CHAPTER 15

As per Elowen's instruction, I was dressed and ready to go before the crack of dawn. My back ached but I slept better than my first night here. I heard a sound in the bathroom and looked at the bed.

Brayan was not in bed. He must have gone into the bathroom while I was in the closet. I heard the sound of the shower come on. I hoped he wasn't going anywhere with us today.

He had not said a single word to me in two days. All he did was give me the stink eye. The bathroom door opened and he stepped out. I fought myself so I wouldn't look at him. Look at the water dripping from his bare chest. Those abs. Fuck. I shifted uneasily in my seat. It must be something in the air. I shouldn't be thinking about him like that.

I expected him to go to the closet but he walked in my direction. I looked up in panic and our eyes met.

"Here. Take this" I looked at the small parcel in his hand and frowned.

"What is that?"

"It doesn't matter. Take it" he commanded. Did he think I was a fool? There was no way I was going to take anything from him.

"I'm not taking that" I stood up and moved away from the couch. He grabbed my arms and a small moan left my lips. This was the first time he was touching me and the tingles from his touch was messing with my head. I blushed in embarrassment and tried to move away from him but he held me firmly.

"Let me go" I tried to sound commanding but I sounded breathless.

"Take it" he said again and I shook my head. I was scared to open my mouth. What is another moan came out.

"I'll only let you go if you take the damn thing" did I really want him to let me go?

He pulled me into his chest and my eyes widened, a small gasp escaping me.

"W-What..... What are you doing?" He ignored my question and only lifted the small parcel. He moved his face closer to mine, his minty breath hitting my face. His eyes were not the deep green I knew. They were pitch black, commanding and alluring. I couldn't think straight. His scent and close proximity was turning me into a mess.

"Take. It" he enunciated each word and my fingers moved, taking the parcel from his hand. He moved his nose into the crook of my neck and I fought to stay still.

He suddenly pulled away, his eyes back to their normal green and filled with distaste directed towards me.

"Give that to the women" he said before storming away and leaving me breathless. What the hell just happened right now. The front of my dress was damp from when he pulled me into his chest. Fuck. I've ruined it.

A knock sounded on the door and I rushed to it. It was Elowen.

"Good morning love"

"Good morning mom"

"It's time to go" I nodded and walked out of the room. The dress wasn't that bad and it'll dry off before we reached our destination. Possibly.

A car was waiting for us out front and Nouria was in it.

"The women of old in charge of the ritual will be waiting for us at the river" Nouria said.

"The women of old?"

"They are the oldest women. Responsible for the mating rituals of the royal family" Elowen answered for her.

I was curious about these rituals.

"Can you tell me about these rituals?"

"They are four in number and are made to prepare you for your life as the queen"

That was not an informative answer but I decided not to push too much. From what I had learned so far, the last ritual had to be the most important.

The car stopped after a long ride and we all stepped down. From where we stood, I could see four women standing just by the river.

"Let's go" Elowen took my hand.

"Queen Elowen. Good to see you"

"Same here. This is Paisley. The chosen for my son"

"Paisley. Nice to meet you. I'm Gwyneth. This is Saoirse" she pointed to the red haired woman. Gwyneth was blonde woman.

"These are Zaniyah and Ramona" she pointed yo the two black haired women. Zaniyah was a plump short woman while Ramona was on the thinner side.

"Nice to meet you" they all chorused with a smile.

"Nice to meet you too"

"You chose blue. Good color" Gwyneth smiled at me.

"Let us proceed" she took my hands leading me closer to the river.

"Here. Brayan asked me to give this to you" I handed the parcel over to Gwyneth and she nodded before passing it on to Saiorse.

"Take of your shoes" I took them off.

"You'll take the first walk into the river. You must keep walking until your head is submerged in the water" I looked at her confused. She wanted me to what?

"I can't swim"

""We'll be behind you" that didn't give me any kind of assurance.

"This is the cleansing ritual. You have to submerge yourself in the river" Ramona said in a gentle voice.

I looked at Elowen

"Nothing will happen to you. I promise"

I nodded. I was doing this for my family and the human village. I took the first step into the river.

The water was surprisingly warm. I walked further into the river until it was up to my shoulder. I looked back at the woman who were standing behind me.

Gwyneth nodded at me with a smile and I proceeded. I continued moving until the water was above my head. I felt four pair of hands on both sides of my shoulder pushing me deeper before lifting me up. I gasped for breath as I was brought up.

The women moved round, forming a circle around me and chanting while throwing red petals on me. Elowen and Nouria joined us in the water. The two of them taking my hands and dragging me under with them again before pulling me out.

"It's done" Gwyneth announced.

Thank goodness.

We all moved out of the water and settled on the rocks while we waited to dry off. I don't think anyone came with spare clothes and I wondered why.

"Are you okay?" Elowen asked and i nodded.

"This is a holy river and it cleanses and protects future brides of the reigning beasts. It also helps with fertility" she said and I blushed.

"I want to share something with you" she said in a serious tone.

"What is that?"

"The mating is not compulsory" my ears perked and I waited for her to continue.

"Like you know, we have a treaty with the human village. The exact details don't really matter but what you should know is we won't force you to mate our son"

"Then? What..." I had a lot of questions to ask but I didn't know where to start from.

"The month you spend with my son is necessary. Everyone brought here must go through it but the final decision depends on you two. If you don't want this by the end of the month, you can walk away. But my sim doesn't know this. He'll never try if he knows he can walk away from this"

"Then.... Has it ever happened before?"

"A few times"

"Why didn't the women ever return?"

"They chose not to. At the end of the month, the women always fell in love. Either with the ruler or with someone else. In the end, they had to stay"

"Fall in love with someone else?" This was big news to me.

"Yes. It happened quite a few times. Everyone is allowed to choose who they want in the end but you must spend the month together. I really want this to work. Brayan had been without a mate for so long and sometimes I feel he is becoming unstable. I want him to have stability"

I didn't know what to say to that.

"And I believe you can do this for him. For us. Please promise me you will try at least"

"I..." I scratched my hair.

"Please" she pleaded. I was trapped in a corner and I had no choice but to accept. I could try at least.

"Okay. I will try" she hugged me tightly muttering her thanks.

"Why did you tell me about the mating not being compulsory?" I just had to ask.

"I just wanted you to know this so you don't feel trapped"

"Thank you" it was the only thing I could say.

I remembered Silas's letter to me. I sighed deeply. The only solution was to find Nevaeh because whatever decisions I made would affect her in the end.

Or you could simply stay the month. Tell them you don't love him. Return to your family and neither Nevaeh or you have to stay. My subconscious said to me.

That works too. After we dried up, we returned back to the house. Before we left, Gwyneth handed me back the parcel Brayan had given to me and instructed me to give it back to him as soon as I returned.

I wondered what was in the parcel and I was tempted to open it and find out but I fought the urge.

"He is in his study. Nouria will take you up" Elowen said.

Just as we were going upstairs, she called my name.

"Remember what we talked about" I nodded.

Nouria left me at the office door promising to see me for coffee sometime.

I knocked on the door but there was no response. Maybe he was not in. Even better. I could just drop it off where he could see it and return to the bedroom.

I pushed open the door and stopped at the sight that I met. Brayan and another woman were making out.
But they stopped the moment I entered.

"What are you doing here?" He asked in his usual cold voice.

"I was asked to drop this off" I said rushing over to his table and dropping the parcel before hurrying out.

What the fuck? Was this the attitude he was going to show if he mates Nevaeh? I could never let that happen.

I returned to the room and took my dress off. After changing into something simpler, I had the meal Rivka brought in for me.

I settled on the couch for a nap.

"I'm so fucking tired" I heard someone growl as I woke up from sleep. It was Brayan. He was angry. When is he not. I rolled my eyes.

"I've tried to talk papa out of it but he's insistent. There is nothing I can do now except...."

"I'll have to frustrate her out of the house" I frowned at that.

"If she's the one who says she's no longer interested, maybe my father could get off my back"

So this was the idiots plan. I smirked. Nobody could make me frustrated or bully me.

I didn't want this mating and I planned to leave but maybe I could have some fun while I was here.

I was going to torment him.