Chapter 2

#Chapter 2 She Is Our Mate!

Xavier’s POV

I accepted the witch girl’s proposal and walked out of the parlor without looking back at her. How could I?

Under normal circumstances, I would’ve laughed in her face and allowed for my guards to drag her out of my presence. She had the absolute nerve of barging into my home and practically demanding for my hand in marriage.

I can’t deny it though… Her nerve and persistence is admirable.

But I knew there was a reason why I couldn’t deny the witch. A reason that I prayed to the Goddess was nothing more than a damn joke.

My heart raced inside of my chest andI knew that these beats weren’t my own. Throughout the entire ordeal, something itched in the back of my mind. I knew what it was.

“Lyon!” I commanded through thought. “What was that all about? What happened?”

A howl echoed through my mind. “She’s our mate!” Lyon exclaimed.

Mate?! The daughter of the Wisdom family was supposed to be my Luna? I couldn’t believe that the Moon Goddess was capable of such jokes and trickery.

There was no mistaking that immediate feeling of being drawn to her. I couldn’t handle it. Nor did I want to deal with it. So, I decided to leave and take a voluntary tour of my other territories.

There were patrol gates I needed to ensure were reinforced, and camps I needed to see so I could make sure that my future soldiers were doing nothing short of their best. I had a lot of work to preoccupy my time.

I needed to get away from the witch girl and I took every opportunity at my feet to make sure I didn’t have to see herMost importantly, however, I wanted to see what would happen if I just left her alone in the castle to her own devices.

I was hoping for her to do something unforgivable so I would have a good reason to call off the engagement and be rid of myself of this false Luna.

I didn’t leave for long, though—only a week. I arrived back on horseback and saw that Adrian, my Beta, stood outside my castle’s gates. He fisted his hand over his heart and bowed. “My Lord. How did your tour go?”

“Well, nothing out of the ordinary or interesting,” I answered flatly.

“Yes, of course, my Lord. It’s just good to have you back at the castle.”

I motioned for Adrian to follow me into the castle. I should’ve been used to the winters that plagued these lands like clockwork, yet I could never stand to be outside for longer than I needed to.

We walked in comfortable silence towards the council chambers. I knew that he was eager to tell me about his report on my “fiancée.”

Adrian cleared his throat. “My Lord, I’m happy to report that Miss Eloise hasn’t done anything unusual in your absence. She hasn’t left her room since you’ve been gone, actually.”

I raised my eyebrow at him. “Oh? Hm. That’s good. I’m glad that she hasn’t caused any trouble”

Well, what a boring report. I half-expected my castle to be up in flames, or for one of my maids to have gone missing. I truly wasn’t expecting her to stay in her room for the entire room and not bother a single soul.

“I also have more information about Miss Eloise, my Lord.” Adrian continued. “Multiple sources I’ve interviewed have told me that she’s the youngest of the Wisdom daughters. She still lacks the ability to harness her magical powers; and this has been a problem since her childhood.”

“Interesting. She lured me in with promises of power but cannot even find it within herself.” I sneered.

“Well, at least she’s beautiful.” Adrian smiled nervously. “She holds the title as ‘The Most Beautiful Witch in Lowell Land.’”

Like I care. I thought to myself and rolled my eyes.

Looks alone wouldn’t be enough to help me reclaim my throne. She could bat her eyelashes a thousand times and twirl her soft silver hair around her finger, but it wouldn’t be enough to make Douglas stand down as werewolf king.

Though I wished it was.

“My Lord…” Adrian hesitated. “The Wisdom family could be using Miss Eloise as a sort of “honey trap” in order to gain your support. Are you really going to marry her?”

I let out a condescending laugh. “You bring up quite the point, Adrian. Based on everything you have told me, she is nothing more than a lowly witch. In truth, there is no need for me to go through with this marriage, is there?”

Despite her weaknesses, Eloise still intrigued me. There was no denying that she was my mate. As much as I didn’t want to feel it, the bond between us was strong—after all, it was weaved by the Goddess herself.

Even though I wanted nothing to do with her, I simultaneously wanted everything to do with her. Yet the last time I looked into her eyes, she had no reaction to me.

No sparkle of amusement. No glint of realization. Could she truly not feel the mate bond?

“The Wisdom family had been cozying up to Douglas’s power for too long.” I tore myself from my thoughts. “I don’t believe that they will yield to me so easily. However, no matter how dedicated the Wisdom family was to Douglas, it’s much better to control them now than to allow them to continue working for him.”

“Yes, my Lord. What a wise choice indeed.” Adrian nodded his head approvingly.

I dipped my head as my mind wandered. Even if Eloise was seemingly useless, the rest of her family wasn’t. With them on my side, it would only be a matter of time until the title of king would be mine again.

I turned to Adrian. “Deliver my orders now. A wedding will take place tomorrow.”

Adrian’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “My Lord…” He hesitated. “There may not be enough time to prepare for the wedding. What of the decorations? Rehearsing for the ceremony?”

I waved my hand dismissively. “No need for it to be complicated or extravagant. After all, she is still the daughter of the Wisdoms.” Even the family name on my tongue left a sour taste.

“Yes, my Lord. I'm on it.” Adrian nodded and hurried down the hall.

————

Eloise’s POV

I hadn’t seen Xavier since he agreed to marry me. I think it’s been about a week. One of his servants told me that he was supposedly out investigating some disturbances in other parts of his territories, but I never did find out when he was supposed to be back.

Not wanting to arouse any type of suspicion and have him possibly call off the engagement, I decided to spend every waking moment inside of my room.

What an actual bore it was, too.

Luckily, there were a ton of books to keep me busy. Some papers to draw on, too. The servants were also kind enough to bring me my food.

It also helped out a ton that my maid, Nora, was allowed to stay with me. She was always amazing to me and nice to be around.

She filled our days with her telling me stories about my childhood. Things I didn’t remember and some I did. At least she was telling me about the nice and fun stuff from my past.

A knock at the door pulled me from my thoughts but Nora stepped forward to answer it for me. I looked down at the small clock on the desk to see that it was pretty much time for dinner to be served.

My stomach growled at the thought of food. The Leonard servants made such amazing food that it would put the chefs back at Witches Land to shame.

I looked over my shoulder to see what was taking so long—and why I didn’t smell any food. A man was standing outside of the door and it was apparent that he wasn’t one of the usual servants.

He was talking to Nora, though I couldn’t make out the words he was saying.

But whatever they were talking about, it had to have been good news. Nora couldn’t stop squeaking and grinning so hard.

“Everything okay, Nora? What’s up?”

“Oh, Miss Eloise! Everything is splendid! The wedding date has officially been set!” Nora clapped her hands together.

I thought my eyes were going to pop out of my head. “What? When?”

“Tomorrow!”

Was the room spinning all of a sudden? “Has Lord Xavier even returned yet?”

“Yes! I was informed just then that he returned earlier this afternoon.”

Thoughts whirled through my mind as I saw down on the edge of my bed. Well, it seems like Lord Xavier doesn’t want to waste any time on having me fulfill the promises I made to him…

I honestly couldn’t tell if I was feeling nervous or excited. My plans were moving a lot more quickly than I thought they would.

Nora’s lips tilted into a slight frown as she looked over at me. “Don’t worry, Miss Eloise! Even if there’s only one night of preparations, I’ll still take good care of you!”

“You always have.”

“Just wait until Lord Xavier sees you tomorrow! He’ll be absolutely stunned by your beauty! I’ll dress you up as the most beautiful lady to ever grace this castle!”

I could only smile at Nora as I watched her gather the makeup supplies.

Getting married so soon is what needs to happen. I only have one year left until“that day” arrives…