12.

After the surprise visit from Caiden's family, Rosaline kept to herself and let her thoughts took hold of her. To her, she saw the love they had for Caiden and felt somewhat jealous that his family took it upon themselves to help solve whatever problem he may be having. She never had that kind of love nor support, she longed for that though she never voiced it out loud only hid behind the tough exterior she showed to everyone.

Her defense mechanism. Rosaline decided that she would at least try to listen to them, it seemed important to Eva and Caiden. Her mind was conflicted concerning him, part of it wanted to give in to him when the other was telling her to run away, don't make the same mistake again. She truly didn't know what to do.

Closing time came by quickly and Rosaline was nervous, Eva seemed somewhat excited. She felt like a kid on Christmas, having dinner with the royals. Her wolf was trying to tell her to focus on her charge but she was too excited. To Eva, Rosaline was lucky to have a mate like Caiden. She was actually lucky to have a mate, at all.

Waiting for them outside was a heavily tinted Honda CRV, Nicky and Stephan stood outside the jeep and motioned for them to get in. Eva was the first to get in while Rosaline was a bit hesitant, she sent a warm smile to the new faces who in return nodded their hellos. The drive was in silence Eva played a game on her phone while Rosaline stayed quiet playing with the hem of her skirt. The men talked to each other through their links discussing the outcome of the dinner that was about to happen.

Coming up to the compound, she gasped in awe at the mansion they drove up to, green lawns surrounded the sprawling mansion, the main building held wide arches with marble pillars while the left and the right-wing had large glass windows, the soft lighting around the mansion made it looked much more beautiful. Men in dark suits patrolled the area as the jeep parked in front of the doorstep, it was all so surreal to the girls. They stood outside taking in the magnificent view around them that they didn't notice Caleb coming out to greet them. Dressed in loose-fitting jeans and a simple blue t-shirt with a matching Adidas, he looked like a teenager but his eyes showed his maturity.

"Welcome girls" he called out to them. "Hi," they chorused.

"Come in. My cousin won't be pleased to know that I have her guests outside in the cold" he said smirking.

"Your cousin?" Rosa asked. "Emma," he clarified for her.

"I assumed that you two were siblings since you were introduced to me as Caiden's uncle," she asked

"The kids consider me their uncle due to how close we are. You can know more after dinner. Come on in"

Caleb led them into the foyer where they came upon a large double staircase, both floor and stairs were marble, a large chandelier hung above them. Various art pieces lined the walls of the hallways that lead to different directions in the house. "Dinner is in a few minutes. Let's head to the den and you girls can relax a bit." He said leading the way.

"So... umm... is this your cousin's house?" Rosa asked taking in the warmth beauty of the house. It would have been her ideal home also if she ever had one.

"Actually it's Caiden's. My home is in Britain while Emma and her husband is in Montana" he said casually.

"Oh" was all she said as they stepped in the den with large brown sofas, a beautiful stone fireplace, and various wooden artwork and furniture scattered around the room. They took a seat and stayed in somewhat comfortable silence. Eva and Caleb talked while Rosa looked around the room. She wondered why Eva was so comfortable around these strangers. 'Can it be because of what they claimed they are? Why are they so bent on having me believe their story or even accepting Caiden?' She thought to herself.

"Dinner is ready," Caleb announced after a few minutes. "But no one came and informed us how did you know?" She asked following Caleb once again.

"Mind link" he simply said expecting her to understand right away. The dining room was homey as the den, various dishes were placed on the table which was set for 6. Emma came bustling in with a pitcher of water, she smiled when she saw Rosa and Eva. "Thank you for coming girls. It truly means a lot to us" she said warmly.

Emma hoped that tonight would make things much clearer to Rosa; they didn't want to rush things but it was truly needed. Caiden has found her and it won't be long before word got out. If their enemies know that the next princess is a human and an unmated target would be put on her.

"Thank you for having us," Eva said smiling. "Please have a seat," Emma said going at the end of the table before they were seated, Angelo and a handsome blue-eyed man walked in. Rosa noticed how intense he looked at Emma and went to her side immediately. He kissed her deeply then her cheek, a light blush came upon her cheek before they turned to their guests.

"Rosaline this is my husband. Caiden's father, Michael" Emma said looking at her mate with adoring eyes. 'Are all his family members insanely beautiful?' she thought to herself. "Hello" she greeted. A kind smile came across his face as he took in his son's mate. Nervousness and confusion he felt from her, he looked at his younger son who was gazing at her intently and knew Angelo will help handle her emotions if tempers should arise. "Welcome, Rosaline. I hope we can somewhat help you understand why we asked you here" he said shaking her hand.

"Yes thank you" she answered and took the seat opposite Angelo by the table. He offered her a smile which somewhat brought a sense of calmness around her. The conversation around the table was pretty strained, which left Rosaline tense. Calmly, she placed her utensils on the table and sat with her back straight and turned to Emma.

"Excuse me but I came here for proof? Answers? Having a dull conversation isn't much help. On another note, if this is Caiden's home where is he? Wasn't he the one who claimed I'm the one he wants to be with?" Rosa said coldly.

"You are right. Caiden should be here but he's a bit sick." Caleb said looking to his cousin. They all didn't know how to broach the subject of wolves and mates without freaking her out.

Eva let out a frustrated sigh, she was tired of beating around the bush, it wasn't her first choice in being a protector but it was the Moon Goddess' decree all she wanted was to live a life of her own. Wanting that may have her sound selfish but Eva didn't care at that moment. Her friend was blessed with an already loving mate, she may not be accepting of their world but from her wolf's tense nature, something was brewing.

"We are all werewolves. A mythical creature that has the power to change between wolf and man. Before you are our leaders, our king, queen, and princes. Caiden will be the next king of our race on his 25th birthday, that's when he claims the throne. He has been searching for his soulmate, his princess, for the past few years and he found her. You." Eva said in one breath.

Rosa stared at her friend with wide eyes, everyone around the table waited for her reaction. "Royalty? Of werewolves?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yes," Michael answered, " I was in shock also when I found out that my mate, was a princess."

"Mate? Like one true love?" she asked again looking at them all. "Correct and you are Caiden's. He has loved you since he knew his mate is out there" Emma said smiling lost in memory.

Rosaline stood up abruptly, "How can you love someone without seeing them. Touching them. Knowing them. That kind of love does not exist. This werewolf thing is... is just a myth. A fantasy," She said hysterically. For some reason she did believe them, she didn't know why. The honesty in the words Eva spoke? Or maybe it was the pleading eyes they all gave to her.

"Sweetie, please calm down," Emma said glancing at her son who just sat with his arms folded watching the brown-eyed human.

"No. Do you think I would easily give in to all of this like a fairy tale dream come true? Be a wolf princess? This is all just ....ughhhh I don't even know what to say" She shouted.

"It is a lot to take in but we must do this. Rosaline, please understand if you reject my son once again he... Caiden needs you" Emma cried going to Rosa's side

"I can't give in again. I just can't. I'm sorry. Maybe he made a mistake. I would never be good enough for him" Rosa said lost in her memories as she blindly walked away from the dinner table.

They watched as she left with tears running down her cheek, she looked lost and scared but also withdrawn from the reality around her.

Angelo looked at his family and shook his head, they didn't see it, they didn't see how fragile this human was. She was still haunted by a past that caused her not to trust. How could they when they are solely focused on the threat against his brother he couldn't blame them. He wanted his brother to survive but not at this cost. Quietly he got up and slowly followed Rosaline by her scent, it left a trail all the way to the garden. There she sat on a bench beside the koi pond and he boldly sat beside her but said nothing.

"You must think I'm crazy don't you but this is all too much." She cried resting her head on his shoulder. They stayed quiet in a comfortable silence as Rosaline cried.

Rosaline reminded Angelo so much of his human friend Jessie; ironically she went through the same situation as Rosaline except her supernatural mate was a vampire. But with her, it went further.

"Tell me what really happened," Angelo asked softly.