"Did she just?" I sit there stunned as I watch her horse disappear around the corner then out of sight.

Leith finally closes his mouth that dropped open "Damn, man. She just put you in your place, then left."

Henry chuckles a little. "She is a feisty fireball for sure. I am shocked she even talked to a man like that."

"We need to visit her so we can see what is going on with that. I want to meet the newcomers that have moved in," glaring down the path she took.

Leith snaps his head in my direction. "She was a human right? That is all I smelt."

Henry nods slowly. "Yes, it is unusual for humans to move in on our territory, but it does happen from time to time."

"I think that either she was brought up not knowing how to respect royals or just does not care," Leith is snarling now.

"That is something that I intend to find out," turning our horses to follow the path she took, going to talk to her along with her family. I want to get a feel from them, seeing what they plan to do with their life here. Are they going to stay or just buying for a short time? I would like to know.

"Exactly how are you going to do this, brother?"

Crossing my arms after dropping my reigns, "Talk, nothing more. See if her father has more respect than she does toward a royal."

We ride for a short time until we get closer to her house; my wolf stirs a little.

My wolf gets jumpy as we get closer. "What is wrong with you?" asking him.

Master answers in a hesitant voice, "I am not sure; I just caught a scent that has me uncomfortable right now."

"Calm down until you figure it out; I hate it when you get jumpy like this."

"I will hear shortly; I just need to figure out what is bothering me," still stirring a little too much.

Leith is watching me closely. "Hey, are you in deep thought over there?"

Shaking my head a little, "Sorry, my wolf is restless. He was talking to me while we were trying to figure out what was happening."

Henry pops up, speaking, "There must be something wrong. He hardly ever says anything to you."

"He is quiet most of the time, but when he wants to be heard, he lets me know." We make a few more turns then her house comes into view. There are people outside working, an older man along with a woman and about four children. They all look up with a smile as we approach; the man stops what he is doing, walking towards us.

The older man speaks to us, "Good afternoon, gentleman, my name is Luke. How may I help you?"

I stop my horse then dismount to talk on the ground. Leith grabs my reins while I walk up to him.

"How are you today, sir?" sticking my hand out to shake his.

Luke shakes mine back while looking at my attire. "Doing fine. We just moved in here last week. Not many visitors come this way."

"You are at the edge of the lands, so the main road right there connects the two kingdoms. That creek at the back of your property is the divider," pointing to the huge creek that is not far off.

Luke looks at it then smiles. "Thank you for that information. We will make sure to stay on our side then. We were going to visit the royal family tomorrow to let them know we have moved onto their lands."

Smiling at him, "No need for that."

Luke looks a little nervous now. "Not trying to be rude, but I want to be in the good graces of the King and Queen, so I want to let them know of our arrival."

Taking a deep breath, "Let me introduce myself, so sorry for being rude on that part. King Sebastian, I own these lands, plus I am the royal who you would need to see."

He drops to one knee, bowing his head. "Your Highness, please if I had known."

I step forward to lay my hand on his shoulder. "You're fine. You are new here and did not know who I was. I will excuse this behavior this time. Now the next time we meet, you have seen me knowing who I am."

Luke is still looking at the ground as he speaks, "I have heard tales that a very young King ruled these lands, but I never knew you were so young."

"When my parents were killed, I had to take over at a young age. I was trained for many years on how to run my country plus to rule the people in it."

She rounds the corner of the house. "Daddy, I need you.....Oh, it's you."

Luke stands up, pointing his finger in her direction "Kenna, watch your mouth. One you are in a man's presence, secondly in the presence of the King! You were taught better than that."

Kenna snorts, "This is no King; he is way too young to be one."

He turns to me with a worried fashion. "I am sorry, your grace; her manners have been misplaced."

Just then, my wolf growls very deeply as she comes closer to us. "What is wrong with you?" trying not to make it too obvious that I am talking to myself in their eyes.

"Now I know what was wrong earlier. She is our, mate!" he says in a low growl.

"What? It can't be" trying to push that aside.

"Take a deep breath, then tell me what you smell."

I do that where I smell it now. She has that smell of fresh linens mixed with purple wildflower altogether. He growls again as the scent runs through our bodies.

Kenna snaps me out of my thoughts. "If you are the King, why didn't you say something earlier?"

"You didn't give me a chance. You mouthed off at us, then rode off."

Luke whirls on her in a very aggressive manner, "What is wrong with you, child? Go inside immediately."

Holding my hand up, I shake my head. "No, wait. Let her speak; I would like to hear her out."

"Now I remember you saying something about you were on the hunt on your lands. I thought you meant that you were our neighbors. I am sorry for my arrogance towards you. I thought you were funny since I was new here. I am very sorry for the way I acted earlier with you. I am truly sorry and hope you will accept this apology." She kneels then bows her head. I smile as my brain comes back to reality. How am I going to handle this with her? She is my mate but with some difficulties. She is human for one, and seeing how I have to be married in a few months; everything will move very quickly for us. They both stand up and look at us.

"How old are you, may I ask" looking at her.

"I am seventeen years old, sire."

My eyes light up when her age leaves her mouth. "So you are of age for a husband then. That is a relief because I want to invite you to the castle to join the court. There are going to be a lot of women who are now of age there looking for a potential suitor."

Kenna shakes her head. "No, thank you. I am not interested in....."

Her Dad cuts her off very quickly. "She would be happy to, Your Highness. She needs to meet other Nobel's her age then hopefully see about a suitor."

Kenna glares at him. "Dad! I am not interested. I already have....."

"No, you don't!" He points at her with a stern look, and she looks down.

A pang of hurt hits me full force. "Do you already have a person of interest?" My wolf is going crazy at the thought of her belonging to someone else.

"No, she does not. He is a lower-class servant that is not worthy of her hand. She is a Lady worthy of a titled marriage; that is why he is not here with us. When we moved, he was returned to his family then arranged to work for the next door to ours. We forbade him to see her, but they did in secret. That is why we moved because neither of them would obey our wishes" Luke is looking at her with hard eyes.

Grazing my eyes over her perfect body, "I need to know before she comes to court, is she pure for a suitor to court her?" We both look at her as she drops her head. My heart sinks thinking the worst; another got her to give them her virginity.

Her face is blushing as she looks back up. "I am pure in that way. If needed, it can be checked."

"The one who decides to court you may ask for a check on that part. That will be up to them to make that decision," trying to comfort her some.

"When does she need to come to the palace?" her dad looks me in the eyes.

"Is her things still packed mostly?" looking at the trunks that are still stacked against a window inside.

"Yes, her trunks are still packed because we have only been here for a short time" he smiles at me.

Kenna screams out, "Dad!"

Ignoring her irritated voice, "Pack what she needs for a few days, then I will send a carriage for her things when we arrive back at the palace."

His eyes are bright as he speaks, "Alright, give us a few minutes; she can ride her horse with you. Come, Kenna, we need to see what you want to take with you until your trunks are retrieved."

She digs her heels into the ground as he takes her elbow gently. "But?"

"No arguments. You have been invited to the biggest thing that can happen in your life. Now come, get your things packed" as he ushers her into the house. I walk back to my horse to wait for them to return.

Leith is smiling as I mount. "There is something about her that you like there?"

Talking in a low tone to them, "She is my mate."

Henry jerks back in shock. "Really? How do you know?"

Scrubbing my hand through my thick, black hair "Her scent when she got near us. It hit me then Master staked his claim on her. I smelled it knowing immediately that he was correct." They walk back out while she has a sad look on her face. "What is it?" looking at the scared facial expression on her face.

"She is worried about this gathering" he pats her on her shoulder carefully.

Looking down at them from my horse, I try to make it a little more comfortable for her. "If she does not find someone, she is free to return home. If a man wants to court her, then she will either stay in court at the palace or go to his homelands."

Kenna mutters under her breath, but my skillful hearing picks up on it. "Hopefully, I won't." Little does she know; her life is about to change in a way she can never imagine. She mounts her horse so that we can take off for my home. As we ride, I see how sad she is, but I will do everything I can to make sure she is happy and enjoy her new life with court and me.