The Wizard Prince's Secret Soulmate

Chapter 1

Matteo was tired. He was sitting in a bar he had never been to, it was just the first one he had crossed on his way. The lights were dimmed, the bar he sat at was sticky, which was the only reason he didn’t rest his head on it. The beer was good, though, it was nice and cold, its bitterness was giving him a little energy.

For a short moment, he considered calling Sara, but he dismissed this idea. He didn’t have the energy to deal with her, as much as he considered her his friend, but she was just too… bubbly right now.

His eyes half closed, he looked around until his gaze landed on a petit, but breath-taking woman, who appeared to be fighting with the guy in front of her, who had the decency to look taken aback by her reaction. Matteo couldn’t make out exactly what their fight was about, but he decided to observe a little bit longer. Not that the woman would need any help from his side, but he couldn’t take his eyes off her for some reason.

While she was busy scolding the guy in front of her, he took in her appearance. Petit, yes, but with curves in all the right places, and her wild gestures made her appear larger than she was. Her chestnut-coloured hair was curly and cut short, barely touching her shoulders, and even from a distance, he could see her shining blue eyes.

He turned around when she left the poor guy and walked towards the bar, scoffing at something he didn’t catch. Standing next to him, she called the bartender over and ordered a shot of whiskey. He grinned. That woman had some fire inside her, and pouring alcohol on it would only make it burn brighter.

“Did you enjoy the show?” she asked him after she took the first sip and sat down on the stool next to his.

Matteo didn’t think she’d notice him staring, but apparently, he was wrong.

“I’m not sure if I should feel sorry for him or be in awe of you,” he answered smoothly and heard her chuckle.

“Don’t feel sorry for this i***t, I gave him more of my time than he deserved.”

He watched her as she downed her drink and licked her lips, catching the last few drops of golden liquid.

“At the risk of you ripping my head off, my name is Matteo.”

This time, her laughter rolled over him like warm water.

“I’m not going to rip your head off, Matteo, but you could buy me another drink.”

He didn’t waste any time and got the bartenders attention before motioning that he needed another round for both of them.

“Is that drink going to buy me your name?” he enquired, feeling a little braver now that she seemed more relaxed.

“No, you’re going to get that one for free,” she smirked, and her blue eyes sparkled, making him forget about how tired he was when he stepped into this place. “I’m Aurora.”

The bartender put their drinks in front of them and took away the empty glasses. Aurora looked over the handsome man sitting next to her. He was very tall, his skin was tanned as if he had just returned from a vacation to an exotic place. His hair was platinum blonde and long, but he kept it neatly in a man bun. His eyes were blue, but unlike hers, the colour was so light, it seemed like she was staring into a sea of ice.

“So, Aurora, what brings you here and why do I have to be grateful that looks can’t kill, or your friend over there would have had me drop dead seven times already?” Matteo asked, curious about what had angered her so much before.

“Ugh, I really don’t want to spend any time talking about him, but if you think he is a threat to your life…” she rolled her eyes and took another sip of whiskey, enjoying the way it burned down her throat. “I came to Milan thinking that I’d visit a friend, only to find out that he believed that for me to come all the way here, I must be having more than friendly feelings, if you know what I mean.”

“I see…” Matteo glanced at Aurora’s friend from the corner of his eyes, only to find him staring at them angrily.

“Is there anything I can do to help you? Do you want me to make him leave?”

Aurora snorted. “Sure, knock yourself out.”

Matteo knew that she didn’t expect him to actually do anything, but he knew how to deal with persistent guys like that one. He walked over to him, leaned forward and whispered a few words into his ear, a little spell he had just for these special occasions, that reminded people about more important things that needed to be done right this instant. At least sometimes, being a wizard had its benefits. He could hear him scramble and run out of the bar as he walked back towards Aurora.

“That was amazing, what did you tell him?” she enquired, looking impressed.

“I can be very persuasive if I have to,” he grinned and picked up his beer. “And I can’t resist a damsel in distress.”

That made her laugh again, and he found himself aching for it, looking for more ways to make her smile at him.

“Well, thank you, Matteo, saviour of damsels, I’ll make sure to thank whatever entity you believe in for allowing our paths to cross tonight.”

This time, it was his turn to laugh, and he spared a second to thank the heavens that he walked into this bar.

They ordered several more rounds, and Aurora got more and more comfortable with him. Not comfortable enough to tell him her life story, but enough for a touch here and there, a smile, a comment that could be understood either way, and Matteo enjoyed every second of it, so much so that he didn’t realize that the evening had turned into night, and they were the only ones left at 1am on a Tuesday. The bartender had long stopped trying to be subtle about the fact that he wanted them to leave, and had simply turned the lights to their brightest setting and was coming over to bring them their final bill.

Matteo slipped him his credit card without even looking at it, his eyes were only for Aurora, and the way she talked with all of her being, not just with her mouth. Her hands were moving freely, her facial expressions were casting a spell on him, and he felt himself falling for her. Hold up, he caught himself right there. Falling for her? He barely met her a few hours ago, he knew nothing about her. It was probably the beer talking, he decided, happy to have a perfect excuse.

“I’m sorry, guys, but I’m going to have to ask you to leave now,” the bartender informed them as he handed Matteo his card back.

“It’s alright, sorry for keeping you that long,” Aurora replied with a smile, and Matteo couldn’t resist interlacing their fingers as they walked out of the bar.

“Can I drop you off somewhere?” he asked her, even though he didn’t want this evening to end.

She chewed on her lip, clearly trying to figure something out.

“Actually, I was supposed to stay with my friend, but… I really don’t want to,” she admitted.

“Alright, so you can either stay at a hotel or you can come with me.”

Matteo was holding his breath, waiting for her to make a decision.

Aurora was torn. On one hand, she really should go to a hotel and wait for the next day to collect her stuff and go back home, but on the other hand… The man next to her was unbelievably handsome, and who knew if they would ever meet again? She had been reckless many a times, what was one more?

“Well, Matteo, saviour of mine, I don’t particularly like old, musty hotel rooms…” she looked at him expectantly.

“Say no more, my lovely damsel. I shall summon my trusty steed to bring you to your castle for tonight.”

She laughed, enjoying the light banter they had going, knowing that tomorrow, she would be gone.

He walked her to his matt black Maserati and opened the passenger door for her, slightly bowing as she got in.

His apartment wasn’t far, and he parked in his garage before they took the elevator to the top floor. His parents had money, and the view was amazing, so why should he deny himself what he enjoyed under the false pretence of being modest? He threw his keys into the bowl next to the entrance and watched Aurora, as she looked around his place. Was she intimidated?

“I didn’t think I would find someone with an apartment like this in a bar like that,” she finally stated, and he laughed while he walked over to his collection of liquors.

“Sorry to disappoint you, luce mia (my light). Would you like another drink?”

She walked over to inspect the bottle he was holding in his hand and nodded, and he poured two glasses for them, before sitting down on the couch in front of the floor to ceiling windows, looking over the illuminated city of Milan.

Aurora sat down next to him, close enough for their legs to touch, and Matteo grabbed his glass hard enough for his knuckles to turn white, in order to stop himself from leaning towards her and pulling her onto his lap. He didn’t want her to think he was just like her friend, looking for an opportunity to get her into his bed.

He nearly choked on his whiskey at Aurora’s next words.

“So are you going to kiss me or are you going to break your glass?”