The Prince's Mate

Chapter 4

"Get up." My father said, shaking my shoulders.

"Did I sleep through my alarm?" I gasped, sitting up in my bed instantly.

"No, no." my father soothed, patting the top of my head affectionately. "The prince is coming, he'll be here any minute and they want all of the unmated females to be present when he arrives. They want the whole process to be as efficient as possible, they won't stay here a second longer than they need to."

I scoffed, "A lot of girls are going to be so disappointed when they find out their beloved prince is only spending five minutes on their pack lands."

Truth be told, I felt a little angry at the royals. Yes, they were busy people and they were desperate to find the prince's mate, but so many people were so thrilled to see them. So many girls had damn near died when they found out the prince was going to be here to look for his mate. And he was a royal for god's sake. He should feel a tiny bit inclined to stay with packs longer to establish a relationship and an understanding.

But one mental image of the queen's unfeeling expression and her husband's blank eyes flashed through my mind and I was suddenly not surprised that they weren't sparing my pack more than a few minutes.

My father left my room soon after he made sure I was fully awake, then I slipped out of bed and pulled on some clothes. For a moment, after I had gotten a tank top, a plaid shirt, and plain jeans on, I stared at my assortment of necklaces and blouses. Perhaps I should try a little harder, it was the royal family after all. But then I just shrugged to myself, he wouldn't spare me a second glance so why did it even matter?

I didn't bother to eat breakfast. I didn't think I would have time, but my shift didn't start until later in the day so I would have time then.

"Be careful." My father called out as I reached the front door.

"I will dad, can you make sure that Cass gets to school?"

He raised his eyes from the newspaper he was reading to smirk at me, "You know I'm the parent, right?"

I just gave him a small smile and left the house.

I wandered around the town for a while, trying to find a hoard of squealing, jittery girls and for a while I had no luck. Not that I was particularly worried. If I missed the whole thing I couldn't care less, but I also knew that in cases like these the royals wouldn't leave until every eligible girl was accounted for.

Eventually, I found what I was looking for.

Girls were lined up outside of town hall giggling and tittering. In a matter of seconds I felt completely underdressed. Many of the girls were wearing beautiful dresses. No they weren't full length ball gowns, but they all looked clean and feminine. Hairs were twirled in elegant ringlets or pin straight and glossy. Wrists, fingers, and necks all had jewellery strung across them. Faces were gleaming with artfully done makeup and very suddenly I felt like a bumpkin.

"Only you would wear that to meet the royal family." Willow scoffed as she grabbed my arm.

"I had no idea it was such a big deal." I said, my voice dropping to an embarrassed whisper. "They're only going to be here for five minutes anyway."

Willow gawked at me as if I were a fool. "Yeah, they'll only be here for five minutes but you and everyone else here is representing our pack for that time and you look like you can't afford decent clothes when your father is a bloody lawyer." She ranted, throwing her hands in the air, "Did you think that meeting the royal family was worth a pretty shirt and something not so...plaid?"

I self-consciously crossed my arms as if that would hide my shirt and my cheeks flamed with embarrassment.

Willow's vibrant eyes softened a little and she forced half her perfect pink lips up into a smile. Even though there was a whole lot of sass in her little body there was still room for a whole lot of heart too. She could clearly sense that I was upset and didn't want to push it any farther.

"We'll stand in the back so no one sees us." She said with a slight wink.

I didn't protest, even though she looked gorgeous enough to make the prince fall in love with her, mate or not. We just stood behind all of the excited and well-dressed girls, listening to them chatter and talking quietly amongst ourselves. We too began giggling, but not about the prince. Instead we gushed about a new member who had begun working at the store with us. He was quite handsome and though neither of us had spoken a word to him it sparked a lively conversation between us. We both knew we weren't his mate, we would be fools to think he would ever waste his time with us, but he was still worth a second glance.

We ended up getting so in-depth in our conversation we didn't notice when all of the other girls began to quiet down, their conversations dying.

"Shut up." Willow suddenly hissed, jabbing her bony elbow into my side.

"What?" I asked, still chuckling, "You think he's cute, don't get embarrassed about it now."

"Have I interrupted something, ladies?" A cold, sharp woman asked.

My eyes immediately fell on the queen and my mouth snapped shut. The first thing I noticed was her eyes. They weren't a normal colour, they were more orange than brown, making her appear more cat like and lethal than kind and human. It chilled me slightly and I repressed a shiver as she ran her eyes over me. She would've been quite beautiful if it hadn't been for her demeanour. She was thin with silky hair that had been twisted up into an elegant bun. Her gown flowed to the ground, covering her feet and a gorgeous, expensive crown rested upon her head.

"No." I said, lowering my eyes.

The queen just glared at me. After what felt like an eternity of avoiding her intense eyes, she looked away and gestured for someone to come out of a stunning sport's car that I hadn't noticed before.

"I would like to formally introduce my son. Ladies, this is your future king, Prince Bennett."

My entire little town was star struck as the prince slowly exited his luxurious vehicle, straightening his suit jacket casually before he pulled of the sunglasses he was wearing. All around me girls were trying to contain their excitement, bouncing slightly while clutching at each other, repressing squeals.

I just felt like my heart stopped completely.

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