Enemy Queen [2]

d r e a m e r

All I wanted was a mate.

I just wanted one person to feel my absence in a crowded room. I just wanted one person who was on my side. I just wanted one person who understood me and didn't try to change me.

My parents had drilled into me the myth of having a soulmate. Humans weren't too sold on the idea but in our world, it was all true. I caught myself dreaming of our first meeting—a fleeting moment in which our souls would finally meet after years of being apart. Our story would begin and we would look back on it fondly.

I had dreamed that one day my mate would come for me and take me away from the emptiness that was my sad little life. Not many years ago, when my days were long and lonely, I would pray to the Moon Goddess for a mate every chance that I got. My parents were gone and my brother had grown cold. I had nobody else. It was the only hope that kept me going.

But those dreams were fractured the moment that I met Troy. How did I get so unlucky? What did I do wrong? My mate was supposed to be the solution to my problems, not the cause of them.

Everyone had a mate and mine was a dud. I wanted to scream and cry and scream some more.

We don't always get what we want now. . . do we?

.•*•.

When I exited Iris's room and came down for breakfast in the dining hall, Troy wasn't there. He must've still been talking with his father.

There were so many people in the dining hall that it almost caught me off guard. People were talking very animatedly compared to the way we would eat back home. Children were running around and laughing while the adults were drinking and throwing food across the table.

It felt like I was interrupting their routine.

"Claire!" His mother saved me from awkwardly standing there any longer. She nodded at the chair across from her. "Come sit by me,"

By now everyone was aware that I was in the room and looking at me like I'd grown two heads. The old man who called me a whore was staring daggers at me and wasn't even trying to hide it.

As I walked over and sat down, I recognized some more faces like the five year-old Beta Ewan and their healer Fallon. Unfortunately for me, Sirene and Dallas were sitting on our side of the table, too.

"Have a blueberry muffin, Claire. Giles made a perfect batch." Sahara put one down on the plate in front of me. There was already a few slices of cheese, avocado, potato hash, spinach scrambled eggs, grapes and an entire loaf of bread on it. "I figured I'd save you a bit of everything before they inhaled it all."

"This is amazing, thank you."

"Thank Giles, he's one of our best chefs. But I'm sure you knew that already."

Dallas got up from his seat as soon as I picked up my fork.

"Done already?" Sahara asked.

"My mate is waiting for me." He said simply and headed into the kitchen. No matter how hard I tried I still couldn't picture him as a father.