Rejecting the Alpha Prince

5

AMELIA

Some hours seem to last seconds, and some seconds seem to last hours.

The moment I felt the bond with the prince snap into place seemed to last an entire eternity.

It was as if time itself had stopped flowing: the people around me were totally still, frozen in that very second. Prince Erik with his gallant smile, my laughing parents, Princess Emily and Prince Xavier sharing a tender, forbidden glance, Devon at my side with a smirk on his face, the surrounding crowd with glasses in hand.

And then there was me.

Stuck in the middle of that disaster, that apocalypse, my mind and rationality completely overwhelmed and undone by shock, by disbelief. Only three words were churning in my mind, a remnant of that rationality that seemed to be lost.

It can't be.

There had to be a mistake - I had to be mistaken, my she-wolf had to be confused.

Yes, it had to be: it could be nothing but a tragic mistake, so catastrophic and absurd to almost be comedic.

It had to be a mistake, because it couldn't be possible that, of all the people in this world and others, the one destined for me was one of those I despised the most.

Moon Goddess, please look down and have mercy on me. Tell me this is a joke, 'cause it's not funny. Not at all.

"Amy?"

Devon's hand tightened around mine, abruptly bringing me back to reality.

It was at that moment that I realized that time had done everything but stop - and that the royals and my parents were all looking at me.

"Amy, are you okay?" Dad asked, a worried frown on his face.

I quickly nodded, trying to control the shock. "Yes, yes," I murmured. "It's just ... the painkillers. And the healing."

On any other occasion, I would have loathed appearing so vulnerable, playing the helpless damsel, but ... at the moment, it was my best excuse. And the most plausible, too.

"Healing?" the princess asked, looking at me. "What happened to you?"

"A trap in the woods this early afternoon," my mother answered for me.

"Goddess," Prince Xavier exclaimed. "That's terrifying. How are you feeling?"

"A little better, thank you, Your ... Xavier," I replied, correcting myself at the last second, remembering his request to call him and his wife simply by their names. "Luckily, I was rescued."

"You were?" Dad intervened, shocked. "I thought you got home by yourself. The patrol found you near the pack house, passed out under a tree."

It took every ounce of my self-control not to plant my eyes on the prince.

What a piece of s**t.

That asshole ... that asshole had abandoned me under a tree? A few steps from home? Had he not deemed it necessary to warn my pack, my parents, to tell them what had happened to me?

No, I realized with disgust - it wasn't that he hadn't thought it necessary. He hadn't wanted to do it.

Because I was a Red Blood - and Erik had never made a secret, to put it mildly, that he had no sympathy for us.

At least, the princeling had the good sense to lower his gaze for a second and feign a hint of shame before resuming that disgusting air of royal braggadocio he liked to wear.

No, this asshole's not my mate, I hissed, my mind full of venom. And even if he is, he won't be for much longer.

I squeezed Devon's hand tighter.

It's not fair that the Goddess paired me with that asshole and not with Dev. Dev, who's good, and kind, and ...

My goodness, Dev. How was I going to tell him about that whole thing? How could I tell him that the member of the family we despised the most was my ... goodness, I couldn't even say it.

Wow, I see that flattery about me is wasted here.

A foreign yet familiar voice spread through my mind - and honestly speaking, I don't know how I didn't snap toward him with fangs and claws bared.

Get out of my head.

It's not my fault you're so pissed that even a wall would hear you, Erik commented, in his voice always that streak of arrogance that made me want to claw his face off. Anyway, you'll find me in the woods behind the pack house in fifteen minutes, if you wish to discuss this ... unpleasant situation.

At least we agree on one thing, I hissed. This is certainly unpleasant. I won't be late.

"Heavens," the princess said, shaking her head. "Am I the only one who has eyes, here? This poor girl's wrecked. Amy, you didn't have to attend, considering what happened to you. Why don't you go lie down a bit?"

I couldn't believe it.

The princess ... was giving me an escape route.

"I'm actually a little dizzy," I nodded, pretending to be more emaciated and tired than I was ... not such a daunting task, in fact. "Dev, will you?"

"Sure," he nodded, strengthening his grip on my arm. "Your Highnesses, it was a pleasure to meet you. Enjoy your evening."

Exchanging appropriate pleasantries and greetings, Dev and I made our way to the elevator ... breathing a great sigh of relief as the doors closed again, separating us from that world of falsehood and prissiness.

"My goodness," Dev sighed. "I've never wanted to walk away from something so quickly."

"Trust me, I totally get it," I huffed, my head still spinning. It had all happened so quickly that I was still dizzy from the myriad of emotions inside me. Shock, disbelief, anger, disgust ... it was a miracle I could still stand on my own legs. For safety, I leaned against my boyfriend's solid body, letting his hug and warmth slowly loosen my contracted muscles.

"Anyway, what happened with the prince?" Dev asked as he walked me to my room. "For a moment, you looked quite ... upset. What, did he bewitch you with his royal charm?" he chuckled.

"Asshole," I huffed, giving him a playful punch in the chest as anxiety mounted inside me. He had noticed - and though his amused tone made it clear that he hadn't minded, the more irrational and anxious part of me kept wondering and overthinking. What if that laugh was masking anger? What if he knew that something had happened between the prince and me?

My goodness, how could I tell him the truth?

How could I tell him ... tell him that a person we both despised was my mate? That according to the Moon Goddess ... goodness, the implications of that bond were so many and so devastating, they were basically unquantifiable. Long story short, they were destroying every single plan I'd made for my life.

I knew that Dev, although we'd only been dating for a few months, wanted to ask me to become his Luna one day- Leslie, a friend of mine, had a cousin in Dev's pack, who'd overheard him talking to his friends about it. How could I tell him that, because of a bond I'd neither chosen nor asked for, technically I had to be someone else's?

Not that it matters, really, a cynical little voice inside me commented. It'll all be over in fifteen minutes. Is there really any need to tell him? To make a big deal out of nothing?

That was also an option to consider. To discreetly solve the problem and go our separate ways as if nothing had ever happened.

Dev would not suffer. There would be no ... upheaval whatsoever.

In fact, that seemed to be the best solution: simple, effective, and clean. Yet ... I never liked to lie, and keeping quiet about important things felt wrong - and although I didn't wish it to be, that was an important thing.

Something I knew Devon would want me to tell him.

But sometimes ... sometimes you had to make different decisions.

"My leg was hurting," the lie slipped from my lips as simple and fresh as water from a mountain stream. "I wasn't lying. I was just trying not to grimace."

I sighed, mentally preparing myself for the guilt that would flood me at any moment ...

But nothing came.

Neither guilt nor relief.

I just lied to my boyfriend, and I don't feel guilty about it.

What kind of person did that make me?

Dev smiled - and that smile hurt, but at the same time ... it felt right, good. He was happy - wasn't that what mattered?

"Shall we get ready for bed?" he smiled, brushing my neck with his lips.

Something inside me warmed at that touch ... but then I felt a tug at my navel. A tug that somehow made me remember the bastard prince waiting for me in the woods.

I nodded quickly, capturing his lips in a kiss. "What if you showered first?" I chuckled.

"What if you joined me?"

This time, the laughter that sprang from my heart was sincere. "With this leg? Forget it."

Dev laughed, loosening the embrace and walking toward my bathroom. "Fine, boring. I'll be right out."

I rolled my eyes. "That's not true. It'll take you at least half an hour."

"It's not my fault you have an amazing shower and my father is a cheapskate," Dev chuckled. "I'll see if I can make it quick ..."

I returned his smile, a smile that collapsed as soon as he closed the bathroom door behind him.

Something sour started to brew inside me, but I quickly sent it down.

It's for the best if I'm lying to him, I reminded myself. It's the right thing to do.

When I felt that the shower had started running, I quickly changed and slipped out of the bedroom.