The Prince’s Unwilling mate

026 Ayla

This week has flown by. Of course, Jessa answered my call. From a lovely cabin in the woods where she sat in front of the fireplace. Seeing how happy she was, how beautiful her mate–moon cabin was. Madefeel so happy for her. She was living the life we had both always wanted. Jessa was convinced I would be able to live that life too if I just gave Griffin a chance. Gerarld butted in that Griffin was smitten with

me, that he would be honored to callhis Luna.

Lina explained that the MoonGoddess never took our free will away. If she would there never would be rogues. Alpha abusing their power etcetera. Rejecting your mate was the same. It did not mean that the MoonGoddess made a mistake. It meant that one or both mates did not appreciate her gifts.

“That’s what your mate is Ayla, a gift from the MoonGoddess” I could still hear Aunt Lina practically scold me.

All the information and opinions I had gotten pointed to the sthing. They all confirmed what I was feeling on our weekend together. Griffin might just be worth the risk. His mother had senta letter she was elated to finally meet me. She had written her number down in the letter saying I could always contact her if I had any questions about what to expect at the castle. Which I found both weird and endearing.

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Today I woke up excited to see Griffin again. I had already packed an overnight back. And I decided to take my father’s credit card with him to get a suitable dress for the party. I would still pay him back but I knew he wouldn’t mind. He probably wouldn’t even wantto pay him back. I loved being independent thought. That’s why I rather borrowed money from my parents. Then have Griffin buy me another expensive gift. Or lentmoney but that would be unlikely he would tellto just get the dress and payback if I decided to break up with him. I still wanted his opinion on my dress though. Not as much because I wanted him to think I looked good. Even if the idea of Griffin being in awe of how I look was oddly pleasing. What mattered most towas that he knew what kind of dress would be suitable.

Four hours later I was reshelving sbooks when my co–worker crunning up tosmiling. Gushing over how special I must be to Griffin, How jealous she was I had a mate this generous. I sensed something was wrong, he must have done something bad. Something he would think was cute but I hated. And he did, in front of the library were two cars a Hummer and a Porsche with royal drivers standing next to each one. This man had boughta Porsche as I got told that the Hummer is part of the royal fleet. And the only reason there are two drivers here now is because they are going to head home.

There are another two hours left to my workday and I am so livid I cannot even text Griffin. I was scared this was going to happen. He thinks he can buyaffection if he had toldthat he was going to buya freaking car and a Porsche at that. I would have told him no. He knows I would that’s why he never told me. About an hour in I tell

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him I have half a mind of not coming over. And I wish I could. That I could just skip out on this weekend and never see him again. Willow whines at the idea of not seeing our mate ever again.

But he isn’t the type of mate I wanted. If a mate is a gift by the MoonGoddess she might not make mistakes. Not all gifts are equal, sare a perfect fit and others are cute but will end up somewhere in at closet. What I want is a mate who appreciates the little things. I don’t want, need, or do big romantic gestures. Often when Mom packed Dad a lunch she put in a cute little note. On his days off Dad cooked Mom her favorite meal, or he would pick her up from work. Sometimes to take her out on a date afterward. Other times he would bring all of us. Because. they both loved just spending tas a family. Back when I still believed in mates being our soulmates, in this blinding love that would sweep you off your feet that was the kind of love I imagined. That was the future I looked forward to having. As my friend David was like that. He would always cheerup, and bringback my favorite donuts if he had to leave the backgrounds little things like that. Unfortunately, half the royal family is eagerly awaiting my arrival tonight:

No matter what happens betweenand Griffin, it would be rude to just cancel. And pissing off the Royal family isn’t smart. Still annoyed I throw my overnight bag in the trunk of the car. Sad and irritated at the memory of how excited I was to spend another weekend with Griffin only hours ago. Blasting smusic I start driving, never stopping. Not to get gas, not to have a snack or drink and certainly not to text Griffin back who has been blowing up my phone. He knows when I am set to arrive so he just

has to wait and see if I will arrive. Maybe it’s mean but I enjoy the fact that I will arrive about thirty minutes earlier than he toldI would arrive. Thinking back I should have known flying wouldn’t

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take as long as driving over does. But what do I know I had never flown in a private jet before, I just figured getting to the airport, the flight and then traveling to the castle would make up for the longer travel time.

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Exactly four hours later I arrive at the castle, to my surprise Griffin is waiting for me. Looking solemn. Good, he feels bad for what he has done. But he haswondering if he put a tracker on the car seeing as he knew exactly when I arrived. I would have to ask him about that later today. First things first though, he needed to feel just how angry I was with him. He also needed to know I was here to fulfill my promise to his family. How if it hadn’t been for them I would have skipped on coming

over.

“You look beautiful, and I am so happy you decided to cover. I am so sorry I did something to upset you. Even if I don’t understand why we can talk about that later. My parents are waiting for you” Griffin beams.

at me.

Clearly not understanding just how pissed off I am.

“I am here because I did not want to cancel on your parents last minute. But I will be sleeping in a guestroom tonight and we do have a lot to talk about” I tell him.

He instantly looks crushed and I hate that I feel a pang of guilt at the

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hurt look on his face. Everyone can see he is looking for the right words. to make it up to me. Even without knowing what it was he did wrong. Before he can even try to make excuses his parents come walking up to us. He puts a hand on the small of my back leadingtowards them. He glances at me probably wondering if I am going to step away from his touch. Showing his parents just how much he messed up yet again. Regardless of what I feel about him, about matebonds in general. Every wolf prides themself on being a good mate. He might have messed up today and I am far from forgiving him. He does not deserveto make. him look bad in front of his parents. Not that I know if I will ever forgive him for this, or if we could make it work when we are this different from each other. In the five minutes it takes his parents to walk over to where we are standing I need to make a decision. To either play along and bet the kind and happy mate. Giving Griffin the idea that this whole thing is salvageable. Or to make him look like a fool by letting everyone including his parents know that I didn’t need the six months to make up my mind if I wanted to accept him as my mate. Because despite what the MoonGoddess believes we are not compatible. His body is tense, rigid even, and when I make my choice it does not help him relax, but I didn’t expect him to.

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