The Prince and The Rogue

21: Negotiations

|Samantha|

"Accept me," Theo pleads.

I bite my bottom lip. My canines slightly draw blood from my bottom lip.

"Theo," I murmured softly.

Across from me he looked like a lost puppy. It didn't help that he practically mastered puppy eyes.

He sighs softly and puts down his fork. His hand creeped across the table to grab a hold of mine. I draw it away and place it in my lap.

"Theo, I'm not ready for commitment. I barely even know you. I'm afraid. I'm afraid of the future and what it holds for us. I'm not ready to accept you, because when I accept you, you'll become king. I'm not ready to be queen, not even a little."

He slumps back. "I can always delay that until you are ready. Until we are ready," he negotiates.

I let out a sigh, annoyed. He's too stubborn to see my side. Too stubborn to understand I am not ready and he obviously won't get that through his thick skull. Theo has shown that he is capable of love and compassion, but not capable of patience. He doesn't want to wait for me to accept him and that is why he keeps pushing. He put me in a very awkward situation. One I'm not ready to commit to yet. I'm not ready for commitment, but he wants it.

He's ready for commitment, but he doesn't understand patience. Ironic.

"No, you are going to wait until I am ready. I'm not being thrown into a lifestyle I'm not ready for. I'm not being thrown into a relationship I'm not ready for. Just because you are ready and have your life together doesn't mean I do." I breathe, "I need time, Theo. Can you at least give me that?"

He stares at me in shock.

He's probably never heard the word no in his entire life.

"I am willing to stay in this mansion and get to know you and hopefully repair our bond, but I need time. I want to take my time and not be thrust into the unknown."

"Which is completely understandable, truly. I understand."

I give him a pointed look across the table in which he responds with putting his hands up in front of him in defense.

"I truly do."

I wish I could believe that, but a part of me knew he was a prince who was never told no. One who could get whatever he wanted at the snap of his fingers. The rarest and most precious things could be found with a single demand from him. He wouldn't rest until I accepted him. But simply accepting him via words won't bring my wolf back. The marking and mating ceremony would. Even then, who knows if she will even come back. Who knows if those ceremonies will be enough for our bond to return. I am not going into this blindly and with zero guarantee of this working.

Sure this has happened in the past, but they weren't important figures in the werewolf community so it wasn't a big deal if they returned or not. For me it is, for Theo it is. I know he said he wouldn't mate another female, but what if my wolf doesn't return? He can't become King then and his sister has a lot on her plate as well. She is struggling with the same thing I am, but she never could contact hers, so it is different. The king won't have an heir and I will be the one to blame.

He can't change his daughter, but he can force his son to take a new mate. Therefore he can remove me from the picture that easily. Was I scared? Maybe. Yet I promised to try and make this work. So there is only hope. I must remain positive.

"I am sorry, Theo. I just want to take my time. I don't even know if my wolf will return. What if we go through all of this and she doesn't? Will we be forced to sever that newly repaired bond yet again? We already experienced that pain before, I can only imagine the pain of a fully bonded couple having it ripped from our souls."

Theo flinches. "Okay, I understand now. I am the one who should be apologizing. I didn't realize that. Yet, we will cross that bridge once we get there. I will not allow my father to do such a thing. You will be my Queen one way or another. You were born with your wolf, therefore it isn't genetics. So that means he can't do that because you technically have one, so our pups will technically have there's."

I cough on my drink. "Pups! You are seriously thinking that far ahead?"

There was a proud and bright smile on his face as he nodded. "Yup."

We don't even know what the future holds and he is thinking about pups.