The Broken Mates

Prologue.

"NO!"

The harrowed cry echoed around the bedroom of the beautiful princess Rebecca Colton. She tossed and turned, the sweat pouring from her body. In her dreams, she was straddling the dead body of her younger brother Hamish. His body was limp, white, cold. Fear gripped her heart, as her mind relived the past. The nightmare then changed course, as she found herself staring into the eyes of the man who had killed her brother.

"Mate," Maggie her wolf cried, as Becca stood looking in horror.

"NOOOOO" she cried out again, in her nightmare.

"Reject me, please, reject him," The sweet sound of the rogue wolf begged her.

The nightmare continued, as she once more felt the pull of the mate bond, and fought against it. This evil man was her mate, there was no way she could accept him. Even his wolf wanted peace from the power-crazed man, begging her to reject him so that he could give up on his own life, and leave his human counterpart.

Her nightmare changed once more, as she watched herself, killing the mate she rejected. Her body relaxed with a mixture of relief and grief that she still to this day did not understand.

Becca awoke, the sweat dripping from her body, the covers kicked to the floor, as she struggled to regain control of her breath. It was a nightmare but based on the reality of her life. A reliving of her past. She reached out and grabbed hold of the glass of water beside her bed, her hands still shaking. As she lifted the glass to her lips, the taste of the cold water did little to settle her nerves. She would not rest again that night, of that she was certain. The urge to head into Hamish's bedroom and double-check that her young brother had been saved from the jaws of death was overwhelming. Even though she knew it was true, she still could not fully believe it, until she saw him with her own eyes.

Scrambling out of bed, Becca headed down the corridor, and softly opened Hamish's door, seeing his sleeping body laying on his bed, a laptop open beside him, where he had fallen asleep. Her relief was palpable as she gazed at her younger brother, he was alive, she had saved him.

"Hey sis, another nightmare?" Hamish asked.

It was not the first time his sister had arrived in the middle of the night to check he was alive. He understood she was haunted by the past, that they all wish had not happened.

"Yeah, sorry I woke you," Becca sighed, hating that she had disturbed his sleep.

"No problem. Come here," Hamish smiled at her and gathered his sister into a brotherly hug.

"You tell King Asher I hugged you, I will deny it," Hamish told her.

Becca laughed. Yes, their elder brother and the king would tease them for days, if he knew that Hamish had hugged Becca.

"Go back to sleep Hamish," Becca smiled at her brother, then softly stepped out of his room, returning to her own.

Sleep would be impossible for her now, so she opened up her own laptop and began to write down her thoughts and feelings. Something that she had been asked to do by her therapist, Cheryl.

Becca wrote about her life, and how she should be grateful for all that she had. The dark thoughts that plagued her mind, and how she felt as though she was teetering on the edge of the abyss of depression once more, the darkness pulling her in.

Sighing, she looked up at the heavens, and not for the first time in her life, prayed that she would get through the day, and for her eternal torment to end.

"Please, please, let me have some peace," she cried out to the deity she firmly believed was laughing at her misfortune.

She continued to write, as the darkness of night turned into the dawn of a new day.

A banging on the door, had Becca quickly saving her attempt at a diary, and closing the lid of her laptop.

“BECCA, GIRLS TRIP!” Alisha, her elder brother's mate, and queen, shouted, grinning like a Cheshire cat, as she popped her head around the door.

“What?” Becca asked, confused.

“Yeah, Asher is standing me up for our trip to Denmark, for the King of England. How very dare he,” Alisha attempted a look of insult, but it was clear she really wasn’t insulted at all.

“So, how do you feel about a girl’s trip away, just the two of us? It will be fun,” Alisha grinned, looking at Becca, hopefully.

Becca blinked her eyes, shocked, her mind in a whirl. Alisha was a new mother to her daughter Hope who was just a few months old. She knew that her friend would hate to leave her child behind. But she seemed happy enough, and Becca also knew Hope would be in safe hands being looked after and no doubt spoiled rotten by her mother and father.

Maybe this girl’s trip was exactly what she needed. To give herself something to look forward to and enjoy. Hopefully, it could help pull herself back from the edge of full-blown depression again and the bouts of rage she often experienced. Maybe this trip was the answer to her prayers for some peace in her fraught mind.

“You know, I think that you are right, that would be fun,” she nodded her head in enthusiastic approval.

They discussed the trip, and how they would be there at the invitation of the Crown Prince of Denmark’s werewolves, Fredrick. In a small town, not far from Copenhagen, called Helsingor. Although Becca knew Prince Fredrick's parents, King Sven and Queen Margi, she had never met the man himself. From all accounts, he was a recluse, and a little sickly, but nobody knew why in her family. Well, her mother and brother probably did, with their unparalleled prophetic gifts. However, if they did know, they never said.

“Hopefully we can fit in some sightseeing and girl’s nights between all your research and finding out about your Danish heritage,” Becca grinned. The thought of spending all their time with a reclusive prince did not really appeal to her; she was depressed enough.

“Definitely, I cannot wait!” Alisha grinned, her hazel eyes shining with happiness.

Becca smiled as the queen flounced out of the door, and she let out a long sigh. Yes, maybe this girl’s trip would help bring her out of herself once more.

She looked at the clock on the bedside table, and let out a long sigh. It was training time already, and she willed herself to get ready, and pretend to be somewhat normal, despite the urge to remain in bed, and refuse to face the world.

"Denmark will be good for us," Maggie her wolf's voice echoed in her ears.

Becca nodded her head in approval, maybe getting away completely would help because nothing else had. As she thought about the trip, her mind wandered to Crown Prince Fredrick of Denmark, and she felt a sudden burst of butterflies in her stomach. Shaking her head in confusion, Becca decided to stop thinking, and just go train, and get through another day.