you, darling!”

While humming to a tune I couldn’t quite remember where I’d caught, I had opened the cabinet doors and was putting the clean bowls in their proper place when a throat was audibly cleared beside me.

I closed the cabinet and turned to Dad, hopeful that my now-open hair would hide the love bites on my neck.

“So . . . Er . . . The weather is great today, isn’t it, hunny? Kind of like how it used to be in Berkeley?”

Er . . .

I nodded awkwardly. “Agreed . . .”

Dad looked around awkwardly as he shuffled on his feet.

I frowned. “Er, Dad . . . are you okay?”

He shook his head as he reached for my hand, then pulled me towards the tall chairs before taking a seat in one himself.

He pulled something out of his pocket, and after placing it on the island, nudged it towards me.

My eyes widened when I realized it was a concealer.

I looked up at Dad with wide eyes.

“I heard you telling Marley how . . . you finished yours last week . . . and, well . . . with all the love bites and your mom not knowing, I thought . . . you know . . . you might need it.”

“Love bites”? “Love bites”?

“I-I asked the sales representative; she said this is the best one that’s out . . . out right now. And well, we have the same complexion, and she”—Dad cleared his throat—“may have tried it on me. I am not confirming anything! But yes . . . I also have another request to make.” He looked up at me, his eyes warm and serious.

I nodded numbly.

“Could you tell Alexander to stop it? It’s . . . frustrating, knowing your daughter . . . knowing your daughter is all grown up, okay? Just . . . I don’t need to see these too. Your mother definitely does not.”

What the f— Oh my Lord . . .

I looked around the kitchen in alarm, trying to find any nook or cranny to escape through. Upon finding an open window, I sighed in dismay. It was too far away.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Dad chuckled as he shook his head.

“You know . . . when you woke up from your coma, I thought about how much easier it would be if Alexander were to be with you; you might . . . remember something . . . But then Dr. Lucian insisted that it would put too much pressure on you and that you might fall back into a coma, and well, your mom didn’t say anything against it. We just . . . wanted to protect you, Thi . . . Though, thinking of it . . . he can protect you the most. Your mother and I—we’d die for you, hunny; you’re our only child. Alexander . . .” Dad shook his head and pushed the concealer towards me. “Take it. I’m going to go get ready for a lecture I have in an hour.” His mouth cracked into a smile, and I immediately got up and rushed towards him. When I was a step away, he pulled me into a hug.

“I love you, Fuzzy.”

“I love you, too, Poppabear.”

***

“Okay, Agnus, please lock the doors, don’t let anyone in, and lock most of the windows on the ground floor, okay? Where is Lilly, by the way?”

Agnus nodded at Mom kindly as she moved towards the front door. “She’s out sick—poor girl. Looks like she’s been through a storm at sea, that one! I told her to rest up and that I’d come and tell you.”

Mom nodded in sympathy. “That’s alright—as long as she has a good rest.”

“Ready, darling?” Dad called out as he came down the stairs, one hand handling his bag, the other his cuff links and watch.

Mom laughed at the doorway as she waited for Dad to join her. “The question here is: Are you ready, Arthur?”

Dad frowned at Mom as he reached me. “I am!” he grumbled, then he leaned in and placed a kiss on my forehead. “We’ll be home by 8, hunny. Order some Chinese for us?”

“Nonsense!” Agnus exclaimed from the sidelines. Everyone turned to her. “I’ll make you all my very own specialty: shepherd’s pie!”

I grinned. “That sounds like an offer I can take!”

Both Mom and Dad nodded in agreement. “Alright, Mrs. Schmit, that sounds great! Thank you!”

“Bye, hunny,” they then chorused as they closed the door behind them.

I laughed at their synchronization.

“Bye, guys!”

The sound of their Jeep driving off echoed into the house, and Agnus turned to me with a hard look on her face.

“Can’t you cover that up, miss?”

I looked around in bewilderment.

“Cover up what?”

Agnus walked towards me briskly before pulling my hair in front of my neck.

“The king’s love marks! Surely your parents do not know that you remember! And neither does anyone else. Let’s keep it that way, shall we?” Agnus smiled warmly as she pushed my hanging jaw back into place with her soft, quivering fingers before patting me on my cheek twice.

“Ag—”

“So much to do, so little time!” She cut me off, smiling warmly, as she rushed towards the kitchen in a blur.

I turned to the staircase, shaking my head. Today was such a peculiar day.

The sudden sound of the doorbell stopped my movement.

I turned back to the door before walking towards it curiously.

The doorbell went off again.

“I’m coming! I’m coming! Who is it?”

The person on the other side remained silent, and I stopped, my hand holding the knob.

After quickly looking at the chain to see if it was secure, I slowly turned the knob and pulled the door open.

My eyes widened.

“What are you doing here?” I hissed, looking around to see if Agnus was listening.

“I use the front door, Theia. The window—that’s Alexander’s job.”

I shook my head as I undid the chain and pulled the door open completely.

“No, I meant, why aren’t you at school, Rome?”

Roman shrugged as he moved into the house, after wiping his boots on the mat outside.

“I have to buy you a new iPhone, don’t I?”

My face brightened, and I wiggled my eyebrows. “Oh yes! Come on in!”

Roman immediately rolled his eyes and closed the door behind him. “You look like the Grudge when you smile that wide. Stop it.”

“Hey, that’s mean!” I swung a fist at Roman’s arm. “Your face looks like the Grudge twenty-four seven!”

Roman scoffed as he followed me up the stairs. I turned to glare at him.

“I’m a sexy beast!”

I scoffed before giggling and quickening my pace. “No, you’re just beastly.”

“Oh no, you didn’t!” Roman shouted, running after me, after I’d made a run for it.

“Oh yes, I did!” I giggled as I quickly reached my room, and after opening the door, I bolted inside and tried to close it in his face.

Rome, however, was too strong and fast for that and quickly pushed the door back, stopping me in the process.

“Say that again!” Rome yelled as he tickled my sides.

I wiggled against him, laughing, until I couldn’t take it anymore and slipped onto the floor.

“S-stop! Stop! Okay, I’m sorry!”

I continued to laugh hysterically while trying to wiggle away from him, Roman kneeling beside me on the floor and laughing at my horribly loud and obnoxious laughter. He stopped as our eyes locked together.

“What if Matthew or I turn out to be the man Alexander is looking for?”

I froze, feeling his fingers stiffen against my sides.

“You’re kidding me, right?”

“Answer the question.”

I shook my head and made a move to shuffle onto my feet. Rome let me.

I then quickly walked towards my bed and sat down, facing the now-blank-faced Rome.

“You wouldn’t do that to me; we’re best friends. Besides, when you want something, you take it out in the open. You would rather fight Bryce than play mind games. And Matthew? Let’s not even go there, okay? Can I just go and change now?”

Rome grinned as he nodded.

“Alexander so totally owes us money.”

I turned around to a grinning Matthew. My hands now on my hips, I stormed towards him.

“Why aren’t you at school, mister?”

He brought up his hands in surrender. “Hey, hey! I’m just here to give you this, okay?”

He reached out to grasp my hand, and he turned it over so that my palm would stay outstretched before him.

He then brought up his other hand and quickly dropped the chain on my open palm.

“You broke it when you fell. Alexander thinks it’s lost. I fixed it.”

I watched Bryce’s family heirloom glisten golden in my palm.

I quickly put it on, and the same warm fuzziness spread across my chest just as it had the day Meryl gave it to me. I smiled at the comfort it brought me.

Matthew grinned at my content smile, then he turned to Rome. “Alright, man, you take care of her; I’m off to Mr. Bishop’s boring history class now!”

I watched, smiling, as Matthew quickly turned around and jumped out of the window. After quickly moving to the window, I peeked out just in time to see him land on the ground perfectly on his two feet.

Although my home was only two stories high, it stood on the edge of quite a steep cliff. The distance between my room and the ground was immense.

My mind boggled.

“Yes, that’s how we do it. Now march! You need to change!”

I rolled my eyes and began walking towards the closet door.

“Yes, sir.”

***

“I like this color.”

I turned to where Roman was standing, a golden iPhone 6 Plus in his hands. My face brightened, and I moved to stand beside him.

“Yes.”

Rome looked at me and frowned.

“ ‘Yes’?”

I nodded, grinning.

“Yes, I will marry you”—I took the iPhone from his hands and turned it over—“O wonderful iPhone 6.”

Roman scoffed as he turned to the sales representative. “iPhone 6 Plus. At least know the name of the phone you’re marrying.”

I stuck my tongue out at him, and the sales representative giggled.

“Girlfriend’s birthday, sir?”

Roman and I turned to each other and broke into a chuckle.

Rome nodded. “Eighteen.”

“Well, Happy Birthday, madam.”

“Theia,” I corrected her.

She tensed, and immediately, her eyes went to my neck. She froze.

“B— How can you—” She looked at Roman, freezing again. “Y-Your Highness . . . y-you’re w-with o-our luna? But K-King Alex—” She then groaned when she caught the grin on Roman’s face, “You’re joking with me, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am, Margaret. Can we get Theia her phone now, please?”

“Certainly, sir.” Margaret almost bowed in her seat.

When the person next to her turned, she stopped. Her gaze met mine, and I smiled comfortingly. The poor woman had looked like she was about to have a heart attack.

***

“You sure you’ll be fine?” Rome asked as we sat in his Audi outside my house’s garage.

“I’ll be fine. Don’t worry.” I leaned in and gave him a hug. Upon moving back, I also moved his face to the side before placing a kiss on his cheek.

Rome groaned as he rubbed his cheek, while I grinned and patted his shoulder. “Oh, my dear Romanov, I can’t wait till you find your own mate.”

Rome froze under my hand, and I looked at him curiously. “Not going to happen,” he muttered bitterly as he looked away.

I frowned. “And why not?”

Rome turned to face me, and I almost reeled back at the intensity of his expression. “Because I’m never going back there again.”

What’s he talking about?

“Wh—?”

“Where have you been?” someone suddenly shouted.

Both Rome and I turned to my open window to see Marley’s furious, bewildered face looking in at us.

Rome rolled his eyes beside me, and I smacked him in the arm, frowning at his attitude.

“I wasn’t really feeling well enough to come to school today . . . but since Rome accidentally broke my phone, he took me to get a new one.”

“Oh.” Marley continued to frown as she moved back, her arms still folded in front of her. She glared at Rome for a second, to which he rolled his eyes again in response. “Well, I got you homework and stuff. Also, Mr. Phelps was asking about you. I didn’t know what to tell him, so I just said you weren’t feeling well . . .”

I shrugged and closed the door behind me as I got out. The sound of a car speeding out of the driveway had me whirling around in surprise.

Roman had left quite suddenly . . . I wondered what it was about.

“It’s funny how fast the weather changes in this city, isn’t it?” Marley chuckled as she hung her coat on the coat stand beside the door.

I shrugged off mine and shut the door just as a strong gust of wind started blowing into the house. The day had gone from sunny to almost as dark as twilight in only a matter of hours, but somehow, unlike all the other times, this made me feel slightly uncomfortable.

“It is,” I mumbled back as I hung my coat beside hers. “Do you want something to munch on? I’m actually really hungry.”

Marley grinned as she nodded. “I’ll be in your room then. Get me some cookies, okay?”

I rolled my eyes as I blew a raspberry, a few rebel strands flying high before falling back over my eyes.

Stupid bangs!

A grin brought itself to life on my lips as I saw the leftover pizza from the previous night, and I quickly reached for it.

Just then, all the lights shut down, and I stilled, the shrill scream of Marley echoing through the otherwise-silent house.

“Theia! I’m scared of the fucking dark! Get here now, please! Oh my God, I need my dad!”

Something told me to shut up; something told me not to reply, not to make a single sound. But Marley seemed scared out of her wits. With the plate of pizza in my hands, I quickly yet carefully shut the refrigerator door before quietly edging closer to the kitchen island and placing it there.

“Okay. Okay. Everything is fine. No one’s here. Just . . . make a run for it. Make a run for it,” I mumbled to myself under my breath as I turned to the kitchen doorway.

Immediately, a large shadow pushed into me, pushing my back into the island. A whimper passed my lips as his arms slipped around my waist, and he pressed himself harder against me.

“It’s not really nice of you to just shut off your phone like that, Theia . . . Really not nice to throw away your sim. How was I supposed to talk to you now?” he whispered, his lips lingering on the back of my ear. I shuddered at this. Everything in me was telling me to run away from him—to run away and never look back—because he felt wrong; he felt completely wrong.

But then there was something about this man—something that held me still.

“L-leave me a-alone, please. Please!” I whimpered as I felt his lips trail down my neck.

“You’re my mate, Theia; it’s not that easy. But I came here for something else.”

He breathed against me. “Ah! Here it is.”

I felt his hand slip into my back pocket and pull out my iPhone. He hugged me closer.

“Pass code?”

I stiffened. “No.”

His chilling chuckle sent shivers down my spine as I felt his arms tighten around me. “Theia, Theia, Theia . . . you underestimate me, darling.” I tried to wince away when I felt him nibble on my neck. “I will do anything for you—anything. Give me the pass code.”

Bryce, Bryce, Bryce . . .

“No,” I snapped to him, moving my head as far away as I could.

The man chuckled again as he planted a strangely soft kiss on the edge of my lips, then moved around, making me move with him in somewhat of a waltz. “Okay.” He planted another kiss, this time on my forehead, and I broke down in tears.

Could he just stop touching me?

“Please don’t. Please, don’t touch me. I’m not your—”

The waltz stopped.

“You won’t complete that if you’re smart, darling.”

I sobbed harder.

The man planted a kiss on my forehead again, quite awkwardly, before he finally moved away.

I looked up at his dark figure. Somehow I knew, even in this darkness, that he was looking me straight in the eye.

I turned to what I felt was the kitchen doorway and, without thinking twice, made a run for it in the dark.

“Thank God,” I blurted out under my breath as I got out of the kitchen and quickly continued towards what I felt was the hallway to the stairs.

“Aaah!” A scream ripped out of my throat when, suddenly, something tackled me to the floor, its heavy weight completely crushing me.

“Calm down! Calm down! Don’t scream!”

I screamed harder.

Suddenly, the lights came back on, and I stopped.

An alarmed, angry-looking Lionel laid on top of me, his eyes bright and alert.

“Thank God! I was just starting my shift, guarding your home. Are you okay? Marley is fine, by the way; Keith is here. Why were you so scared?” he asked as he quickly got to his feet and pulled me to mine.

Bryce, Bryce, Bryce . . .

“Theia?”

Lionel visibly reeled back when I turned to him, my eyes wide and wet. I tried to bite down on my trembling lips as I looked at him. “Please, I want Bryce—I need. Please.”

His eyes hardened, and he nodded.

Just then, the doorbell sounded through the house. My head turned to the door, then back to Lionel. He nodded, then we both moved towards the door. His arms stretched in front of us as we reached it.

“I’ll open it . . . okay?”

I nodded shakily, my mind still on Bryce. I wanted Bryce.

It only took a second for the door to be pulled open, revealing a suited-up Mr. Phelps, his briefcase in his hand.

His eyes settled on Lionel for a second.

He turned to me. “I suppose this is a bad time?”

I couldn’t move—couldn’t speak. So unready, I watched dumbly as Mr. Phelps stood there.

Thankfully, Lionel quickly spoke instead, “Yes, sir. Theia isn’t feeling very well.”

Mr. Phelps nodded in understanding.

“Take care, Ms. Anderson.” He then turned to Lionel. “Lionel, I hope you’ll be ready with your assignment tomorrow.”

“Don’t worry, sir—it’ll be done.”

Mr. Phelps nodded and, with another small nod in my direction, turned around before walking towards a navy-blue car.

Lionel moved further into the house as he closed the door, me still rooted to the floor.

As if he’d realized I wasn’t walking with him, he turned to me and sighed.

“His Highness is on his way, Luna.”

***

The sound of water rushing down the drain seemed soothing as I slipped under the warm, wet strings.

I felt dirty . . . and disgusted by my own self.

Everything just felt wrong.

“You’re my mate, Theia; it’s not that easy . . .”

A shiver ran down my spine as this evening’s scenes played in my mind. I couldn’t help but let the tears flow, and I felt them slip down my cheeks.

It seemed like forever had passed, and I felt like the shower was now suffocating me. I had scrubbed myself over and over again until I felt slightly cleaner.

Still, walking out of the shower seemed hard. The shower felt like a safe haven.

The sound of the door banging open caught me off guard, and I jumped, still in the shower.

Fast footsteps sounded as they approached where I was.

“Theia!”

After pulling on the towel as quickly as I could, I wrapped it around me as I shot out of the stall and into Bryce’s ready arms.

Safe . . .

“You’re safe, love. Nothing will happen to you. I won’t let anything happen to you,” Bryce mumbled as his arms slipped around the small of my back, and he hugged me to him.

I nodded against his chest as I clawed his shirt like my life depended on it.

I suppose, at that moment, it did.

Kneeling slightly, he picked me up in his arms and began making his way out of the bathroom.

“After we get you dressed, we’re going to the castle, okay? You’re not staying here anymore.”

It was then that my eyes caught the red covering his hands.

I looked up at him in surprise. “What happened to your hands?”

A smile spread over Bryce’s face. He looked down at me, his blues with the tiny bit of brown meeting my full browns.

“It’s nothing. It’s healing, isn’t it?”

I frowned and turned away as he strode through the open closet door, into the closet.

“I’m mad at you right now.”

Bryce stilled as I put on his blue shirt, then I slumped onto the chair in front of him.

“Why?”

I narrowed my eyes at his still-bruised hand.

“That’s not healing.”

Bryce sighed as he began walking towards me.

“You’re such a handful,” he grumbled as he picked me up again and moved back into the bedroom.

I got under the covers as soon as he’d placed me on the bed. “Can we stay here for a while?”

He nodded as he got into the bed from the other side and immediately pulled me towards him. I felt myself melt into him like butter on toast.

“I see you have the pendant on. I thought it was lost,” Bryce murmured against me.

I hummed in reply, then stopped before formulating my own set of words.

“It broke . . . when I fell.”

I stopped. I hadn’t fallen; I was pushed.

“When I was pushed,” I corrected myself. “Matthew got it fixed, though.”

Bryce nodded and then he randomly leaned in and placed a kiss on my lips, deepening it as soon as I began responding.

It was only when we both felt out of breath that he broke away and, awkwardly rubbing the nape of his neck, moved back to lie on his side instead of on top of me.

“Thi?”

I looked at him. “Hmm?”

Bryce turned to me. His eyes met mine and stayed on them.

“The full moon’s this Sunday.”