The Prince's Mate

Chapter 16

"Christ Brook." Bennett whispered, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry." I blurted out, crying all over again, "I'm trying to be strong, honest. I'll do better."

Bennett strode over to me, coming to my side in seconds. "No, no, you don't need to do better. I need to do better." He carefully put his arms around me, pulling me against his side. "God, I'm so sorry, Brook. I should have known." He whispered into my hair, running his hands up and down my back.

"You're not mad?" I whimpered, glancing up at him through my wet eyelashes.

"No baby, I'm not mad at you." He murmured, gently rocking me.

This was not the response I expected from Bennett. Where was all the yelling and the arguing. Wasn't he going to tell me that I needed to grow up and get over my problems? Or scoff at me and tell me that I was pathetic? But when I looked at him I didn't see rage or disappointment. I didn't seem judgement or disgust. He looked frightened and panicked.

"I won't fire you." I burst, pulling myself away from Bennett enough to look at Donovan who stood tensely in the doorway.

He just gave me a little smile, "You're too kind to fire anyone, Brooklyn. I knew that from the start." He said, then he bowed his head, "I'll leave you alone, but please, call if you need me."

"Thank you." Bennett whispered, nodding back at Donovan.

"He's a nice guy." I murmured, trying to distract him.

"Yes, he's quite the guard and I've never been so thankful for him." Bennett said, tenderly grabbing at my hands so he could see my wrists. I yanked them out of his grasp, keeping the wounds hidden from his eyes. "Brooklyn, please, just let me see them. I want to make sure you don't need stitches, that's all." He soothed, gently pulling my arms away from my body.

"I don't need stitches." I said.

"That's good, everything will heal on it's own then." Bennett took a shaky breath, then his arms were around me again, squeezing me against him tightly. "God, I'm so sorry. I should have known this would happen. I should have been a better mate from the beginning." He choked out, sounding awfully close to tears. "I'll do better, baby. I promise, I'll make sure you never feel alone again." He vowed.

"I want my family." I admitted meekly.

Bennett eased me away from him slightly so his eyes could scan me over, "Your family? Why didn't they come with you?" he asked.

"I was thrown in a car the second you saw me, don't you remember. My father probably didn't even know you were my mate until he heard it from local gossip. I didn't even get a chance to say good bye. The queen told me it didn't matter. She treated me like I was being a baby." I confessed, the words pouring out of my mouth without a filter.

"Christ, of course she did." Bennett hissed, shaking his head angry, "I thought your family hadn't come with you because you didn't want them to, not because you were ripped away from them. Why didn't you call them and tell them they could come here?"

"I don't have my phone and I assumed that I wasn't allowed to just invite people to a palace that isn't even mine." I said.

"This is your home, Brooklyn. I know it's probably not everything you want. I'm not everything you want, but everything I have is yours, including this palace. If you want to bring an elephant in here then that is what will happen, okay?" Bennett said adamantly.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" I asked, sniffling slightly. "You were such an asshole two days ago and now, this."

Bennett sighed, unable to meet my eyes suddenly. "I come from a different life than you do, and you were not what I expected in a mate. I thought I would be mated to someone who would be the wife my parents wanted for me. A shewolf who would assume her place as my wife and nothing else. But you're not like that, and I didn't know how to deal with you. You disobeyed me time and time again. You made me look like a fool in front of my pack." Bennett rubbed his face, "It's no excuse to treat you the way I did, I know that. And I'm so sorry. It's just that everyone has certain expectations of how I should treat you when you behave badly or what makes you a good wife and I figured if I did what they wanted they would view me as a good leader, a good king."

"Being a bad mate doesn't make you a good king." I replied flatly.

"I know that now, I do." Bennett whispered, "I'll try and be the best mate I can be from now on, okay?"

"Okay." I breathed, leaning my head against his chest. I think this was the first time I had ever been comforted by him and it felt lovely. Like a warm blanket on a cold winter's night, but I was still wary of him, images of the collar and him yelling flashed through my mind.

"But my parents are still in power." Bennett said, his voice carrying a warning tone.

"So?"

"So that means if my dad puts you in the collar again I don't have the right to go against the king's orders. I got away with it the first time, but he wont be so kind the second time, okay? And that goes for any punishment. Please, if you want to get revenge on me for the way I treated you, fine, but do it where no one can see you, because my father is much less kind than I am."

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***Tiny chapter, but i need to wake up at five in the morning so i figured id just put it out there. comment and vote, it totally motivates me!***