Chapter 4 - Mate fever.
2363 Words
Why on earth would their pack Beta tell him not to bite her? That was not funny!! He started the race and off they went. Emma was not allowed to use her super speed, which made this really tough, and she had to fight to run at a normal pace. Christiaan grinned, watching her struggle. He decided to jump in front of her and run backwards.
“So, tell me, princess. Why are you out here and not up there with the rest of the royals?” His sudden need for conversation threw her off her game.
“We are supposed to be racing!” She frowned.
“We are, we are also getting to know each other. Isn’t this what this week is for?” He grinned, and she shoved him, making him fall over his feet and making her go tumbling over him. That wasn’t part of her plan when both of them fell on the soft grass of the track.
“That wasn’t very clever.” He shouted, getting up and taking advantage to get a head start. She shook her head, got up and caught up to him.
“HEY! No super speed.” Christiaan frowned. The finish line was in sight, and within seconds they crossed it together.
“Do you two realize this was a race?” Magnus asked, laughing.
“It’s not when I’m not allowed to use my full potential.” Emma looked upset and walked over to where Lucille and Pearl were sitting, ignoring the growling wolf on the other side of the track.
“URGH! SHE IS INFURIATING! I will never accept her as my mate. Besides, she can’t have children. Vampires can’t have babies, can they?” Christiaan walked into his bedroom, slamming the door behind him.
He left the field not feeling well, which was very strange for him. He never got sick! He should be attending to whatever was going on with Elizabeth, but instead, his mind was overrun by thoughts of this stupid vampire princess! Mind linking Erik that he was going for a run, so nobody would come and look for him, he lay down on his bed. Sweat started to form on his forehead, and it felt as though he was getting a fever when his mother walked into the room.
“Christiaan? Are you here?” Megan called out to him, noticing him lying down.
FINDING THEIR SON ON HIS BED in the middle of the day almost had her completely freaked out! He looked pale and had a fever, which was not something he had ever had!
“Anthony, this is not like him.” She whispered off to one side, watching Christiaan literally deteriorate in front of her eyes.
“I’ve sent for the doctor, sweetheart. Hopefully, we will have an answer soon.” Anthony rubbed her arms. Erik walked into the room with Matt.
“Do either of you know what happened?” Meg frowned, not even giving them time to properly greet them.
“Uhm…” Erik stumbled over his words.
“I think what Erik is trying to say is that he suspects your son there has found his mate and is trying his best not to admit it.” Matt grinned.
“WHAT?” Megan was shocked.
“Yeah.” Erik scratched the back of his head, looking a little ashamed. “I didn’t say anything to him, but he hasn’t been able to keep his eyes off of the Vampire Princess Emma. He tried to hide it, but it's as clear as day.” Erik shrugged with a huge grin on his face.
“You should have seen them on the track just moments ago.” Matt laughed.
“Surely, that can’t make him this ill?” Megan looked at Anthony with concern in her eyes.
“I’m sorry, ma'am, but with kids these days you never know.” An older man’s voice interrupted their conversation. “I’m doc. Nice to meet all of you. You say there are signs that he might have a mate and is now trying to avoid her?” Doc. walked over to take a look at Christiaan.
“Yes.” Matt answered on behalf of everyone.
“Did he eat anything different from what he normally does?” Doc frowned.
“He hardly ate last night, come to think of it.” Erik looked at Meg and Ant. The doctor did a bit of a check-up, but he had seen a couple of males coming down with “something” in the past hour and wasn’t going to waste too much time.
“Well, I'm sorry for saying this, but your son has mate fever, Mrs. Storm. He has to either accept or reject his mate before he gets better.” Doc. shrugged.
“… HE HAS TO EITHER ACCEPT OR REJECT HIS MATE…” Christiaan heard a strange voice in his room and forced his eyes to open. It was so hot in this damn castle, and there was no air-conditioning! Why did he agree to this stupid idea of his mother? If he had just stood by his beliefs and stayed at home, none of this would have happened.
“I. Don’t. Have. A. Mate!” He got the words out, and although it was really tough, and he felt completely drained, he sat up, seeing a stranger greeting his parents and then leaving his room. Erik and Matt also left without a word, leaving just his parents behind… Great!!
“HONEY, WHO WAS THAT HANDSOME WOLF?” Lucille looked amused when Emma walked up the steps of the pavilion.
“I don’t know, but he is rude. I don’t like him.” She answered without her usual softness in her voice.
“We can see that much. What happened out there?” Lucille laughed.
“He was being a pain in my side, and his ego is enormous! I would never want to be seen with someone like that! May I please be excused? I have to check on lunch.” Emma looked pained.
“Sure, sweetie. You look really pale, when did you last feed?” Lucille looked worried.
“This morning. Edgar took me to the kitchens.” The part she didn’t mention was that she couldn’t keep the blood down because of the knot in her stomach and threw it all up after he left her. If it weren’t for all the arrangements to take care of, she might have seen blood bags all over the training grounds instead of guests.
They excused her, and she walked off to the kitchens. How could she let him get to her like that! It was day one of the damn mating week, and she couldn’t afford to lose focus! That stupid wolf was going to make her look bad in front of the royals and cause the entire week to end up in a huge disaster!
Storming into the kitchen, she grabbed the first sandwich that came past on a plate and stuffed it into her mouth out of frustration. The waiter was about to tell her something, but it was too late. Tasting the fresh raw meat, her entire body felt like it went into shock, and she rushed through the kitchens to her room.
Once inside, she spat it out into the basket in her bathroom. WHY? Why on earth would she eat when she felt so nauseous? If she were still human, she would think she was pregnant! Changing into one of her suits, she checked her reflection in the mirror quickly and made her way to the dining hall to check on everything for dinner. On her way back to the kitchens, she walked right into two of the three people she had been trying to avoid.
“Darling girl! There you are! You missed out on some real fun!” Lucille looked so happy.
“I… I was checking some details, your… Lucille.” Emma stuttered.
“Well, you are done checking for the day, and you are definitely not wearing a suit to lunch. Come-on. Time to change for lunch. The guests can’t stop talking about how beautiful and organized everything is.” Lucille gushed.
“Even Magnus is impressed.” Pearl burst out laughing. “And that doesn’t happen easily.”
“Everyone is having loads of fun, and there are already so many new couples! Did you see that millionaire pick up his mate and carry her off into the castle? I bet you some serious sparks are flying in that room.” Lucille grinned.
“What is it with you two?” Emma rolled her eyes, with each of them hooked into one of her arms.
“Uhm, darling, I think the question is rather what is up with you?” Lucille stopped and took Emma by her shoulders, looking into her eyes. “You have been acting really strange. What is going on?”
“I’m sorry, your… Lucille. I’m just stressed out, and I want everything to go really well.” Emma sighed.
“Fine, then stop checking on everything and start enjoying it all. You worked really hard. Everyone knows what to do.” Lucille sighed.
“Emma, you have a great staff in place. You don’t need to micromanage all of them.” Pearl hooked her arm into Emma’s again.
“URGH! Do I really have to take part in all of this? You insist on making me a princess. Can’t I just hang around in the background? What if I meet someone? Then they will expect me to leave here. What is going to happen if the clan’s princess leaves? Did you think about that?” Emma’s concerns blurted out since it seemed to be the only way to get the two queens to understand what she was going through.
“Yes, we did. You will be leaving, not dying. You are dead already.” Lucille giggled.
“Come on, time to get dressed.” Pearl rolled her eyes.
“I WILL BE FINE. I probably ate something that didn’t agree with me.” Christiaan insisted. “I just need a shower.”
“Son, if you have found a mate, and you don’t decide whether you want to reject or accept her, you can get really sick.” Ant’s Alpha tone was starting to shine through a little.
“Luckily, I haven’t met a mate yet.” Christiaan grinned.
“Christiaan Storm! Stop lying to your parents!” Meg pulled out her monster mom's voice.
“Mom, I promise. I haven’t met anyone.” Christiaan got up from his bed feeling a little better after resting. A shower would definitely make him feel better. “Now, if you will excuse me. Unless you want to watch me shower.” He grinned at his mother, who huffed and left the room.
“Dude, you have to take this seriously, or she is going to bug you for the rest of your life.” Ant advised him before leaving his room. As soon as they were gone, Christiaan fell back onto his bed, relieved that he could stop pretending to be okay.
He had to find time to reject this vampire. It couldn’t work between them. He would do it at lunch. Her heart shouldn’t be too broken… She didn’t seem to want him either. Why wouldn’t she want him? He was a catch!
He was the best candidate there! Every girl should fall at his feet. She would be shattered if he rejected her. Images of her slight smile when they were running flooded his mind again, and he shook his head.
“STOP IT! Ares! We can’t work. We need someone that will give us an heir.” Ares was driving him mad.
“Oh, now you want a mate?” Ares’s voice dripped with sarcasm.
“Yes, later, much, much later.” Christiaan got up and made his way to the shower with a lot of effort.
“Dude, your parents are right. You will have to reject her as soon as possible, or we are going to land in the hospital. That would look really great, and then we won’t look like the best catch here.” Ares snickered.
“Shut up!” Christiaan hissed, opening the shower. At least they had bathrooms in each room. He was half expecting them to have a steel tub and buckets with water for them to use to take a bath. There was no internet, no Wi-Fi, nothing!
When he was dressed, he made his way downstairs and met his parents outside for lunch that was to take place in the garden. His eyes immediately found her pale, beautiful face, laughing. She was wearing a black dress with a white satin belt around the middle. His breath caught in his throat, and it didn’t go unnoticed.
“You have found her.” Megan whispered, following his gaze.
“Mother! I’m going to reject her. It will never work between me and the vampire princess. Don’t interfere.” He ground his teeth. Without wasting another second, he walked right up to her, but when she turned to look at him, he was floored by her beauty.
HAVING TO FAKE ALL THIS FRIENDLINESS was making her cheek muscles ache! She pretended to laugh at the joke of a guest. She could feel his eyes on her the moment he stepped out of the castle. Not daring to look in his direction, she continued with her conversation, but the butterflies in her stomach were making her nauseous again! Before she could gather her thoughts, he was standing right beside her.
“We need to talk.” A soft growl escaped from deep inside him.
“I’m in the middle of a conversation, and you are being rude.” She turned her head to look into those big green eyes of his. “I’m… sorry. I have to…” She forgot what she was going to say to the other guest and followed him when he hooked his arm into hers and led her away from the lunch group.
- Writer
