The sound of footsteps echoed from behind, waking me out of my thoughts. I spun around, my heart beating a little faster. Who could be coming? Then I came face to face with Prince Jayden.
"Hey Davina, what are you thinking about? I've been talking to you" Jayden shook me a little, waking me up from my thoughts about the evening celebration. "Nothing, what did you say?" I said.
" I said, Are you okay? Why did you leave the celebration like that?" Prince Jayden replied, his deep voice smooth. "I stood there, taking a moment to observe you before approaching. And I'm not surprised if you heard after all, werewolves have heightened senses, including smell and hearing" I approached him, smiling but my eyes were dull and unhappy.
"I'm good," I replied, my voice a little too casual. "I just needed some fresh air, that's all." I tried to force my expression to look okay.
"I'm sure something was bothering you, was it about me choosing you as my mate? Davina, are you sure everything's okay? Is there something bothering you? if you don't want to be my mate tell me," he said, his voice gentle but insistent.
I was silent for a few minutes, weighing whether to speak about my feelings or not. The only sound was the gentle lapping of the water against the shore and the distant chirping of birds.
"No, nothing's wrong. I'm fine and okay with being chosen as your mate," I replied, trying to keep my tone neutral.
"Okay, because I really wish for you to be my chosen mate willingly, not by going against your wishes," he said, trying to reassure me.
"My wolf loe, also wants you, and if there's anything you want to talk about, you can share it with me." He said, studying my reaction.
"Everything is alright," I repeated, my voice firm but unconvincing and my expression unreadable.
"Okay, let's go back," he said, and started walking towards the palace. The silence between us was palpable, and I couldn't shake the feeling that something was indeed wrong. As we walked back to the palace, almost out of the forest, the trees grew thinner, and the sunlight filtered through the leaves.
Suddenly, Priscilla appeared in front of us, blocking our path.Her eyes blazed with anger and hurt. "Jayden, why did you choose her over me?" she demanded, her voice low and urgent. "She doesn't love you; she only accepted being your mate because of her parents," she said, pointing at me with a shaking finger.
"And you knew I loved you and wanted to be your mate," she continued, her voice cracking as tears welled up in her eyes. Her expression was a mix of sadness and desperation.
"How dare you question my authority and speak to me, your alpha, in such a disrespectful manner," he growled, his voice rough and cold with Leo's presence simmering just below the surface. His eyes gleamed golden in the fading light, a clear warning that he would not be challenged. "You'd better get out of my sight now, before I lose my temper. If it weren't for Elder James, I'd have torn you apart."
Priscilla looked shaken, her eyes wide with fear as she bowed her head in submission. She turned and ran away from us, her footsteps echoing through the forest. The sound of her fleetingness was followed by an uncomfortable silence between him and me. "Sorry about that," he said to me, trying to compose himself.
I took a deep breath, feeling the cool night air fill my lungs "It's okay," I replied, my voice calm and soothing.
We continued walking until we reached the front of the palace. The grand entrance loomed before us, its doors guarded by two imposing figures. "Good night, Prince Jayden," I said, my voice polite but distant.
"Call me Jayden," he said, his voice softer now. "You're my mate, and we're equals." He smiled.
"Okay," I said. I turned and walked towards the room designated for me in the palace.
As Davina and Jayden parted ways, a figure that had been following and watched them without their knowledge emerged from the shadows, his eyes fixed on them with an unnerving intensity. The moonlight cast eerie shadows on his face, accentuating the menace in his gaze.
A twisted smile spread across his face, and he whispered to himself, "I think I've found the destined one, and she hasn't awakened her power and hasn't met her destined mate. Since the destined one hasn't awakened her power, we can still kill her before she gains them."
With that chilling thought, he turned and vanished into the darkness, leaving behind a haunting whisper: "I'll inform my king." The silence that followed was oppressive, heavy with the weight of Davina's unknown fate.
************************************************
As Jayden entered his room, he sat on the bed, his face calm. " I know you don't want to be my mate and were still wishing of being with your destined mate. But you are mine Davina, I love you so much I can't tolerate you being with anyone" he said with an intoxicating look. "Davina, I pray you did not find your destined mate before the ritual or else I would kill him. You can only be mine" he said with a dark expression.
"Since it was a tradition that the would-be king didn't have a fated mate, I knew from childhood that I'd have to choose among the noble ladies. When I set my eyes on Davina and got to know her through my cousin Amelia, I started considering her as my chosen mate. However, when I shifted to my wolf leo, and we saw her again at the next meeting after our transformation, it was clear she was meant to be our mate. The connection was set in stone and I had fallen for her. She has to be mine."
Deep beneath the earth, hidden from prying eyes, lay a secretive place shrouded in mystery. The air was thick with the scent of damp earth and decay, and the darkness seemed to writhe like a living thing, its tendrils curling around the cold stone walls. Few knew of its existence, and even fewer had ever laid eyes on its twisted, labyrinthine tunnels.
The figure, cloaked in shadows, slipped through a hidden entrance, his footsteps echoing off the cold stone walls. The cloak billowed behind him like a dark cloud, and his face remained hidden, obscured by the hood. The figure navigated the twisting passages with ease, his movements practiced and deliberate. He stopped before a large, ancient door adorned with symbols of darkness and power. The door creaked open, revealing a chamber lit by flickering torches.
Inside, a man sat on a throne-like chair, his face etched with the lines of countless years. His eyes gleamed with an otherworldly intensity, and his presence seemed to draw the very air out of the room. He was ancient, and his power was palpable. The cloaked figure approached, his footsteps echoing off the stone walls. "My king," the figure said, bowing his head, his voice low and gravelly.
King Ronan's gaze locked onto the figure, narrowing his eyes. "You have news?" The cloaked figure nodded. "The destined one has been found. She has not yet awakened her power, but the signs are unmistakable. My king, we must act quickly. Kill her before she meets her mate and awakens her power. If the prophecy begins to unfold, we'll be the ones to shape its course."
The king smiled, his eyes glinting with calculation. "Good, the time has arrived. But we can't kill her, for if we do, the prophecy will still take place and will choose another person. It's unavoidable, so it's better to manipulate it to unfold the way I want."
"Don't you want to know about who the destined one was my king" The person asked.
"No there is no need. The Lycans will think no one knows that the prophecy will activate when the destined mates meet, but I know. No one will imagine that I'm alive."
"Centuries ago, I was the king of the witch covens. It was one of our powerful witches who foresaw the prophecy. Since then, I started planning my fake death, and the world believed it. Since then, I have been planning and building my armies underground"
His eyes burned with ambition. "I want to be the ruler who rules the entire supernatural world. And since the prophecy has taken place, I have to let it unfold, but I have cursed her mate he will despise his mate, and the prophecy needs their union"
The lights in the underground chamber flickered out one by one. King Ronan vanished into the darkness, leaving behind only the echo of his words, "No matter what, I will be the one to rule." A plan was already moving into action for the Lycan and Davina.