The Prophesied Mate

2-Hope

2-Hope POV

Pulling Mandy into the hospital janitorial closet I held her mouth shut. The whispers grew more intense as we strained to hear what they were saying.

"...look, we thought she wasn't going to be an issue anymore, it's been years since she last showed her ugly face..."

"Yes, I know that, but I'm telling you, Alexander said the injuries he sustained were from her and her troops. They're slowly taking out the southern kingdoms before making their way north."

Alexander? Who is Alexander?

Mandy shrugged as she motioned for me to be quiet so she could listen. We can figure that out later, just shhhhh.

The voices died down as the group moved down the hall, but the unease that had settled in my stomach only grew. I felt like I was being watched, like someone knew what we'd overheard and was waiting for us to make our next move.

We quickly exited the closet and made our way back to the cafeteria. She flopped down on the couch and stared at the ceiling. Before we reached safety, I watched as a furious Gareth stormed our way. Looking at Mandy with pleading eyes, she had promptly fallen asleep. Thanks a lot girlfriend.

"So, who is Alexander?" I quickly asked before he could mention our eavesdropping.

Gareth blew out a frustrated breath and grabbed a coffee cup from the stand, squeezing it before releasing his grip so he could pour a scalding cup. "Alexander is... the prince of the southern kingdom. His father was killed a few years back and he took over rule."

The southern kingdom? I filed that information away for later and decided to focus on the task at hand. "Okay, so what does this have to do with us?"

Gareth tried to remain neutral faced. "He's the man you brought here yesterday."

I felt the blood drain from my face. "What?"

"He's here in the northern kingdom, seeking refuge. He was on his way here to warn us of the compromised position the wolves and lycans are in and got attacked." He sighed, rubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands before taking a sip of coffee.

"I'm sorry, I know you were enjoying the peace of the kingdoms, but it looks like everything is about to come undone."

My head was spinning. All of this information and it felt like I had only scratched the surface. There was so much more to learn and I had a feeling that it wasn't going to be pretty. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"You needed your rest and we needed to figure out what we were going to do," he said gruffly, avoiding my eyes.

I flopped back on the couch and stared up at the ceiling. This was all too much. Mandy stirred beside me and propped herself up on her elbows.

"What's going on?" she asked groggily.

I filled her in on what we overheard and who Alexander was while Gareth made more coffee. She sat up, her face thoughtful.

"Do you think he's telling the truth?" she asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know, but it's worth checking out."

"Agreed," Gareth said as he placed a steaming cup of coffee in front of me.

We all sat in silence, contemplating what to do next. It felt like the weight of the world was resting on our shoulders and I had a feeling it was only going to get worse from here.

"I'd like to meet him." I announced, getting up on the couch as Gareth's eyes bulged out of his head.

"Not a chance. We don't know anything about him!" He yelled at me, causing the other people in the cafeteria to stop and stare curiously.

Mandy put her hand on his arm, calming him. "It's okay, I think it would be a good idea. If he is who we think he is, then he could be our ticket out of all of this. An alliance between us and the south would be very beneficial to all involved."

Gareth stared at her for a long moment before sighing and running his hand over his face. "Fine, but I'm going with you."

"I don't think that's such a good idea," I said quickly.

"I'm not letting you go anywhere without me," he said firmly.

I rolled my eyes but didn't argue any further. We had bigger things to worry about than who was going to protect me.

"We will be waiting outside, Hope. Don't take too long. I can't imagine what you would even want to talk to him about." Gareth rolled his eyes as I opened the door to Alexander's room.

Much to my surprise, Regan was sitting beside his bed, laughing at something he said. Both men stopped and stared at me as I walked in.

"Um...hi." My voice squeaked, much to my dismay.

Alexander's lip curled up as his eyes twinkled at me. His arm was hung heavily in a sling and a bandage stretched across his tight stomach muscles. I could see the outline of a healing wound on his chest where his shirt was opened.

"Hello, Hope," he said smoothly, his voice like velvet. "I'm glad you're feeling better."

My cheeks heated up and I cleared my throat before gesturing to the door. "Um...can we talk?"

Regan got up from the bed and gave me an assessing look before nodding at Alexander. "I'll leave you two alone."

He closed the door behind him, leaving me alone with the man who had caused so much chaos in my life and in my head in such a short period of time. My palms were sweaty and my heart was racing as I tried to figure out what to say.

"So...you're Alexander." It wasn't a question.

He inclined his head. "Yes, I am."

"And you're another werewolf king...but of the south?" It still sounded surreal, even to my own ears. I hadn't travelled out that far yet.

"That is correct," he said solemnly.

I stared at him for a long moment, trying to figure out what to say. Finally, I just came out and asked the question that had been nagging at me since I woke up.

"Why?"

He c****d his head to the side, his blue eyes studying me intently. "Why what?"

"Why are you doing this? Why were you trying to help warn us? You could have let whoever it is, just come attack us blindly."

"It's not in my nature to sit back and do nothing when I can help," he said simply.

I frowned, trying to understand what he meant. "But you're a king. You have people who rely on you. Why would you put them in danger by helping us?"

"My people are safe," he said confidently. "I would never do anything that would put them in danger."

I was still skeptical but I could tell he was telling the truth. He truly seemed to believe what he said. "So why risk it all then? If your people are safe, why help us?"

He sighed and ran his good arm over his face, looking tired all of a sudden. "Because it's the right thing to do. And because I can't stand by and watch innocent people be hurt."

I was taken aback by his words. No one had ever helped me...errr I mean us, before without wanting something in return. I didn't know how to respond so I just stood there staring at him like an i***t.

"Thank you," I finally said, my voice soft.

He nodded and gave me a small smile before the door opened and Gareth walked back in.

"Is everything okay?" He asked, looking between Alexander and me.

"Yes, we were just talking," I said quickly.

Gareth didn't look convinced but he didn't say anything else as he ushered me out of the room. I noticed the penetrating look he was giving Alexander and the smile he received in return.

As I turned to leave, I heard Gareth snarl, "stop staring at her like that, she's only 17."

Peering out the corner of my eye as I rounded the corner back into the hallway, I saw Alexander throw his hands up in surrender with a small laugh. "Yessir!"

Practically running now, my cheeks burning in embarrassment, I ran straight into the body of a thick man. "Woah there Hope, slow down, everything okay?"

My body relaxed as I recognized Regan's voice. "Yeah, sorry. Just my brother being my brother." I grumbled quietly as I inhaled his scent. He smelt like woods and fir trees, a refreshing change from the hospital sterility.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," he said apologetically.

"It's okay, I'm just tired."

He nodded sagely and steered me back towards my room. "Get some rest, you look like you need it."

I was about to protest that I wasn't tired but one look at Regan's exhausted face told me he wasn't going to let me go anywhere until I got some sleep. Sighing in resignation, I followed him back to the cafeteria.

"Thanks, I can make it home from here." I said.

"Nonsense, I'll walk you."

I opened my mouth to argue but he just gave me a look and I knew it would be pointless. Sighing, I followed him back out into the hallway. As we walked in comfortable silence, I couldn't help but notice how safe I felt with him and his fresh smell was pushing my mind into overdrive. It was a strange feeling, one I wasn't used to. But I liked it.

When we got to the castle, Regan ruffled my hair like he always did and said, "get some sleep kiddo, you need it."

Nodding, I trudged up the stairs, turning around to say something, only to find he had already disappeared somewhere.

I need to shower...I stink. That's all. That was the only thought that ran through my mind as I turned the knob to my room and walked in, collapsing onto the bed without even taking my clothes off.

With a sigh, I rolled over and tried to get comfortable, but sleep was evading me. The thoughts of Alexander kept creeping into my head and wouldn't go away no matter how much I tried to push them away. Screaming quietly in frustration, I ripped the sheets off and went to shower.

The hot water beat down on my skin like thousands of tiny needles, but it was nothing compared to the pain in my heart. I scrubbed at my skin until it was red and raw, my mind was plagued by these two extremely attractive but old men.

Why did Gareth have to walk in on us when I was finally satiating my curiosity about this mystery man?

Why does Alexander have to be so damn gorgeous?

Why can't I just get some sleep? It's been almost 40 hours and my sleep has completely turned from peaceful and restful to that resembling an insomniac!

These questions swirled around my head as I tried to scrub the thoughts of them away. But they only kept coming back stronger.

Eventually, I just gave up and turned off the water, wrapping myself in a towel and walking back to my room. The bed was still unmade from before and I could see the imprint of my body on the sheets. Sighing, I crawled in and pulled the covers over me, burying my face in the pillow and inhaling deeply. The lavender essential oils penetrated my nose, calming my heart. It didn't last long before the thought of the men arose again in my mind, creating a pool of liquid between my thighs.

My hand reached down and gently caressed my body as it made it way to my apex. Imagining it was Alexander's hand wasn't hard, the man had completely infiltrated my thoughts. Working my way quickly to a fever pitch, I let out a low moan as my teeth bit down on my lip at the sensation of release. Finally the oxytocin sent to my brain brought waves of pleasure along with the sensation of exhaustion.

After relishing the crescendo, I allowed my mind to let go and fall into a dream-filled sleep.