Chapter 4
2297 Words
Why on earth would their pack Beta tell him not to bite her? That’s not funny!!
He starts the race and off they go.
Emma is not allowed to use her super speed, which makes this really tough, and she has to fight to run at a normal pace.
Christiaan grins watching her struggle. He decides to jump in front of her and run backward.
“So, tell me, princess. Why are you out here and not up there with the rest of the royals?”
His sudden need for conversation throws her off her game, and she almost loses her balance, but quickly recovers.
“We are supposed to be racing!”
“We are, we are also getting to know each other. Isn’t this what this week is for.”
She shoves him, making him fall over his feet and making her go tumbling right over him. That wasn’t part of her plan when both of them fall on the soft grass of the track.
“That wasn’t very clever,” he shouts, getting up and taking the advantage to get a head start.
She shakes her head, getting up and catching up to him.
“HEY! No super speed.”
The finish line is in sight, and within seconds they cross it together.
“Do you two realize this was a race?” Magnus asks laughing.
“It’s not when I’m not allowed to use my full potential.” Emma looks upset and walks over to where Lucille and Pearl are sitting, ignoring the growling wolf on the other side of the track.
***
“URGH! She is infuriating! I will never accept her as my mate. Besides, she can’t have children. Vampires can have babies, can they?” Christiaan walks into his bedroom slamming the door behind him.
He left the field not feeling well, which is very strange to him. He never gets sick! He should be attending to whatever is going on with Elizabeth, but instead, his mind is overrun by thoughts of this stupid vampire princess!
Mind linking Erik that he is going for a run, so nobody would come and look for him, he lies down on his bed. Sweat starts to form on his forehead, and it feels like he is getting a fever when his mother walks into the room.
“Christiaan? Are you here?” Megan calls out to him, noticing him lying down.
***
Finding their son on his bed in the middle of the day almost has her completely freaked out! He looks pale and has a fever, which is not something he has ever had!
“Anthony, this is not like him.” She whispers off to one side, watching Christiaan literally deteriorate in front of her eyes.
“I’ve sent for the doctor, sweetheart. Hopefully, we will have an answer soon.” He rubs her arms.
Erik walks into the room with Matt.
“Do either of you know what happened?” Meg asks not even giving them time to properly greet them.
“Uhm…” Erik stumbles over his words.
“I think what Erik is trying to say is that he suspects your son there has found his mate and is trying his best not to admit it.” Matt grins.
“WHAT?” Megan asks wide-eyed.
“Yeah,” Erik scratches the back of his head.
“I didn’t say anything to him, but he hasn’t been able to keep his eyes off of the Vampire Princess Emma. He tried to hide it, but it's as clear as day.”
“You should have seen them on the track just moments ago.” Matt laughs.
“Surely, that can’t make him this ill?” Megan looks at Anthony with concern in her eyes.
“I’m sorry, ma'am, but with kids these days you never know.” An older man’s voice interrupts their conversation.
“I’m doc. Nice to meet all of you. You say there are signs that he might have a mate and is now trying to avoid her?” he walks over to have a look at Christiaan.
“Yes,” Matt answers.
“Did he eat anything different from what he normally does?”
“He hardly ate last night, come to think of it.” Erik looks at Meg and Ant.
The doctor does a bit of a check-up, but he has seen a couple of the males coming down with “something” in the past hour and isn’t going to waste too much time.
“Well, I'm sorry for saying this, but your son has mate fever, Mrs. Storm. He has to either accept or reject his mate before he will get better.”
***
“… He has to either accept or reject his mate…” Christiaan hears a strange voice in his room and forces his eyes to open. It’s so hot in this damn castle, and there is no air-conditioning!
Why did he agree to this stupid idea of his mother? If he just stood by his beliefs and stayed at home, none of this would be happening.
“I. Don’t. Have. A. Mate!” he gets the words out, and although it’s really tough, and he feels completely drained, he sits up, seeing a stranger greeting his parents and then leaving his room.
Erik and Matt also leave without a word, leaving just his parents behind… Great!!
***
“Honey, who was that handsome wolf?” Lucille asks when Emma walks up the steps of the pavilion.
“I don’t know, but he is rude. I don’t like him.” She answers without her usual softness in her voice.
“We can see that much. What happened out there?”
“He was being a pain in my side, and his ego is enormous! I would never want to be seen with someone like that! May I please be excused? I have to check on lunch.” She looks pained.
“Sure, sweetie. You look really pale, when did you last feed?” Lucille looks worried.
“This morning. Edgar took me to the kitchens.”
The part she doesn’t mention is that she couldn’t keep the blood down because of the knot in her stomach and threw it all up after he left her. If it weren’t for all the arrangements to take care of, she might be seeing blood bags all over the training grounds instead of guests.
They excuse her, and she walks off to the kitchens. How could she let him get to her like that! It’s day one of the damn mating weeks, and she can’t afford to lose focus! That stupid wolf is going to make her look bad in front of the royals and cause the entire week to end up in a huge disaster!
Storming into the kitchen, she grabs the first sandwich that comes past on a plate and stuffs it into her mouth out of frustration. The waiter was about to tell her something, but it is too late. Tasting the fresh raw meat, her entire body feels like it goes into shock, and she rushes through the kitchens to her rooms.
Once inside, she spits it out into the basket in her bathroom. WHY? Why on earth would she eat when she feels so nauseous? If she were still human, she would think she was pregnant!
Changing into one of her suits, she checks her reflection in the mirror quickly and makes her way to the dining hall to check on everything for dinner. On her way back to the kitchens, she walked right into two of the three people she had been trying to avoid.
“Darling girl! There you are! You missed out on some real fun!”
“I… I was checking some details, your… Lucille.”
“Well, you are done checking for the day, and you are definitely not wearing a suit to lunch. Come-on. Time to change for lunch. The guests can’t stop talking about how beautiful and organized everything is.” She gushes.
“Even Magnus is impressed.” Pearl bursts out laughing. “And that doesn’t happen easily.”
“Everyone is having loads of fun, and there are already so many new couples! Did you see that millionaire pick up his mate and carry her off into the castle? I bet you some serious sparks are flying in that room.” Lucille grins.
“What is it with you two?” Emma rolls her eyes, with each of them hooked into one of her arms.
“Uhm, darling, I think the question is rather what is up with you?” Lucille stops, taking Emma by her shoulders and looking into her eyes.
“You have been acting really strange. What is going on?”
“I’m sorry, your… Lucille. I’m just stressed out, and I want everything to go really well.” She sighs.
“Fine, then stop checking on everything and start enjoying it all. You worked really hard. Everyone knows what to do.”
“Emma, you have a great staff in place. You don’t need to micro-manage all of them.” Pearl hooks her arm into Emma’s again.
“URGH! Do I really have to take part in all of this? You insist on making me a princess. Can’t I just hang around in the background? What if I meet someone? Then they will expect me to leave here. What is going to happen if the clan’s princess leaves? Did you think about that?”
“Yes, we did. You will be leaving, not dying. You are dead already.” Lucille giggles.
“Come on, time to get dressed.”
***
“I will be fine. I probably ate something that isn’t agreeing with me.” Christiaan insists.
“I just need a shower.”
“Son, if you have found a mate and you don’t decide whether you want to reject or accept her, you can get really sick.” Ant’s Alpha tone is starting to shine through a little.
“Luckily, I haven’t met a mate yet.” Christiaan grins.
“Christiaan Storm! Stop lying to your parents!” Meg pulls out her monster mom's voice.
“Mom, I promise. I haven’t met anyone.” He gets up from his bed feeling a little better after resting.
A shower will definitely make him feel better.
“Now, if you will excuse me. Unless you want to watch me shower.” He grins at his mother who huffs and leaves the room.
“Dude, you have to take this seriously, or she is going to bug you for the rest of your life.” Ant advises him before leaving his room.
As soon as they are gone, Christiaan falls back onto his bed, relieved that he can stop pretending to be okay. He has to find time to reject this vampire. It can’t work between them. He will do it at lunch. Her heart shouldn’t be too broken…
She doesn’t seem to want him either. Why wouldn’t she want him? He is a catch! He is the best candidate here! Every girl should be falling at his feet. She should be shattered when he rejects her.
Images of her slight smile when they were running flood his mind again, and he shakes his head.
“STOP IT! Nicolas! We can’t work. We need someone that will give us an heir.”
“Oh, now you want a mate?” His wolf jumps in.
“Yes, later, much, much later.”
He gets up and makes his way to the shower with a lot of effort.
“Dude, your parents are right. You will have to reject her as soon as possible, or we are going to land up in the hospital. That would look really great, and then we won’t look like the best catch here.” Nicolas snickers.
“Shut up!” Christiaan says, open the shower.
At least they have bathrooms in each room. He was half expecting them to have a steel tub and buckets with water for you to use to take a bath. There is no internet, no Wi-Fi, nothing!
When he is dressed, he makes his way downstairs and meets his parents outside for lunch that is to take place in the garden.
His eyes immediately found her pale, beautiful face, laughing. She is wearing a black dress with a white satin belt around the middle. His breath catches in his throat, and it doesn’t go unnoticed.
“You have found her,” Megan whispers, following his gaze.
“Mother! I’m going to reject her. It will never work between me and the vampire princess. Don’t interfere.” He grinds his teeth.
Without wasting another second, he walks right up to her, but when she turns to look at him, he is floored by her beauty.
***
Having to fake all this friendliness is making her cheek muscles ache! She pretends to laugh at the joke of a guest.
She can feel his eyes on her the moment he steps out of the castle. Not daring to look in his direction, she continues with her conversation, but the butterflies in her stomach are making her nauseous again!
Before she can gather her thoughts, he is standing right beside her.
“We need to talk.”
“I’m in the middle of a conversation, and you are being rude.” She turns her head to look into those big green eyes of his.
“I’m… sorry. I have to…” She forgets what she was going to say to the other guest and follows him when he hooks his arm into hers and leads her away from the lunch group.
- Writer
