Conquering Kolton--Sample (Book 2 of The Sovereign Series)

2. Possibilities

"Eliza was rejected by her mate," Adam said quietly to Xavier as they sat in the former king's study on the ground floor of the palace. The two of them were alone, Eliza off in the gardens for the morning with Louisa, King Kane's youngest sibling.

"Wha - but your daughter is... she is very lovely." Xavier couldn't understand. Eliza was a pretty little thing with dark red hair and pale cornflower eyes. She was a vision to look at, and a pleasure to speak with. She was quiet, polite, and demure.

"The boy who rejected her is a fool," Adam growled out. "They were best friends for ages until they both turned 18 a year ago. He was seeing a human by the name of Hayley and he refuses to let her go so he can mate with my daughter."

"So he rejected his true mate to be with a human. One who would never understand our ways," Xavier said gravely. "Does the girl know? Is she aware he is a shifter or is she still blind to his inner nature?"

"He cannot tell her unless they were to wed or he was to mark her as his," Adam said. The law was firm. Though humans knew of the existence of werewolves, the shifters themselves did not give out their status as shifter unless they were very intimately involved with the person. They either needed to be marked and mated, or wed. "He has yet to claim her, and humans do not usually marry as early as our species does."

"They were friends first?" Xavier was surprised. "You would think someone so close would be happy to find their mate in someone as close as two best friends. "

"As I said, Jonathan Purcell is a fool," Adam threw out. "He refuses to let go of his human, and my daughter is distraught because of him. I brought her here so she could be away from home and... him."

Xavier understood. Though he did not find his own mate due to conventional circumstances, he understood how painful it would be to be rejected by the one meant for you.

"You are welcome to stay as long as you like, Adam," Xavier told him. "You and your daughter. Has this Jonathan rejected her formally?"

"No, not as of yet," Adam admitted. "He is concerned for her well-being as the pain of rejection is said to be severe."

"He is only making it worse by giving your daughter false hope," Xavier said. "It would be best if he broke ties with her immediately if he has no plans on claiming her as his."

"It cannot get much worse, Xavier," Adam admitted. "My poor Eliza barely eats more than a bird, and her sleep is fitful at best. I was hoping a change of scenery would help, and I thank you for your hospitality."

"My pleasure, dear friend. Eliza seems like a sweet girl and it would make me happy if she were to take some respite here and find some peace."

They turned to talk about other things, Xavier taking the time to explain his son's situation and the lack of a Coming of Age Ball that summer.

"The boy's hard-headed," Xavier griped.

"Like his father," Adam said with a smirk.

"If you weren't such an old friend of mine, I'd gut you like a fish, Adam." Xavier winked at him.

"And if you weren't such an old, incapable fool, I'd probably take that as a threat," Adam bounced back, laughing. It was almost a choked sound and his face grew serious as he thought back to Eliza. "What will my daughter do without a mate? I have no other children and Eliza's mother..."

The man trailed off. His wife, Colleen DeWitt, had passed when Eliza was only four. They'd only had Eliza when a car accident had taken her from them. Adam was very close to his only child.