Mate?

The more she ventures into the forest the stronger the pull becomes until she reaches the end of her territory that leading to claimless land aka neutral ground. She hesitates by the border as she listens to her surroundings.

'Any thoughts?' She asks Nixie.

'I don't know what to say, It's strange that the pull is so strong.' She says in response. Taking a deep breath she relies on her senses as she scans her surroundings then crosses the borders. She continues to follow the pull until she hears various snarls shattering the silence of the night. An overwhelming sense to protect the one being attacked urges her to shift mid-run until she enters a clearing but she stumbles slightly as the dark aura disorients her senses but she recovers quickly and charges at the first dark entity she senses in her path.

She quickly destroys the entity but the magnetic pull takes her to the right as she rushes to aid the one who is their main target. She ends another entity and the target deals with the other two. Once she senses that no one else is around besides them she lets out a breath willing herself to relax.

After the adrenaline wears off she's finally able to pay attention to the smokey cedarwood scent that comes from the target that makes Nixie want to purr though she's not a cat.

A nose nudges her making her snarl and moves away from the target making Nixie whine as she feels a pang of pain in her heart.

'You can't be serious.' Mei says.

'Oh yes…we found our mate.' Nixie says overjoyed.

'Yay?' Mei responds and Nixie rolls her eyes in response. The nose nudges her again but this time she doesn't move away from him instead she stays still allowing him to sniff her. Sensing him close enough to her, she in turn sniffs him as well his scent aiding in her relaxing then she senses his aura though he's hiding it.

'He's the KING?!' Nixie yells, causing Mei to freeze just as she senses another presence enter the clearing.

"Nate!" The person says getting his attention which causes Nathaniel to move away from her and approach him shifting mid-stride. Slowly Mei backs away until back in the safety of the trees then takes off into the night taking a long way back home as a precaution.

Meanwhile, when Nate has finished his discussion with Derek he looks back for his mate to see she's gone. He frantically looks around to see if he can spot her but fails. Her scent still lingers in the air so he shifts and follows until he stumbles to a stop as he ends up in front of a river. He lets out a sorrowful howl which Mei hears as she reenters her room at Kelly's house.

Her heart is still pounding as she takes a shower to wash off the dirt and grime then changes into a spare jersey then flops onto her bed. She rubs her hands over her face as she recalls everything that happened that night and subconsciously her lips stretch into a smile.

Nate and Derek return to the castle in a sour mood after they attempt to find his mate and fail miserably. As he bypasses the guards at the gate they salute him but he doesn't acknowledge them, mind preoccupied.

He ignores everyone including the desperate she-wolf who wants to be his mate and heads towards his room. Once he enters he starts pacing the room for both he and his wolf are restless after not being able to find their mate though she's shown she can take care of herself.

'Where could she have gone?' He mutters to himself just as his bedroom door is pushed open causing him to stop his pacing and snarl at the uninvited guest.

"It's just me." Anna says holding a tray of food.

"Get out." He snarls at her a murderous glint appearing in his eyes as they turn red as he stares at her. She drops the tray in fear and scrambles out of the room slamming the door and he smiles in satisfaction.

A few more hours have passed when Derek knocks on his door then enters cautiously avoiding the broken glass on the floor.

"Have you managed to tame the beast?" He asks Nate who sticks to the shadows not allowing his eyes to be seen.

"Somewhat." Nate responds to him.

"Don't be such a grump. Your coronation is tomorrow she's a wolf and I'm sure she'll show up. Just control it until then." Derek says and Nate lets out a sigh.

"You're right." Nate says the baritone of his voice is not as vicious and cold as it was when he spoke to Anna.

"Good. Take a shower and I'll get you something to eat." Derek says.

"OK." Nate says and heads to the bathroom while Derek leaves to get him a meal and also get someone to clean the mess.

Nate stands under the spray of the warm shower his thoughts are occupied thinking about his mate. He can still smell her scent faintly on him and he breaks out in a smile.

After changing into his grey sweatpants then re-enters his room to see a tray of food there but no Derek.

'Guess he understood that we wanted to be left alone.' Nata says to Eli, his wolf.

'Hmmm.' Eli says in response and Nate rolls his eyes.

He has his meal and after completing his night routine he goes to bed. He wakes up the next morning in a better mood than the previous day. He gets ready for the day and then heads down to the dining room where Anna along with their parents awaits him.

"Morning dear." His mother Karen says to him with a smile which he returns.

"Morning mom." He says as he takes a seat at the head of the table as he nods his head at his father in greeting.

"Morning Nate." His father, Ezra says to him and he rolls his eyes playfully,

"Mornin' pop." Nate says in response.

"Anna. Sam and Macy." He says acknowledging their presence but he scrunches his nose slightly as he gets a whiff of Anna's scent.

"Are you ready for tonight?" Sam asks him as he takes a sip of coffee.

"Yes I am." He says barely containing his smile behind the rim of his cup.

"What's got you so happy?" Karen asks him with a knowing look.

"I met my mate last night." He says as a slight smile appears on his face as he puts down his cup.

"Where is she?" His father asks excitedly to meet his daughter-in-law.

"She helped me fight off the dark entities last night but disappeared when I was talking to Derek." He says with a sigh.

"She's a wolf, right?" Karen asks.

"Yes she is." I responded.

"Then she'll show up tonight. Just be patient." Pop says, laughing lightly at me.

"Yes I know patience is not my strong suit pop." I say laughing as I take a bit of pancake.

"No lies are told." Karen says with a laugh.

"How are you feeling, Nate?" Anna asks making my gaze snap to hers making her flinch at the intensity of my glare.

"Fine and don't call me Nate." I say to her then return to eating my pancakes.

"She's just worried about you, Nate." Sam says defending his daughter.

"DON'T CALL ME NATE." He says again only this time his eyes are red as Eli makes his presence known making Sam, Anna, and Macy recoil in their seat as they bear their throats at him.

"Our apologies." Macy says as Nate's eyes slowly return to their natural sky blue eyes. He finishes his breakfast and leaves the dining room in a sour mood. Walking the hallways lost in thought as he enters the ballroom where the castle staff is putting together the final touches. He absentmindedly walks around watching everything come together until a land lands on his shoulder shaking him out of his thoughts.

"Sorry I missed breakfast." Derek says with a laugh when he sees Nate's slightly annoyed expression.

"I have good news." Derek says as they exit the ballroom.

"Which is?" Nate asks.

"The rouges have agreed to attend tonight." He says and I freeze in my tracks momentarily.

"They have?" I ask Derek and he nods his head as he hands me an envelope which I immediately open but hesitate when I get a faint whiff of my mate's scent on the envelope.

"You ok, Nate?" Derek asks snapping me out of my daze.

"Yes." I say as I open the envelope that holds a card with delicate, intricate handwriting

"Thank you for the invitation, your majesty. We would be honored to attend." I read aloud then look up at Derek.

"I thought it would be harder to convince them to attend." I say and he nods in agreement.

'Interesting.' Eli says and I nod my head in agreement.

"Interesting indeed." I say out loud and Derek doesn't comment.