"Ramona."
The soft sound of her na being called out, made Ramona Vye turn at once. She quickly dipped into a bow, her movents rushed, almost frantic, before lifting her head to face the man who had spoken. "Prince Kael. Welco back. Forgive for not joining in on your welcoming earlier."
Prince Kael gave a brief nod as he gave her a searching look. "It’s alright."
Ramona quickly looked away with an inward wince. She knew he had already noticed the shimr of tears clinging to her lashes. Heat rushed to her cheeks, and she hurriedly wiped them away with the back of her hand. "I... I am sorry for this as well. I didn’t an to-"
"Stop apologizing." His voice cut across hers like cold steel and Ramona quickly shut her mouth. "I’ll be leaving now."
The chill in his tone sent a shiver down her spine, and Ramona’s heart dropped.
She realized she had probably angered him further, though she couldn’t understand exactly how. The instinct to beg forgiveness burned on her tongue, but the sight of his unyielding expression silenced her. She knew if she said sorry again, he would simply be more angry.
Instead, her fingers curled tightly into her palm, nails biting into her skin as she forced herself to say sothing, anything,that might soften the distance between them. So, as he turned back to leave, she called out, "Would you... would you like to join for lunch?"
She watched as he froze, with his back still turned.. And as he turned back to look at her, for the briefest mont, though his face betrayed nothing, she could tell she had startled him.
His dark eyes lingered on her, unreadable, and she quickly looked away because, the instant the invitation left her lips, regret followed.
She hadn’t ant to ask him that. She didn’t even want him near her. The truth was, Prince Kael unsettled her too much. It was probably because of the power he carried. While Lance was just as powerful, he always softened for her. But Prince Kael...fear gnawed at her every ti he looked at her.
When Lance had told her, three years ago, what needed to be done in order for the ceremony to proceed, she had rejected the very idea with every fiber of her being. She could not—would not—be mated to all three of them together. The thought was unbearable, impossible for her to accept.
It wasn’t that she refused intimacy. Among werewolves and fated mates, sex was nothing forbidden, nothing shaful. That part she understood. But even though the bond tied her to all three princes, her heart rebelled against one of them. She could accept Zen. She could accept Lance. But Kael-Kael she could never bring herself to accept.
And hadn’t he agreed to it once? Kael himself had proposed that she reject him. She rembered it clearly. It was why Kael had proposed to go on a tour as Stormhold’s envoy.
But Zen had not agreed. Zen had disagreed with her decision to the extent that he had ended up fighting with both his brothers... ultimately deciding to leave her and go away with Prince Kael,
In the past three years, Lance had never once laid bla at her feet for driving his brothers away or not establishing the fated bond.
He had been patient, understanding, careful not to push. But she knew Zen resented her. And she knew Lance also wanted the bond to be whole. With Kael included.
She could feel it still, like an open wound that had never healed.
She had convince herself that perhaps ti would dull her fear. That by the ti Zen and Kael returned, she might have buried her aversion, forced it into silence, taught herself to endure Kael’s presence if not completely accept it.
She had even promised Lance she would give the mating bond a chance, all three of them, just as fate had written. It was only because of that promise that he had finally agreed to set a date for their ceremony.
But now, standing before Prince Kael and facing that cold, impassive face, she already wished he would refuse the lunch on. However, on the other side, she could only call herself a fool.
If she could not endure his presence, then how would she endure his bond.
Realizing that she had been lost in thought for too long, she gave him a tremulous smile, trying to look as welcoming of Prince Kael as she could. And then, when she saw him nod, a sick feeling settled in her stomach. Why did she smile?
As they walked towards her house, in silence, she tried to think of any topic that they might be able to talk about.
Finally, she decided to ask about their three years away. That seed like a safe topic. "How... how were the past three years? Were the journeys long?"
She watched as his gaze stayed forward and clenched her hands. Why could he not be easy going like Zen. If she’d given him that question, then he would have probably told her many anecdotes about it.
But when he answered, all he said was," Long enough." and then they fell back into silence.
She swallowed and tried again, forcing a polite smile. "Did you travel far from the kingdom?"
"Yes."
Her hands fidgeted at her side, the answers hitting her like stones, blunt and final. She clenched her jaw and pressed on, though she felt suffocated with each attempt. "Did you... enjoy the places you visited? Perhaps the people you t?"
Finally, she thought that she saw a hint of a smile but then as she heard the answer, she felt chills down her spine. " I did enjoy the people I t. But I don’t think they enjoyed eting . After all, they ended up dead after that."
Ramona stiffened. Dam* it! Did he have to remind her that he was the pack killer? As she clenched her hands, to forcefully suppress the nausea she was feeling, she heard him say, "You do not need to force yourself to speak with . I know it isn’t easy for you. I am tired from the journey, and I would rather rest. Goodbye."
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