Once Upon Many Times

May I Be Forgiven?

Looking at the princess again, trying to compose himself as he tries to not lose his sense of calm, Adam is a little rigid, fighting the urge to just walk away. He feels like a fool, as if he was tricked into believing the girl he was very interested in was playing a cruel joke on him. He is not sure what to do. He wishes that things could go back to the way they were before, just himself and Aria, holding hands and talking, walking the grounds, laughing at the funny antics of the villages bustling about, just being average teens. But that isn’t how it is now. She’s a freaking princess and had kept that from him, even after he had said what he said about not being interested in her, the princess.

His heart is heavy with wonder. Was the princess having a good time at his expense? Was he the subject of a prank? Why would she have kept her identity a secret? So many questions were running in his head with no answers to be found on his own. The only option he has is to talk to her, find out what she was going for and why him. Turning back towards Brielle, he squares his shoulders, lifts his head high, and asks, hesitantly, “Why?”

Understanding his question, yet not sure of how to answer him, Brielle looks into Adam’s eyes and opens her mouth, hoping something intelligent would fall out that would make sense.

“I’ve always been looked at as ‘The Princess’ and never knew if I could trust that someone wanted to get to know me, as Brielle, or as someone who had a connection to the royal family. It gets lonely, never knowing. I only have one true friend, Julia, and I love the fact I can be me, just me, with her, and not have to worry about what she is hoping to get out of the relationship. I have had a hard time with that. My mother has tried to get me to make friends, but most of the time, they were only interested in my older brothers, Pierce, the King Alpha heir, and Stephen. They were only using me in hopes of garnering the attention of the boys with dreams of being the Luna Queen or, at the least, a Princess. Most of the time I had “friends” over, I was left alone. Like I said, it gets lonely.”

“I don’t want you to think that I am making an excuse to disguise my shameful way of misidentifying myself to you. I’ve never had a boy friend, not the romantic kind, just a boy who wanted to be a friend before,” she states hurriedly, her heart racing when she said the word boy friend. A rosy stain claimed both of her cheeks as she nibbled her lower lip in an anxious state.

“So, I was nervous and excited to meet someone new, who didn’t know who I was, wasn’t trying to get in my good favor. It was refreshing, and I wanted to continue exploring the newness of it all. I had so much fun just having fun with no strings attached. I promise on the Moon Goddess, I wasn’t trying to be mean-spirited towards you. I honestly enjoyed my time with you. Will you forgive me?” she asked earnestly.

She knows that she is asking for a lot. She had hurt him, unintentionally, but she still did, and it just might make things hard for him to be okay with her and to forgive her. She looks into his mesmerizing blue eyes, hope clinging to her with a death grip, wanting more than anything for her to have a chance, even a small one, to fix her blunder, this mammoth mistake on her part. She had spoken from her heart, the ache and pains of her past wrapped around her, like a cloak, trying to dispel any chance she was wrong about him. She is hoping that when the time comes, midnight, she will be able to find her fated, true mate, and that the person who will have her heart, mind, body and soul, will be Adam. Maybe it’s just a silly crush, a young girl’s infatuation with the first boy to look at her with something other than just being a friend, but she hopes with all her might that he is the one.

Looking at her, Adam was wondering if his Aria, ‘wait, when did she become MY Aria?’ he thought to himself. Looking deeply into her beautiful emerald-green eyes, Adam knew he couldn’t deny that although it hurt him that she didn’t trust him about who she was, he could give her the benefit of the doubt that she wasn’t being malicious in her actions, just being self-protective. He also knew, before she finished talking, that he was still infatuated with her, and for her to be his mate, yet he couldn’t tell her yet. She still needs to find out herself, once the Midnight Moon casts its glow on her. Until then, he takes her hands into his own and nods. The time is coming near, and he can’t wait for her to find out that their impromptu meeting was maybe Fate bringing them together.

‘Yeah, maybe Fate was leading the way. You know you sensed something about her. She had that sweet pea and lavender scent about her.’ Asher, Adam’s wolf, said, snickering in his mind.

Shaking his head at his wolf, Adam just tells him to quiet down. He knew the minute they met that she was destined to be his and that he wanted to shout it out to the whole world, but as much as he knew who Aria was to him, he also knew that she didn’t know yet. She as much as told him she hadn’t reached her actual 16th birthday yet, when her wolf would come. Just an hour left til it happens. He can’t wait.

“Alright, Princess,” he says with a smile, “why don’t we go back, and I’ll introduce you to my pack mates and father, seeing how you weren’t there to greet them, shall we?” As they are walking towards the Great Hall, both are smiling at each other as they enter the room filled with revelers. Unbeknownst to them, they were being carefully watched.