Queen Time Twist

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

She felt a pull on her waist.

That was the only indication of her being alive, and which also shook her from the numbness of abyss.

Bleary eyed, Eli cracked an eye, and when she acknowledged the fact that she was- in fact still in the water, her eyes flew open. Choking on the water when she tried to breathe, it was then that she realized the sharp tug on her waist was coming from her behind. Someone had seen her drown, and somehow come to save her.

Following the sharp tug, a thick arm wrapped around her waist and began to tread to the surface, where she could surprisingly see the moon's brightness reflected by the water.

When they both broke the surface, her savior tugged her onto the grass, and while he fisted the soil beneath him to catch a breath, he couldn't help but scan the shivering girl in front of him. She was breathing fine-Thank Luna- and her wet chocolate brown locks were splayed out her wet nightdress, covering his view to her heart-shaped face. He sighed in relief. She was okay.

Eli was shaking uncontrollably and at the same time, still choking on water. When her cough ceased, Eli got the opportunity to look around and see that she was not where she used to be.

Gone was the building complex, and instead there were rows and rows of trees with elegant street lamps surrounding where she lied. She was on, what seemed like a small island in the middle of a rather small lake, and she couldn't help but be awestruck by the view. The feeling of the soft grass blades dancing through her fingers was what snapped her out of her reverie.

Grass? I fell off a dirt road-

But her line of thought was lost when the shouting started.

"ARE YOU MAD?"

The Crown Prince rarely made a scene. But the lady in front of him was so incredibly stupid- more than he already thought so- and it made him furious that she thought she could just- that she could – in front of his very eyes- she could just-no words could put justice to her behavior. He was livid.

Eli's dark brown eyes swiveled to the intimidating man that was trying to stand up-not very successfully though- but he managed to, and his form blurred from an intense tremor just like she did, but she doubted it was from the cold. He was running his hands across his face, but there was no mistaking his sharp and powerful features. She could feel his aura- and it screamed dominance.

"How could you- you dared to-unbelievable how you tried to-"

He was a sputtering mess- a sputtering hot mess – she couldn't help but add, but Eli was cold and scared out of her mind. She wanted to go home and have a nice bath and get into bed. Fuck college.

"Thanks for saving me. I'm really sorry for cutting you off, but I have to go-"

Eli started apologetically, she actually felt bad that he was in shock, but she really wanted to go to bed and just sleep on it. She was still breathing deep in and out-but surprisingly her nausea and dizziness didn't seem to bother anymore.

"Drop the act, Lady Elise."

She froze at the harshness of his tone. There was no trace of shock from before and only the calm stance he adopted in a span of seconds, it was fascinating to see his whole demeanor change to one of steadiness. She could also see his well sculpted body through the white shirt that- unceremoniously was tucked out from his black slacks. His style was a little old, but she couldn't deny that despite his fashion sense, he held his frame with grace.

His face was shadowed from the dark, but the moon accentuated his strong facial features. From his eyebrows to his jawlines, everything screamed 'Alpha!', but what really gave him away was his height and aura of power rolling off of him in waves.

Shame he has the mark.

Eli grimaced at her train of thoughts and managed to articulate a half decent sentence that didn't seem stupid and careless.

"It was just a terrible accident-"

"Which led to drowning in the lake. Like I would believe any of the words out of your mouth." he was more growling towards the end and Eli could feel the anger in his voice. Her wolf was already on the verge of submitting to her superior, but his words ticked her off. The Alpha dynamics certainly existed, but contemporary democracy has long replaced the ranks. He talked as if he really were superior to her.

"Excuse me? Have we met before?"

His laughter threw Eli off guard. The sound was beautiful in her ears, but his laugh didn't give any positive vibes anymore than his smile did. Forgetting for a moment that he was acting like an ass, she wished she could hear him laugh more, or talk more in general. His voice was unearthly and very much boyfriend material.

"Lady Elise, are you hearing yourself? Have we met before?" he mocked at her clueless face, "Well, mate, we marked each other the night before, so I'm pretty sure we know each other!"

The nervous front she had on her face quickly turned to a look of horror.

What?

Eli was sure she would remember if someone as handsome as him was her mate. Sadly, she had no remembrance of this guy in her 22 years of life.

"I don't understand your specific kind of crazy, but I admire your total commitment to it." he seethed, and crouched down to her level. He surprised her by gripping her chin, but she stayed still for the sake of him saving her. His last statement claiming that she was his mate troubled her tremendously. But it was pushed aside as she was granted a closer look of his face, his eyes captivating hers immediately.

She was pathetic to drool over his facial features when said man dropped one hell of an accusation on her, but his eyes were a piece of art that was impossible to ignore. She was envious of the green emeralds that shone in the moonlight, drastically contrasting with her dull brown ones.

And while Eli was infatuated with his outer appearances, the Prince held Lady Elise's chin for a closer inspection of her face, relieved to see only a slight cut on her forehead. He flinched inwardly at the unnecessary act of kindness towards his so called 'mate'.

The mate bond is making me care.

He shook his head in frustration and leaned back to give the Lady her space.

"I thought we had a deal, Lady Elise. We would be mates, and we would stay out of each other's lives."

She jerked as the words hit her once again, pressing her lips in a straight line to show her distress.

"I'm not sure who you are, but I'm not your mate. I was watching TV alone last night so you're either having serious memory problems, or you're a serial killer who saved me to kill me again."

Even in the dark, she could see his eyes turn black at her words. He raised his hand and pressed lightly at the juncture of her neck. She didn't expect herself to lean into his touch, and was definitely not ready for the calmness and heat to rush over her.

"Do not play dumb with me, carissima." The corner of his lips lifted ever so slightly, quietly reveling in the satisfaction that the lady was not as cold-hearted and unfeeling as she was a few days ago. But before he could ponder on why Lady Elise seemed to respond to his touch, reality crashed upon their quiet bubble.

"Your Majesty!"

"Your Highness!"