The Prince's Mate

Chapter 39

The rest of the day was filled with mixed emotions. I know my father desperately wanted to know what had transpired between Bennett and I, but I also knew he was just thrilled that I was finally home. Sometimes he would just walk over to me and hug me as tight as he could, like he feared that I wasn't real and I always hugged him back just as hard. Then Cassandra came home and it was all giggles and squeals for ten minutes as she bombarded me with questions, just like my father had done. Luckily, her questions were less invasive and I could answer them all with easy smiles.

I sat in the living room with my dad and Cassandra for a little bit and told them stories from the past few months. I talked about how everyone was shocked when I wanted my clothes from Walmart and about the time my guard made fun of me for making pineapple rice. I gushed about the multiple tutors I had to teach me about formal dining when it came time for The Reveal and how I had women in my room for hours every day just trying to figure out how to do my hair.

Eventually it was time for supper and when I got up to start cooking, my dad waved me off. We ended up ordering Chinese and eating in the living room. The attention slowly went away from my stories and we just finished the day by watching a movie together.

Shortly after ten in the evening we all decided that we would go to bed and I was not going to argue. I hadn't slept well last night, tossing and turning all night by myself.

When I got upstairs, Cass peeked out of her bedroom.

"Brook?"

"Yes?" I asked as I turned my bedroom light on.

"Are you going to stay with us for a while?"

"Yeah, kiddo, I'm going to be here for a while."

The next day things started to twist inside me a little more as different feelings washed over me. I woke up feeling thrilled that I was back home with my family, finally safe and happy after everything that had happened. But when I went downstairs I found that Cassandra was already heading out the door and my father was straightening his tie, almost ready to leave in minutes. My dad apologized and kissed the top of my head, telling me he would try to get home early. And once the door closed the crushing blow of reality hit me. My family had moved on without me.

I mean, what could I expect? I had been gone for half a year, they weren't just going to sit around and wait for me to come back. They didn't even know if I was coming back for Christ's sake. Maybe they thought the closest they would ever get to me again would be through televised events like The Reveal. And I wanted them to get on with life, didn't I? I wanted them to be happy and fulfilled because when I had first been taken I hadn't know that it would end up like this.

But I couldn't help but be a little disappointed. I didn't think my arrival back home deserved a lot of fanfare because I was a princess. I just forgot that they had lives without me now. If nothing else it made me feel misplaced all over again. First, I was so normal at the palace that no one knew how to deal with me and now I was so abnormal I didn't know how to deal with the reality of everyday life. For a moment I felt so ridiculous and useless that I wanted to cry.

Then I ended up doing what I always did at the palace. I read and watched television until my eyes blurred and I couldn't handle it anymore.

After what felt like hours I couldn't take it. I got up and put my shoes on, not knowing where I was going, but entirely unwilling to spend my time here. I burst out of my front door and walked around my packlands for the first time in half a year.

Everything and nothing had changed at the same time. The last time I had been here it was late spring, just before summer break for Cassandra. Now Christmas decorations were everywhere and snow was covering the ground. It felt odd just being here, knowing that my little pack had progressed like nothing had happened at all when my whole life had been turned upside. Plus, the people who pointed at me and whispered to their friends didn't help. I wanted to yell at them all that I wasn't queen anymore, I was just an average person now.

"Brooklyn?" someone yelled out, snagging my attention, "I mean, your Highness." My alpha corrected as he approached me.

"Majesty is the proper term." I said stiffly, already wanting to run away. I knew a lot of things had changed in this pack, but I could almost guarantee my alpha hadn't. I doubted he suddenly started treating his mate with the love and respect she deserved.

"Sorry." He said, bowing deeply, "And I apologize for the mess, I wasn't informed that you would be coming back here so soon."

"I'm not here on business." I said flatly, "I don't need to inform anyone."

My alpha blinked, looking frazzled, but he recovered quickly, "Very well, maybe you would like some company as you walk?" he suggested.

"Alright." I sighed.

We walked and talked for about half an hour. Well, I walked and he talked. He told me all about everyone's lives, how everyone was prospering in his pack and it was doing so well. But all my thoughts derailed when I heard a loud crash come from someone's home and then a loud, but desperate yell from a woman. My alpha didn't seem too concerned at all, he just placed his hand on my back and guided me away from the house, still blabbering on. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a young lady getting yelled at by a man and instead of engaging in a heated argument with him, or even defending herself, she just hung her head and cried, clearly terrified.

"So, as you can see, we need all the funding we can get. This pack is full of good, strong wolves, maybe wolves who will rise to be the elites of your royal pack, but they cannot do great things while we are on such tight budgets." My alpha explained.

For one, I knew we were far from on a tight budget; my pack had always been well off in comparison to some. For another, my pack would do much better if he didn't spend half of the budget on his lavish home and fancy cars.

"Do you agree, Queen?"

"Listen, I can't make these kinds of decisions by myself." I said, "I'll have to go home and call my mate before anything can happen. You understand that, right?"

"Absolutely, I wouldn't want my mate making choices like that either." He replied.

I almost gagged at his response, but held it in, "Well, it was lovely to see you, but I'm quite exhausted. I think I should return home now." I said, pointing to my home. I slid away from him before he could even say good bye and hustled back into the safety of my home.

Once the door closed behind me, I pressed the heels of my hands against my eyes painfully, trying to wipe the image of those helpless women out of my mind. I didn't want to think that they would continue suffering under the hands of men, but when I shut my eyes the images came back, only this time with Cassandra all grown up and her future mate. And I began to sob into my hands.

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