Not My Fairytale

Chapter 2

A Dreadful Fate

Franco's heart beat a steady, comforting rhythm as I lay with my head resting on his bare chest. His left hand drew idle circles on my back as we listened to the sounds of the forest around us. I knew this feeling of peace was fleeting, and that I should enjoy every moment of it while I could, but there was something pressing on my mind, and I could not seem to keep the words from bubbling up from my throat, "What are we going to do when one of us find our mate?"

The hand on my back froze in its tracks. I was beginning to wonder if he was ever going to give me an answer, or if he was going to feign sleep, when he finally responded, his fingertips resuming their lazy designs across my skin. "There is only one thing we can do, I suppose." There was a weary edge to his voice, as if he didn't like his words any more than I did. "Accept our fates."

I shot up from his chest, anger and hurt warring in my mind. "How can you say that so casually?" I demanded, jabbing a finger at him.

He brushed my hand aside, before reaching both of his own up to cup my face, freezing my movements instantly. He held me there just long enough to look closely at my face, my emotions for once, not veiled by the shuttered mask of a crown princess. He pulled my face gently back down to his, kissing me deeply and passionately, until my body relaxed beneath his touch. He pulled back briefly, before bringing his lips back to mine for a notably shorter kiss than the first. "Do not, for a single second, think that I say that out of lack of love for you."

I sighed, plucking one of his hands from my cheek to place a kiss against the center of his palm. I regretted speaking my thoughts aloud, but of all the people in the world, Franco was someone who I could always count on to listen to what lay in the deepest corners of my mind. The perfect son of my father's best friend, born only two weeks after I was, Franco and I had been nearly inseparable since birth. As children, our similar competitive nature made us both fast friends and fierce rivals. I could never pinpoint when that innocent childlike friendship turned to love. It grew slowly– so secretly even I wasn't aware of it– until suddenly one day I noticed him. The gangly awkward preteen was gone, in his place stood a strong, confident man, and even more shocking, he was staring back at me with the same heated look reflecting in his eyes.

Years passed, and while we resentfully admitted that if we had been mates we would have felt the bond by now, miraculously, neither of us had found our real mates either, leaving me with a swelling hope I tried to bury deep within my heart. One I knew was bound to break it, but I couldn't seem to suppress my desire to be with him.

"You're not going to like this," He began, as though he could read my mind. His wrist flicked to the right, as he captured my hand that had previously held it captive. He brought the hand to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss against my knuckles as he gathered his thoughts. "You're my best friend Giules, you always have been, and I love you more than I have ever loved anyone else, but I don't think you realize the force we will be contending with." He sighed, giving my knuckles one more kiss before he released them. "I wish more than anything that The Goddess would have tied you to me for life, but we have to accept the fact that somewhere out there we both have real mates waiting for us. Someone designed just for us. It feels impossible now, but I think when the time comes, it will be easy for us to say goodbye to this side of our relationship. That's what the mate bond is like, it's irrational."

His words widened the gaping hole I already felt in my heart, but I carefully kept the hurt from my face. What had I expected him to say? That he would reject his mate in order to remain with me? Deep down, I knew that that wasn't Franco. He was dutiful to the core, and would never blatantly go against something he views as a direct order from The Goddess. Even for his alpha. Even for me. Beneath the feel of my heart breaking, I knew that his words were likely true. The mate bond felt like a stronger, more formidable opponent than anything else in the world. It frightened me more than anything else in the world.

"I don't want a mate." The words slipped out without my conscious permission, the truth of them stunning us both into silence for a moment. Even worse, I found my lips pulling down into a pout.

His emerald eyes drifted down to my pouted lips, but he made no move to get closer. "Why not?"

I tilted my head back down to his chest as I mulled over my response, the action less a loving gesture than a way to hide my expression from his calculating eyes. I thought hard before settling with, "Because I decide who I love and nobody else. And, not even The Goddess herself can take that choice from me."

For a moment, I heard only the sound of his heart beating beneath my ear and the distant sounds of the birds fluttering in the branches above us. Then, the rich sound of his chuckles filled the air around us. His arms snaked up around my waist, securing me against his chest. "That fighting spirit is exactly why I love you."

I lifted my head to look up at him once more, and he gave me a soft smile, gently tilting my chin up until his mouth could meet mine in a soft, deep kiss that ended much too quickly. "We don't need to waste time thinking about this now, it's all hypothetical until one of us meets our mate."

His words calmed some of the ache in my chest. "You're right."

I pulled my body up until I could nestle my head into the crook of his neck, inhaling the familiar smell of him. His arms tightened protectively around me, making me want to savor every last second with him that I had left, but there was one last thing on my mind. My hand reached out and traced swirling circles across his chest, much like he had been doing to my back only minutes ago. "The law says that if I haven't found my mate by twenty-five, that I must choose one from among the eligible bachelors."

He hummed deep in his chest to show that he was following. I swallowed, watching my hands move for a moment before plowing along, "If neither of us finds our mate, will you promise to be with me forever?"

He chuckled again, "Is that even a question?"

"I want to hear you say it," I persisted. I need to hear you say it.

"Of course. You are the only other person I would ever want to spend my life with."

I settled back into his chest with a deep sigh, realizing that that was the best I could hope for in this situation. It wasn't ideal, but it would have to do.

His arms tightened around me once more, letting out a sigh of his own in response to mine. "Giules, I know what this is really about. You don't need to start questioning every single good thing in your life, just because you are being forced to question one lone aspect of it. You are a clever woman, more clever than you even know, I think. You keep yourself five steps ahead of everyone you know. You notice everything, always. And, most importantly, you never back down from a challenge. So, if anyone can find a way through a situation like this, it's you. And, I will back you every single step of the way."

His words should have brought the full force of my anxiety from earlier roaring back at me, but it didn't. Instead, his words filled me with appreciation for the man The Goddess had gifted me as my second in command. Only one thought repeated in my mind, beating in time with his heart:

Only five more years to go.

~*~*~

How long do you think their agreement will last?

Is Giules wrong for wanting to pick her own husband?

Tell me what you think!