Chapter 6 - Avoiding it won't make it go away ...
2348 Words
“Shall we?” He held out his hand to her, and she took it. The music started, and he guided her across the floor with grace.
“You know that you claiming me to be yours means nothing.” She hissed at him.
“I didn’t mean it that way!” He growled softly.
“Then exactly what did you mean?” She looked into those mesmerizing green eyes of his, feeling something stir inside her that she didn’t want to feel.
“I… I have to go!” She tried to pull away from him, but his grip around her waist became slightly tighter.
“The song hasn’t ended yet.” Christiaan gritted his teeth.
“Why are you doing this? You clearly can’t stand the sight of me.” Emma hissed again.
“Because my mother needs to see me do something. Because you make me feel better even though I don’t want you anywhere near me.” He growled through gritted teeth.
“Typical!” She replied, digging her nails into his hand, making him cringe ever so slightly.
“Now why would you say something like that, I wonder? Are you not as pure as everyone is trying to make you out to be, perhaps? I know vampires like variety.” His words dripped with sarcasm.
“You know nothing about me!” She dug her nails into his chest and shoved him away from her before leaving him alone in the middle of the dance floor.
THEN THAT HAPPENED! Christiaan sighed watching her leave. He didn’t mean it, but he couldn’t take it back either. He hated being cruel to people, but that just slipped out.
“Hey, bud, need some help with dance lessons?” Erik swung around with a beautiful young blond girl in his arms.
“I’m fine!” Christiaan growled and left the dance floor, stomping off to his room. On the way there, he doubled over in pain, nearly having to crawl to his room.
“Christiaan!” His mother exclaimed when they found him in the passage. Ant grabbed him by the shoulders, sliding Christiaan’s arm around his shoulders and helping him to his bedroom. They put him down on the bed and Meg rushed to get a wet cloth to put on his head while Ant mind linked Matt to call the doctor. Christiaan spiked a fever, and when the doctor finished his check-up, he had only one thing to say.
“I’m afraid I have good news and bad news. I’ve seen a couple of patients in the last couple of hours with the same symptoms.” He sighed deeply and frowned.
“Don’t tell me there’s a virus going around?” Meg sighed, sounding worried.
“Well, I guess if you want to be technical, you can call it that. But no. Your son has met his mate and is refusing to accept or reject her. I’ve found it with young people and was worried that it might happen this week. They think that they can hold out for someone better, and then when they don’t follow the rules, they get sick. Do you know if he has met his mate?” Doc frowned deeply.
“We suspect he has, but we don’t know if they have mated yet.” Meg cleared her throat.
“With all the hormones in this castle running wild, they don’t need to mate for them to get sick. He has to either accept or reject her. It’s the only way for him to get better.” Doc said his goodbyes and left to attend to the next person who had just gone down with a mysterious illness.
“Christiaan, this is not a joke! Is the princess your mate?” Meg demanded.
“Yes, mother.” He finally admitted.
“But it won’t work. She won’t be able to give me an heir, and I don’t want a mate. I only came to this stupid event because you made me.” He cried out in pain.
“Fine! Can we at least ask her to come here, so you can heal just enough to reject her if you don’t want her? Maybe there is someone else here that is meant for you.” Meg tried again.
“NO. I do not want her anywhere near me.” He growled.
“YOUR HIGHNESS, I'M SORRY for bothering you, but I need your help.” The wolf she had come to know as Matt from the Shadow Wolf pack pulled Emma aside. He looked very worried.
“Sure, what’s wrong?” She frowned, wondering if he had crossed the border or done something stupid.
“It’s Christiaan. He needs you.” Matt’s worry made her feel a cold panic rush through her body, and within seconds she was in his room, right next to his side.
“I’m here, Christiaan.” She whispered in his ear while his parents stepped back. The colour in his cheeks started coming back slowly as the fever dropped. Megan rushed back to her son’s side, wiping his forehead with a wet cloth, wiping the sweat off his forehead.
“Thank you.” Meg looked up at the young pale girl. With everyone staring at her, Emma felt even more self-conscious than normal, and she disappeared out of the room before they could say anymore. He should be much better now, surely.
When she entered the ballroom, her head started to pound with the sound of heartbeats, and her fangs push their way out. She was so hungry she could literally drink someone dry! But someone grabbed her around her waist, and she was unceremoniously dropped into her room.
“Did you not feed as I told you to?” Edgar asked her when Lucille walked into the room.
“Sweetheart, you don’t look well! Have you fed in the last twenty-four hours? Edgar, please call the doctor.” Lucille instructed him.
“I’m fine, I was just feeling a little agitated. I’m sorry, mother.” The word just flowed from her tongue as if it was meant to be there. Making Lucille smile broadly, she pulled Emma into her arms.
“I didn’t want to push you into anything. Really, I didn’t, but it makes me so happy to hear you say that.” Lucille gushed as Doc came walking into the room, looking like death himself.
“Long night.” Edgar informed Lucille.
“Oh? What’s wrong?” She inquired, feeling concerned.
“It seems some of our guests are fighting their mate bonds and have taken ill tonight because of it,” Doc explained, starting his check-up of Emma.
“It’s okay, I don’t need attention. I’m sure many others need it more.” She protested.
“You are the Princess of Dratha. You will always receive my attention first.” He winked at her.
“It’s not necessary.” Emma sighed, deciding to come clean. “I’ve met my mate, and I don’t wish to be with him. I don’t want a mate.” Emma admitted. Silence fell over her room.
“Okay, that explains that then. If you will excuse me.” Doc bit back a laugh and excused himself from the room. Lucille sat down next to Emma and took her hand.
“Honey, why wouldn’t you want a mate? You have put so much hard work into making this week special for all of our guests, and now you don’t want to share in that joy. I don’t understand it.” Lucille frowned.
“I’m sorry if I’m disappointing you.” Emma lowered her head, picking at her nails.
“You are not disappointing me. You can never disappoint me. I just don’t want you to miss out on something as special as having a mate because you feel you have to be here for us.” Lucille sounded worried.
“That’s not why I’m doing it, mother. I just don’t want a mate.” Emma stood up from her bed and looked out the window, memories of what happened flooded her mind. “I love being here, with you as my family. That is more than enough for me.” Turning around to look at them. Lucille nodded.
“Okay, but at least feed and then join us downstairs again. If you don’t want to find a mate, at least come and enjoy the party, you worked so hard to arrange.” Lucille frowned and Emma agreed as Edgar handed her a blood bag. She emptied it in a couple of seconds before following them to the ballroom. The lights were dimmed, and the dance floor was filled with happy couples dancing the night away.
“Do you see what you’ve done?” Christiaan’s warm breath blew down her neck.
“I made people happy, and by the looks of it, I healed you. What do you want?” Emma sighed.
“We need to talk.” Christiaan sounded weaker than before.
“So, you’ve been telling me. What more do we need to talk about? You’ve made your intentions clear, and I’ve agreed.” She stepped forward, and he took her hand, placing his other around her waist. He moved her onto the dance floor, slowly swaying to the rhythm of the music.
“We need to… I need to…” Christiaan stuttered.
“We have come that far already. It’s the rest of the sentence you haven’t finished, Mr. Storm.” She whispered. Her small frame fit so perfectly against his that he found it difficult to think while holding her in this position. He cleared his throat trying to say the word, but for some strange reason, he just couldn’t say it!
“We have to decide what we are going to do about our situation, or we are just going to keep on getting sick.” He frowned.
“You mean you are going to keep on getting sick. I’m a vampire, remember. The undead. We don’t get sick.” She smiled sarcastically. Seeing an exit, he moved swiftly, guiding her outside onto a terrace that overlooked the gardens. She pulled free from his embrace. “What you are saying is that we have to either accept or reject each other? I thought that was the man’s job.” She tilted her head.
“I thought you said both people had to decide.” He retorted. “URGH!” He growled, frustrated. He really wanted to reject her, but he couldn’t say the actual words!
“I need to get back to my guests. You can’t have all my attention.” She disappeared again before he could get the chance to say something.
“F@CK!” When he returned to the ballroom, she was gone.
IT WAS A SPECIAL DAY and her mother and Pearl were in her room so early she hardly had time to think straight or go check on any of the arrangements for the guests. Her mother was followed by an army of other women from the clan who all had some kind of beauty product in their hands.
“Oh, boy! Are you kidding me?” Emma exclaimed.
“Nope, you have to look like a princess.” Pearl smiled.
AFTER HOURS OF BEING GROOMED, she felt like a porcelain doll, standing in front of the mirror, looking at herself in her new gown. All this was really happening to her. She was the story of a girl who went from this poor city girl looking for a job to the princess of a huge kingdom.
To top it all off, there was this guy who was supposed to be in love with her, but she couldn’t imagine a life with a man in it. She also couldn’t afford to have those images in her head today. She had to smile and be happy come hell or high water. Her mother had done so much for her that she couldn’t let her down.
Emma took a deep breath and walked out of the room to make her way down the passage. Lucille had given her enough time to walk down the passage to the throne room at normal speed so as not to damage her beautiful dress. It felt like her heart might just start beating, she felt so nervous.
The double doors at the back of the throne room opened and everyone looked to see the new princess step into the limelight for the first time. Christiaan joined his parents when they turned around, and she took his breath away. Sparkling like a star in the night, she walked down the aisle with her mother to the front where Edgar, their butler and the eldest of the vampires were waiting for them.
He couldn’t concentrate on anything during the ceremony except for how beautiful she looked and the fact that Ares kept shouting mate inside his head. He spent all morning practicing the words “I reject you, Emma” in front of the mirror, and now his palms were all sweaty and his stomach was turning into knots!
This might not be the best day to tell her that he was rejecting her, but if he didn’t say it today, he was never going to say it.
“I present to you Princess Emma of Dratha.” Queen Lucille announced, and all the guests burst out clapping their hands. There was breakfast planned for after the ceremony, and he wiped his hands on his pants trying to dry them.
“Stop that!” Meg smacked his hand. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing.” He looked at the new princess leading the crowd into the dining room. When she took her place and everyone was behind their seats, she sat down, and her eyes found his. His heart skipped a beat, and she looked away. Meg noticed this exchange, poking Ant in his ribs.
“I think we need to talk to the Queen.” Meg whispered.
“I agree.” He nodded.
- Writer
