Where Flowers Don't Belong

Chapter 8-Beautiful As You

Mate?

Out of all the things he had said tonight, this had to be the strangest. Mate? As in a werewolf's destined one and only lover?

I looked behind me. Had someone else entered the room? His mate would not be happy if they walked into the king's bedroom and saw another woman sitting on his lap, wearing his clothes.

I looked back to the king after scanning the room and finding no one. "Who's your mate? Is she here?" I asked quietly, trying to mask my fear.

His brows came together and he pulled me closer to his chest. "Of course she's here. She's sitting on my lap."

I looked down at the legs I was sitting on and then back at him. "But I'm sitting on your lap."

His mouth opened slightly in shock and then he leaned his head back against the headboard and let out a humorless laugh. "Of course. It all makes sense now. You didn't know." He shook his head and then looked back at me with soft eyes that made my breath catch in my throat. "Baby," he spoke gently, touching my face lightly and running his thumb over the cheekbone that wasn't bruised. "You're my mate." 

I paused. Me? Had I heard him right? No, surely I didn't because what he said made absolutely no sense. He thought I was his mate? I almost laughed out loud at the thought.

I said nothing at first, waiting for him to laugh and say it was a joke. But he never did. After a few seconds of silence and his soft expression never changing as he seemed to patiently wait for me to process the news, I realized he truly believed his words. He was serious. He really thought I was his mate. Me, a pathetic human.

Suddenly, it all made sense. The king thought I was his mate. This was why he hadn't killed me yet. This was why he was being so nice to me. This was why he was giving me the first sort of affection I'd ever receive in my life. He had made a mistake and was now disillusioned into thinking that a slave was worthy of his time due to some sort of "connection" between our souls that wasn't actually there.

Without thinking, my next word spilled from my mouth. "No."

The king was obviously taken aback. He scowled darkly and his grip on my hips tightened. "What do you mean 'no'?"

I swallowed, suddenly aware that I had upset him yet again. That had not been my intention.

Stupid, stupid girl. The voice in my head said.

I looked down. "Well...I-I..." I took in a shaky breath. "I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean it like that. I d-didn't mean it as if I was disagreeing with you." I could feel his body begin to shake, his wolf becoming more and more present with each word I said. Was I really about to correct the king again? "I just meant that—that I think you've maybe made a mistake?"

Yep, I guess I was.

He growled under his breath, the noise low and threatening. "Oh?" he asked, deadly calm. "How so?"

I fidgeted nervously. Did I really want to tell him that I wasn't his mate and give up this affection and safety that he was offering me? There was something deep down in me desperately wanting it to be true. Mates were kind to each other. They took care of each other. They loved each other unconditionally. That's all I had ever longed for in my life.

If I didn't tell him I wasn't his mate, he might bring me to the palace and let me work there. Based on the way he had treated me tonight, slaves at the palace were treated much better than the ones here. He could use me as he wished, interacting with me whenever he wanted to or needed release and I could, in return, be the best slave he had ever had. That life would be much better than the one I had here, waiting until the day I would be given to some mean old wolf who would surely treat me much worse than the king would.