Rejected by My Royal Mate

Ch 8 - Threatening Feelings

-Alyna-

I pulled back from Prince Theoden, my heart crashing down to my stomach, cursing at myself for being stupid. This wasn't something I was proud of doing, but I had loved him a long, long time... and it was even hard with the damn mate bond.

I knew I was giving excuses to myself, and I hated myself for doing that.

"Bye, Theoden. And please... you have no right to tell anyone off. I will talk with whoever I want to talk with."

"He was f*cking talking about drinking your f*cking blood," Theoden hissed, his eyes flashing in possessiveness which he wasn't allowed to feel. I was not his possession. I had never been. And especially not now. He couldn't tell me he didn't want me and the talk with me like this. He couldn't step over me like I was a freaking mat. That Alyna was long gone. This new one... she would talk back and hit back.

"And it is my blood, so what concern is it to you?" I knew I was goading him into this, but like I said, I was done being a puppet in other people's machinations.

"You are my-" He stopped as if he didn't know how to finish that sentence.

I stared at the prince, my eyes almost stinging.

"You don't have the strength and power to finish that sentence, Prince Theoden. When you can finish it, you can talk with me. Till then, do not poke your nose where it was not wanted. Oh, and now I officially have two suitors. That is one too many I promised I would have," my voice was so smug, and Prince Theoden wasn't very pleased with whatever s**t I was spouting, not at all.

I walked out and Irene was just coming inside the bend. She gave me one look and her eyes narrowed. I knew she knew that I had done something I probably shouldn't have done. She narrowed her eyes as she motioned me to go in front of her. I was ashamed of what I had done, but then again, there was just no way for me to not want this, not want him.

I can use him... Just as he had used me the other night... but even that sounded somewhere close to a one-way ticket to Heartbreak Hotel, which I didn't want. Not at all. My heart had already taken so many lashings. The prince had already broken it once, and to hand it over to him yet again was nothing more than plain idiotic... but my body, now that was a different story!

"What were you thinking?" Irene said with a frown as we walked out of the alley. The disapproval in her voice was not very hard to miss. "He hurt you, Alyna, and-"

"And I will hurt him back for that..." I said simply. "I will make him my pet. And then I will tell him I don't want him..." My voice was vicious, and even I was scared of how ugly I sounded.

I didn't know whether I could come out of this darkness without having scathed something deep within me, but life was full of moments you had to run away from, and for now, I chose to run away from the revelation of the person I was becoming.

Running away had always been easier.

When my dragon didn't come, I had started to run, and I had yet to stop.

"I am worried for you, Alyna. I- I must not have pushed you into this..." Irene whispered as she looked at me with eyes full of concern.

"I know, but Irene, trust that I can take care of myself. I am a grown ass woman, and it is about time I made some changes in my life," I said with a determined look on my face.

First, eliminating bullies.

Second, hurting the Prince, back.

Third, actually enjoying doing that.

***

-Nathan-

"Stop deflecting and start attacking. You can only defend for so long. It all boils down to the fact whether you threw your sword first or he did his!"

War was all about being on your feet all the time, finding ways to protect yourself and your army. I had been at war once, I had lost someone precious at that war, too.

"Yes, commander Reyes," the man bowed a little and I grunted under my breath as I moved on. The threat to the kingdom was constantly looming.

The iron Empire of Eithon was always looking at our kingdom for our wealth, and King Romano was a tyrant ruler, who lived to make people miserable and cruel like him and it was this fierce darkness that was hanging above our head.

When the practice was over, I wiped the sweat and opened my eyes to see Prince Theo walking towards me a sullen look on his face. I took a deep breath and waited. I knew what was coming, of course I knew.

I had expected to hear from him yesterday itself, but he must have controlled himself last night. And so here he was, and he looked like he was fuming. Raging.

I didn't give a damn.

What he said to Alyna was just wrong... but that wasn't the only reason I accepted her invite. She was witty, smart and she- she made me feel things. Things I had stopped feeling when my mate died.

When Alyna kissed me in front of Theoden, I knew it was only because she wanted to make him regret the decision, to see that she could get a man. For that, she had used me, but I didn't care. I liked being used by her.

Alyna and I had some weird tension going on, even before I found my mate. Alyna and I were always fighting over things that didn't even mean much to either of us, but bantering back and forth with Alyna had always been the best, but I also knew she had always been in love with Theoden. So I stood on the sidelines and watched... watched as she pined over the prince, as many other girls before her were.

And then I met my mate. And the pull was amazing. Tiana was amazing, until she died in the war. I had known her only for two weeks by then, and we cared a lot for each other, but we didn't have a proper chance to get to know each other, to like each other, to fall in love.

"Nathan, you- you are my best friend. How could you do this to me?"

"You know I have always liked Alyna. It was way before I- I met Tiana. So... now that you are-"

His face morphed into one of anger and irritation as he took a step towards me and shook his head. "No. No, you can't do this, you just can't," he hissed and he took in a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

I stare at him, my eyes boring into his.

"You can't, Nathan." His voice came out pleading.

"Why not?" I looked at my friend. He had always been selfish, a little bit, but I never thought he was this selfish.

My irritation grew as I stared at him. He looked angry. He was going to be the king, and he couldn't even properly make a decision about his mate. He was confused, and he was confusing others.

"Because she is mine." He didn't even pause to think about what he was saying. I rolled my eyes. The prince and his tantrum...

"No, she is not, Theo. What the actual f*ck are you talking about? You humiliated her in front of the elders court. You reprimanded her and you also... told her that she wouldn't get a man. What kind of person does things like that? You have rejected her, and you have hurt her more with your words, Theo, and now you are trying to control her life? Why don't you think about what you have done?" I hissed at him, anger boiling over. Theo was being so selfish and I didn't have to take his asshole attitude. Being his friend for years had given me immunity against his sometimes spoiled attitude... but...

He was a good man, but sometimes he could be so damn clueless and demanding. And infuriating. It was not right.

I took a step towards him and Theo took a hurried step back from me, as if he was afraid that I might hit him or something.

I almost wanted to, but I couldn't. He was still my best friend.

"Maybe some other time, he deserves it," my dragon said with a dark look in his eyes. Best friend or not, I have to agree.

"I don't know, okay. I just don't know. She doesn't have a dragon, and I need someone strong... you know that."

"I do know that. So let her be. She will find someone who will want her the way she is," I sighed. After all the time we fought, Alyna was still the one person who could make me happy, just as she made me angry.

"Is that someone you?" he scoffed, shaking his head. His brows furrowed. His lips were pressed together in a tight frown.

"So what if it is me?" I whispered. I was getting tired of this conversation. Even if I wanted her, I was not breaking any sacred rules. He rejected her. It was his choice. I didn't, in no way, contributed to his feelings, or coerced him into it.

He looked at me, his nostrils flaring. I could see his dragon flashing.

I sighed. I really didn't want to fight with him... but if it came to that, I had years and years of training.

He scoffed. "Yeah, so what if it is you..."

"Please, Theo. Let's not fight over this."

"Well, you know she kissed you just to make me angry, right?"

Oh... did he really go there?

"I know."

"And she kissed me."

"Ok."

"And she was inviting a damn vampire."

"Again, okay. Her game, her wish. She can invite whoever she wants, can't she?!"

"I don't want her to- to-" Theoden stopped, looking frustrated. I understood what he was saying, and it was so damn wrong.

"Theo, you didn't want her, but you didn't want her to want anyone else except you. Is that it?"

Theoden looked at me as if he didn't want to say it out loud, but he didn't have to. I was losing my respect for him the more he said.

And then he told me something I didn't expect.

"I do want her, but the thing is, I can't want her!"

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