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I groan to myself, keeping my breaths short but it’s no use. That scent has gotten under my skin, burrowed there, making a home in the marrow of my bones, and I can’t rip it out. I shiver, demanding self-control, but unable to catch it as it slips away.
Ithasbeen a long few days. And a long afternoon of hours spent entertaining Omegas who mostly would rather prattle on about fake hobbies and boast about their grades and pedigree than say a single thing to me that has any meaning.
“This whole tradition is fucking ridiculous,” I say, detached, my vision wavering, unable to stop myself as I continue. “You’re all a bunch of spoiled, rich Omegas who will lie and cheat to try to win the crown and the affection of me and my packmates. And then we’ll be trapped, bonded together with an Omega none of us really know because once the bond is complete, there’s no way in hell my family will allow it to be broken.”
Fuck! It’s like I’m watching myself from the outside and there’s no way to rein it back in. I feel the muscles in my back flex and I clench my fists, but it brings me no relief, no sense of control.
Until the look on her face strikes me still.
I’m not sure which one of us is more surprised by my outburst, but her widened eyes narrow to slits and her own jaw flexes. For a frightening, fantastic second, I think she might hit me.
“Oh, boo hoo,” she bites out, huffing. “The poor prince and his poor packmates have a bunch of the most eligible Omegas in the world vying for their attention. You’re right. This whole thingisridiculous, but at least you have your pack. You have a fucking palace and all these amazing staff members to support you. I never expected to be nominated or selected. I didn’t ask for this. To be torn away from my family, fucking primped and poked and painted and pushed out for all the world to watch me fall on my face. But you don’t see me being a prick about it, do you?”
I rock back on my heels.
She seems to realize the gravity of everything she’s just said as a flash of fear crosses her face, but the stubborn Omega shoves it down, lifts her chin, and waits for me to render my judgment.
Huh.
“You forgot to tack on aYour Highnesssomewhere in there.”
She snorts, giving her head a slight shake. She doesnotapologize, which is perhaps an alluring thing about her. She’s…real.
“I didn’t forget,” she says with a coy inclination of her head and a whisper of a smirk on her full lips. “I simply thought that if we are already well enough acquainted to be shouting at one another, formalities aren’t necessary anymore.”
My gaze catches on her vibrant, determined green eyes. I pause for a moment, considering my response now that I’m suddenly a bit calmer. “It’s been a long time since anyone’s spoken to me that way.”
Anyone who isn’t Pack…
“What was your name again?”
“Maddie,” she says, then rolls her eyes. “Though everyone here seems intent on calling me Maddison or Miss Darling.”
“Where are you from, Maddie?”
“Cambridge,” she says, staring at me for a beat. “Why are you so eager for this thing to be over? Shouldn’t you be enjoying the attention?”
A bench nearby catches my eye, and I motion her to it, sitting down heavily and putting my head in my hands.
“This isn’t what I wanted,” I admit, unsure when I’d become the type of man whoshareshis thoughts. “I’ve always known that I would be bonded as a result of the Trials because of the generation I was born in, but if it was up to me, I’d have chosen to bond with someone based on…”
“Love?” she offers when I can’t seem to bring myself to say the word, unsure if it’s even the right one.
I nod anyway. “Something quiet and meaningful. Not forced.”
It’s more than I’ve ever shared with anyone other than Wolf and Tai.
I cock my head at her, trying to read her thoughts through the bottomless depths of her eyes. They convey so much and yet I can’t pick out any one emotion. Not a single clear thought.
What are you thinking?
A soft breeze sweeps through the garden, kicking up her scent, mixing it with the bouquet of florals surrounding us in a way that makes my stomach clench.
It’s fucking with my head. It must be, because I don’t do this. I don’ttalk.Not like this.
Maddie hesitates for a moment. I feel when she finally comes to sit next to me.
I’ve still got my head in my hands, but her tone is gentle and surprisingly soothing when she speaks again. “You’re clearly frustrated by all of this. If it helps, I didn’t want to be here either, but now that I am, it’s not so bad. Maybe if you give it a chance, you will find someone to love here.”
