Arthur was downstairs talking to my parents with the same ease as my friends did. My sister was also there at the kitchen table and she seemed less dismal than normal. It even looked like she probably had not been crying in the last few hours. This shift in our lives might just be good for her.
When Arthur heard me approach, he smiled that smile that made me feel like my bones had turned to rubber and I returned the gesture as if I was under a spell.
Seriously, it was like I could barely control myself around him. Perhaps things would be better after we completed the Three Ms, but as I watched my father breathing from my mother's neck I realized I should probably just accept that I was doomed to be as cringey as they were.
I went and sat beside my mate and ate my breakfast with Arthur and my family. My father had taken the day off of work so that he could see me off. It would not be that long until I saw them again, surely, but the day did have a certain significance, because my life had drastically changed.
There was a knock at the door and my mother rushed over to open it. Two burly werewolves tipped their hats at her and spoke to my mate. "We're here to pick up the future princess's belongings, Prince Arthur."
The words sounded quite bizarre while I sat at the kitchen table in my childhood home.
A bit less weird when I looked over at my mate who was the prince, but still oddly world shaking. I swallowed.
"Very good. Everything is packed upstairs."
I leapt up from the table. "I'll show you where," I offered. They could probably have managed since I had labelled everything, but I needed to feel a sense of control over the situation.
I glanced back to ensure they were following, then dashed up the stairs. I pulled open my door and looked at the pile of boxes and bags in the middle of the floor. "It's all this stuff," I said.
"Thank you, Lady Anne," said one of the movers. It was awkward to exit my bedroom leaving two strangers behind to deal with my things, and I was unexpectedly choked up over the whole situation.
I went back to the table and sat back beside my mate. I felt instantly better about everything, as if he would make everything work out just fine.
"It's going to be strange without you here, darling," my mother commented, her eyes just a bit teary.
I smiled at her. "Well, you knew this day was coming, right? If Arthur had not shown up, I would have moved away for school eventually," I pointed out as gently as I could.
"I know," she said a bit wistfully. "I know."
The movers brought down the first load of my stuff.
I finished my slightly soggy cereal while they took all my things out into a truck. They excused themselves and left.
Arthur followed me up to my bedroom and I searched it for anything I might have missed. There was enough I had elected not to bring, but it still looked oddly empty and made me feel somehow sad. Arthur sat in the chair at my desk.
"Come here?" he requested and I obliged.
He pulled me down to sit on him and I let his presence push away the forlornness that had been gaining a foothold inside me.
"You okay, Anne?" he asked.
"Yeah. I feel a bit shaken, but I'm glad you're with me."
I turned my head to smile reassuringly at him and he drew my head closer and caught my mouth with his own and every residual bit of my anxiety dissolved leaving only contentedness behind.
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I could not have said if I felt relief, sorrow or something else when the time to leave finally came, only that I felt so many feelings it was like some indecisive modern artist had splashed every colour on a canvas leaving nothing but a garish disaster they then brazenly called art.
My sister and parents were there, along with a surprising crowd who had come to see me off. I could not help but wonder caustically if I would have garnered such an impressive crowd if I was heading off to postsecondary rather than heading off to become a princess.
I rather doubted it.
I hugged my crying mother, then my father, and then my also crying sister.
While my mother's tears seemed quite normal, my sister would never have been like this before that jerk Wilson.
I had no time to linger on the bitter thought because I was attacked in an embrace by Kayla. "I'm going to miss you so much, Anne! It's like the band is splitting and that makes me so sad."
"Haha, well, maybe we could get together for a reunion tour," I responded.
She laughed. "I'm so happy for you."
I grinned. Her excitement was infectious. "I'll text you every chance I get," I promised.
"Hmmm. I notice you did not say every day."
I grinned. "I imagine I'll be very busy and I wouldn't want to lie to you."
"Awe, you."
Rory disengaged her from me with his own lazy farewell.
A bunch more people felt the need to say goodbye and then Arthur rescued me by taking me towards a waiting black car. I got in and waved awkwardly out the window. Arthur jumped in the driver's seat and pulled away from the curb.
It only took a minute before we were out of my tiny town and onto the highway proper, both preceded and followed by security in other vehicles, although they kept their distance.
I glanced at Arthur. He made driving look good. He just gave off a delightful aura of mastery and control that I could not help but appreciate any more than I could resist looking at the way the muscles in his arms moved as he adjusted the wheel.
"I'm surprised we're not in a chauffeured limousine or something," I joked feebly, mostly just to have something to say.
"I thought you'd like this better. Was I wrong?" he asked, arching an eyebrow.
"No, not wrong at all." This meant I would get a few hours of solitude with him before we arrived.
He grinned. What was it about that face that mesmerized me so much?
"See, you are perfect for me. I like driving."
"Me too," I agreed.
"Want a turn behind the wheel in a bit? I'd share with you," he offered.
I smiled, "No, thanks." For this trip I would just relax and prepare myself for the coming excitement.
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Arthur's perfection, or rather, his perfection specifically for me was inescapable. As we drove, we talked and the more we talked, the more I was convinced he was exactly what I needed. He could see the absurdity of the world in which we lived as clearly as I could, but instead of my oftentimes stunned perplexity, he seemed content to navigate and manage the madness.
I could learn from him.
Though his life was structured and he was responsible, it seemed he was wise enough to understand his limitations. He managed his wilder side well, letting it out when he could, the prince riding cross country on a motorcycle.
I wondered if I could learn to ride one on my own.
When I remembered riding around with him on his, I wondered if I even wanted to. It had been delightful being that close to him, and...
No, it was too early for that.
{It's never too early for that,} my wolf commented suddenly. She had a true talent for turning up at the most inopportune times.
{Now you're here? Where were you when my sister was bawling?}
{Watching quietly. Until you let me deal with Wilson, there's nothing I can do about that.}
{He's our alpha, we have to show him respect.}
{He was our alpha and we lost all respect for him when he hurt Ellen Marcy.}
Well, she was not wrong.
{I've never been lucky enough to encounter him in the realm of wolves since he rejected our sister. Perhaps he is avoiding me,} she mused.
{Wait, what would you do if you encountered him in the realm of wolves?}
I believed she would have grinned if she had been in control of my body. {That son of a tabby and I would simply have a nice little heart to heart. Nothing to worry about at all.}
I wondered if by "heart to heart" my wolf meant ripping his heart from his chest and holding the still dripping organ against her own rib cage or something. She could be vicious when protecting her loved ones.
{I can sense you're imagining something gruesome, but you needn't worry. I won't do anything too permanent until Ellen finally decides to accept that little tabby's rejection and move on with her life. I don't want to hurt her.}
I sighed.
"What's wrong?" Arthur asked. He sounded concerned.
"My wolf is plotting against Wilson."
He smiled his understanding.
It seemed neither of us could stop ourselves from wearing happiness on our faces like a billboard, even when it might not be quite appropriate.
"The mate who rejected your sister, right? Mine feels rather the same on the matter. He's already taken your family into his protection and he is not at all impressed that anyone would dare reject her."
My heart swelled a bit at the thought. My wolf was also delighted.
{You know, if you suggested it, he would pull over on the side of the road and mark us right now,} my wolf suggested hopefully.
{Stop pushing it. I'll let him mark me once we're settled in the palace if you'll stop chewing my ear off already.}
{Promise?} she asked suspiciously.
{I had already been considering it. Now back off.}
"He's been very quiet, spending most of his time searching."
"Mine, too. Except she occasionally comes back to harass me to let you mark me."
He smiled again. His wolf was probably no better.
For once, my wolf felt satisfied. {I'm going to search for my mate some more. It would be terrible if he wandered past while I was wasting my time talking to you.}
{No one's forcing you to talk to me,} I complained with narrowed eyes.
{Don't be so touchy. Even though I find your silly human restraint tediously bothersome, we would both be bored with a placid counterpart.}
{Maybe.}
{Definitely. Remember, don't drag your paws too much now.}
My wolf disappeared into the blackness again.
I paused. I believed I could trust Arthur's "silly human restraint" if I broached the whole marking topic.
"So, I was thinking..."
"About what?"
"I guess we could do the whole marking thing after we get settled in?"
"Really?" he asked. He sounded a bit surprised. I supposed he had expected it to be harder. Was I making it too easy? They said male wolves liked a chase; would this make me less interesting to him?
I forced myself to be rational. The bond was making me want to be as near to him as an influenza infection, so surely it was having a similar effect on him. He had said nothing that should make me think otherwise, so I would be a fool to waste my time second guessing his feelings.
"Yes. It'll make our wolves happy and it's the easiest way to establish a mind link with you."
He smiled. "In the royal pack, we don't use the mind link unless it's serious, but as my mate, you're an exception."
I nodded. "We rarely used it either in Desert Night. There's so many less intrusive yet convenient forms of communication nowadays. I was just thinking it would be good to have when something goes wrong."
"You don't mean if something goes wrong?"
I grimaced, "Something will go wrong, I'm sure of it."
He did not try to argue. Undoubtedly he could see I made a good point. "We'll handle it."
"I know," I agreed and I even meant it. I believed he could handle things, even if it was just the bond reassuring me. He was apparently my unrealistically optimistic silver lining.
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