Arthur ran down the hall, checking in all the rooms on both sides, but I went straight to my sister's.
There was a shattered picture frame on the floor and she was bawling on her bed loudly with her face buried in her pillow.
"Elle? You okay? Was anyone in here?" I asked.
She turned up her tear stained face towards me. "No, I—"
Her eyes got absurdly wide. Arthur came up behind me and touched my lower back supportively, and it was all I could do not to lean back into it.
"Omigosh, it's true," my sister said as she looked over at him like he was an alien, shocked out of her crying for just a moment. "When I saw the rumour on the Daily Howl, I thought they must be insane. Because if my sister was mated to the crown prince, she would have told me. I know I've been sensitive since..." She trailed off and started crying again.
"Hey, I've known myself for less than an hour. It's insane that this is already in the media."
My mother joined us in Ellen's room. "You still sure about that freedom of the press thing, honey?"
I rolled my eyes at my mother. "Yes, I'm still sure squashing the freedom of the press is a terrible abuse of power."
Arthur whispered, "Well said," in my ear.
I got a ridiculous jolt of pure joy at his words, and also something about his breath in my ear made me ready to melt into a little puddle of happiness.
My sister was still sniffling as she began picking up the shards of glass. "I was so surprised, I knocked this off my desk."
"I only just met him walking past the gas station and was telling dad about it on the phone when you screamed. I would have told you next."
"Good thing my bike was nearly on empty, or I would have driven right by your town," he commented.
My sister smiled with happiness for me and then promptly sniffled again and started crying.
We left the room as our mom sat on the bed to comfort Ellen.
Arthur removed his hand from my back as we walked. "She's very upset." It was a statement, but his eyes asked the question.
"Her mate rejected her. He was already with some chick, and when he found her he didn't even give Ellen a chance."
Arthur looked irritated, but the expression did not make him any less handsome. "I suppose it would be an abuse of power to throw that wolf in prison?"
I laughed. "Yes, unfortunately."
He glanced at me. "Well, if you wanted, we could invite your sister to come live at the castle."
"Really? You can do that?"
"Of course. A change of scenery would probably do her good."
I nodded. "Maybe it will distract her from sitting around and crying while she alternately plots revenge and desperately hopes he'll reconsider.”
"Then I'll let you ask her, and if she agrees I'll get the ball rolling. Perhaps in a week?" he asked.
I looked at him suspiciously as we walked down the stairs. "You really are too good to be true."
He grinned. "As are you."
{And he hasn't even properly met me yet.}
I ignored my wolf's commentary and rolled my eyes. "I think you're looking at me through mate-coloured glasses, Arthur. You're the most attractive person I've ever seen. Your pictures don't really do you justice. I mean, I knew you were hot, but you're uberhot in person."
Realizing what I had just said, I blushed furiously as I blustered on. "There has to be something wrong with you. Maybe you're half troll, or have a harem in the basement of your castle, or maybe you turn into some sort of dark winged creature after the sun goes down."
He just grinned as he listened to my outburst.
"No, scratch that last one. That would probably be really hot, too."
I was such an idiot. I resisted the urge to hide my burning face in my hands. Why did the fact he made me super uncomfortable, but simultaneously impossibly comfortable with him combine to make me say all the things whipping through my head without a filter?
"Well, I'm not half troll, I don't have a harem, and I'm sorry to report the dark creature guess is also wrong. Flying would be pretty cool though, right?"
"Yeah, super cool," I admitted as we walked into the living room and sat on the couch. We—me and my mate, the freaking crown prince—sat on my couch, like it was just a normal thing to do when the situation was anything but.
"And you're too good to be true. You're cute. No, make that beautiful. No, make that both."
Seriously, if I woke up in my bed right now after another crazy mate dream, I would not even be surprised. There was no way that he was real.
He added, "And you're completely reasonable and practical."
That was true, but that part didn’t sound very romantic. I raised my eyebrows expectantly.
He grinned at my expression. "It's not an insult, Anne. It's the highest praise. You're not the only one who was worried about what their mate would be like. I was afraid I would end up being forced to love some spoiled, irrational, dramatic princess who would cause me countless headaches. I love your tentative acceptance of who I am. It's adorable and it makes me want to—"
The front door crashed open. My dad stood there, panting and holding a baseball bat aloft.
He scanned the room, and his eyes landed on me. "What happened?" he asked.
"Oh, it was just Ellen, Dad."
I belatedly realized I had simply dropped my phone when I had chased Arthur up the stairs. It was still sitting on the couch, the timer for the call persistently counting.
"Oh, sorry Dad! I didn't think." I could only guess what he had been imagining.
He was really out of breath. I smiled a bit to help him understand that there was no danger. Then my mom came down the stairs and saw the state of my father and she rushed over to him. "Honey, everything is fine," she said, hugging him.
My dad took a deep inhale from my mom’s neck, which was super uncomfortable, but also sort of normal when your parents were mates. I had always imagined I would be less embarrassing than them, but considering my first thought when I had smelled Arthur was to lick him, it seemed like I was on a similar trajectory.
It was a humbling and horrifying realization. I could only feel sympathy for our poor hypothetical future children.
My father released my mother and turned to me and Arthur.
My mate held out his hand. "Mr. Roberts, I'm Arthur. It’s nice to meet you."
My father drew himself up straight and grasped Arthur's hand. "Nice to meet you, too."
Their meeting was going wonderfully. They released their grip and then my father spoke again, holding his baseball bat in a mildly aggressive way.
"So, just what are your intentions towards my daughter?" he asked sternly.
"Dad!" I cringed. I knew he would probably have a talk with my mate since he had done the same with stupid Wilson, for all the good that had done. I could also give him a bit of credit for standing up to the crown prince, but still, what in the world was he thinking? Arthur was clearly superior to that awful wolf upon a single glance.
Arthur grinned, "Since she's my mate, I was thinking I'd mark, marry, and mate with her, as the term implies. Always assuming she's willing."
My dad looked torn between horror and respect at Arthur's audacious honesty.
I was torn somewhere between embarrassed horror and embarrassed pleasure that he had brought up the Three Ms in front of my father. Definitely embarrassed though.
My dad finally settled on a frown. "Just so you keep it in that order."
"I might move the marking bit depending on how things play out," Arthur commented.
"Just so long as nothing else moves." My dad cast a stern look between us. Arthur nodded.
I would have liked to protest his interference, but the part of my brain that handled speech had apparently overheated and shut down.
Then, my father smiled, belying his harsh tone and indicating his acceptance of my mate. I relaxed, although my face was still probably beet red. "Welcome to the family," he told Arthur.
"Um, I haven't said yes, yet," I pointed out. Seriously, I might already have basically agreed, but this whole passing me amongst males thing was not going to fly, no matter how incredibly perfect one of the them happened to be. I crossed my arms over my chest.
"Aren't you going to?" Arthur asked, looking concerned.
"Well, yes, but..."
"Then don't worry about it. I'll ask you properly later, then you can decide."
My mom smiled. "So, Prince Arthur, would you like to have supper here tonight?"
"I certainly would, and please just call me Arthur."
"Very well, Arthur. Supper will be at six." Her voice squeaked a bit at his name, but she pushed through.
He looked at me. "Up for giving me a tour of your town first?" he asked.
I smiled. "Yes, but first I should call my boss. I'm guessing I won't be coming in Monday."
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I left my mate talking to my parents while I ducked into the kitchen to make my call.
Slight guilt settled in my stomach that I was letting my new boss down. I waited while the phone rang.
"Handimart, Dennis speaking."
"Hey, Dennis. It's Anne."
"Oh, hello Anne. What can I do for you?"
"Well, I've got some baddish good news."
He sounded wary. "What is it?"
"I found my mate."
"Congratulations, Anne." He sounded sincerely happy which made my guilt all the worse.
"Yeah. The problem is I'm going to have to move, sorry. He's kind of a big deal."
"Really?"
"Yeah. He's the prince."
There was a long silence on the line. I supposed he had not read the Daily Howl yet today.
"Dennis?" I asked, hoping he had not had a heart attack over my news.
"Sorry, I wasn't expecting that."
"Me neither. I hope this won't make things too difficult for you," I said apologetically.
"Don't worry. The timing could be better, but I'll manage."
"Why? What happened?"
"Lily was just abducted two days ago."
I was shocked. I had met the pretty dark-haired girl in training just last week. She had seemed very nice. "What? No! What happened?"
"She apparently found her mate in Grey Stone, the alpha's son no less, but then his rival stole her as revenge or something. You know how it is, it happens. Her mate'll get her out of there somehow."
"I certainly hope so," I agreed, but he was probably right. These things usually did work themselves out.
"I'm glad that you're leaving for a happier reason, though. Good luck, Anne."
I thanked him and hung up the phone. Hopefully Lily would be okay. Perhaps Arthur could have something done about it if I mentioned it to him.
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