AroraIt was going to take some time to get used to having people there to do things for me. I thought I would be used to it because that was how it worked in the castle, but being in our home and not having anything to do was just too weird.I kept wanting to make our own tea and meals and my mother kept reminding me that the omegas would be offended if I just took over. I was the future Dutchess. If I mated Bernard, I would be a princess and my mother believed I had to get used to the way things were done the same way the royals had to get used to the hard facts I gave them.“Okay, so what do nobles do then?” I sighed deeply, throwing my hands in the air when my mother finally convinced me to join her and Bernard in the library before dinner.“We have hobbies.” Bernard grinned, and I gaped at the sight in front of me. Bernard had disappeared at one point in the afternoon, but I was so busy trying to figure out where I fit into our new household that I didn’t pay much attention.In f
AroraOur first morning in our new home together couldn’t have been more interesting. I could see that neither mom nor Bernard knew who should sit at the head of the table. Since this was our home, it meant mom would be the head of the house, but Bernard was a prince and that took precedent over her rank in the house.To solve the problem, I sat down at the head of the table. I knew it was incredibly presumptuous, but I couldn’t deal with the way the two of them completely avoided the subject and neither sat down. The servant served breakfast while we all went through the niceties of how everyone slept.“What do we have planned for today?” I smiled, hoping we had something. I spent all my life dealing with the house repairs as well as making sure mom and I had our meals. Now I have nothing to do. I knew I shouldn’t complain about it, but it was incredibly difficult to sit around when you were used to working.“Noah and Emily have asked to see us this morning, so I guess we will be at
BernardI felt it the moment it happened. Something was wrong. Noah was mid-sentence when I got up and rushed out of the castle to look for Arora. I found her growling at a warrior just outside the castle grounds and her mother was trying her best to explain what happened, but as soon as I heard that the warrior had struck Arora, my temper flared.AroraBernard arrived and if I wasn’t so focused on the warrior, I would have rolled my eyes. The warrior instantly recognized Bernard and I could see his mind figuring out who I was and who he had hurt. Mom was rambling behind me and in the blink of an eye, the warrior started to apologize, but it was too late.Bernard closed the gap between them and had the man pushed up against the wall with his fingers tightly wound around the warrior’s throat. I could see the guy wasn’t going to be breathing for long, but I couldn’t be the reason why someone was killed.“Bernard! Stop!” I had no idea why I stopped him. That warrior deserved everything h
AroraMom was smiling and looking excited, and I just couldn’t stand it anymore. I looked at Bernard, who also seemed excited, and I sighed deeply before a huge smile formed on my face.“I, Arora, accept you, Bernard, as my mate.” As soon as I said the words it felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off my chest and I could breathe for the first time since I met Bernard.“I, Bernard, accept you, Arora, as my mate.” He beamed, closing the gap between us and kissing me. Applause erupted out of the blue and when we pulled apart, I noted that everyone had stopped what they were doing and were very happy for us.“Please tell me we don’t have to move to the castle now.” I giggled and Bernard shook his head.“This is our home. I told you I would move here. We just have to make sure that the security is taken care of and that what happened today never happens again.” Bernard kissed my forehead and I felt as if I was going to float into the air. It felt incredible. Scary, but incredible. I w
BernardMy uncle and Arora came around the corner, and she was an absolute vision. The past two weeks have been the toughest of my entire life. Each time I touched her or held her I wanted more, and I had to remind myself I needed to wait.Now that the time was coming closer, it was getting even more difficult! They joined us at the end of the aisle, and she smiled at me so beautifully my heart melted. If I wasn’t careful my knees would buckle!Arora“You look beautiful.” He grinned.“You look handsome.” I winked.“Are you happy?” We took a quick look around and I nodded.“It’s perfect.” I beamed before we turned to look at Noah who was presiding over the ceremony.“We are gathered here today because two people want to spend the rest of their lives together. When Arora first came into our life, she was like a breath of fresh air. She showed us that the way we had been doing things was not enough. She showed us we needed to be more compassionate. She showed us we needed to be more.” La
Arora“Good morning, princess.” Bernard grinned, making me roll my eyes as I smiled. We talked about it a lot before the ceremony. I didn’t want to become a royal just because I was mated to one, but there was no getting out of it.Calling me princess was meant to be a term of endearment, but it was also Bernard’s way of teasing me about it. I knew I would grow used to it over time and that losing my temper about something so small wasn’t going to help either of us.“Good morning, me lord.” I tried to use my best pauper voice, making him laugh out loud. We got ready for breakfast and found my mother in the dining room. This time, it seemed she knew where she wanted to sit, and I let Bernard take the seat at the head of the table. Winking at him, as he pulled my chair out.After breakfast, we went to the castle to say goodbye to everyone before going back home to pack our last things. I felt as if we were leaving for good when I noted how many bags we had packed. I had never been on ho
AroraWe spent a week with the Pixies, which was just amazing. They showed us all the spells they taught Bernard’s grandmother and, although neither of us could do them, I mentioned to him that I would love to come back one day and spend a bit more time there.I believed if we had more time, we would probably get the spells right, but we only had that much time. I was sad when our last day arrived, and we had to say goodbye. I felt as though there was still so much more to see and do, but we had to get back to our responsibilities as royals.We drove back the way we came, but this time, the car pulled into what used to be the main road of the old rogue kingdom. Most of the buildings have almost disappeared after years of neglect, but you couldn’t miss the one building that used to be the old castle.It still stood taller than the rest. When we stopped, I frowned and Bernard smiled at me. He opened the door and held out his hand.“Since you wanted to see it so much, I have arranged tha
AroraTwo weeks after our mating ceremony, we returned home. Mom was very happy to see us, and I could see that she really wanted to know if I was pregnant. I reminded her that it was far too soon to know, and the conversation shifted to everything we did and saw.We spent the afternoon settling back in and, in the evening, Bernard escorted me and my mother to the castle for dinner. The entire family was happy to see us, and were excited to hear about our trip. I told them about the pixies and how incredible it was to stand where the warrior queen trained as well as in what disrepair the old rogue castle was.Noah was making notes of everything and commented that he would like to restore the old rogue castle. It was an important part of our history, and he wanted it to always remain that way. Emily was excited about the restoration and offered to take charge of the project.All in all, it had been an amazing two weeks, but now we were back home and the reality of my new position sudde