Bullied Mate of The Alpha Prince

Chapter 5

The rings from large bells echoed off the mountainside as I pulled myself out of bed. I felt like the night before was just a dream and I would wake up in my own bed, but that wasn’t the case. Looking around the room in a daze, I found myself tracing the gold frame with my eyes. It was perfectly crafted to fit the walls, the gold either sprawled the length of them or crawled up to the ceiling.

The doors to the balcony were ajar from where Maximus had visted and left the night before. The faint hint of baked bread seemed to linger in the air, making me wonder if he had returned in the night or if I was imagining things. He didn’t explain anything more to me last night but instead made me promise to see him again the following day.

A knock at my door drew me out of my thoughts as I quickly finished getting dressed in a set of black: black legging, a plain t-shirt, and lastly, I pulled my black hoodie on over my head, a staple in my small world of fashion. Opening the door, I found myself looking at three cheery girls all dressed in dark green school uniforms with white-collar shirts and matching green ties.

“You’re actually here!” One girl with pink hair squealed.

“We were wondering when you would arrive! I’m Nora.” One of the girls with dyed blonde hair said as she stuck her hand out in greeting. I took it softly, shaking it as I introduced myself.

“I’m Emily.”

“And I’m Ava and that’s Sophia!” The last girl with brown hair added, pointing to herself first before the girl with pink hair. “We are your dorm mates! Finally, a pack of four!” Sophia added energetically as she bounced between the two girls, pulling me out of my room.

The room I found myself in now was cream colour, with bright grand paintings and furnishings. It looked more like a living room just without a TV. A fireplace centered the room against one wall while a set of large windows allowed the morning light to brighten the space. On the other side there was a small kitchen with a bar table, to sit four. No stove or microwave were included, that I could tell, although, there was what looked to be a small fridge and a sink next to it.

“This is more of our personal lounge. Ava’s room is next to yours, then across the room there is mine and Sophia’s” Nora explained, as she pointed to each door.

“Professor Katz’s was by this morning and told us to show you around, we get to miss the first block!” Sophia cheered happily.

“Are you ready to see the dining hall? That's where they serve breakfast, and I’m starving!” Ava asked as she headed for a set of double doors by the kitchen area. Nodding, I followed along quietly, not to sure how to respond. Would they be able to sense my wolf? Would they know? My thoughts raced as I tried my best not to stand out, but that was an understatement.

“We are going to be the talk of the entire school!” Sophia squealed.

“Calm down, we don’t want to freak Emily out.” Ava replied.

“It’s not every day a student comes halfway through the school year, it pretty much never happens.” Nora explained. Nora seemed to be more laid back, and helped explain things as we moved through the halls of students. I found out rather quickly that I stuck out like a sore thumb, everyone here wore their school uniform while I walked around in regular clothes. The second I entered any room, or rounded a corner, everyone's eyes fell on me. It was hard not to feel embarrassed or shy.

“Have you found your mate yet?” Sophia asked. “If not, I bet when we walk right into that dining hall you’ll find him!”

“Uh… I haven’t.” I replied quietly, thinking back to what Professor Kratz said the night before. “Emily, you’ll have to keep this a secret, the others can’t know you can’t pull your wolf out, and they can’t know about the mate bond yet.” I wasn’t sure why this had to be a secret, and Maximus never said anything either. Would he be waiting for me in the dining hall?

It didn’t take us long until we came across two massive doors. They were already pulled open, allowing us to see into the room ahead of time. I could see a blend between wolves and people, all gathered around long tables fitted with benches. Most of the wolves kept to themselves in small groups off to the side, or stalked up and down the aisles. But once we got close, it was like everything stopped and everyone turned to face us.

I felt my face grow red instantly as I felt a million pairs of eyes burning into my every being, taking every inch of me in. I wanted to turn around and leave, but I felt Nora’s hand on my lower back, forcing me inside the room. She gave me a reassuring look as we followed Ava and Sophia to an opening in the table. It wasn’t until we were sitting down that everything seemed to get back to normal. It started out slowly, but before long, high murmurs filled the room, no doubt talking about me as I caught a few people stealing looks my way.

“I guess no mate for you.” Sophia pouted as she pulled a muffin from a basket onto a plate in front of her. I did the same, not wanting to miss eating, since I honestly was starving. I had missed dinner the night before and, due to the way of traveling, threw up my lunch.

“I guess not.” I replied, shrugging my shoulders.

“It’s okay I haven’t found mine either.” Nora added softly as she poured a red liquid out of one of the pitchers.

“You’ll find yours one day. They are probably in the military unit or perhaps human?” Ava replied. “Your mother was human wasn’t she?” She added, only to be hushed by Sophia and Nora with a harsh look.

“You don’t have to answer that,” Nora reassured me, like I should feel offended by the comment.

“Answer to what?” A man came up behind Ava, running his hand over her shoulder as he bent down to kiss her, causing her to smile softly before sliding over, allowing him to join us.

“Nothing.” Nora scoffed as she quickly looked away from the two making out.

“Thats Ethan, Ava’s mate. Mines already done school, he's in the Military unit working to protect the King.” Sophia bragged softly, but I could tell she was a little sad too.

“Does everyone work in the Military unit afterward?” I asked as I dug into my muffin which exploded in my mouth with the taste of fresh blueberries,

“Only the top hundred, the rest get assigned odd jobs throughout Eltroxus, or in some occupations in the human world.” Nora informed me, happy to change the topic. That must have been where my dad was assigned when he met my mom.

“Oh my god.” Sophia whispered as she ducked her head lower to the table, ushering us to do that same. “You won’t believe who’s in human form today.” She whispered as the room seemed to fill with more buzz than before. Looking towards the door I had entered, I watched as Maximus strolled into the room, causing everyone to look.

“In human? He’s always in his wolf, what's going on?” Ava added. “Do you know Ethan?” She asked as he took a glance, from where he was sitting.

“He’s been like that since yesterday's patrol, said he wants to give his human legs a stretch or something.” He replied, pulling his mate closer into him, before nuzzling her neck, and breathing in her scent.

“That's so weird,” Nora added after a moment. I decided to stay silent, but deep down I felt guilty. Was he doing this because of me? I found myself following him with my eyes until his reached mine. He almost stopped walking, but then quickly looked away as he continued to the table across from us. Sitting with his back turned to me.

“That's Maximus, he's the next heir to the throne. After he's done training here, he can either train longer in the military unit or challenge his father.” Nora whispered to me.

“Does he have a mate?” I asked, trying to help my case.

“No, but they say he will pick a chosen mate if he can’t find her,” Nora replied, blushing lightly.

“A chosen mate?” I asked softly. “You can choose too?”

“Kind of. Its really complicated, but he expected to be with Brandy.” I watched as Maximus shifted in his seat, almost like he wanted to turn around but forced himself not too, could he hear us?

“What if he finds his mate?” I asked Nora.

“Then she would have a long list of expectations, special classes and a lot of training. Being Luna is almost worse than being crowned Alpha King. I would pity the poor girl.” Nora chuckled as she finished her food.

Taking my eyes off Maximus, I looked down at my half-eaten muffin, suddenly feeling full. Maybe that’s why we had to hide this? Was I not good enough or was there something wrong with our mate bond?

“Can a mate bond be one-sided?” I asked after a few moments, hoping that wasn’t going to give me away.

The girls and Ethan all burst out laughing. “You can still crush on people, silly.” Sophie rushed to say.

“Max is hot, don’t get me wrong newbie, but the mate bond would pull both of you, it's not one-sided.” Nora pitched in, to clarify.

“Yea, there is no way only one side would feel something that would actually be so terrible.” Ava replied as she looked at her mate. “To feel such a love towards something but not being able to have them, would kill me.”

“Hey, don’t talk like that.” Ethan told his mate, as he took her lips in his once more.

“You’ll have to excuse them, they are still in the honeymoon faze.” Sophie chuckled. “Are you done? We should get going, we have to get you fitted in a uniform!”

“Yea I’m done.” I replied, pushing the half-eaten muffin to the side.

“Great lets get going.” Nora scarfed down the last of her food, as she got up from the bench with Sophie and me following quickly behind her.

“I’ll catch up in a bit.” Ava replied, waving at us as we bid her farewell.

“She’ll see us at dinner, is really what she means.” Sophia joked with Nora as I trailed behind them, trying to ignore the looks from those around us as we left the dining hall. Was the entire day going to be like this?