Rejecting The Princess

Reassuring River

     Has anyone ever told you how boring meeting are? They are always about the same things 'blah, blah, blah, rouges, blah, blah, this, blah, blah, that'. I am completely blanking out staring into space and wondering what I should have for lunch. I have been craving just a normal turkey sandwich. Maybe I'll have that. Do we have honey mustard? That is always good on sandwiches. What kind of cheese should I have? Am I the only person who gets hungry? I look over at Caden and study his face trying to deduct if he is hungry or not. His nose twitches and it looks like he is trying not to smile. Is that what he does when he gets hungry? He looks over at me and flashes me a small smile before turning his attention back to the meeting. Great, I was caught. Maybe he was trying to find out if I was hungry. 

     "Elliana?" Someone says my name, causing me to snap back into the meeting.

     "What?" I say, completely lost. 

     "This is the part of the meeting you are taking lead of," My father says. 

     "Oh yes," I sit up straighter in my chair. "I wanted to talk about the on going rouge attacks at Alpha Caden's pack that we have all been hearing about. Myself and a few of my guards have been there training his pack members but it's not enough. So once again Myself and guards will be heading there in less then a weeks time and staying there. What we will be doing is working closely with the Alpha and his pack to help them get stronger, learn battle strategy, and try to figure out what the rouges are planning," I say in my 'future queen' voice. Everyone looks okay with the news and write a few things down. I take a quick glance at Caden and I can see how unhappy he is. 

     Someone else is now talking about something they are planning and I once again stop paying attention. I get that Caden doesn't want me to get hurt, but he has to understand that this is my job and duty as the top warrior and future queen. If he can't separate me being his mate and me doing my job than I will have to keep things work oriented and pretend that we have nothing between us. I know that seems harsh, but as future queen there are many things that you are responsible for that I can't afford to mess up. 

     The meeting is dismissed and my parents and I are let out first. I stand up and walk out with confidence and my head held high, but as soon as we are out of sight I am running down the hall yelling for food while my parents are left laughing behind me. 

     I quickly reach the kitchen and get to work getting the ingredients out for my sandwich. I am about half way done making it when I feel Caden's presence. "Hey, you want a sandwich?" I ask him. 

     "I would love one, thank you. That meeting tired me out." He sighs, sitting on the bar stool. 

     "Especially when I couldn't sleep at all," I say agreeing with him. 

     "If you ever can't sleep, even for a second, you can always come into my room." His face serious. 

     "Okay, I'll remember that," I joke, and hand him his sandwich and he thanks me again. 

     We eat silently but I can tell that something is bugging him. Once I clear our plates and he still hasn't said anything I get tired of it. "What?" I ask him. 

     He runs his hands down his face before answering. "You know that I don't like the idea of you coming back to my pack with all the threats." 

     "Caden I get it. But if you can't learn that it's what I was born to do and want to do and what I am assigned to do and accept the fact that I am the best person for this. We are going to have to ignore the fact that we are mates until this is all handled." 

     "No! We will not ignore that we are mates again!" He says getting mad. "I messed up once and I am not messing up again! We are mates and there will be no more ignoring it." 

     I walk up to Caden and place my hands on his arms. "Okay Caden we are mates. We will see how things go when the time comes. But please learn when to treat me as a mate when it's the right time and learn when it's not the right time." 

     He is a little calmer but the last thing I say gets him again and I can see that all of this talk is starting to get his wolf out. "It's always the right time to be mates, we will always be mates and I will never ignore it!" His eyes start to change colors and I know that I will now need to calm him down. 

      "Caden, listen to me," I say softly. "We are mates and you will always be my mate okay. Just at certain times you let that get in the way of what needs to be done. But I will still always be here by your side okay, I'm not leaving." I run my hands up and down his arm and stare into his eyes hoping that will help him calm down. He lays his head into the crook of my neck and takes deep breathes. 

     "River needs confirmation. I am going to let him out for a second," He says in a strained voice, and I nod my head waiting to see River. 

     His head lifts up and his I can tell that it is now River in full control. River grabs me and pulls me closer to him in a strong hug before going back a little so we can talk. "Mate still wants River right? Mate won't stop being mate? River still wants mate." I can see the worry in his eyes. Lot's of times wolves take things way out of proportion and River probably thought I was about to reject him or something. 

     "Of course I still want you River. You are amazing, I will never leave you. But sometimes Caden just makes me a little mad." I say comfortingly. 

     "Human Caden makes River mad all the time. Human never listens to River." 

     "I know River and that's why you are my favorite," I lean closer to his ear and whisper. "Don't tell Caden I said that." 

     River grins happily and pulls me into a tight hug once again. "Mate is River's favorite also!" 

      "I'm glad I'm your favorite. Now give control back to Caden and I will talk to you later," I tell him softly so he doesn't feel hurt. 

     "Okay, make sure Mate remembers." He says quickly, obviously still worried I will leave. 

     "Of course River. I will talk to you again very soon." I give him a small kiss on the cheek before Caden takes control again. 

      "River loves mate." Is the last thing he says before Caden has full control. 

     "Ugh, my wolf gives me a headache." Caden says, and I laugh a little noticing how different the two are. "What's so funny?" He asks. 

     "Nothing. Let's go watch a movie."