Mate for the Prince of Beasts

Chapter 2

Alana's POV

I woke up feeling like crap, everything hurt and I felt like I had been beaten up.  My first thought was to ask my mother for something to feel better, she was the village healer after all, and always had something ready to make me feel better, but then the memory of what had happened rushed back and I felt really ill.  I felt like throwing up, but there was nothing in me, so I just dry heaved for a while.  

Once I felt better, I looked around, I was surrounded by colorful fabrics, and had no idea where I was.  After my mother's horrific death, all I could remember was the man that had stepped between me and the killer, but he wasn't really a man, he was a beast.  I had no idea why I had been so comforted by him, it made no sense, he was my enemy, part of the people who had slaughtered everyone I knew.

I slowly got up, deciding to explore, but before I had the chance, one of the fabrics moved and a woman walked in, she was carrying a tray with food, and despite being sick just a moment before, my stomach growled at the smell. 

"Oh, good, you're awake.  I thought you would like something to eat, I bet you must be famished," she said with a smile.  "My name is Lira, what's yours?"

"Hi, my name is Alana.  Thanks for the food," I said, accepting the tray.  "Do you know where we are?"

"I don't know the name of the area that the camp is set on, but we are in the Prince's tent."

"The Prince?" I remembered that the killer had called the beautiful man, boss, but I didn't know much more than that.  Was he the Prince she was talking about?

"Prince Blaze, he is the one in charge of the recovery efforts," she said, like that explained things. 

"What recovery efforts? I don't understand what you are saying.  I really have no idea what's going on"

"How can you don't know about the recovery efforts?  The war we are fighting to get back what the witches took from us?"  It was right there that I finally understood what she was, she was a beast, one of the monsters that had attacked our village.  I let the food drop, and started to get away from her.  "What's wrong?"  she asked, her voice full with worry. 

"You are one of them!  You are one of the beasts!"  I accused her, while she looked at me as if I was crazy.  

I got up and tried to run away, but I got tangled in the fabrics around me, and soon I was grabbed by the woman who was incredibly strong.  

"What is wrong with you?" she asked, a little afraid and a lot annoyed. 

"Are you going to kill me?" I asked.  That's all those beast knew how to do, I had no idea why they hadn't killed me, I was sure they were going to, but then the man, the Prince, stepped in and saved me, what for, I had no idea. 

"Why would I kill you?" she was getting angry at me, while I was scared. 

"Because that's all your people do, they kill and kill everyone they see."

She let me go and took a couple of steps away, and I started looking around, looking for an escape route, then an older woman walked in and looked both of us, a puzzled look on her face. 

"What's going on here?  You didn't like the food?" she asked, looking at the food.

"She is a witch," the younger woman said, she spat the word witch like it was a curse. 

"You just be wrong Lira, she is the Prince's mate."

"Please, please, just let me go," I asked the old woman, even if she was one of the beasts she looked kind and I had to try, I had no idea what was going on or what they wanted with me, but it couldn't be a good thing, nothing good could come from them.  The memory of my mother came, making me feel sick all over again. 

"Don't worry, we will take good care of you," she said with what I was sure she believed to be a reassuring smile, but it only made me feel worse, I was trapped with no idea what was going on, but I was sure that I was alone, surrounded by the enemy, by people that didn't think twice before taking a life.  My parents and friends were gone, and it was because the beasts.  I had no idea what they were planning, but I was sure nothing good could come from them.  "Now, you need to eat your food and prepare, we will be leaving in a couple of hours."

"Leaving?  Leaving where?"

"We are going back to Prince Blaze's castle.  He ordered all his people back, he will postpone our advance to celebrate finding his fated mate."

"But i don't want to," I protested, but it sounded weak, even to my own ears.

"Eat, we don't know when we will have another chance."

I tried to eat, I really did, mostly because I was hungry and needed my strength if I was going to try and escape, but partly because I was afraid of them, the problem is that I wasn't feeling well and my stomach, no matter how hungry, couldn't keep things down.  They finally gave up and took the food away, but I could see they weren't happy with me.  

Once they were gone I tried to look for a way out.  I found that some fabrics were nailed to the ground, others opened into connecting rooms, but those had beasts on the other side, and I couldn't risk trying to get past them.  I already knew they could transform and tear me apart in a second, and even if they didn't act like they were going to hurt me, I just didn't trust them.

Blaze's POV

I wanted to go and see her, but I knew that if I did, I wouldn't be able to contain myself and would claim her right there, but she was going to be my Princess, she deserved better, and I had decided to wait until we were married in an official ceremony to mate her.  Still, it was hard, she was like a beacon calling me to her.  Even from outside, I could smell her, and it was intoxicating.  

I was lost in my thoughts when Lira and Katra arrived.  Lira looked disgusted and Katra pensive.

"My Lord," Lira said respectfully.

"Boss," Katra said, using the more informal term most of my men used.  

"How is she?" I couldn't help but ask.

"She is a witch," Lira accused. 

"I know that, but that's irrelevant, what's important is that she is my mate.  I hope you treated her with all the respect my mate deserves," I said, my voice taking a menacing tone. 

"Of course I did," she immediately said, "it's just that she is not one of us, she is our enemy, and she doesn't want to be here, that's clear to see."

"She belongs to me, nothing else matters."

"She is not happy with the situation," Katra said, "and she is afraid of us."

"Did you tell her that she has nothing to fear?  That we will protect her?"

"I don't think she will believe me even if I say so.  Maybe your Majesty should go and talk to her," Katra suggested.

"I'll think about it, for now, just make sure she is ready to travel and that she rests as much as she can, we will have our mating ceremony as soon as we arrive.  I already sent word for everything to be prepared."

"It will be done as you wish," Katra said, but where she seemed eager to comply, Lira looked like she wanted to protest.

"You can go now," I dismissed them.  I knew that taking a witch as a mate wouldn't be a popular choice, but it wasn't up to them.  Fate had marked her as my mate, and no one could argue with that.  There was a reason she was my mate, and in time my people would see it.