Time is what holds secrets. Time is what makes love happen. Time is what makes people successful.
Time is our secret to happiness.
- unknown
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Time stops as two mates look at each other, their eyes sweeping over each other's figures, silver eyes piercing into hazel eyes.
Andria could feel her wolf on the edge of collapse as she gazed into the man's eyes; he was above six feet tall with a lean but muscular build. His hair a light brunette against his honey-coloured skin.
He was attractive; that's all Andria could say about him as she compared him to another man, the king. The power he emitted only seemed like a worm when compared to the King's, even though it was far greater than any Alpha, Andria had ever met. Who was this man? she wondered to herself; he seemed familiar, like she had seen him in a portrait or something.
The man smiles at her with blindingly white teeth that cause the skin around his eyes to wrinkle slightly; he seemed too bright and too cheery for Andria's liking, reminding her of the sun.
"What do we have here, a beautiful specimen wandering around palace halls on her own?" The man said as he gently took her hand in his, making Andria internally scoff at his poor attempt at flattery, and she gives him a forced smile, wanting to pull her hand out of his grasp but knowing full well that it would be impolite.
"What is the name of the beauty I see before me?" The man asked in husky tones, making her shudder with a mixture of disgust and pleasure.
"Andria, of house Salvare, and you are? " Andria said her voice a rotten sweet.
"It's a pleasure to meet you; my name is Prince Edward," he says as he leans in and kisses the back of her hand, making her heart skip a beat as a stinging pain erupted on the skin he had kissed, causing her to yank it away harshly.
"Y---yo, you're the prince, the king's brother!" Andria exclaimed, her eyes widening in astonishment.
"Yes. And you are my mate," the prince said, his eyes filled with mirth as he stepped closer to Andria, forcing her to take a step back.
"Mmhh," Andria hummed in response, trying to think of a way to leave despite her wolf's objections.
"Come, let me escort you to where you were going," Edward said as he lent his arm to her, making her hesitantly wrap hers around his. The moment her skin touched his clothed one she felt a wave of dizziness hit her as her vision blurred into a fog of white as her arm loosened around his and she almost tumbled over a vase behind her.
She wanted to drop dead onto the floor in that moment, but instead she felt Edward's arms go around her waist, holding her up, his eyes filled with worry. To Andria, his worry, his touch felt like a poisonous snake that had slithered around her waist, crushing her diaphragm and causing the air in her lungs to diffuse out at the speed of light. What was wrong with her—weren't mates supposed to bring pleasure and not pain? she thought to herself.
"Are you okay?" Edward asked, his voice laced with concern.
"Yes, I'm fine, just a little shaken," Andria said, raising her voice to play it off, "I was just going to my chambers anyways."
"All right, let me still escort you there," Edward said, his voice still worried, making Andria give him a small smile to reassure him and ease his worry. Emotions always made people more clingy, and she didn't want that from him. He was her mate, if he saw her discomfort, he would haunt her all day long.
The two walk in silence as Edward basks in the joy of finding his mate while Andria's mind sulks with dread as her wolf howls its confusion in her mind.
They stop in front of her chambers, when Edward asks, "Do you need my assistance? "
"No, it's alright, I'll take it from here," Andria said politely, dismissing him.
"Are you sure? If you need anything, I can bring it to you." Edward spoke recalling her dizzy spell from earlier.
"No, I am fine, " Andria said with a half smile.
"Fine, but I will tell the maids to bring you herbal tea and food for your dizziness, " Edward said, his voice sounding determined as he tucked a stray hair behind her ear. "I need my mate to be happy and healthy."
He leans his forehead against hers, making her recoil within herself, as he says a quick goodbye and turns to rush away.
Sighing out loud with relief at seeing him leave, Andria headed inside her chambers. Once inside, she decides to take a bath to get rid off the pent up tension in her mind from all the things that had happened.
Walking into the bathing room, which was a large room with marble flooring and walls and a bath large enough to fit twenty other wolves, she removes her clothing, a laborious job without a bath, before jumping into the bath.
The warm water felt like a cool detergent against her heated skin as she plunged her head deeper into the water, her thoughts freezing for a few short seconds. She returns to the surface of the water and leans against the back wall of the bath, recalling her morning, the argument with her mother, and finding her mate.
Her mate, the prince, was too quick on his feet for her taste, and she'd heard rumours about him her entire life. Maids whispering secrets in dark corridors: they used to call him the broken prince; she had no idea why, but she didn't want her mate to be called that.
Slowly her eyes fluttered closed, imagining another male as her mate—a better male, the king. Thinking how easy life would be having the king at her side to hold her on dark days, to rule by his side, to create a new order where omegas would be freed of their duties and treated fairly just like normal wolves. It was something she always wanted after what happened to Burty.
Her body relaxed over time under the weight of the water, a soothing message for her tired limbs. It wasn't easy prancing in fluffy ball gowns and smiling all the time as she thought back to Ariana. Her sister, who always reminded her of the happiness she had lost and the friend she had lost....
Burty.