Rebound and Rebirth

ONE

PHOEBE’S POV

This has got to be the worse of them all.

“What? Did I do something wrong?” Henderson asks me.

Oops. I didn’t just say that out loud, did I?

“No...” I stuttered, forcing a smile. “I think these have got to be the worst tacos I ever tasted. I mean, I didn’t think tacos could taste bad until today,” I covered up.

I’d barely touched it, but I hoped my date wouldn’t notice, and I was relieved when he nodded his head.

“I’m sorry Jasmine. You should try something else….”

Jasmine. I hate that name. How the f**k did I come up with that by the way? “I don’t want to,” I glance at my wristwatch and my phone starts to vibrate at the same time, much to my relief.

“Excuse me, I have to take this,”

“Go ahead, its fine,” he says nicely.

I purse my lips and walk towards the ladies’ room as I picked up the call “Hey Ave. you called at the right time,” I sighed.

“Oh did I, Jasmine?” she says sarcastically and I rolled my eyes.

“Were you snooping again?” I asked with little interest.

“I told you to put a password on your laptop, Jasmine,” Avery laughs at the last word “How did you even come up with that name? It’s not your style and you should quit using Vinder, you are never going to find anyone reasonable there, Princess,” she adds.

I rubbed my temple and sighed. Who am I deceiving? Avery was right, date after date and the more men I meet, the least interested I get. I believe I would meet my match one day, it’s the reason why I keep trying. From one dating app to the other but luck is yet to shine on me.

A few days ago when Henderson sent me a message, I thought he was finally the one. Tall, muscular, brunette, blue eyes… but he is the most boring so far. We haven’t had any real conversations in the past thirty minutes since we have been on this date, just random talks, and he keeps staring at me in a rather creepy way. And you know what’s worse? Having to deal with the putrid stench oozing from his mouth, the most severe case of mouth odor I have had to deal with. I could easily perceive the repulsive smell sitting across from him without even leaning too close.

“What is it your majesty?’ I mocked.

Avery is the queen of Atlantis. She got sworn in a few days after my mother was banished for her shameful acts and a lot of things have changed since then. She is doing a good job by the way and I didn’t think there would be days when Avery would be so confident and self-dependent, but I guess being in power does a lot of things to you. I am proud of her.

“You need to come home and stop the stupid disguise. You’re acting like a dumb human. How many of our kind have you met since you started this huh?”

One. Who happened to be a weak omega that was scared of my every word, then ended up drunk and puked on my six thousand dollar T- shirt. But I wasn’t going to say that to Avery. It would please her.

“Yea I thought so,” Avery says with a chuckle.

“I have a meeting with the elders in about an hour from now and I want you back home before then. You left all the work I asked you to do unfinished, now I have Lancelot running over them. you know we have to sign off this deal within a week Phoebe. What is wrong with you?” she whined.

I like that I get to be more than just a princess since Avery ascended the throne but it can be a little demanding and I know how important this was for Atlantis. More lands, more people and more revenue. Partnering with Auradon was the best thing that happened to Atlantis and we have King Leroy to thank for that.

“Okay Avery,” I sigh. I will be home in thirty.

“Good,” I heard the smile in her voice before she hung up.

I looked at myself in the toilet mirror, arranged my hair and stepped out. Henderson was all over his phone when I got there, a cheeky smile on his face. He looked better in pictures than in person if I must add. How did I even miss all the filters on his profile? I just didn’t think men were keen on that s**t.

“I’m sorry Henderson, I have to leave you sooner than planned,” I start to pick up my purse “It was nice hanging out with you,”

He tucked his phone back into his pockets clumsily “Yeah, sure, let me just walk you…”

“No,” I snapped, then pursed my lips at the surprise on his face. I don’t like that smell and I don’t want him walking me. I forced a fake smile “It’s alright, you don’t have to,” I amended and hurried out, brushing my hair out of my face as the cool wind whizzed through it. I didn’t know why I was walking so fast, but I wanted to be away from Henderson so bad. I sighed with relief when I got into my car, then started the engine and drove out of the parking lot.

I hate to ever admit but at this point, I think Avery is right. I needed to stop all these online dating. The more dates I went on, the more frustrating it was becoming. I wasn’t desperate, I tell myself.

Avery is two years older than me, running Atlantis successfully and doesn’t seem to be bothered about the fact that she didn’t have a mate or that she wasn’t even dating anyone presently. She was supposed to be married to Scott before we discovered our mother was a b***h and things went south. She ditched him without second thoughts and has been fine ever since. Yes, she talks about finding a mate or dating someone once in a while, but she was not as desperate as I was, and I know why. I was trying hard to forget about him.

Him. I still remember the last time I saw him like it was yesterday. Things would have turned out differently if I hadn’t acted like such a b***h. Maybe he would have still been here, maybe I should have listened to him, but I was too overwhelmed with my emotions and look where that got me. Alone.

I shook my head and cursed. I was not supposed to think of him again. I promised myself I would forget all about him, and day after day, the harder I tried the worse it became. I carried so much grieve and pain after what he did to me, but all that did not matter anymore, I tell myself. He was gone, and that I couldn’t change. Isn’t that what I wanted?

But every time I go on these dates it’s like I am reminded of what could have been, It’s like a wake-up call and a reminder that I would probably be alone forever. I like to believe I am still young, and anything can happen within a few months, but could it ever be?

When I got to Atlantis, it was back to reality. The maids helping me with my bag, my bodyguard following behind me, and everyone making a fuss around me.

Mason, my personal bodyguard hasn’t stopped following me since the incident at Zelda’s wedding. I get to sneak out when I go on these personal dates though, but so long as I am within Atlantis, he is everywhere, totally unavoidable, and he even gets punished by the queen whenever I go on these dates and he doesn’t tag along.

Avery has taken on the role of a mother since my mum left. She was always overprotective even when mom was here, but it has become worse now that she is queen.

I was hoping I would just sneak into my room without seeing her, but of course, she easily predicted I would do that and intercepted me.

“Look at you,” she says mockingly.

“Not now, your majesty,” I mocked back and she laughed. Avery is the only of the Wilkinson sisters that is comfortable wearing the royal costume day in and day out without getting tired. It has nothing to do with the fact that she is the Queen now. She has always been like that since she was a kid, she takes after our mother in a lot more ways than she cares to admit.

“Phoebe,” she drags the last letter of my name, “You used to be the most active, look at you now. You need to stop trying to replace Henry-”

“Stop,” I placed my palms over my ears, I wasn’t ready for her usual lectures.

“Okay, okay,” she sighed, then walks closer to me majestically, carefully pulling my hands down “Okay, I wouldn’t mention his name, I promise, just listen to me,”

“I have to go finish up on those documents. I understand they have to be delivered to Auradon before weekend,” I try my failed attempt to change the topic.

“You know it isn’t a bad thing to talk about Henry,” Avery says.

“Henry, Henry, Henry, can we talk about something else please? I have moved past him already, but you keep opening old wounds because you do not know how it feels,” I gritted my teeth.

“You know you sound skeevy right now,” she curled up her lips.

“You didn’t call me here to talk about Henry, did you?” I didn’t back down.

“It is almost a year already Phoebe. I don’t know anything about a mate bond, but the way I see it, you are going to keep blaming yourself for as long as you live, and you need to understand that you can’t take back the past. What has happened has happened, and the best way to heal is not by going on random dates with guys off the internet. You deserve better, and if you really want to start dating, then you should pay more attention to all the young Prince’s from neighboring kingdoms that have been trying to get your attention,” she says.

“Take your advice,” I scoffed.

She paused. Avery has enveloped herself in so much work that it was hard to see her with a man. Eleven months now since she has been Queen and she doesn’t even talk of settling down.

“You know it’s different for me,” she defended.

“Why? Because you are a Queen?” I huffed “Please,”

“Stop sulking Phoebe. He saved your life and you slapped him as soon as you opened your eyes. Deal with it, he is gone, and you made it very clear that is what you wanted, so just grow up,” Avery shouted at me.

Talk of being skeevy. Her words hurt but they were the truth. I treated him in the most inhumane way you could think of, but I just wish he would reach out, let us know if he is alive or dead. The emptiness I feel is worrying. My wolf and I have not been in good terms since he left, she hardly spoke to me and sometimes I feel I am all alone.

“How’s the truth for a change?” Avery shook her head. “Get those files ready as soon as possible, we would be meeting with the delegates less than a week from now. I don’t want any lapses,” she commands before walking out, her heels clicking on the expensive tiles.

I watched her form disappear down the hall, leaving myself and Mason there. b***h. I love my sister, but she can be bitchy sometimes.

“So annoying,” I muttered under my breath as I made my way into my section of the castle, blinking repeatedly to avoid the tears from falling, but soon as I got inside my room, I burst into uncontrollable tears. Partly because of how much the truth hurt, and partly because this has now become a regular routine for me in the past eleven months since his disappearance.