Axel's pov

"Do you mind being a little more elaborate on this one? How do you plan on using the mate bond? And whose mate bond? Paris?"


"Of course, it's Paris's. his bond with Kate should work pretty fine."

"Okay. Explain."

"Well, here it is. One of the reasons Paris and Ember had a fallout was because Kate appeared out of nowhere. She appeared and all of a sudden, Paris no longer had eyes for just Ember. Kate became his new fixation. She didn't do things that made Ember look like the bad guy, and Paris never for once believed that she was lying. Paris never for once could see past that bond."


" So you want to try to blind him again?"

"That's a very fine way to put it. I need him to put Kate first where Ember is, so she can see the man doesn't ever change."


"that would be a bit too cruel, don’t you think?"

"Would you rather they end up together once again? Do you not think that would be a way worse fate for my sister to have to suffer?"

I thought of his point, and was able to see the bigger picture. But anything that seemed capable of hurting Ember in any way averted me, to be honest, so I hoped for another way.

"Is there no other way?"

"If you can come up with something, I'll be more than happy to hear it."

William blew out a breath, "well, admittedly, I can't think of anything at the moment. But allow me to sleep on it."

"sure. Of course. But until you do, I'm going to stay fixed on this plan. It's the most foolproof plan I've got right now."

"I know."

"I'm desperate, Mate. I can't let that man hurt my sister ever again." he put a hand on my shoulder and nodded,

"I know."

"good."

"Now, get out. I need to wear clothes."

And as I stood, I howled.

Ember's POV

"rise and shine," I said, placing a tray of breakfast on the table beside William's bed. I found the little smile that played on his sleepy face all too endearing.

"I didn't know this whole thing came with breakfast in bed."

"This is the king's home. There's always breakfast in bed if you want it. What is not usual, Is the king's daughter bringing in the breakfast in bed."

"Well, consider me completely humbled and grateful," he said with his sleep-ridden voice that was sexy,

"I won't be here long, I've got a meeting with the pack elders soon."

I nodded, "that's completely fine. I have my project to work on, so I won't be alone."

"Good," he said through a mouth full of berries, his eyes ever watching me, and I smiled,

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." he said, "it just feels nice watching you like this." I blushed under his appraisal and shook my head,

"you're something."

"you're everything," he said and took some juice. I know he said it lightly, but I couldn't help but feel like there was so much more and felt a twinge of guilt.

I still had not told him about the man I had met yesterday. And perhaps It was nothing, and I was probably never going to see Alpha Jean again. But William was my friend, and considering the kind of relationship we had, I felt it would be more honest to tell him this tidbit of information,

"what is it?" he asked, drawing me out of my thoughts and I looked at him blankly,

"What?"

"your brows are drawn and you look like you have something that is bothering you."

I sighed and squeezed his nose lightly, "nothing gets past you."

"It's why I'm such a good Alpha." he said happily and reached out to cover my hand with his, "but, I'm also your friend. So let's hear it."

I sighed, thinking of the best way to tell him. In the end, the best way seemed like just saying the words,

"I met my mate last night."

He blinked in confusion and I pressed my lips together, "Your mate? Do you mean the one the moon goddess gives? The one you can either accept or reject?"

I nodded, "Yes. That one."

"But how? I was with you all through the night, at what point-" I saw when it clicked and he blinked in clarity,

"on the queue?"

I nodded once,

"But, if he was on the queue, why did you-"

He covered his face with his hands and shook his head, "Explain it to me, Em. I really don’t like the pictures in my head."

"I met him while we were in the queue. I really did need a moment to get myself together in the bathroom, and when I stepped out he was there, and my wolf… Well, my wolf was ecstatic. He said his wolf was excited as well. I believed him, even though the whole thing was surreal to me. But everything felt and seemed so true. It was hard not to believe."

"I noticed you glowed a bit when you came back from the bathroom. But I told myself it was nothing new, you glowed all of the time."

"William," I said and took his hand in mine and squeezed it.

"So what now? Are you guys making plans?"

"Far from that! I said automatically. I don’t even have any way to contact him. He doesn't know my father is the alpha king, so he’ll have a time looking for me, should he ever decide to. My life is an upheaval, will. I can’t even think about my mate right now. I'm so lost as to why the fates brought him to me at such a time."

"Perhaps the Almighty felt you needed him."

"no." I said, shaking my head. "no, I don't need him. I need you, my family, and this project to be a success. Not a mate and all of its demands. Look what it did to Paris."

"pairs. About him."

"What about him? "

"Are you sure? This deal you've made with him? Do you think you can be diplomatic, and lead with your head?"

I thought about his question and chose to answer sincerely, "To be honest, my heart does control me a lot. But I only have to remember how broken I was. That alone is enough to avoid making the wrong kind of choices in this case. In any case, even if we do end up as friends, it still doesn't guarantee a relationship after all, he has a mate. And with the way I felt yesterday, I think I'm beginning to believe he wasn't lying about the control the bond had on him."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, yesterday when Jean appeared, there was a moment when I felt like I could jump into fire if he asked me to. It took sheer will to turn away from him. A will I know I must strengthen with time. But if last night is any indication, then I know now that a mate bond is a strong thing. It will either make me or break me for good."