Pin drop silence ensued in the huge arena as the Queen of Hell paused a moment for everyone to focus their attention on her before continuing.

“I object that we are overlooking the fact that my dear son, Evan here, is a half-breed. I mean no offence to the Human Kingdom, Czar Pavel but if a human is the Earth’s king, then it is only fair that a demon become the King of Hell. Don’t you think so? A lot of my subjects think so”, she was coy in delivering her statement to the audience of the three realms. Evan remained silent for was brooding on the real reason this wench was causing unnecessary trouble now.

Once again, the King’s voice boomed and echoed through the stadium as he objected the objection. “He may be a half – blood but it’s still MY blood running through his veins. Are you saying that my lineage does not make him royalty enough!?”. Even Evan could feel the collective feelings of fear and respect for the King from the audience.

“I am in no way disrespecting His Highness’ lineage. I am simply bringing forward the concerns my fellow kings had but could not come forward with it”, Araphel played with the words on her slithering forked tongue.

“That was my objection originally, Your Highness”, a thin man in royal clothing stood up from Kings’ assembly, “I apologize for not stepping up earlier. I was discussing it with my sister, the Queen, over dinner one night about this but I am not on equal footing with the Greatness himself and I would not object a decision made by Himself”. The man, the King of Greed kingdom, Lord Basil, was Araphel’s elder brother and he had the same cunning as his sister. Evan scoffed a little at the older man’s fake respect to the King but a part of him was getting very wary about what Araphel was plotting if she even roped in her brother to play alongside her. But what annoyed him the most was that these colossal beings were making him late for his work!

After a few minutes of back and forth between the King, Lord Basil and the Queen, the God finally decided to interject. “It is a valid point put forward but it is also custom that the first – born of the King will succeed him. Since the Queen put it forth, is there a solution you can offer to his dilemma, Empress?”

Evan could have sworn he saw a glint of achievement in her eyes before she composed herself and spoke, addressing the audience in general. “Yes, Eternal Ruler, I happen to worry about this a while back and did some research in the archives. There is a statement in the Commandments that ‘When one finds their other half, they become complete’. On basis of this Commandment, I suggest that Evan be let to find his soul mate before he ascends the throne so he is complete. That is all, thank you”. She sat and everyone seems to be excited for the judgement from the Link except Evan. What kind of nonsense was she sprouting now, that twisted woman! How does finding my mate have to do anything with the coronation? What was she getting at!? A lot of questions sought answers in his mind but Evan was still standing with his head lowered.

The God announced the judgement after what felt like an hour. “The Link has accepted the Queen’s suggestion. Since the conditions are in a way that either cannot be compromised for the other, we decide to postpone the Coronation of Evan Levi, the first – born of King Raymond, as the King of the Hell to the time after Evan Levi forms a bond with his rightful mate and proves the bond to the Link. Until then, King Raymond and Queen Araphel will continue as the monarchy of the Hell. Assembly adjourned”.

Silence made its way back into the arena as everyone was either disappointed or disheartened at the turn of events. People would have come prepared for celebrations but they leave empty – handed until the moderator came back to announce that the Grand Dinner for all of the visitors was still happening.

The crowd was still cheering when Evan made his way back to the dressing room. Evan was a two – hundred percent sure that Araphel plotted to shame him in front of literally everyone and she succeeded. Succeeded in not only putting him down publicly, but also sticking him in a very icky situation. He has never thought that deeply about the concept of mates so far. Now, every time he sees someone from the Hell, they are going to try to set his up to find my mate. He dressed up swiftly, buttoning his shirt and pulling up his trousers simultaneously, so that he would not be caught and forced to attend the torture of the Grand Dinner.

He was still thinking about mates, the reason for its creation and how bothersome and unfair the system was. What if it was a woman that was not his type? There were no people at the Transportals, the area which connects the Hell with the other two realms, which made his escape easier. He used the code on his finger to open a portal and he was quickly transported to his apartment on the Earth. He pulled a blazer out of the closet and rushed out the door, forgot to take his car keys, rush back in and rush outside after locking his door with the pin.

He had rolled out of his apartment complex and was on his way to the Florence Institute 15 minutes ahead of schedule. He had his eyes focused on the road ahead of him while his thoughts drifted back to the events earlier. He had never thought about fitting another person, that too a girlfriend or a wife, into his agenda. He never thought how it would complicate his path to what he wants to achieve.

Cutting through traffic and narrowly avoiding red signals, he made it into the campus and found a parking lot. As soon as he got down, he felt stares on him. Daily grind, he grinned. He took off his blazer, loosely hanging it on his shoulders, he took out his phone to check the seminar venue as he walked. When he looked back up, he saw red flags all around with symbols of some college event.

Red, like flames. A disturbing image of fire and a red – tainted mouth smirking at him flooded his brain. He immediately shook it off as it enticed and unsettled him at the same time. Keeping his head out of irking thoughts, mates and flames, he found the venue and took a deep breath before entering. This was his playground; this was what he was good at. It is not like his mate is going to jump out of nowhere after 27 years of his life now, it should not be the primary of his concerns now. Putting on a business face, he greeted the professor, can’t remember his name but why bother, and stood gazing at his audience absentmindedly, while the professor instructed the quiet gathering.

Thud.

The door closing softly, yet distractingly, made everyone including him look towards the source of the sound. The source was a girl of above average height, a fit yet voluptuous body sculpted in tight leggings and a loose thigh – length shirt, both peeking through the huge coat she was wearing. The white shirt nor the coat did nothing to hide her generous bosom and the shirt read ‘Up here’.

And look up, he did. Into the color of blue that reminded him of the clearest of lake waters, that made up her eyes. Her gaze shifted from the professor to Evan and he felt it in his veins, his cells and everything that makes him. The unfamiliar, yet familiar, zing that vibrated through his body. His hands that wanted to grab the woman and protect her, devour her and let her know that she was his. Mine. His mate, his bond. His other half.

So much for his mate jumping out of nowhere, she just walked in the door.