The Gold Queen (Prequel)

***Sofia***

We arrive at the river in record time thanks to Mateo’s speed and I lead them down to el Nacimiento, a cave system along the edge of the river. Luckily, it’s a Monday in October so the tourists are long gone and the cave sits quietly on its own.

Valentina hops off Emiliano and the boys rush off to the trees to change. I hold up a towel to make a makeshift dressing room so Valentina can slip on some shorts and a t-shirt to swim in. I already had a one piece swim suit on since I had been planning to come here to clear my mind when I over heard they wanted to explore the River.

The boys return in just their boxers and it takes all my will power to keep my eyes from exploring all of Mateo’s body.

Look! Solana teases. He’s ours to look at!

I ignore her comment and keep my eyes above his shoulder, refusing to let my eyes wonder even a little.

“So what is this place?” Mateo asks, gesturing around. “It’s beautiful.”

El Nacimiento was indeed very beautiful, it’s bluish green waters teeming with life and cool enough to soothe the last of the summer heat. The tall white cliffs were perfect for climbing while several ropes hung from the trees along the edge for people to swing on.

“Its my favorite place,” I shrug. “It’s a good place to think.”

A question flashes in his eyes but he stays quiet and nods. Valentina steps closer to edge of the cliff over looking the river and Emi grabs her hand to hold her back.

“Careful,” he warns.

“It’s so pretty!” Valentina beams as she gazes down at the gorgeous blue water below. “So how do we get down to the river?”

I shrug. “Most people just jump off the cliff.” I point to a small path to the left. “Or you could climb down. That’s what I usually do.”

“You don’t like to jump?” Mateo asks with a grin, stepping over to the edge of the cliff and looking down at the water.

“I don’t see the point,” I shrug defensively. “I could just as easily climb down the cliff and make it to the river in one piece.”

“You could also just jump,” he smirks, marching back a few steps.

“Mateo, don’t,” I frown at him but he’s seems to have already made up his mind, running at full speed to the edge and jumping. I feel the b***d drain from my face as I rush over to the edge to see him dive perfectly into the water. My heart pounds against my chest, anxious to see him return to the surface. Seconds seems like minutes before his head pops out and he howls with joy, wiping his hair from his face. I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding in and g***n.

Boys.

“Come on, guys jump!” he shouts at us.

I roll my eyes and shake my head, refusing to give in to his childish whims. Valentina and Emiliano, however, look at each other and grin, holding hands as they step back a few paces.

“You’re not afraid?” I ask, looking at them in bewilderment.

Valentina shakes her head. “No. I know Teo will catch me.”

They both charge towards the cliff and leap into the air. I watch in amazement as Emiliano executes a perfect cannon ball and a unseen force lessens Valentina’s fall so she lands majestically in the water. The twins resurface, giggling hysterically and splashing water at each other. Mateo stares back up at me and smiles.

“Come on, Princess,” he shouts. “Just jump. Or are you too scared?”

I narrow my eyes at him. “I’m not scared.”

“Then jump!”

“I don’t have too!” I huff, stomping my foot on the ground. I was not about to admit my fear of heights to that lunatic.

As I turn on my heel to walk down the path, I feel a force lift me off the ground and I scream. It drags me over the edge and I feel my heart drop to the pit of my stomach as I look at the water below my dangling feet.

“Let me go!” I scream at Mateo, on the verge of tears. “Please,” I whimper.

The smile leaves his face and he slowly lowers me down into his arms. Without a moment to lose, I place my hands on his head and force him down into the water. He gasps for air and flails his arms about.

“You lunatic, a*****e, son of a b***h!” I growl, pushing his head down further into the water.

His arms wrap around my waist and he drags me down with him. I continue to throw punches and smack him until he lets go. When we both resurface, I splash him with water angrily and he bursts into laughter. Infuriated, I turn my back to him and try to swim back to shore when he grabs me by the arm, sending my arm ablaze in small tingles.

“Hey,” he sighs. “I’m sorry if I frightened you, although I’m not sure that merited your attempt to drown me,” he adds with a laugh.

“Whatever,” I mutter, refusing to meet his eyes but he doesn’t let go of me.

“I mean it, Princess. I’m sorry,” he says, his eyes softening.

I hate that I can’t stay mad at him as he stares at me with those beautiful pools of liquid silver. My face heats up as I take in his features and I quickly look away.

“Apology accepted,” I mutter, pulling my arm free from his grip.

His lips curve into a grin and he pokes my cheeks. “Ah come on, princess. Give us a smile.” I frown at him and he bursts into laughter as he continues to pester me. “Come on, now. Just a grin. Please?”

He tilts his head to the side innocently and I force myself to resist smiling at him. Instead, I thrust my hand forward on the surface of the water, splashing his face with a small wave.

He grins in response. “Oh, it’s own Princess!”

He splashes me back and its not long before we have a full blown war, splashing the water and swimming after each other. Emiliano and Valentina join in our fight, Valentina siding with me and helping me attack. Mateo uses his powers to move large amounts of water, but luckily for me, Valentina creates multiple clones of herself and we easily out number the boys in fire power. We wage war for another half an hour before we head to the shore and nibble on some sandwiches Valentina and I put together.

Mateo and I lay out in the sun as we wait for the food to go down while the twins seek adventure on some rocks up ahead. My mind unfortunately drifts off to my meeting with Julian from earlier, his ugly words swimming in my thoughts.

“Sol de Oro was mine from the start… You should be thanking me, your Highness. I’m giving you a chance at a title. To be Queen.”

It takes a lot of self control on my part to not burst into tears at the thought of marrying that man.

Suck it up, I scold myself. It’s for your kingdom.

“You alright?” Mateo asks, bringing me back from my thoughts.

“What?”

“Your eyes,” he sighs, looking up at the blue sky. “They grow sadder every time I see you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I g***n, pinching the bridge of my nose with my fingers. “I’m fine.”

“No you’re not,” he replies coolly, no judgement or contempt in his voice. “But it’s up to you if you want to keep it all stored up inside,” he shrugs. “But that being said, if you ever do want to talk about it… I have two functioning ears willing to listen.”

If only you could help me…

I watch a cloud drift across the sky. “I’m fine.”

“You’re a terrible liar.”

I sit up and glare at him. “Why do you care so much about what I feel or don’t feel?” I demand but he doesn’t move, remaining still in his position.

“Because you’re my friend…” he says, slowly turning his head to face me. “Is that not what friends do, look out for each other?”

“We are not friends. We are just two people who live under the same roof,” I snap, instantly regretting my word as his eyes flicker with hurt.

His jaw clenches and he sits up. “I see,” he mutters. “I’m sorry for thinking otherwise,” he adds, dusting himself off as he gets to his feet,

“No Mateo, wait,” I call out, grabbing his arm and pulling him back. He stops in his tracks and I enjoy the sensation of the tingles as they grow stronger. “I’ve never really had a friend before. At least, not one who genuinely cares for me and not my title,” I admit. “So I don’t really know… how this works, okay?”

He doesn’t respond, staring over at the cave buried in the cliffs at the end of the river.

“Come on,” he says, grabbing my hand and pulling me to my feet. “Let’s check out the cave.”

He doesn’t give me much of a choice as he drags me back to the water. We swim to the mouth of the cave where I stop. I’d been many times to el Nacimiento but I’d never dared to go inside the cave. It was too dark and I never had the urge to explore it.

“Well come on Sofia,” Mateo urges, tugging at my arm.

I like the way my name rolls of his tongue. Other than my parents, Julian was the only person who called me Sofia and it sent shivers down my spine every time I heard it from his mouth. But with Mateo it was different; the way he said my name made me want to hear it from his lips every day. Only from him. Lost in my thoughts, I let him pull me into the cave.

As expected, it was complete dark inside but the water was still giving off deep hues of blues and greens. As we swim a little deeper, the cave walls become narrow until the cave complete stops. Horizontally, el Nacimiento was not a very long cave but just below the water’s surface was an entirely unexplored world waiting to be discovered. El Nacimiento cave was one of the deepest caves in world, ranking at number five, although its actual depth remains unknown.

Mateo climbs onto some rocks and pulls me up from the water to sit next to him. The cave was freezing, although the water was warm, and I feel goosebumps rise on my skin. My teeth chatter a little and Mateo pulls me into his side, making my breath get caught in my throat.

“What are you doing?” I ask, trying to push him off despite the incredible feeling of his warm bare skin against mine.

“I’m keeping you warm,” he says, holding me tighter.

My heart begins racing at an incredible speed and my cheeks heat up at our closeness.

Solana purrs as I lay my head on his shoulder. We sit in silence for a minute, just enjoying each other’s warmth. In the distance, we can hear Valentina and Emiliano laugh as they play in the water.

After a few minutes pass by, Mateo clears his throat and sighs.

“I left them alone,” he says quietly.

“What?” I ask, not fully understanding.

“You asked me why I came here,” he shrugs. “I left them alone at a plaza while I went off to meet a girl.”

Solana growls at the mention of another woman and it takes every ounce of strength I have to keep from marking him as my own so no other could claim him.

“And while I was gone,” he adds coldly. “A man try to hurt Valentina.”

All the anger leaves me instantly at the thought of someone taking advantage of that sweet girl.

“Luckily, Emiliano was there to keep her safe,” he continues. “I didn’t protect them and that’s why I’m here.”

When I don’t say anything, he chuckles half heartedly.

“You must think I’m awful for leaving them,” he sighs.

I shake my head, my hands tracing patterns on his chest. “No, I don’t. I think you just made a dumb decision.”

He laughs but it’s not genuine.

“I mean it, Mateo. I don’t think any less of you,” I say. “And I don’t think your siblings do either. I’ve seen the way they look at you… they admire you.”

He frowns. “Whatever.”

Now it’s my turn to frown but I realize no matter what I said, Mateo would always blame himself for what happened that day.

I heave a heavy sigh and he nudges my head with shoulder.

“Your turn,” he chuckles. “I told you my problems. Tell me yours.”

“I don’t remember agreeing to this,” I say, sitting up straighter and crossing my arms over my chest.

He rolls his eyes but I see them flicker with mischief. “Fine. Don’t tell me. I don’t want to know about your perfect life anyways.”

“Perfect?” I scoff. “My life is not perfect!”

“I find that hard to believe.”

“Well I don’t care!” I argue, annoyed by his persistence.

“Okay princess,” he shrugs

“Stop calling me that!” I huff, making him chuckle.

“Fine Lieutenant Colonel,” he smirks.

“My name is Sofia. Just call me Sofia!” I snap.

“Alright, Sofia,” he says, jumping of the rock and floating in the water, his eyes glaring at me. “I don’t want to know anything about your perfect life with your a*****e for a Prince who lays hands on you!”

I stare at the water, not saying a word.

“You deserve better,” he adds softly.

“You don’t understand” I say, holding back tears. “You think I actually want to be with him?” I scoff. “I’m disgusted by him.”

“Then why-?” he asks.

“Because I don’t have a choice!” I explode. “Because this is my kingdom and no one is taking it from me! Not some distant King and his warmongering wolves, not some Prince who f***s some random chicks at my birthday party and disrespects me every chance he gets, and certainly not some loud mouthed wolf who thinks he has me all figured out!” I run my fingers through my hair and take deep breaths to calm my self down before continuing. “I will be Queen, no matter anyone says.”

He swims up to the rocks, cupping my chin in his hand and staring into my eyes. “Is some crown really worth giving yourself away to some man who doesn’t even measure up to your heel?”

My body once again shivers at the coolness of the cave. “Without my crown, I am nothing.”

“That’s not true,” he says sternly. “You are-“

“Yes?” I ask, leaning a bit forward to catch every word he might say.

Our noses touch and my self control breaks through the dam holding me back all these weeks. I press my lips against his, catching him off guard as his entire body stiffens. I k**s him again, cupping his cheek and pulling him closer until I feel him react and k**s me back. He wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me into the water, holding my body against his while I bury my fingers in his hair. I swipe my tongue against his lower l*p and he parts his lips for me, our tongues eager to meet for the first time. Solana howls with joy; I was finally kissing our mate.

We continue to k**s when I hear a sudden splash and pull away to see the twins staring wide eyed at Mateo and I.

“Princess? Teo?” Valentina asks, confusion all over her features.

My arms go to Mateo’s chest, pushing him away as my cheeks flush in embarrassment.

“I should go,” I say, swimming towards the cave exit only for Mateo to pull me back.

“Sofia, wait-“

“Goodbye,” I call back, freeing myself from his grip and scrambling to the mouth of the cave.

I hear him call after me as I reach the shore and shift, racing back to the Hacienda.