His Selected Mate

Chapter 5

At five on the dot, someone knocked on my door. The smell of strawberries and pine wafted in through the door. I opened it to reveal Prince Maxon. "You just open your door? Where are your maids?" he asked. "I already dismissed them," I responded. He shrugged his shoulders and extended his elbow towards me. "For appearances sake, will you please take it?" I weaved my arm through his as I shut my door. As we made our way down the hall, we started making light conversation. "I'm sorry you lost," he said. "No, you're not," I said with an amused tone. He smiled at me and said, "It was nice to win, I have never gambled before." "Beginner's luck," I responded. "Perhaps...maybe we can make her laugh next time." I looked at the porcelain floor and smiled. We were silent as we went down the stairs to the first floor. Something that I didn't account for was how big Maxon's arm felt through his suit jacket.

How is he this muscular? He sits at a desk all day and reads papers. The Moon Goddess knows the attributes we like she smirked. "Tell me about your family," said Maxon. "My family?" I asked. He nodded his head. "Well, I'm the middle of five-" "Five?" he questioned, cutting me off. "Yeah, five. Most families out there have big families. I'd have lots, if I could." I tried not to think about Aspen as I said this. My heart ached slightly at the thought of him, but it didn't hurt as much as it did a few days ago. Maybe it's because I was right next to Maxon, clinging on to him.

"Really?" His eyebrows were raised. I was brought back to the present by his voice. "Yes," I said, my voice low. I felt a blush rise at the thought at carrying his pups. Many of them voiced Tempest. Shut up! "Anyway, the oldest of us is Kenna. She married a four and works in a factory now. I miss having an older sister around. Next is my older brother Kota. We don't see him around much, although he came to see me off." Abandoner whispered a dark part of me. "Then there's me."

Maxon gave me a smile. "America Singer, my closest friend." Again, I felt sadness at being called his friend but happiness that he beamed at me. "Next, there's May. She's the one who sold me out and didn't cry. She's two years younger than me and is an artist. I...I adore her." We turned a corner once on the first floor. "Finally, there's Gerad. He's the baby of the family. He likes to play ball outside and study bugs, which is fine and all but it isn't a career."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw two of the girls making their way upstairs. I could see their glares. Great, by the time dinner comes everyone will know about this. "That's everyone." "What about your parents?" Maxon said. "What about yours," I countered, playfully.

"You know my parents he said. "No, I know the image of your parents. What are they really like?" I waited for an answer but he never responded. Tempest didn't like his silence, it made her uneasy.

Once we were outside, I saw him try to "quietly" dismiss the cameras. I was immediately on edge and on guard. Why did he dismiss them, why can't others be present? Would you relax, he just wants privacy. Yeah but why? My thoughts turned to the man that came to our house before the Selection started, the one that said that I shouldn't fight the prince on anything he may want to do. Kisses or more than just kisses.

"Are you alright?" his voice broke through my reverie. "You look tense." I took a deep breath and tried to relax. "It's just, you dismissed the cameras," I said, as we continued to walk. He looked at me with something like confusion in his eyes.

"Forgive me if I made you uncomfortable," he said, looking me in my eyes. "I just didn't want them to intrude on our date. It feels a little weird having them follow us around." We continued on in silence, moving past garden hedges tall enough to conceal us from the palace. There was a fountain and we both moved to sit on the edge of it. I folded my hands in my lap, trying to think of how to word my next sentence.