The Prince's Mate

Chapter 12

After my seamstress left I became bored. There wasn't a whole lot to do now that I had investigated the majority of the house and my encounter with the seamstress made me feel awful. I knew I didn't fit in with the royals, but now it was clear that I stuck out like a sore thumb, even to the staff. I knew I didn't want to fit in, I didn't want to be like the king and queen or Bennett, but I was starting to feel lonely. Every person I had encountered so far was either rude or thrown off by my behavior.

I ended up lying on one of the stiff couches in the living room trying to read a book about brain function. No, it wasn't my favorite thing to read, but it was this psychology book or I got to read books about modern art and music. These weren't the types of books that anyone really read, and judging by the thick layer of dust on them, they were just sitting on the bookshelf to make the royals look smart. And it's no wonder they never bothered to read these books, the content was so uninteresting my eyes began to close and my breathing slowed.

The only thing that prevented me from dosing off was the sound of the front door opening. My eyes snapped open, the book tumbled to the floor, and I was on my feet by the time Donovan entered the living room.

"Good afternoon, your Highness." He said, bowing his head down. "I hope I didn't interrupt anything."

"No, not at all, I was just reading." I said, pointing to the book that was now tossed on the floor.

Donovan nodded, "I have your clothing that you requested. I must say this is the first time I ever heard of a royal specifically asking for clothes from Walmart."

"I've been royal for a day, I'm not used to anything else yet." I shrugged, "And there's nothing wrong with wearing cheap clothes because then you aren't scared to ruin them."

Donovan laughed a little, "Most princesses usually love the idea of getting a whole new expensive wardrobe. It's rare that a princess will want clothes from Walmart."

"Please stop calling me a princess." I groaned, "You already know I hate it."

"Sorry, old habits, right?"

I just gave Donovan a little smile, loving the way he looked at me as if I were just a normal girl. I loved the kindness in his eyes and the tiny half smile he always had, as if he was always amused.

"Should I bring the bags inside?" he asked, shattering my focus.

"Yes, that would be lovely." I blurted, feeling my cheeks flame a little. I knew I had my own mate, but I could feel a little crush developing with Donovan. He was quite handsome with his blonde hair and blue eyes, and even though he wasn't my mate, his genuine kindness was making me melt a little bit.

Donovan lugged all of my bags into the living room, telling me that I could go through their contents and anything I didn't like would be taken back immediately. I was expecting him to come inside with a couple bags from nearby stores, but I was almost floored when he came in with ten bags, most of them with designer labels on them. I almost called him out on disobeying my orders, but the temptation was too much and I just started going through them.

The first bag had three pairs of shoes stuffed into it. There was a brown pair of boots I instantly adored, and plain black runners I knew I would use. The only pair of shoes I hesitated over was a pair of stunning black heels. I was about to tell Donovan to take them back when I remembered that my new life would require me to look like a princess. Heels were going to be forced on me eventually.

"He really collared you, huh?" Donovan murmured, pulling my attention away from the clothes.

My hand instinctively touched the raw skin on my neck. "Yes, he did. You got the collar for him."

Donovan sat down on one of the couches opposite to me, propping his elbows on his knees and his chin rested on his fists. "I know I got the collar, but usually it's just a threat, women often give up the second they smell the silver. It's very rare that the collar is ever used, I've heard that it has killed people."

I couldn't stop myself from snorting, "Please, the collar wouldn't kill someone, it's just silver. The only thing responsible for a death involving a collar is the idiot that strapped it on to someone."

Donovan pondered this for a while, "I suppose you're right, but it is a very good tactic to get women to submit, even if you don't stand behind it."

"Oh?"

"Well, you had to give in to your mate to be released, right?" I was about to deny his assumption, but then I remembered my mate's stern words so I just nodded my head. "And when I was very young the queen was brought in and she was just like you, headstrong and wild. She was raised differently than the king and the king made her submit to him by using the collar." Donovan explained.

"Where are you going with this?" I demanded.

Donovan blinked, looking as if he had been brought back to Earth. "I should return to my post. Please let your seamstress know which clothes you would like returned." He stood up abruptly, bowing his head to me, then he walked off stiffly.

I spent the rest of the day picking the clothes I wanted to keep. The shopping trip went well beyond what I had expected and I ended up buried in soft fabrics and cold jewelry. Honestly, I loved almost every piece of clothing that had been bought for me. the only thing I didn't like was a leather jacket, because I never deemed myself bad ass enough to wear one, but I was still tempted to keep that as well.

I stuffed everything back into the bags, took it up to the bedroom and unloaded everything in the closet. I felt a little bad, I knew some of this stuff cost more than my old car back home, but Donovan was right, living lavishly did have its perks, like gloriously soft cardigans and bras and panties in every colour and style. And my side of the closet contrasted greatly to Bennett's side. Mine was an array of colours and textures while his was just black, grey, and white.

A short while after I was done organizing the closet Bennett came home. He sauntered right into the bedroom without saying a word and when I popped my head out of the enormous closet he was loosening his tie. I couldn't help myself from looking him over. He looked undeniably sexy.

"Hello Brook." He greeted, "How was your day?"

"Fine." I huffed, tossing myself on the bed.

Bennett smiled a little, "Yeah? I thought you would be tearing off the wallpaper by now."

"Nope." I said flatly, I was not going to amuse him.

Bennett chuckled, "Would you like to come with me for a walk?"

"So you can rip off my clothes and try to rape me outside?" I shot back.

Bennett's hands instantly clenched into tight fists, "I'm trying to make this better for you, Brooklyn. I know that I'm not falling at your feet like you want me to, but I have very little drive to treat you like a goddess when you hardly act like a human being." He hissed.

"I really am too tired for this, Bennett." I said dismissively. I rolled onto my side, turning my back to him.

"Alright, I'm just going to change and I'll be out of your way."

Bennett kept true to his word. I heard him shuffled around the closet, the rustle of fabric as he changed, and after that, he left once more. And when the front door shut again, I started to cry, the loneliness and the fear for the future becoming unbearable.