Eric POV
It had been a long ten months. I had been searching for my fated mate for almost a year and not even a hint of them. At twenty, many would think I was too young to be so desperate to find my mate; however, I had been waiting and wanting to start my life now that Elizabeth had returned home. Elizabeth was my sister and the new Queen of our Kingdom. She had been kidnapped at a young age and I was born shortly after she had disappeared. Believed dead for so long, I had been being groomed to take over as the future King.
However, secretly I had hated the idea. I was an artist at heart. I loved abstract painting and could get lost in my work for days without stopping for food or sleep. Well, if it was not for my mother continuously sending refreshments to me during my creative times. She knew in her heart I wanted to focus on being an artist; however, my father would not hear of it.
When I spoke passionately about art, he immediately shut me down reminding me of my duties as the future King. Art was a nice hobby, added to great conversation at arts events, but was not to be taken seriously. I had started to grow bitter towards my father. I am grateful that Elizabeth returned. I hated that tension in our relationship; I loved my father.
He still hated the idea of me being an artist, so we simply never spoke of it. I still had duties as a Prince in the Kingdom, but it afforded me more time to focus on my art. I hoped my mate would appreciate my passion. It was a way for me to express myself in a world where royalty is supposed to be somewhat removed from the public eye. I paint under an alias, and I planned to keep it that way.
I did not miss the hectic schedule of meetings I had to attend. I got to participate in a lot of the charity work that we sponsored. My favourite charity was the work we did for the youth in our community. Creating opportunities for mentorship with the youth was the focus, but also raising money to get them a solid education was key to this charity. Seeing the changes in the lives of our youth, was second to nothing I had experienced previously.
Taking one last look in the mirror, I decided I was ready and would head down towards the party hall. I knew Elizabeth was nervous as tonight was her first official gala event that she was hosting. The first that she had been responsible for from start to finish. It held a lot of promise for a lot of wolves, and like all events she wanted it to be perfect. A night to remember.
I have my own private wing within the palace. A courtesy afforded me as I was the Prince of the Kingdom. I would have been happy to relocate, but Elizabeth would not hear of it when she took over. Our parents lived in the palace, along with myself and my future family, if that time ever came.
I could hear the hustle and bustle of activity below. I stood for a moment taking a breath. I did not know why I was so uncomfortable today. My wolf was also agitated. Not a common feeling and it caused me to pause and center myself. I had not had a chance to do any painting this week. The painting and focus tended to help keep me calm during times such as these.
Sighing I gave myself a shake. I was being ridiculous. I had been to hundreds of these events, and they would turn out the same. I would not find my mate, but I would find someone to spend the night with and gently encourage them to leave first thing in the morning. Tonight, would be no different.
Walking down the staircase I pause hidden from being seen below. From my viewpoint, I could see the cars coming to the front entrance and the beautifully dressed young women exiting those vehicles. I took a deep breath, scenting the freshly arrived women. I pause. Nothing. No hint that my mate is among them.
Closing my eyes, I take a moment to relax. Ensuring this evening is a success for my sister was my only priority. I continue my journey down the stairs and notice the lowering of chatter as I make my entrance. Elizabeth and Carter are greeting their guests at the main door. I smile and nod towards the familiar faces and some new ones. As I meet the new women, I inhale and hide the disappointment at them not being my mate.
I see the servers moving through the crowd. Elizabeth had decided to bring in human servers so that all wolves would be able to attend the Gala if they wished. I had to admit she had the right idea. There were a lot of wolves in attendance; more than I had anticipated.
I swipe a glass of champagne from the tray that was moving by me quickly. The woman looked around frantically and smiled as she paused, murmuring an apology for her hastiness. I detected a brief scent of something tantalizing my nose, but it quickly departed as she moved through the crowd.
Interesting. I kept my eye on her as long as I could. She was so fast and had moved out back where the servers would be restocking their trays. I moved through the crowd stopping to speak with delegates. I cringed internally as I see a figure I recognized moving through the crowd.
Louisa. An eager she-wolf seeking a rich mate. It did not matter if he was her fated or chosen mate. As long as he was rich, and well established in the werewolf kingdom. She had made it known, often, that she would be very open to a relationship of convenience, if I were unsuccessful at finding my fated mate.
I had made the poor decision to date her for a brief period of time. It had been long enough to let her have a glimmer of what life with me would be like. “Darling, I am so happy to see you,” Louisa says as she leans forward pecking my lips. I feel my body tense up but I do not make a scene.
“And why is that?” I ask trying to hide my boredom with her. “I do not detect my fated mate, and by being alone, I can see you have not either. There is no reason we cannot entertain one another for the rest of the evening,” she says softly. I simply stare at her for a few moments, before I give her a brief smile.
Before I can respond, I see the door to the back kitchens open and that delectable scent teases my senses once again. I cannot put my finger on the scent, but it is causing my wolf to start to get agitated.
“Excuse me,” I say to a confused Louisa as I move toward the doors wanting to see who that scent belonged to.
Julia POV I could feel my blood pressure rising. The man who was supposed to be helping create the dessert masterpieces had begged off for a break and had not returned. That was an hour ago. He had been dragging his ass the entire time, and I knew it was because he felt he should be head dessert chef. I would not let him ruin this evening or the desserts, so I jumped in to help my team, while also trying to check everything that left the kitchen. Ensuring consistency was key to an event this size. It had also been instilled in us that this evening had to be perfect. And that meant all aspects from serving to food and beverages. “Oh my,” Cami says as she comes up to me for a moment. “What?” I ask concerned something had happened. “There are so many beautiful people out there. It is all I can do not to spill the drinks as I trip over one magnificent creature to the next!” she declares as I laugh at her candidness.
Julia POV “I, Alpha Eric Montgomery, reject you, Julia Kent,” he says softly. I see his face crumble as he bends over grabbing his chest. I take a moment to pause before I burst out laughing. “What the hell does that even mean? You reject me?” I reply as I am now doubled over laughing. “If you do not want to go out with me, a simple not interested would suffice,” I say as the humour starts to leave my body and anger takes over. “For that matter, you did not need to drag me out here, to simply “reject me”,” I say using air quotes. Men. Just when you think you have found a decent man, he shows you his crazy in the first five minutes of meeting him. “Accept it,” he says angrily. I look at him incredulously. “Absolutely not; I will not entertain your crazy,” I say turning away from him. He grabs my arm, and my body betrays me with that bizarre warm feeling when he touches my skin. I shrug his arm off, “I do not know what gam
Eric POV As I thrust one last time into Louisa, I roar my release. The roar was not for an amazing experience but for the pain I felt at losing my fated mate. “That was incredible,” Louisa says as I slip out of her body. I quickly move to the side of my bed and move towards the washroom. I jump into the shower to wash off Louisa’s scent. It sickens me, after scenting my fated. I lean my head against the shower stall and consider all that has happened this evening. All that should have been. It should have been Julia in my bed tonight. That beauty would consume me for years to come, regardless of who I take as a chosen mate. Before I can process anything else, I hear a frantic call through my mind-link from Elizabeth. “What is it?” I reply. “Please come to the Pack hospital at once. We have a situation and I do not know what to do,” she says urgently. For Elizabeth to call out to me at this point in the evening, I knew t
Julia POV Groaning I lifted my hand to my head. I cannot remember what happened. Just that I felt like I had been hit by a truck. My hand moves slowly to my stomach, still tender after whatever had happened. I felt movement beside me and I opened my eyes to see my best friend, Cami, standing there looking worried. “What happened?” I whisper hearing my scratchy voice. My eyes close from exhaustion when I feel the tip of a straw at my lips. I slowly open my eyes once again and take a sip of the water. The cool feeling of water trickling down my throat gave me a reprieve from the dryness. “I do not know,” Cami whispers. “Why are you whispering?” I ask her confused as to what is happening. “Where am I?” I ask out loud. I recognize I am in a hospital, but Cami almost seemed scared. Looking around to make sure nobody was around, Cami leans down to me, “You are in a hospital. The Palace hospital,” she says shoc
Julia POV “What the hell is that?” I murmured to Cami as we left the Palace property. She followed my gaze off to the right in the distance. “It looks like wolves. How is that possible?” she asked quietly, as we continued driving towards the city. “I have never heard of wolves around here before,” I said softly as I considered the beauty of the animals that seemed closer than they were. Cami did not slow down and got us home forty minutes later. “How are you feeling?” she asked me. “I am still sore, but much better than I was last night,” I promised her as she pulled the car to a stop in front of my apartment building. “Are you sure? Maybe I should take you to the local hospital,” she suggested as I looked at her. I smiled, “I am fine; I think it would be a slap in the face if we did not trust the Palace’s doctor,” I stated to her laughing at how silly it sounded. She joined me before I turned and looked towards my apartm
Eric POV What the hell was that? I looked up and realized my mate was screaming in fear. I looked around and saw nobody else standing here and realized she was screaming at me! I took a step forward as she took a step backwards. With my wolf hearing, I could hear someone on the other end of the line. Realizing she had called the police, I stepped forward taking the phone from her hand. “Hello? This is Prince Eric, please send the police to this address for further investigation,” I say before handing the phone back to Julia so she could try to give them the address. After she hung up, she simply stared at me. “Why are you here?” she asked me as she tried to stop her shaking hands. “I wanted to ensure you arrived home safely,” I replied as I looked around her bedroom recognizing it was as messy as the living area. “I assume you do not always live like this?” I inquired as she glared at me. “No, I do not alway
Julia POVStartled by the sudden noise, I paused as I realized I had wanted Eric’s lips on mine. The man was clearly crazy so what did it say about me wanting him to kiss me? He rested his forehead on mine, and I enjoyed the warmth his skin brought to my body. I knew I was starting to go into shock. Realizing I had stumbled upon someone who had still been in the apartment when I arrived home was starting to set in.What were they looking for? And how did they get out of the fire escape door? Before I could think about it any longer, Eric stepped away from me and walked towards the sitting room in my small apartment. I was embarrassed that he had seen my sparsely furnished space while he came from luxury. Silly, giving my head a shake, he was simply being polite following up on me to make sure I arrived home safely. Likely worried they might be sued, for the food poisoning I had suffered, I think with a chuckle.Following Eric, I see him already in a conversation with the polic
Julia POV I looked at him and burst out laughing, “Like hell I am going anywhere with you,” I responded as he looked wounded at my reply. “Why not?” he asked quietly. I looked at him realizing he was serious, “I do not know you. And our interactions to date have not been memorable,” I replied as I started to look around for my phone. Spotting it, I grabbed it and moved off to the side, putting a call through to Cami. Damn it! It goes directly to voice mail. Where could she be? I texted her asking her to call me as soon as possible. I tossed my phone down, and turned around startled that he was still staring at me. “What?” I asked snidely deciding to call my boss and let him know I would not be in tonight. After promising to be in tomorrow for my shift, I hung up and moved to my bedroom to grab a few things. “Miss, we have already asked you not to touch anything,” the officer reminded me. “I need a few thi