The Prince's Mate

Chapter 19

Donovan and I went to the nearest mall which thrilled me. It had been such a long time since I had been to a mall and the idea of being around people, even if they had no idea who I was, made me giddy. I missed having interactions with people who weren't Bennett or my seamstress.

"Are we even going to buy anything today or are you just going to watch people?" Donovan teased, winking at me.

"I don't have any money on me, but I'm more than content with people watching." I admitted. We had been sitting on a bench in the mall for about ten minutes now, and I was still satisfied just observing the people who sauntered by.

"Come on, your mate is a prince, did you really think he was going to send me anywhere without sufficient funds to buy you whatever you could possibly want?"

I snorted, "I didn't think he was that generous."

"Come on, let's get you something to cheer you up." Donovan said, nodding towards the shops.

I chuckled slightly and followed him to the nearest store. We talked and laughed as we moved from store to store. Donovan was such good company, he had such an easy sense of humor and his kindness was unmatched by any male werewolf I had met, even my father. Conversation flowed naturally between us and I never felt the slightest hint of discomfort in the air. The light touches on my arms and the tender smiles did nothing but make me feel cared for.

We were in a little store that was stuffed to the brim with hoodies, edgy tee shirts, and skate shoes when I heard a gasp come from outside, followed by a loud squeal and by the time I turned to face the noise arms were around me. but before I could even decide to return or reject the embrace from this stranger, a hard arm was placed between us and the unidentified person was shoved away from me. when I finally came to my senses I had to peer around Donovan's tense body to get a look at my "attacker".

"Willow!" I shouted in glee.

"Who is she, Brook?" Donovan demanded, keeping me behind him, even when I tried to skirt around him.

"She's my friend." I said, shoving him aside to get to her.

No, Willow had never been the girl I had stayed up all night with confessing my secrets to. We didn't swap clothes and give each other fashion advice before dates. Hell, we hardly spent time together outside of work, but seeing her gorgeous face and long blonde hair warmed my heart and I couldn't stop myself from throwing my arms around her and nearly tackling her slight frame to the floor.

We had never been tremendously close, but she was a part of the life I had been ripped away from.

"Oh my god, it's so good to see you. I seriously thought that the next time I'd see your face you'd be wearing a crown and a big, fluffy dress." Willow confessed, pulling away slightly, but not smiling any less, "And I never thought I would run into you at a shitty little mall like this."

I giggled, giddy with happiness, "Come on, Willow, it's not like I would just jump in head first. I need time to adjust to all the diamonds and dresses."

Willow rolled her eyes, "How about we trade places then? You go back to the sleepy town and I get to be a princess because I would definitely appreciate some glitter in my life." Willow's eyes moved to Donovan, and she didn't try to hide her sultry smile as she stuck out her hand, "Brooklyn, it seems we've forgotten all about your friend."

"Oh, right, Donovan, this is my friend Willow, Willow this is my guard Donovan."

"Oh, I've never met a royal guard before." Willow practically purred, but in seconds her eyes became less focused on Donovan and her expression more serious, "But where's the prince, your mate?"

"He was, um- he was busy." I sputtered out. I wasn't going to tell Willow that I would've literally jumped out a window to escape my suddenly over protective, yet emotionally unavailable mate. The last thing I wanted was for her to worry about me, or worse, she could tell my dad. My heart clenched with panic at the thought. My poor father would be crushed if he knew I was unhappy and there was nothing he could do about it.

"Ah, I guess being next in line would kind of eat up a lot of your time." Willow said, seeming to believe my lie.

"Yeah, he couldn't be bothered to do things like shopping and he probably has thirty servants that do it all for him anyway." I added.

Willow nodded her head, her green eyes flicking over me briefly, "Well, it was really good to see you Brook, and it was nice to meet you Donovan, but I have to run. I need to be at work soon and you know how Mrs. Blans is about people being late." Willow explained while she pulled me in for another tight hug.

"Yeah, I totally understand." I replied, "I guess I'll just see you around then?"

"No, no, I'm not waiting longer to find out how your life has been going. Call me, okay?"

I smiled a little, "Okay."

Donovan tried to get me to shop around a little more once Willow was gone, but I knew he could tell that I no longer cared about the clothes and I only half smiled at his lame jokes now. He eventually gave up on the rest of the shopping trip despite the fact that I hadn't bought anything and we headed back to the car.

"Do you think your friend knows that you don't like your mate?" Donovan asked once we slid into the car.

"What? Why would you think that I don't like Bennett?" I asked stupidly.

Donovan smiled coldly, "Because I know you don't like him. I know you're trying to like him, but you don't. I'm not stupid, Brook."

I sighed, scrubbing my hands over my face in frustration as we began driving back home, "I don't even know if I hate him. I know that he's immature and insecure, I can see that, and I know that he's driving me crazy by keeping me cooped up by myself and setting stupid rules. I'm upset because I miss my family and my old life, which are partially his fault, but not entirely. Basically, there's a lot of reasons I'm upset and he's involved in all of them, therefore I take my feelings out on him."

"Yeah, I get that, but my question is: do you think your friend knows?"

"Why does it matter?"

"Because if something like that gets out to other packs we might have a war on our hands. Packs are very protective, and your pack might want to take you away from the prince, especially since you aren't mated or even marked. Your old pack just needs a few more to join the cause and there will be blood shed over you."

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