"He's more of myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, His and Mine are the same."
- Emily Bronte

Edited

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Beta Hector shuffles around in a desk chair in front of his alpha, in a subtle attempt to return to the current predicament they were discussing. He clears his throat again, instantly gaining the attention from his superior.

The deluded grace in which the prince was, seemingly charmed to be rather anxious. Alpha Alexander could not resist to thread his, impulsive fingers, throughout Vera's silky onyx hair.

All the while her innocence, laid in a dreamless realm, her soft snores infiltrated the bedroom— over the Alpha's own heavy intake, of breathing throughout his nostrils.

Breaking the silence, "What exactly do you plan on doing with her?" Hector only asks, whilst the Alpha darted his eyes back to his little female who slept.

Alexander hums obscurely while his tongue slid over his bottom lip, many thoughts coursed inside of his head, and they all shattered into an everlasting image of her entity...and perhaps he didn't know why.

"What is it that you mean, what am I going to do with her?" Gritting his teeth, the prince sported evident aggravation. "What possibly could I do, she is my soul partner."

Finalization was set on his mind and could not anyone negate a further dispute. Except Beta Hector who dared upon his tippy toes.

"She's a mere child."

A beading sweat fell from his forehead, and Hector was melting on the spot. The lit hearth which glowered the entire room, served little to no justice in cooling him down. Solar veins were at a fret.

"She's a pup." Hector stated, gaining the confidence to proceed.

Alexander shifts his mate further off of his lap, to the bed before he stands. He turns his back to the Beta, not wanting to converse any further,

"You're out of your mind Prince, if you believe she is capable of being what you need her to be." Time fleets hastily, when suddenly the lycan began to march towards Hector, his booming steps echoing each time his feet met the ground.

"What do you think I need her to be?" Alexander spoke slowly, dissecting the look upon the beta's face.

"In this day and age?" Hector scoffs, "We don't have time to waste, training a child to play Luna. We need an agile but strong woman on the basis of a queen, especially in the face of such mortal threats."

Alexander relaxes, contemplating on this. His muscles flex wickedly underneath his fitted button down tee. Hector tries to probe at the alpha once more.

"What will your King think of this?"

Hector slumps farther back into his chair before Alexander reaches him in two flimsy foot steps—and suddenly he cushions the blows from Alexander's fists, with his arms protectively shielding his face.

Hector felt blameless and didn't regret what he had said because undeniably, it was his truth.

"Don't you think recollection has occurred to me, Beta Hector, about our king?"

The more prejudiced male doesn't hesitate to snarl into the beta's face, with his claws poking out at his throat.

Alexander's chest rumbles from the growl that gathered in the pit of his throat, "Who says I give a rat's ass about what our king thinks, Hector?She's my mate."

Alexander continues to twists the shirt covering Hector's chest until he yanks it forward, his wolf fully risen to the surface. Finally, to gain some form of sanity, he releases Hector with a jolt, rocking him in his chair.

Alexander refrains from shouting after seeing his mate toss and turn in the bed. Reeling his head around back to the beta who stands, Alexander still towers over him with clattering fists.

"All these years you've become so bitter brother, allowing the thought of a woman to become your savior, to rule the throne." Hector chooses his words wisely, Alexander stops himself from throwing another punch.

Instead, the alpha peeks over his shoulder at his mate, then continues with Hector by grabbing the scruff of his neck. Alexander begins to push his beta outside of the room.

"Bitter is the war between brothers."

Hector is at even conflicts, battling the intervals within his mind. He decides to retreat after glaring daggers back at his Alpha. Alexander slides down with his back against the door, with little to no light shining from the window onto his face. As badly as he wanted to look away or busy himself, he kept his eyes glued onto his other half who rested.

He wanted so badly to lay his lips upon hers,  while just any part of her soft skin under his mouth, was enough to satisfy him. To smoothen the beast for a century longer.

He truly desired a spill of his mate's blood into his mouth as he bit open her fleshy throat, to claim her. The prince fought against his many urges.

He didn't want to wake her up, stealing her from the sleep he hadn't gotten in years upon her absence. And maybe Hector was right, maybe all those years without another life adding onto his soul...turned him cold. Heartless even.

Slowly the prince crawled beside his female to cradle the beauty onto his lap, with his shirtless chest pressing against her arm.

Lost years that drifted away for the expectancy of his mate, only to find an unshifted, possibly human juvenile. She knew nothing of royalty, Vera knew nothing of leading a pack of wolves. To make matters more worse, she didn't have the wise of years to be queen.

For the duration of time in which Alexander lived, King-man-ship is what Alexander solely wanted. Now a mate would conflict his one true end goal.

What would his family think of this? An infant marked by the beast. An unholy prince fated with an unruly teenager. It was a science.

Interrupted from his thoughts, Alexander felt the small girl fidget in his arms, causing him to gently place her down back on top of his bed. Instantly he threw the silk satin sheets around her, returning to his position standing over her with his bulging eyes gazing.

Before her eyes would open, Alexander could sense their feline gauge, swirling with want and capability.

Gradually For the first time, it felt like a forest green lake meeting wine.

Vera finds herself locking irises with the prince, except only this time she hurriedly looks away. Anywhere but towards the prince, who gawked shamelessly.

"Look to me." The Alpha snarls in his most guttural voice.

Vera shuts her eyes as his growling was still ringing in her ears, becoming louder.

"You don't ever reject me, your eyes will always bore into mine. Your sight, your touch. The way you think and breathe, all belongs to me." Alexander moves quickly without thinking, and uses his free hand to snatch Vera up by her wrist.

Vera's eyes widen, taken aback by the swiftness. "What do you think you're doing?"

The hurt was visible in Vera's eyes meanwhile Alexander remained indifferent. She was taught by her previous teachers that mates weren't supposed to act this way.

"Let go of me." She finds the confidence to demand, but this only seems to make Alexander tighten his grasp.

"You don't get to decide, what shall I do with what is mine." Alexander almost looks surprised with the way she raised her voice to command him.

Almost like she had used an alpha's command on him.

He would've laughed if he wasn't so furious at the moment. "I'm not yours!" Vera barks.

Alexander takes this brief moment to size her up when he releases the chuckle he was holding and tosses her wrist to the side like it weighed nothing.

"Look at you," even though the alpha trails off, his eyes remained fixated on the red emblem that encircled her neck, resting just below her collar bone.

"You're just a mere human. What could I possibly do with you." His words sounding harsher than what he intended. They echoed in Vera's ears, playing a toll on her heart.

"How fragile you are." At this, Vera wanted to look down on herself and examine truly what Alexander was seeing.

Half admittedly, Vera adorned this man for as long as she could remember and he was fixed on treating her poorly with blunt force.

Vera's lips begin to tremble as the question is swimming throughout her head. "Do y-you not want me?" She's asking with her heart entangled in her throat. Beating out of her chest.

Alexander only stares.

He drags his fingers through his hair before the response would be forced out, tasting like venom on his tongue, " Bury your emotions, Love. Or sinister roots will grow, leaving you to be vulnerable." He only says this with a lingering hand twirling a strand of her hair, with his finger.

Vera bites back her lip to stop crying when suddenly she feels the silent cold liquid spill from her eyelids. She hadn't dared to wipe them away.

"So just like that! You're going to deny me.. so all those poems and stories about meeting your one and saving yourself to be with that one individual were just all for what. A story? Pity from your greying father! Is that it?"

She feels the Prince step closer without even looking at hi, but Vera could imagine the wine color swimming in his eyes with proactive emotions that would scream and manipulate her.

"What I wanted was a mate." The alpha starts pulling her hands away from her face yet in a teasing manner, Vera squeezes her eyes shut tightly.

"What I wanted was a strong she-wolf as my Queen. You are a mere mortal. Hell, I would've settled for a shift borne. Anything but a weak sick looking human."

A small part of Vera, cracks wide open. Maybe it was her soul. Maybe it was the mate bond freeing her from her misery because he was no longer her fated one. No, he couldn't be, not with the way he let such reckless words taunt her.

Moments had passed before a sound being heard echoed and bounced off the walls. The sound of a slap to the face which Vera produced, stunning Alexander momentarily, before the wine color in his eyes began to swarm blood red.

"How's that for a mere weak sick looking human you mutt!" The words were fleeing from Vera's mouth at the little insult she had mustered, towards this physically perfect being in front of her.

~|~

I wish time had better timing for you and me.

~|~

The sound of Vera's pounding footsteps descending could be heard throughout the entire castle as she's running for dear life away from her wicked, illwitted mate.

She nearly stumbles down the stairwell as the blood-curdling echo of a malevolent growl, could be heard, rupturing her eardrums. Yet the only prominent sound that rung harder than any base was the pumping of blood in her ears.

Repeatedly her mate is calling after her, "Vera!"

"Vera do you not hear me?!"

"Vera, bring your ass back here now."

Vera continues to ignore the alpha with a strong sensation growing in the pit of her stomach, it encouraged her to keep moving her strong short legs. Soon she enters the corridor, now the main dining pavilion where she comes crashing down into a fall.

Lifting her flush against a chest she looks up slowly expecting a disheveled Beta Hector, to her surprise, it has her smile stretching from ear to ear. And she hums at the irony.

She releases a desperate sigh before she feels someone pull her into them, all but gracefully.

Realization hits her in a tidal wave before hot tears escaped her eyelids, "Mavis!" She calls out to her friend who replies with her own squeal.

"How I've missed you." Vera squeezes the smaller brunette, pressing her cheek against hers.

Before the two companions could further greet each other suddenly Vera was torn from Mavis's grasps. The familiarity in his growl and purr signaled before she stole a glance, confirming what she tried to escape had caught her.

The Prince.

"I'm curious as to where did you think you were going." Is All Alexander says, before he allowed her to remove herself from his arms.

"Somewhere." She growls out with all she could muster.

"Anywhere... that didn't have you in sight." Glaring daggers at him, Alexander only stares back at his female, fighting back a smirk.

The pair unknowingly began to have a staring contest, which Mavis ceased with the clearing of of her throat.

"Mavis, did anyone hurt you?" Vera desperately inspects Mavis for any cuts or wounds.

"I'm fine, I came looking for you despite the nurses telling me not to. They said something about the Alpha's orders and then after that I-" Mavis's banter was cut short when Alexander's lingering gaze remained on the back of Vera's head.

Then Mavis concluded the man before her, was the alpha they spoke so highly of who installed the command that Vera was suppose to be paid much distance.

"What is it, Maves." Vera questions with her eyebrow-raising humorously.

"Vera what exactly is going on here." Mavis takes another daring glance towards Alexander only this time he gazed back at her, with cloudy irises spectating.

"There's something I should tell you..." debating whether to call him by his status or not, "The Alpha Prince and I...are an item." Vera sighs aloud hinting annoyance.

Alexander stood so close to Vera's body, she could feel his pelvis digging into her back. Had he paid any attention to it and Vera's reaction— he chose to ignore it with his hand being placed over her shoulder.

Mavis's eyes followed him in this action.

"An item? That's moreover a take on the 70s. We're more than that, there's another term I find appropriate." Alexander chuckles, cutting the thickening tension inside the room.

"She belongs to me. Our souls are bonded." The alpha grins like a mad man, his teeth glistening like a feral dog's.

A shiver runs cold down Vera's back that he still pressed up against. She could almost feel her eyes internally rolling back in her head. At the hardness of his length threw his jeans.

Mavis could feel her face turning red at the blush creeping up her cheeks. How her friend wasn't the same in her eyes.

"My friend isn't yours. Last time I checked people weren't made to be property." Mavis verbally challenges him, but if only she knew this ruffled Alexander's wolf's insides. Anything the alpha says naturally goes, but when it came to his mate... things weren't up for the adversary at all.

Vera couldn't say anything. Not with the way his hand snaked around her neck possessively. Rather she felt it was safe to admit to herself she enjoyed this position...all too much.

"That's right?" Alexander egged on, looking down at Vera in his hands so submissive. So weak in his eyes.

Alexander liked her like this instead of that red-hot burning Phoenix, he had got into an argument with just moments before.

"Yes that's right. How dare you treat her like shes some kind of puppet. Tell him, Vera. Tell him how you abide to no one. And mate or no mate you can't, and won't be controlled." Mavis spoke so sternly. Alexander was impressed, but disgusted at the same time.

"Now, I'd have to disagree. Your god has given her to me and if that isn't more to reasoning, no living specimen could and will EVER take her away from me."  Alexander cooly stated before dangerously easing closer to Mavis.

"Your friend here needs me, like she needs oxygen to breathe," The prince leaves no space to argue, with his mouth etching towards his mate's corner lips.

The alpha's eyes kept flickering towards a certain part of Vera's neck that would soon bare something sacred to his kind and only then would it calm him for awhile.

"I can see you're still not convinced. Vera who do you belong to?" The prince quizzes with mischief overlapping on his tongue, and when Vera had not said anything, did his chest began to violently shake. He tightens his hand around her throat securely, squeezing her as she pulsates.

The Prince repeats the action with a riveting frustration, tethered in the air around them.

"I will ask for a second time and only a second time again. who do you belong to?" Alexander spat.

"I think that's enough!" Mavis yells, "Let her go!" She reaches for Vera's arm only to halt abruptly by the sound of a guttural growl from the Lycan, who shoved her.

She takes a scarce glance to see his sharp incisors baring towards her like knives. Eyes shifting from diamond red to a fiery grey. "Release her." She tries again, but this time, all confidence vanishes from her body. Her voice betraying her as it cracks.

Vera snaps from the charmed like state she was in, ignoring the electricity that raddled when she feels the prince's chest rumbling.

"Alexander that is enough! Please stop you've made your point." Vera yells.

"I'm yours."

~|~

A/N: chapter is a bit long sense I combined parts 6 &7