His Selected Mate

Chapter 39

It's been a week since our families visited and a week since Natalie left and everything had become much quieter as a result. For a few days after our families left, we had all been mostly quiet and we had kept to ourselves. We were sad but as the days passed, we all went back to our normal routine. But without Natalie, it was just another reminder that we were all here to compete and that our group of five would become four and then three and so on.

I closed the book that I was currently trying to read and set it aside, emphasis on trying. My mind was all over the place. From wondering what Maxon was doing to worrying about when he would propose to how I would manage being a princess. I knew these questions wouldn't get answers, at least not right now but that wouldn't stop me from wondering. Suddenly Maxon's voice echoed in my mind.

"Why are you so worried? Are you okay?" he asked. Over the last week Maxon had gotten very good at using our bond to communicate with me.

Now that we knew where the tunnels were to get us outside, each night we would spend a couple hours together running around. We would work on Maxon's tracking and following a scent. Eventually, we came across a particular scent so often that I had to tell Maxon what it was when he asked.

"It's the scent of werewolves. Everyone has their own distinct scent but all werewolves have the same underlying scent that distinguishes us from humans."

"So all werewolves have this scent?" Maxon had asked. I had nodded and we had walked on. It wasn't until the following night when we met up again that Maxon commented on how many times he came across that smell in the palace. I let out a laugh since we were still in our human forms and said, "You have quite a few werewolves among the staff and guards."

"Some of the ones that I looked at today nodded at me and went about their business." I nodded as we had continued walking. "No doubt they can smell the difference on you."

The door opening to the Women's Room pulled me from my memories. Silvia walked in with several files piled in her arms. She placed them down in two piles on a table that was closest to her before grabbing our attention since all of the Selected were here.

"Ladies," she said in a sing-song manner. Silvia also made a gesture that meant she wanted us to circle around her. I heard a few sighs as the others were forced to get out of their seats to see what Silvia wanted. Once we were all gathered, she grabbed a folder from each pile and then stood up straight to address us all. "Ladies you'll be happy to hear that this week you have an assignment." None of us seemed thrilled. "You see this week, the German Federation and the Italians will be visiting the palace and, normally, the queen is in charge of receiving guests but she has decided to let you ladies plan the visits."

I saw a few jaws drop slightly but other than that, no one lost their composure. "You'll be split into two groups. The group with three girls will host the German Federation who will be visiting on Thursday and the group with two girls will host the Italians who will be visiting this Friday." Nobody reacted except for Celeste.

"You mean to say we only have a few days before they arrive? There's no time to prepare. How can you or the queen expect us to do this in only four days?"

"The queen usually has less notice to do this so we both expect this to be done perfectly and within the deadline," responded Silvia. More jaws dropped, including my own. A little voice in the back of mind was up to the challenge. Here's a chance to stand out and show your future mother-in-law that you are capable of being a princess and worthy of marrying her son.

Silvia looked around the room as if waiting for anyone else to complain. "Now, the first group will be Celeste, Elise and Marlee. You three will have the German Federation. The second group will be America and Kriss, you two have the Italians. These folders I'm holding contain just the basics of what you're going to need for your receptions. These folders," she said motioning to the ones that were stacked on the table, "contain more information and go into more detail on what you're going to need. Good luck ladies, the queen and I will be checking in daily to see your progress." She handed Elise what I assumed was the German Federation folder and me the Italian folder.