A Royal Pain

chapter fourteen

Mason

My eyes were filled with a bright light. Sunlight from the window next to me streamed in, making me groan in protest. 

"Oh sorry, I'll get that." A feminine voice said. 

"A-Aurora?" 

She came to my bedside to place a large tray on the nightstand. "How do you feel?" 

The sliver of skin that was exposed from reaching up to close the curtains almost made me forget the question. "Hrngh." 

She giggled, a high pitched laugh that made my heart skip a beat. "Sounds about right. Do you remember anything?" Memories of a fierce burning sensation and falling onto the forest floor filled my mind but I shook my head. "You went through heat." 

"But... isn't that only for females?" 

She sighed. "I feel like there's still so much I don't know. In royal mates both wolves experience heat to put more pressure on mating. Both of us will go through a few cycles until..." she trailed off and let out another sigh. "I didn't even know this happened. Just like I didn't know about the moonlight ceremony or anything about being a queen." 

"You don't give yourself enough credit." 

"No, really," Aurora let her head fall back as she let out a sad noise. "I don't understand anything that's happening. I just constantly rush into things and let the people around me get hurt. I'm not ready for this." 

"C'mere." I held my arms out and she sank into them. "We'll learn together." 

What felt like eternity passed as she laid in my arms. She dulled the ache I had lived with my whole life. I had never understood why people were so upset with the loss of their mates, but now I knew. I wouldn't be able to go on if anything happened to Aurora, and we weren't even fully mated. Every time she let out a sniffle a little piece of my heart broke away. 

"Is he- oh!" a voice said. I slowly opened my eyes to see Kim and Charles peeking into my bedroom. 

"Hello,"  I said groggily. A warm weight settled onto my chest that made me feel strangely peaceful. More peaceful than I'd felt in a long time, actually. 

"We'll leave you two alone," Charles grinned. The two of them retreated from the doorway, laughing and muttering something about Kim winning a bet.

What were they muttering about? I glanced around the room- oh. Oh.  Aurora was still nestled into my shoulder, deeply asleep. The way my heart clenched reminded me of everything I had been told growing up. All I would do is bring pain and suffering. My mother was right; my mate would be the unluckiest girl in the world. 

Aurora was too perfect. Too perfect for my damaged self. My wolf and I were rough around the edges-- jagged and messed up. I needed someone who was already messed up, someone who's life couldn't possibly get worse by me being in it. Livia, maybe. Her life wouldn't get any more pathetic if I was her mate. The future of the kingdom depended on Aurora having an amazing mate. 

She needed someone with a shiny past to show off to her subjects. Her shining night in armor. That could never be me. This whole mess with Marina was my fault. Everything was my fault, as my mother has always said.