The Royal Pain

CHAPTER TWO:

"She's coming around." A voice whispered in the fog. I groaned, feeling groggy. Slowly, my eyes opened and I hissed at the bright lights.

"Bethany?" I mumbled. The last thing I could remember was falling to the floor in the forest as Bethany stood over me, worry and fear in her eyes.

"Right here," Bethany replied as her cold hand reached out to touch mine, I jumped at the touch but embraced it all the same, I was glad she was safe and that evidently I was as well. I knew she wouldn’t leave me to die.

I heaved myself up and observed where I was. Of course, the memories came flooding back and I reached a hand out to my face, feeling for the scars. Jex shook his head.

"We got to you just in time, you're fine. No scars." He smiled sweetly at me, that smile was reserved for me only, Jex observed me as his little sister and I couldn’t have asked for a more caring brother.

I breathed out a sigh of relief, not that I’d care about a scar but seducing people was always useful in my line of work and it would have been a lot harder with a marred face, plus one scar was more than enough for me.

As I looked around, I figured that I must have been in the Royal Kingdom’s infirmary. The room was small, Bethany and Jex sat on the right hand side of me, and to the left of me a large window dominated the wall. The window looked refreshing and I could see the drops of condensation rolling down the cool glass surface. Outside, the weather must have been nice because I could see the bright blue sky, and the light from the sun outside made the room glow.

Everything in the room was so white, it made me want to rip my eye balls out – I hated empty, bare space so this room was like my worst nightmare. As I scanned the room again, getting my bearings, my eyes snapped back to Jex and Bethany. They were sitting. Together. Holding hands. I furrowed my eyebrows at them. Was that unusual?

Jex had brown hair, and green eyes – eyes that were staring at Bethany with…was that love?. His face was squar, with stubble sprouting from his chin. He was my best friend and I was closer to him than I was to his twin; Nathan. Due to a family ordeal, Nathan barely spoke to anyone, and usually, he followed Jex and I around silently. I tended to ignore Nathan, figuring that he wanted to be left alone.

Even though I was their guard, I was also their friend.

Bethany had tied her hair up and was looking much healthier. She wore blue denim jeans and a white blouse. He rounded face was tinted pink and a knowing smile made its way onto my face.

"You're mates!" I shouted, clapping my hands together. A rush of warmth overcame me as I realised that two of the most amazing people I'd ever met had been matched together. A tiny sliver of jealousy ran through my thoughts, though, as I figured that now Bethany couldn't join my ranks; after all, she was the princess. But, I knew that at least she would be safe and happy and she would finally be treated the way she deserved.

Jex was wearing his Royal robes. Well, that was what he liked to call them. Really, they were his pyjamas – his Donald Duck pyjamas. The bright green ones. I guffawed as I took in his attire, he was always so childish, which, he claimed, was because he was not the next in line to take the throne, so he could afford to mess around.

It was Nathan's job to take the throne – he was exactly thirty seconds older than Jex – which made sense, he was the silent brooding one, the more serious of the two. I knew that he would make a great King.

"Wait," I said. I observed how close the two were sitting, how the last time a male had neared Bethany, she had shrunk back, shaking in fear. "How long have I been out?"

"Two weeks," Jex admitted glumly. Well, the mate bond must have been strong between the two.

I gaped. "Two weeks? I have to get back to training! I'm your guard!" I screeched, jumping out of the bed. It was only as I realised that I was wearing one of those flimsy hospital gowns, that I squeaked and jumped back into the bed, shrouding my body from sight.

Two weeks? That meant...I had missed Jex's birthday! And, Nathan's of course, since they were twins. I'd have to wait until Nathan was here before I could wish them a happy birthday. I wondered why such a small wound had left me asleep for so long?

I also vaguely wondered who Nathan's mate was. After all, the Royals always found their mates no less than a week after their birthday because they had to stay strong and carry on their bloodline.

Just then, the door opened and an exhausted looking Nathan traipsed into the room, holding three coffee cups. Upon seeing me awake, he dropped all the coffee cups and let the door slam shut behind him.

"Happy belated birthday!" I said, grinning as I looked at Jex and then Nathan. They were both eighteen. Nathan was about to take on the crown and rule all of the Royal Realm with his mate, whilst Jex and Bethany would stand by his side.

"You're awake," Nathan breathed, his shoulders relaxing.

He wore black jeans and a knitted blue sweater. His face was growing stubble, and the bags under his green eyes were tremendous. His cheeks were hollow and his cheekbones stood out. He had a square jaw that was chiselled by the Gods. The mop of black hair on his head was overgrown and sticking up in all different directions.

"God," I laughed. "You look hideous! Is your mate making you go crazy?" I enquired, rolling back onto the bed with laughter. "I can't wait to meet her! I get to protect you all! It's going to be amazing! Watching you all have fun, knowing that I'm the one that will protect it!" I rambled on, truly happy that I would be protecting something as crucial as the Realm's future Kings and Queens. It was what I had always wanted.

The room was silent and I turned to look at every one slowly. "What is up with you people?" I expected everyone to be a lot more happier than they were right now.

Jex spoke first. "Nathan's your mate." I couldn't help it; I burst out laughing even more. "Good one!" I chuckled.

Looking at Nathan, I could see his eyebrows were furrowed and his jaw was clenched. "It's true," Bethany whispered, cringing into Jex. "He killed Alpha Terry after he saw what happened to your face. He hasn't left this room once. Only just, to get everyone coffee because he was annoying Jex with his moping around."

It all sounded like what a mate would do, but I couldn't find anything within me that suggested that the person who stood at the end of my hospital bed was my mate. Subconsciously, my hand flew to my scar. The one right over my chest. The wound that I shouldn't have survived.

"Oh," I whispered, realising why I didn't feel a connection. Oh.

When the silver knife had slashed open my chest, right above my beating heart, and allowed the entry of the silver liquid to enter the chambers of my heart, I had been damaged. Whatever had happened; whatever he had done to me, was not allowing me to feel any sort of feeling towards Nathan.

I frowned as I realised what this meant. We would never be able to mate properly because my heart wouldn't be in it and I couldn’t force something when what I really wanted was to fight and protect people.

This would only make Nathan weaker, and shame his family. There was, however, something that Nathan could do. If the King-to-be were to pick another she wolf, and they began to love each other properly; they would be given a chance.

It was called a second chance mate. A gift only the Royal family were granted.

"Can we have some privacy?" Nathan asked, his eyes never strayed from my face.

Jex and Bethany glanced between us and then left the room.

I began talking.

"This can't happen," I said. "My duty is to the King and country. I am a Royal Guard. I took an oath, I am here to serve and protect. Nothing can change that." My voice was firm, and I would not be swayed. It wasn't a complete lie; it just wasn't the whole truth.

Even if nothing had been done to my mate bond, I wouldn't allow myself to become Nathan's mate. I had thrown myself into training in order to protect the Royal Family and the people they ruled over; I loved my job. The thrill, the danger. Nothing could come between my bond with the job. I wasn’t quite sure why I had never told anyone what had happened to me, it was a mix of shame and the fact that the mate bond was one of the most treasured things in the werewolf world and I didn’t want to be shunned because I couldn’t participate in it.

Even though denying Nathan would probably get me exiled from the world I loved so much, I wasn’t about to lead him on, I couldn’t do that to him, or to anyone.

Nathan clenched his jaw once again and gripped the end of the bed so hard that his knuckles turned white. "So that's it? You're not even going to try?"

I shook my head and swallowed the lump in my throat. Nathan was a good guy, from what I knew, and he deserved better.

"Did you ever wonder why I always followed you and Jex around?" Nathan asked in a hard voice. I wondered why he was asking me that at a time like this. His eyes were turning darker, a sign that he was angry. "Did you ever wonder why I always stared at you? Why I always ignored the thousands of females whom threw themselves so willingly at me? Huh? Did you?"

I shook my head, not liking the premonition that was crawling its way through my body.

"Because, Aisling, I've been in love with you from the first day you walked into my life."