Rejecting the Alpha Prince

4

AMELIA

I growled, gritting my teeth as I got to my feet. Not even my wound had changed my mother's mind: I was the Alpha's daughter, the royals were there ... I couldn't not show up at the party.

At least she'd given me time to heal - how gracious of her.

Amelia? her voice crept into my mind, concerned. The party started ten minutes ago! Are you okay?

I tried with all my might not to let a single drop of the irritation I felt show. I'm almost there, Mom, I said. But I can't wear heels in this condition ...

Don't worry about it. I know you don't like this, honey - you don't have to stay all night, she comforted me. Just come down to say hi.

I finished fixing my makeup, applying some blush and some lipstick, and then slipped on a pair of running shoes - that is, orthopedic ones. In the condition my leg was in, I needed to be as comfortable as possible.

Sure, lying in bed and taking some well-deserved rest would have been ideal, but ... it wasn't a viable option. I was the Alpha's daughter, and the princess was my godmother. My presence was necessary, and most likely my absence had already been noticed.

I could use these hours to rest or study, invest in my future ... but instead, I have to play doll for these assholes.

I closed the door behind me and made my way toward the elevator: we didn't use it that much, in the house, but it was useful when you had to carry heavy loads or when someone, as in my case, got hurt. The only problem? It opened directly into the hall, where the party was. It would have been virtually impossible to get in unnoticed.

The key word was virtually.

Charlie?, I called my sister.

Amy, you okay?

I'm about to take the elevator. Look, who's in front of the doors downstairs?

A few moments of silence. Jessica, Avery and their group.

And the royals are far, right?

Hmm. They're talking to mom and dad. Look, you have to come ... Prince Erik is a dream! she exclaimed. It wasn't hard to imagine her with heart-shaped eyes in full anime style.

He's a selfish asshole and you have a mate.

Just because he's a selfish asshole and I have a mate doesn't mean he's not a hell of a head-turner.

Well, it certainly doesn't help. Tell Jess and the others not to give any sign that they've seen me when the doors open, hmm?

Agreed.

I waited for her to give me the okay, then pressed the ground floor button and the elevator doors closed. A few seconds and they opened again, giving on a rich crowd of people dressed up to please assholes who didn't want to be there and weren't even wanted.

Goddess, spare me.

I stepped out of the elevator, printing a smile on my face, ready to play my part.

The smell hit me before I could even realize it.

Cedar.

Cedar and sunshine and seawater.

A masculine, enveloping, sensual scent ... a scent I knew.

The scent of my mysterious savior.

What the hell ...

Stunned, I began to look around, scanning the crowd of guests for faces I couldn't associate with a name or scent. Not an easy thing, because the royals had come with quite a few escorts in tow. I immediately excluded women and men who were too old, too thin, or too big: although I'd had my eyes closed the whole time, it hadn't been hard to imagine his build - tall, well-placed, but not overly muscular.

Even made due exclusions, however, there still remained several papable candidates. My goodness, those assholes had brought a small army with them. I smirked - perhaps Her Highness knew she was unwelcome? Did she feel unsafe here?

Who cares. At least this evening got a little better.

I had something better to do than fawn over the royals; finding the person who'd rescued me and giving him due thanks seemed a far more useful thing to do.

At least I'll devote my time and energy to someone who deserves it.

I began to move through the crowd, exchanging pleasantries, grabbing canapés and glasses of champagne, and acting like the perfect Alpha's daughter, all while getting close enough to my targets to pick up their scents.

Where are you? I wondered after a while. Come on, where are you?

"Look who's here," a deep voice behind me made me gasp, and an arm wrapped around my waist, making me turn around.

A big smile grew on my face.

"Devon!" I exclaimed as he leaned down to kiss me. "What are you doing here?"

Dev chuckled. "I'm still the Alpha's daughter's boyfriend and the future Alpha of my pack. That must give me some advantage, right?"

I rolled my eyes. "I guess so," I sighed. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming? When did you arrive?"

"First of all, because I wanted to surprise you. And anyway, unlike you, I arrived on time" he chuckled. "And you live here. How can you be late for a party at your house?"

I swallowed. I'd hoped not to address the subject with him - I didn't want to worry him, but ... I couldn't avoid it, now.

"I had an accident in the woods," I confessed as his eyes widened in shock. "A ... trap. Don't worry, I'm fine ..."

"Don't worry?" Dev gasped. "You can't tell me not to worry, Amy - you could have lost your leg, for heaven's sake! What happened?"

"Nothing, really, I was distracted and ... and it just happened. Someone rescued me and took me home," I murmured.

Dev sighed, relieved. "Thank the Goddess. Why didn't you say anything to me?"

"I didn't want to worry you. Besides, I didn't expect to see you tonight, so ..."

"I'm your boyfriend," Dev murmured, brushing my arm. "Worrying about you is my job."

Something warmed in my heart at his words. Dev always had that effect on me. "I know."

He nodded, leaning over to take a couple of canapés. "Anyway, who rescued you? I'd like to thank him."

"I wish I knew" I sighed. "This is going to sound silly, but I had my eyes closed the whole time because I was dizzy. So I don't know what he looks like. I only know his scent, and when I walked into the party I smelled him, so I was looking for him."

Dev frowned. "Well, in that case, let's go look for him. Oh, I think your mother noticed you, she's ... nodding in our direction."

"Oh, crap," I huffed. "I was hoping to go unnoticed for a little longer."

Knowing full well that I had no other choice, I turned and nodded quickly toward my mom, who motioned me to join her. The royals were with dad and her, and all five of them were busy laughing and drinking champagne. The royals' backs were turned, I couldn't see their faces, but my parents ... my goodness, they were happy. Sincerely happy.

Those smiles, that sparkle in their eyes ... they were not pretending. It was clear that, at least on their part, there was sincere friendship. Genuine affection.

How can they love them? a part of me screamed. How can they love her when she abandoned us with Clayton while she enjoyed her life as a Princess?!

How could I be calm and quiet and pleasant in front of them? How was I going to play the part of the loyal and adoring subject when I loathed them so much?

Amy! mom exclaimed. Come say hello!

It was a huge effort to print a big smile on my face and walk those last few feet that separated me from them, Devon's hand clasped firmly around mine. I took the longest route, not only to give myself a few extra seconds, but to avoid showing up behind the royals, which would have been rude.

But when I turned the corner, and they definitely came in sight ... The music, the crowd, and the chattering disappeared as soon as I saw the man between the prince and the princess. Tall, incredibly handsome, with hair as dark as his mother's, he looked like a warrior out of a mythology book, and with the confidence of a king. Everything, from his smile to the way he posed, showed that this was a man fully confident in himself and his place in the world.

Erik. Or rather ... Prince Erik.

He was so different ... so different from the little boy I'd met years before, when he and his mother had visited. He was barely twelve then, and I was eight, but if there was one thing I remembered about him it was his shyness, his ... composure. Now, however, that timidness seemed to have completely disappeared.

I know him.

Those words came up in my mind, the certainty in them contrasting with the fact that they made no sense.

Of course you know him, Amy, I thought. You've met him before.

Yet, I knew that it was a much deeper feeling. I'd met the child ... not the man.

So why did I feel a kind of connection, a pull toward him?

Why did I feel like I'd already met him?

"Amy!" my mother exclaimed, taking me under her arm and ushering me in front of the royals. "There you are!"

I almost didn't hear Prince Xavier and Princess Emily greet me, almost didn't realize that I'd muttered some "Your Grace" which was followed by giggles and "there's no need for formalities."

"Allow me to introduce you to my son," the princess said, laying a hand on her son's back and gently pushing him forward, pride written all over her beautiful face. "Erik."

It was that gesture that made the world stop spinning. For when she did, and the space between me and the prince shrank ... I felt it.

That scent of cedar, sun and sea.

No ...

With a gallant smile that took my breath away, the prince took my hand, brushing the back of it with a kiss, never taking those piercing blue eyes from mine.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Amelia Hawthorne."

Goddess ... that voice. The touch of his hand.

It was him.

The stranger who'd freed me from the trap, who'd carried me home ...

It was Prince Erik.

And it was at that very moment, when the eye contact between us extended a moment longer, that I felt it.

Mate.

The word rang crystal clear in my mind, pure and clear as the sound of a glass bell, heavy as a sentence.

Mate.

Prince Erik wasn't just my savior.

He was my destiny.