The Prince's Mate

Chapter 35

Bennett and I got back to the palace in the early evening and I was beyond tired. I could barely walk in a straight line, but I profusely denied Bennett's offer to carry me. yes, I was tired, and yes I had very little muscle mass but I wasn't going to restore my strength by letting people carry me everywhere.

That being said, once I got into the house I collapsed onto a couch in the living room and refused to move until I caught my breath.

"Alright, I'll go make us some supper, love." Bennett murmured, already heading towards the kitchen.

I told myself I would shut my eyes, but only for a second. Evidently it was much longer than a second because Bennett had to shake me awake when he returned to me with two plates of food and two large glasses of water. He didn't seem bothered though, he just smiled and helped me sit up before gesturing to the food he made.

"Don't you have staff to make your meals?" I asked, poking at the chick peas that rolled around my plate.

"Yes, we will usually have staff, but between the hearing and your health I decided it would be best if we had a quiet house for a while. They will return in a week or so when you're healthier and the turmoil over my decision has died down." He explained.

"Why did you make Donovan go away when I needed him most?" I blurted, unable to hold the question in any longer.

Bennett didn't seem fazed, he hardly batted an eye actually. "You were very close with him, a lot closer with him than you were to me. when I threatened you with the whole treason bit I knew you would be upset me and you would go running to him for comfort and once I pieced that together I realized if I wanted you to come to me I would have to eliminate your other options. And it worked, not as well as I was hoping, but still."

I laughed a little as I shook my head, "That's pretty awful of you, and I was just starting to like you."

He shrugged his broad shoulders, "I was willing to play dirty. I had very few options left and I knew there was a good chance you were either going to leave me or I was going to end up more like my father than I wanted to be."

"You are nothing like your father, I see that now, and I'm starting to understand why you did things the way you did."

"Well, at least it's a good thing you think I'm better than my father because my own subjects don't seem to think so." Bennett mused.

"Then your people are fools."

Bennett chuckled, "No, sweetheart. These people are very set in their ways. All they ever knew were people just like my father, change is very frightening for them, the same it would be frightening for everyone else in the world."

We ate the rest of our food in silence and when we had finished Bennett took me upstairs, telling me I needed rest. I was going to protest, but he was right. I was exhausted just from sitting and listening to people talk all day. And when I looked at him and saw the deep bags under his eyes I knew that he needed rest, just the same. So we went to our room, changed into comfortable clothes and slid into bed. Both of us were fast asleep in minutes.

**Sex Scene ahead!**

I woke up before Bennett this time and I was feeling oddly bold and risqué. This morning I had lost my virginity and though it had been beautiful and surprisingly loving, it hadn't been what the movies and books led me to believe. There weren't sparks flying out of everywhere, I hadn't been screeching his name like a banshee, and it was all over very quickly. I remembered thinking that he wasn't experience the first time he took my heat away, but this morning confirmed it. Bennett had been a virgin up until very recently, which wasn't terribly surprising for a werewolf. Even more so a prince.