What?!" Myrna''s loud protests echoed throughout the dining hall I''d marched back into right after I''d done the exact opposite earlier. "What do you mean you ept his proposal?!"


    That had not been my intention at all. I had had no thoughts of gracing my mate''s dinner with my presence again once I walked out and neither did I have thoughts of epting his proposal that had brought nothing but a heaviness on my heart.


    I had wished for nothing but to escape it all. But when Myrna came after me, when my dear sister had encouraged me to all but keep running like the fragile thing I was, when she made it clear that she was so smart and deserving of the crown while I would forever be nothing but Elian''s stupid mate, something had snapped.


    It wasn''t even my wolf that had wanted nothing but to be let loose so she could teach Myrna exactly who deserved to be queen. No, that was definitely not it at all. It was something more. Something hidden deep within my soul. Something that had stirred to the surface when Myrna sang of all the reasons I did not deserve to be by my mate''s side.


    It was a part of me I did not even know existed until that moment Myrna let out her sinisterugh again. The one that reminded me of all the pain she''d inflicted on me and everything she''d stolen from me because of her selfish heart. It was a part of me that wanted nothing but to give her a taste of her own medicine. Revenge. And what better way to aplish that than to take the very thing she desired the most?


    I ignored my sister''s protests and kept holding my mate''s gaze. The moment I had stepped back into the dining hall his expression had morphed fromplete dread to nervousness to utter surprise. Now it was full of hope and beaming with happiness. I refused to acknowledge those emotions, however. I was doing this for me and no one else. Or so I knew I would keep telling myself from this moment on. Even when a look into my mate''s deep gaze spoke of it being so much more.


    "You do?" Despite convincing myself that this was about getting back at my sister, my heart fluttered at the obvious joy in his simple question and I found myself wishing to make that joyst a little longer with my answer.


    "I do."


    "You possibly cannot be serious about doing this!" Myrna roared, making me reluctantly tear my gaze away from my mate and turning to her. The burning anger that marred her usually graceful face brought me unusual satisfaction. I would have smirked too, just to fuel that anger, but I was not her and I sure as hell was not about to portray myself as the stupid mate she thought and wished to paint me before my mate''s guests. So I pasted on the most innocent smile, ying her pretend game perfectly before addressing her. "What is it sister? Did I disappoint you, yet again?"


    "Wait, sister?"


    "Isn''t the queen an only child?"


    Gasps and whispers erupted all over the table, but I paid them no mind. I did not care for the lies she''d have told to fit in here. Neither did I care for how many noble rules I was breaking by addressing the queen of Xatis so inly. She deserved worse than a in address.


    Myrna on the other hand looked as though she wished for the ground to swallow her before quickly masking the effects of my words. Just as I had known, she cared too much about what everyone around her thought of her. It was oh so clear in the way her haughty attitude attempted to dispel the truth hidden in my words. While she stood next to my mate, a ce she''d held through treachery and one I would be reiming, I marvelled at her futile attempts to maintain the vision of a graceful queen in front of all the guests. I would have let her be too if only I did not see through her intent. If only I did not see through how she would quickly twist that truth to suit her selfish desires or im her innocence.


    "What is it you said again? The moon goddess had not forgotten us down in our pathetic little vige?" Her res mixed with despair suited me just fine as I repeated her own words in her hearing. "Well, it turns out that was true after all." A bitter smile graced my lips at the memory. It would be the first time I would speak of it too, choosing to unearth my own pain while I treaded my path of revenge. "And I must say I have you to thank in part for this." "Thank me? What insane talk is this? Why would I do anything for anyone who is bent on stealing from me?"


    I let out a chuckle as I felt everyone''s eyes on me at my sister''s usation. "Steal from you? Aren''t you being a bit too much, sister? Why would I steal what is already mine?" My gaze found my mate''s and the gold shinning in his eyes singing of his approval made my wolf purr, loud enough for all to hear. It would make it the first time she marked her territory in such a manner. It was not my intent, but when it got Myrna fuming, I smiled. An action that sent that perfect vision of a queen she''d disyed fading.


    "I am his queen! He will never be yours!"


    I growled, hating her deration. Hating her with every fibre of my being. Foreign feelings that I embraced as I sought to clip the wings that made her dare toy a im on my mate. "Perhaps you should have held my hand and made sure I did not end up in his arms that night if you wished that to be as you say."


    Myrna only frowned, confusion flooding her face and I was only too d to enlighten her. "Oh you know, the night I was desperate to save my beloved sister''s life? The night I gave up everything for your sake? His were the arms to cradle me that night." "What did you say?!" Shock graced my sister''s beautiful face but it was quickly reced by a smirk. "You are many things Sh, but a liar?" Myrna assumed her know it all attitude that once upon a time I worshipped as the younger sister and one she''d used to convince many with over different matters. "His highness is equally many things too, but he would never step into such a filthy ce." The guests mumbled in agreement much to my sister''s delight. For a moment it seemed as though she''d found the thing that would render most of my words a lie. That was until my mate spoke.


    "Actually... he would." I snapped my gaze to my mate, surprised that he would reveal such a shameful thing about himself so easily. It hadn''t been my intent either as I knew such matters concerning kings were never spoken of in the open. But as he held my gaze, there was no hint of shame in his eyes and I couldn''t help the thought that he meant that for my sake. Because if he remained unashamed over the matter, no one would burden me into feeling ashamed either.


    "Your majesty?" Myrna''s fight faltered, one would even swear she sounded hurt by my mate''s words. "Why would you be in the forgotten vige at all that night?"


    "To drown my sorrows."


    "Drown your sorrows?" The heavy emotionscing my own voice caught me by surprise.


    "Or so I thought." For the first time since I''d walked back into the room, my mate stepped towards me, his deep unwavering gaze on me, sending my heart racing. This was supposed to be about getting back at my sister, but as he inched closer, I had a feeling it had turned into something else. "I had until sundown to find my mate. But after searching for so long, what were a few hours? I knew then that the moon goddess had denied me the one thing I had forever longed for. So I turned to wine to numb the pain that came with that truth. I should have known that that was simply not so. I should have known that the moon goddess was not that cruel." My breath hitched when I felt the warmth of his hands on mine. "I should have given you a chance." His voice was barely a whisper as regret and pain swum in his eyes and poured into my own heart, making me understand.


    I understood. It did not change anything. Neither would his words erase the pain of his actions, but I understood. "W-What is done is done." I stepped back, needing to get out as my own grief flooded my soul.


    "Then will you do one more thing for me?" He made no attempt to hold me back and yet I stayed rooted on my spot. Held captive by his pleading gaze.


    Wishing to be free, however, I shook my head respectifully. "There is nothing mor-" My words died in my throat as my mate dropped to one knee and held out the one piece of jewellery I thought I would nevery my eyes on ever again. "W-What is this?" My voice trembled even as I got lost in the intensity of his gaze once again.


    "This is the ancient jewel of Xatis." My mate began, his gaze never leaving mine. Somewhere in the background, I heard whispers, gasps and protests, but that world faded as I drowned in the abyss of my mate''s gaze and the allure of his voice. "A royal family heirloom inherited by every heir to the throne once they be of age. It is not the heir''s to keep however, as it is meant to be gifted to their mates once they found them. Many say it is full of magic aside from its beauty. Drawing and binding mates, strenghthening their bonds until a time it is passed on to the next heir. I must confess that while I whole heartedly wished for a mate, I did not really believe in the lore about its magic...until you."


    "Me?" My voice was barely a whisper as I longed for the ending to his tale that had captivated me more than I realized. My mate smiled before taking my hands in his, making me gasp as the strongest wave of tingles yet swept throughout my entire body. Whether that was because of the magical ring that touched both our hands at the same time, I was not sure.


    "Because that night, as drunk as I was, I made a mistake."


    "A mistake?" My heart clenched. Did he now regret our night together? And worse, me it on the wine?


    "That is not it." He smiled yet again, but it did nothing for my heart that was beginning to ache at the thought. "What I mean is, I meant to pay my dues for the night with another ring, but it was this ring, the one meant for my mate, the one meant for you that I ended up slipping into your garments. I did not understand why I had thought to carry it that fateful day, but now I do..."


    That was supposed to be the ending to his tale, but as I stared at my mate and the ring he held, I realized that his very many words were nothing but a beginning. A beginning to a tale that was not only his but mine too. A tale that perhaps neither one of us may have had control over.


    "Sh?"


    "Hmm?" The ground on which I stood swayed, taking me along with it.


    "Are you alright?" I nodded even though I felt rather funny.


    I...