Conquering Kolton--Sample (Book 2 of The Sovereign Series)

7. The Truth Will Set You Free

    "Miss? You look... is there something I can do for you? Do you need a doctor perhaps?" Collette's worry was very apparent in the clench of her jaw and the knotting of her brows.

    "I'm fine, Collette," Eliza told her. "I just didn't get enough sleep."

    "Would you like a few more hours to try to get a little more rest, Miss?"

    "No, it would be pointless." She had been up since 4, and it was 8 AM now. "I will take some nice strong tea and plenty of it too."

    "Right away, Miss. Will you take your breakfast with the rest of the Royals?"

    "I think it would be best if I took it here. I don't want my father to worry," Eliza told her.

    "He'll worry anyway, you know. He's your father after all."

    Eliza nodded but didn't say anything. She needed to wash her face in cool water and shower the night sweats away. She felt sticky and uncomfortable.

    When she had washed and dried herself, she found a tray of tea and toast on a platter near the side of her bed. She smiled, not at all miffed that Collette had assumed she would want that for breakfast. Besides English muffins, it was her favorite thing to eat in the mornings. Three different jams were spread out on the table, and she selected a nice strawberry and blueberry for her slices of toasted bread.

    After eating, she changed into a light sundress and decided to go for a walk around the grounds. She didn't know how long she would stay on the island, and she figured getting a layout of the land couldn't do any harm. Perhaps she could even befriend someone with a boat and convince them to take her away if it came to that. She didn't want to go against her father's wishes, but being twice rejected was taking a toll on her. She felt more dead than alive at this point.

    She walked around the garden and one of the gardeners was snipping a small cluster of roses to give to her when Louisa came around the bend of the east wing and smiled at her. As she placed the little buds behind her ear, Louisa came up to her.

    "Going for a walk, sister?" she asked.

    "Just a small one," Eliza replied. "I haven't done much looking around the grounds, and I don't know where anything is inside. I figured I might as well start my tour here since there's always someone around to come find me if I get lost."

    "I'll give you a tour of the palace later if you like," Louisa offered. "There are four wings, and as long as you can remember holds which kind of rooms, you'll never get lost."

    The palace was in the shape of a stunted cross, the south end being the longest leg of it. Since most of the offices, lounges, and sitting rooms were in the south, and the north was the host of many of the public rooms, only the east and west wings were the ones she had not explored much of.

    "Let's take a seat in the gazebo and chat, shall we? I want to get to know my new sister better," Louisa said, gesturing to a nearby gazebo that was in the shade of some trees.

    "What would you like to know?" Eliza asked as they sat down on the bench inside.

    "First off, what is Chicago like? I've never been to a large city before. Just the island, my school in Virginia, and I've seen a little of the mainland on occasion."

    "It's bustling, very busy," Eliza told her. "Way too many people at times, like New York City."

    "I've always wanted to see New York. Perhaps I can convince my mate to take us there when we marry," Louisa said. "I want to see a Broadway show and Rockefeller Center and go to the top of the Empire State building."

    Eliza smiled, having done all those things.

    "I prefer seeing things from atop the Statue Of Liberty," Eliza admitted. "It has a better view, and you take a ferry to see it. It has the old torch on display in the main floor and a spiral staircase that winds to the crown."

    "Didn't the heights frighten you?"

    "It's so cramped inside, you're more likely to get claustrophobic than suffer vertigo."

    "Did you ever see a play or a musical?"

    "One," Eliza admitted. "Spring Awakening a few years back. It was good but sad."

    "No 'happily ever after'?" Louisa asked with a frown.

    Eliza smiled sadly.

    "Not everyone gets their happily ever after, but I liked it just the same."

    Louisa shook her head. "I only believe in happily ever afters. I mean, I can stand to be sad, but if a movie or play ends that way, I feel depressed for ages afterward."

    Eliza looked away to the water. "I find the sad endings much more realistic in a way. They... they make me feel better."

    "How do they make you feel better?" The idea was puzzling to Louisa, who had led a very sheltered life.

    "It makes me believe that maybe - just maybe- I don't have it as bad as some. I know that sounds horrible, but I can't help it. It's not like it makes me happy that other people suffer, but it makes me feel less alone."

    There was a pause as Louisa took that in.

    "Was there... is there something horrible that has happened to you that makes you feel this way?" the younger female asked.

    Eliza looked back at her, pondering the question.

    "My mother passed when I was young," she answered. "My father nearly went insane because of it. Death and... rejection of one's mate are the most painful things our kind can bear. Both can hurt us, even kill us if we are not strong enough."

    "Is that why you are here?"

    Eliza flinched at the question.

    "If your father too depressed to take care of you anymore? Are you a reminder of what he lost? I read a book like that once. A father treated his daughter badly because she was the spitting image of her dead mother. The daughter gets away at the end and falls in love with someone. The father comes to regret his actions towards her when he finds out she was wed and has a small baby. A baby that reminds him of his own daughter when she was born. How happy it made him to hold her in his arms after his wife gave birth to her."

    "Your father is an old friend of my father's," Eliza said after a beat. "He... he wanted us to get away for a bit. I - I wasn't doing very well in Chicago."

    "Why not?"

    Eliza scrutinized Louisa, trying to gauge her trustworthiness.

    "If I tell you, can you keep it a secret? I don't really want people to know, though my father obviously does," Eliza spoke quietly, aware of the ears of the gardeners nearby.

    "Of course," Louisa said. "Your secrets will always be safe with me."

    "I..." Eliza took a deep breath. "I found my true mate."

    "But then-"

    "Please, let me finish," Eliza begged. "If I don't get it all out in one fell swoop, I'll lose my nerve, I just know it."

    Louisa nodded so she could continue.

    "He was my childhood best friend, Jonathan," Eliza said softly. "We grew up together since diapers. We were as close as brother and sister and when he turned 18 he..."

    She faded off for a moment before taking a shuddering breath.

    "He was already involved with a friend of ours. Hayley. He loved her and... he chose her over me when he realized what we were to each other," Eliza finished, looking down at the ground.

    "He... rejected you? But what of the other girl's mate? What about when she found him?" Louisa had never heard of a true mate rejecting another. It made no sense when the pull was there and so very overpowering.

    "He... he didn't want another wolf. The female he was dating was a human and a friend to both of us," Eliza told her. "He told me he... he didn't want me and that it was best if I found someone else."

    "The man is an idiot."

    Eliza laughed, sniffling through a few stray tears.

    "As is my brother," Louisa continued. "There is nothing wrong with you. You are beautiful and kind and Lexi speaks very highly of you. Said Kate took to you right away almost. She rarely does that. Karter is easy. He loves everyone, but Kate is very particular. It took her weeks not to cry when anyone other than Kane or Lexi held her. She's just as stubborn now with newcomers, but she fell asleep in your arms yesterday. She must see a kindred spirit in you. You're too good for my ass of a brother. If only he changes his mind-"

    "He won't," Eliza interjected. "I know he won't. He's a lot like Jonathan in a way. Rebellious and stubborn. I should do you all a favor and leave. You're all very kind and have been so welcoming, but - if it's not meant to be, it's just not meant to be. I can take that. I've taken worse. I... I should go." She swiped at the moisture on her face. "I'm getting emotional again. I didn't sleep well at all and-"

    A rustling from the hedges caught her attention, a large figure coming from around them and looming tall.

    Kolton.

    His eyes were wide in surprise as he looked down at Eliza, ignoring his sister entirely.

    "You heard?" Eliza asked, almost whispering.

    "I... yes, I couldn't help it," he told her.

    "Then I should go," Eliza said. "I'm not wanted here by the one person that should matter to me. I'll not be looked upon with pity from you or anyone."

    "Eliza - wait," Kolton called after her, feeling his sister's hand on his wrist as he went to go after her.

    "Give her a minute, Kolt," Louisa said. "She's embarrassed and ashamed. I don't blame her. Whoever heard of a true mate rejecting their other half before? I thought it was only in wives tales that mothers told their children growing up."

    "I... I had no idea," Kolton said, his voice a low grumble. "She wouldn't tell me when I asked. Said I would dislike her even more."

    "And do you?" Louisa asked brusquely. "Do you see her differently? Think less of her because she was rejected? Do you still resent her and hate her?"

    "I... never hated her in the first place," Kolton told her. "I just hated the fact that I wasn't being given a choice. I hate being told what to do, being forced to comply with my father or with the King."

    "And now? What do you think of your future bride now? Do you think her pathetic and weak? She has had to endure more than either of us. She is stronger than you think." Louisa stood tall. Or as tall as her petite stature allowed. "Make this right Kolton. I know you, and I know you could make her happy if you tried. She deserves it after everything she has endured. You will lose her if you don't do something soon. I know what you're like and everyone in the castle knows your weakness for sweet little redheads with pale skin and light-colored eyes. You are only denying yourself in this foolish powerplay you and father and Kane have going on. They would never steer you wrong."

    "I know that." He looked after the receding figure that he could no longer see. She had fled to the palace, the door shutting behind her as she moved swiftly through the garden.

    "FIx it, Kolt. Fix it now."

    *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

    Eliza scampered about the room, ignoring the knocking at the door. If it was Collette, she wouldn't be needing her at all after this. She was packing a bag with as much clothing as she could, moving swiftly around the room to collect some of her personal items that she had brought with her. A tablet, her cell phone, a small photo album that was aged and well-worn. Her mother's old jewelry.

    "Eliza."

    That... that wasn't Collette.

    "Go away!"

    "I'm coming in!" Kolton decreed, finding the door locked. "Unlock the door. I need to speak with you."

    "I don't need to speak with you, Kolton!" she cried out and wiped another rogue tear from her face. They wouldn't stop falling no matter how hard she tried to stem the flow. Her humiliation was complete. The one person she didn't want knowing, now knew.

    "I will get the skeleton key from the butler if you don't let me in!" he warned.

    She thought she had enough time until then as she was almost finished, so she ignored him and continued to pack. If someone didn't ferry her across the water, she wasn't above stealing a small boat and rowing across to the mainland herself.

    She moved into the bathroom and grabbed her toiletries, slamming them all into the small bag she had brought with her from Chicago. When she walked back into the room, Kolton was there, the door closed behind him.

    "I already had the key," he told her. "I was fibbing when I warned you. I got the key before I even came upstairs. I need to speak with you."

    "Save your pity for someone who cares, Kolton," Eliza cried out bitterly. "Jonathan was right. I should have found a human. Male wolves are such horrid beasts."

    She put the toiletry bag on top of her clothing in the luggage before closing it up.

    "What are you doing," he asked, his eyes on her luggage.

    "What does it look like? Leaving."

    "Why?"

    She stopped zipping up the luggage to give him a look.

    "Why do you think?"

    "Is it because I've been rude? I'm sorry about that. I was-"

    "You were being your rebellious self, I know," she said, starting to zip up her luggage once again. "If you want to give me your condolences about being twice rejected, save your breath. I'd rather not hear or think about it. Please leave."

    "No."

    She stopped, picking up her luggage and setting the wheels on the ground.

    "I will scream bloody murder if you don't."

    He walked toward her, looming large and foreboding over her before he leaned down and brought his hand up to cup her cheek.

    "The only screaming you will do is if you are underneath my naked body and crying out your release as you come around my c**k, little mate."

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Conquering Kolton (Book 2 of The Sovereign Series)

R.K. Knightly