One month later.

Dominic sighed as he leaned forward on the balcony railings, watching the gardeners tend to the plants below. Though his eyes were fixed firmly on them, his mind was far away. A common reoccurrence these days. He seemed to be getting wary of his schedule that stretched into long lineups of boring meetings with people he never fancied for once, nor did he enjoy talking to. The only silver lining that helped him cope was Asher coming over almost every night and the good, mind-blowing time they had with each other, rutting like wild animals on heat. A few months ago, he’d have laughed at anyone who told him that he’d actually grow to love having the little snot around. Asher wasn’t so bad…except for times when he just decided to be difficult and sarcastic. That was all the problem he had.

“Prince Dominic?” a voice called, and he snapped out of his haze, turning to find his mother, Queen Fiona standing at the doorway, her head heavy with the golden, celestial crown. “If you won’t mind, I’d like a minute to speak with you in your room?”

“Oh,” Dominic cleared his throat and straightened. “Of course, Mother.”

He followed her closely, silently ruminating on what she’d like to speak to him about. The last time she’d pulled up something like this, it was to complain about the way he normally snubbed Asher at all social functions they attended together and how that was painting a bad picture about him to the citizens. He’d assured her that he’d try his best, then the very next day the said Asher appeared in his room, demanding to have their bond dissolved.

“I’ve heard from a credible source some pretty disturbing news, son,” Queen Fiona launched in without wasting time, her hands on her lap, chin jutting forward in pristine elegance. “I heard that your mate bond to Prince Asher Von Heaven has been dissolved. Is this true?”

Dominic’s heart leaped to his mouth. This wasn’t…what he’d been expecting. “What? That’s absurd, Mother. You know I could never…”

“Don’t lie to me,” the Queen’s intense gaze didn’t waver. “I need the truth. Nothing but the truth.”

Who could’ve fed his mother such vital information that she was so convinced of this? He hoped it wasn’t who he thought it was. That would be the biggest betrayal. “I want to know who relayed such information to you. Honestly, Mother, you know that something I can never do…”

“Estel?” Fiona called softly.

Dominic stabbed his most trusted guard with a death glare when he stepped through the open door. Full of guilt, Estel couldn’t even look at him. “Yes, Your Majesty?”

“You’re relieved of your position as my head guard immediately,” Dominic fumed, rising slowly from his seat as if to pounce on him.

“Manners, Dominic!” Fiona snapped. “Sit the hell down.”

“But Mother – “

“I said sit the hell down,” she demanded, louder this time and he obliged, his butt falling with a plonk on the soft leather. “Good. Now, Estel, say out loud everything you told me.”

After the guard recounted everything that happened that particular night in sordid details, Dominic berated himself for not being quiet enough with Asher, but was it really their fault? He still couldn’t believe it was the Estel he’d come to respect and trust so much was the same one standing right in front of him, spilling like a tap without a control head.

“So, you had…multiple orgasms with the mate you dislike so much after you two agreed and broke your bond without even the formalities? How fitting for a Prince of your caliber.”

Dominic hung his head in shame. “I swear, I was going to tell you, Mother.”

“Miss me with that, Dominic,” Fiona scoffed, crossing her legs. “Your reaction to Estel spilling on you proves your hidden intention to keep this a secret from me. I’ve told you times and times over. I hate lies. It won’t help either one of us.”

Dominic gulped, trying his hardest to remain unfazed underneath his mother’s scrutiny. She was the only one who had the power to unsettle him even without trying. He found that aggravating. “Just so you know, I wasn’t the one who pushed for the bond to be dissolved. It was all Asher’s idea.”

He had to pull himself out of this mess somehow.

“You have no right to blame anyone for what you actively took part in, son,” Fiona maintained her stuff posture, her face unsmiling. “You had every right to report to the Grand Council. He was slated to be the Agravaria's King-Consort. To rule beside you. Under you. You're above him. You had the ultimate power to put an end to his silly demand.”

“But what if...what if I wanted it too?” Dominic leaned his butt forward to the edge of his seat. “What if I didn't want him as my mate? You know I never liked Asher for once. Despite our mate bond, he always found a way to get on my nerves.”

“Dominic!” Fiona bellowed in surprise, pressing a thin finger to his lips. “Do not speak about Asher like that ever again. He saved you. Have some decency and be grateful. After all, you didn't remember hating him so much when you slept with him.”

At that, Dominic felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment.

“Or are you going to pin that on him as well? That he seduced you?”

Shit. He was really in a tight corner here.

“Why have you asked to see me, mother?” he sighed, finding it best to reiterate back to where they started from. “If Asher's going to be the main topic of discussion, then I'm sorry to disappoint you. I've got much better things to attend to.”

Silence descended upon them for some minutes before Fiona cleared her throat to speak. “I want to know about your plans, now that you've broken your bond. Remember what you did is a crime and an insult to Jo. There were more honorable ways to go about that than breaking it off without the Council's consent.”

“It's my life, and my mate, mother,” Dominic hated how cocky he sounded. “Besides, it was a mutual agreement between Asher and me. The way forward is to put an end to the betrothal contract which will break us off officially.”

The Queen heaved a long sigh and adjusted herself. “Who are you going to have as your new mate, then? Your father's condition is critical, and you'll be called upon to take his place any time from now. You need a suitable Luna or King-Consort to rule beside you. It's tradition.”

The Crown Prince tried his best not to let his irritation show. His mother was way too obsessive over this mate bond issue, he wondered if it was because he was her first and only son. “I'm aware of that. And I'd like you to know that I've found someone.”

“Really? Who?”

He stroked his jaw, thinking hard. Who among his admirers had he thought to be charming once before apart from Asher?

Suddenly, it struck him. Dimitri De La Viva — son of Jo's Prime Minister, and Dominic's heartthrob while they were younger. Dominic could remember pleading with his mother on his sick bed to let the Moon Goddess imprint Dimitri as his mate instead of Asher. Dimitri's mate had died because of the curse and he needed a Non-Agravarian to imprint on him as a mate so it couldn't work out for the both of them. “I have my eyes on Dimitri, mother. I like him. He'd make a perfect King-Consort for me.”

Fiona furrowed her brows, unimpressed. “But you're aware that he recently lost his mate, right? He's still mourning so I don't think he'll agree to have you as his second chance mate, son.”

“I understand what you're trying to say here, Mother. But leave it to me. I know how to get Dimitri to agree to this. Trust me.”

“Well,” her shoulders sagged in resignation as she rose from her seat, turning to Estel. “See that none of this we just discussed leave the four corners of this very room, do you understand? As a guard, it was wrong of you to rat your master out like that, even with my insistence,” she placed a palm on his shoulder. “Your loyalty was tested, and you failed.”

—

A few hours later, Dominic sat behind his desk, attending to some files when Micah, the new head guard he'd installed after Fiona left, announced that Dimitri had arrived.

He stacked the files aside, tipping his reading glasses that were about to fall off the bridge of his nose back. “Let him in.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

He schooled his face into an amicable expression as the door pulled open, admitting Dimitri De La Viva, claded in all-black attire. Dominic's eyes roved over his old playmate's appearance, noting the visible maturity and enhanced features. The little Dimitri who laughed, talked, and couldn't sit still was gone, replaced by a calm, pleasant-looking young man who was wrapped up in grief.

Either way, he promised to be much better than Asher.

He tried not to think about the little snot as he rose, moved around his desk, and pulled an awkward Dimitri into a hug. “Hey, buddy. I've missed you.”

Dimitri kept his hands by his sides, refusing to hug him back. Dominic stepped back, trying not to let his embarrassment show. “Yeah, it's been a long time.”

“Please have a seat,” he scooted a wooden chair back so the Alpha could do so.

“Dominic,” Dimitri called softly after he'd settled down on his seat. “Is there any specific reason why you requested to see me? We haven't spoken in ages, so you can imagine my surprise when I got your invitation letter.”

“My apologies for that,” Dominic said, dropping his gaze to the blue marker on the desk in front of him. For a moment, he braced himself for Dimitri's reaction to what he was about to propose. “I should've been asking after and calling on you. We were best friends in our childhood.”

Dimitri shook his head. “It's not your fault, Your Highness. You've got so many responsibilities so I understand the pressure you must be passing through.”

“How are you feeling, though? How have you been dealing after Rahim's death?”

Dimitri shrugged, huffing out a sigh. “As you can see, I'm still grieving, but I'll move on eventually. I'm certainly in a much better place than I was at last month, so there's that.”

“Quite so. I'm afraid I don't have much time to spare, so I'm going to say what I have quickly,” Dominic said, softening his voice. “You must know of the scandals, as well as my subtle dissatisfaction with my fated mate, Asher Von Heaven. It's no news in Jo that we don't get along. We're core opposites. Rivals, and we're almost like enemies. So we made a mutual decision and broke off our bond to each other, unofficially though.”

Dimitri shifted uncomfortably. “Okay...why are you telling me this?”

Of course, he hadn't left many hints to suggest what exactly he was driving at here. Dimitri was naturally smart. The quirkiest kid that put the royal tutors through a lot of headaches and intense research, thanks to his difficult and thought-provoking questions.

Dominic met his eyes. “I want to have you as my second-chance mate. My King-Consort, since I'll be taking over from my father any moment from now.”

His eyes widened, turning to dilated slits. “I...I don't understand. You want me to become...your mate?”

“Yes. After Asher and I break off officially, I'll declare you as my new King-Consort-to-be. Asher's privileges and responsibilities would be transferred to you and we'll have our wedding if that's okay with you. You don't have to decide now. I can give you time.”

After a few minutes of silent ruminations, Dimitri rose from his seat. “That'd be best as I still need to process this before giving you a worthwhile answer. As I'm grieving, it'll be a lot for my family to take on, but I'll see what I can do. It was nice seeing you. Have a lovely day.”

When he was gone, Dominic sagged back in his seat, staring blankly at the wall, an empty feeling in his gut.

That had gone better than he'd expected.

“Micah, inform Prince Asher Von Heaven that I wish to see him at his earlier convenience. Tell Mother that I've gotten the deal with Dimitri wrapped up as well.”