The Prince's Mate

Chapter 10

The pain went away rather quickly. Well, it at least diminished to a point that was bearable quickly. I followed the prince back into the house that I had bolted out of earlier and by the time we reached the bedroom, our bedroom, the pain had subsided to a dull ache. But now that the pain was gone I realized just how exhausted I was.

"Where am I sleeping?" I asked, trying to cover a yawn.

"In the bed, where else?"

"Well then where are you sleeping?" I demanded. My body was on auto pilot and it climbed into the heavenly soft bed on its own accord. The second my head hit the pillow my eyes began closing and my breathing slowed down.

"In the bed." The prince murmured. I absently felt the blankets move as he climbed back into the bed beside me.

"You can't sleep with me. You don't even know my name." I protested meekly. My words came out slurred, almost like I was drunk.

"Tell me your name." the prince whispered.

"Not until you tell me yours." I argued childishly.

"Bennett. My name is Bennett."

"I'm Brooklyn." I whispered just as I fell asleep.

I woke up slowly, with a happy sigh and a lazy stretch. My mind was spinning with last night's dream. I thought I had been swept away to be the prince's mate and the idea still amused me until I actually opened my eyes and realized that I was not in my bedroom like I had initially thought.

Instead I was lying on a cloud soft bed in an extravagant master bedroom that could only belong to the royals. I jammed my eyes shut for a second, hoping the whole image would disappear, just a tiny flashback from my dream or something of the sort, but when I opened my eyes again nothing had changed. I hadn't magically been transported back home to my old pack and my family.

"Good morning." The prince's voice wafted out of the closet.

I let out a squeak of surprise and yanked the blankets up to cover as much of my body as I could. It was like the blankets would somehow protect me from the prince and his erratic behaviors.

But the prince just sauntered out of the closet, lazily tying a tie while he absently hummed to himself. When he turned his back to me I couldn't stop myself from running my eyes over him. He looked wonderful in his navy blue dress pants and crisp, white dress shirt. Not a single black hair was out of place and I knew that his face would show no signs of tiredness.

"Your neck is healing quite nicely."

"Oh that's good...your highness?"

He scoffed, "We went over names last night, Brook. My name is Bennett if you don't recall. And it's Majesty, not Highness, by the way."

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"To a few meetings. Things are going to be changing quite dramatically for me now that you have entered my life. As soon as we are mated we will be crowned king and queen and preparations need to be made. There's a lot of legal jargon that I could bore you with, but the basis of it is that I'm taking on a lot of new responsibilities."

"Will I be coming with you?"

"No, after last night's stunt I don't think you'll be expected to make a public appearance." Bennett mused, turning to face me. His amber eyes flicked over my face, pausing on my neck. "Many people will assume that you're chained outside anyway."

The sparked my interest. Bennett was not my favorite person and I think it was fair for me to label him as less than lovely, but he was making it clear that I was supposed to suffer much longer than I actually had which baffled me. He hadn't shown any interest in me other than getting in my pants, yet he had come to my aid last night when I was clearly supposed to suffer much longer than I had.

"Why did you come help me last night?" I asked.

Bennett didn't seem at all surprised by my question. "Because the collar is brutal and though you deserved to be punished that was incredibly severe. You're also my mate, I choose how you are punished, not my father. I wasn't terribly keen on him making decisions regarding my mate. Besides, my punishment won't physically hurt you, but it will still work just as well."

"And what is your punishment, exactly?" I questioned.

"You're under house arrest. And the only time you are allowed to leave this house is when I am with you. If I find out that you have tried to escape- and I will be notified, trust me- then I shall up the consequences until you learn to obey me like a mate should. And in case you're feeling brave I'll let you know that I have half a dozen guards stationed around this house at all times. They will catch you, be sure of that." Bennett warned.

"What am I supposed to do all day?" I demanded.

"That's not my concern, now if you'll excuse me, I have to be on my way." Bennett said, his voice so polite it was almost rude. Then, without another remark he sauntered out of the room and soon after he disappeared from view I heard the front door open and close.

And just like that I was trapped in this massive house that I loathed.

�\]8�]�

Hey guys, comment your thoughts and ideas! Who is your favorite character so far and why? What about least favorite? You guys are awesome :)