Chapter Five

[P.O.V. Riley Woods]

I am happy to hear that my brother found his mate. Now I don't have to hear him complain about not having one. After speaking with my brother and father, I left the ballroom rather quickly. It's not because of what we were talking about. It was because I smelt that intoxicating smell again that why I left in such a hurry. I had to know where or who that smell was coming from. The smell leads me into the castle gardens. Looking around, all I could see were flowers, grass, trees, and garden lights. With every step I took, the smell got stronger, and as I got closer. The smell was coming from the same place I first smelt it.

The only difference a woman was standing in the garden. She had long dark brown hair put in a bun, and she wore this gorgeous golden dress. Stepping a little closer, she turned, and that when I saw her face. My heartfelt like it had dropped in a good way. She had gorgeous dark brown eyes and light-colored skin. Her body was perfectly shaped, and she had perfectly plump breasts. She wore a choker with a purple gem on it that glowed brightly. On top of her head, she wore a tiara indicating that she was royalty. Like I had no control of my mouth, I say the words.

"Mate.." I say in a possessive voice. She didn't say anything; she stood there with a look like she was in some daze. It only lasted for a few minutes, and then the dazed look was gone.

"I..um...I.." That is all she could stutter out to me. In a way, I found it kind of cute.

"Look, you don't have to say anything, alright." Telling her, I could tell she was a little shocked. She wasn't the only one I am to a little. I never imagined that I would get the chance to meet my mate. To be honest with me, I don't really even want one.

"It's not that I don't want to say anything; I don't know what to say. I'm a little speechless. For years I thought I wasn't deserving of having anyone like you in my life but now.." She keeps on rambling. Wow, this woman talks a lot its adorable how she rambles on from being so nervous. It made my beasts, and I chuckle on the inside. Then all of a sudden, her face starts to turn red from what I'm guessing embarrassment. "I'm sorry I'm talking too much again. I have a habit of rambling when I'm nervous..."

"You don't have to apologize, and I understand what you mean about what you were saying. I never thought I would get a mate. " Telling her also trying to ease her nervousness. She gives me a slight smile a tucks a piece of her hair that has fallen out of her bun behind her ear.

"I'm Princess Venessa. I am the Daughter of King Victor Creely, the Kingdom of the Dawn Goddess Eos." She introduces herself. So she is one of the great-granddaughters of the first warlock king Blaise Creely and first witch queen Sybil Easton.

"Nice to meet you. I am ..."

"I know you who are you are one of the Higher King and Queen twins," She says as she cuts me off in the middle of my sentence.

"Yes, but which one?" Let's see if she knows the difference between my brother and me. If she thinks she knows who I am so well.

"To be honest, my high prince, I don't know. You and your brother look a lot like each other. "

"Yes, we do, but we both have completely different personalities."

"That is true. I have heard the rumors about how each Prince acts."

"Well, then I guess you should use that knowledge and try to guess which one I am." Most of the Kingdom has had a hard time telling Jared and me apart. Except for those who know our personalities and who we are as individuals, it is quite easy to tell who we are.

"Very well, let me think..."

"Oh, and no, cheating magic is not allowed to be used while you guess just using observation." Giving her a mischievous smile. Maybe having a mate won't be that bad at all.

"Fine..." She starts to circle me, and while she did, she had this sexy thinking looking. My wolf Kaleb and My dragon Allister was enjoying this little game. They found it very fun and very exciting. "Let's see the rumors say that both Higher Princes are very handsome, which is true. They also say that you both can very intimidating, which I can see why. "

"What else do they say?" Watching her from the corner of my eyes.

"They say that Prince Jared has a more serious personality while Prince Riley has a personality of humor... So if I really think about it... you must be Prince Riley," She says as she stops right in front of me.

"Very good what gave it away?" Curious about how she got her answer.

"This little guessing game... I heard that Prince Jared doesn't really like games, but Prince Riley did."

"My brother likes games as long its cards or board games. That is far as he goes when it comes to games. Even then, he doesn't like to play much."

"And you like to play all kinds of games, including a game that leaves all kinds of women heartbroken. That another rumor I heard that you like to play a game that most males like to play. A game where you woe women, and then you get very intimate, and then you never speak to them again, or you tugged their heart like they mean nothing. And because of this, my High Prince, that is exactly why I think we should go our own ways. I don't want to be just another woman whose heart you drag around. Both our goddesses made a mistake by pairing us together. That is why I hope you can forgive me for this. I reject you as my true love and to be your mate."

Hearing those words broken my heart, and I felt an instant pang of hurt throughout my body. It felt like a part of me was ripped and torn from me. I was also feeling dumbfound I wasn't even expecting that. I thought we were hitting it off, and just like that, she pulled the rug from out underneath me. I have to admit my pride and ego were very hurt. Never has a woman ever rejected me like that before. Sure I have been rejected much time before, but not like this woman just did it. My wolf was whimpering, and my dragon was devastated. But I wasn't going to let this trickster of a witch see that. Instead, I swallowed the pain down the best I could and showed her that I'm not that easily broken down even though I was feeling it. She stood there like she was waiting for me to say it back.

"If you are waiting for me to say it back, then your holding your breath for no reason. I will not give you the satisfaction that you seek." I tell her intimidatingly. I move a little closer to her, and she moves back a little. That didn't make my beast or me very happy. Grabbing her hand, I pull her to me with our bodies pressed up close to each other. I could feel her melt into my body, and it made me crave her. Leaning my head down close to her ear, I loudly whispered into her ear. "As long I don't say the words, your rejection was for nothing, and our bond stays in place. Which means you are still my mate, and I am your true love. And know I won't say the words no matter how much you don't want me or no matter how much I don't want you."

"Why?..." She asks. I could hear in the sound of her voice how intimidated she was by me.

"Because you are mine, and I am yours. Even though I don't believe in this true love bullshit, there is a reason why we are bonded together. Before you throw me away like some scraps that you feed to some dogs, I want to know why we were bonded. Until the day you actually agree to explore our bond, and when that day actually comes, then and only then will I be loyal to you. Until then, I want you to know I won't stop my regular activities. This is my promise to you." Pulling my head back, I could see how speechless and stunned she was. "I have a great evening, my little mate."

Placing a small kiss on her forehead, I walked away from her into the forest connected to the gardens. I had to blow some steam before my emotions blew up in front of all those guests. Stripping my suit off, I transformed into my wolf Kaleb and ran deep into the forest. Until I got to a river where I decided to rest at. Looking into the water, a huge black wolf reflected with white socks and a white moon crescent design that went around his left eye. And the eyes were a bright dark purple color; this is my wolf Kaleb form. Jared's wolf looked similar to mine, except his white fur was light gray. And his crescent moon shape was on his right side, and when we stood next to each other it. The crescent moon shape made a full moon shape.