The Prince's Fated Mate: M/M Alpha/Omega Paranormal Werewolf Romance (Norvargen Wolves Book 1) (5 page)

BOOK: The Prince's Fated Mate: M/M Alpha/Omega Paranormal Werewolf Romance (Norvargen Wolves Book 1)
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Will shot out of his chair, rushing to join Kytes’ side, staring out the window. There was James, and an explicable flush of happiness filled him at the sight. If the prince was not his fated mate, Will had no idea what else could be making him feel and act this way. Prince James and Alpha Miles were at the grounds, making their way through the green grass to the white pavilion, where Will could spot his father under, speaking with a few inn-workers.

“Let’s go now,” advised Kytes. “I don’t want to see you pining away for Prince James any longer if I can help it.”

As usual, Will was ushered down the stairs, Kytes’s hands insistently pressing on his back. His heart was pounding like a drum as they went out through glass doors to the patio that gave access for all guests to the party field.
 

“What do I say?” Will hissed to Kytes as they strode towards the pavilion.

“I don’t know, just introduce yourself. Just get him to see you and that should be enough to confirm whether he’s your fated mate or not,” Kytes hissed back.

“What if he doesn’t react?” The fear, as unlikely as it seemed, still nagged at him.
 

“You did not just waste my entire afternoon listening to you pine over him if he’s not your fated mate. He’s going to react, Will, I’m bloody sure of it, and you should be, too.”

“Will?” Before he could respond to his friend, Will’s father had noticed them. Alpha Miles and James were standing a few feet away, staring out at the field, quietly musing over something Will couldn’t quite pick up, but likely had to do with the feast logistics.
 

“Hey, Pa,” said Will, unable to tear his eyes away from the tall, slender back of James.

“Good that you’re here,” said Pa. “The Alpha and the First Son are a bit busy now, but wait a moment, and I’ll introduce you to — ”

As if picking up on their scents, the alpha’s son chose that moment to turn around, looking at Will and Kytes.
 

Will’s mouth ran dry as Prince James’s eyes lingered on him, those pale ice-blue eyes meeting his. It felt as if a fire had started inside his belly and was spreading to all his extremities. This was it, this was the moment, this was indubitably the moment where Will, mere steps away from Prince James, knew that he was looking at his fated mate.

And then Prince James nodded politely at him, before turning back to continue speaking with his father.

Will felt the blood drain out of his face. There was no doubt his fated mate had just seen him and given him a brisk look over, even making eye contact with him — and yet here he was, shivering in a cold sweat from a burgeoning heat, while his fated mate was nonchalantly ignoring him.

“Kytes,” he whispered shakily. “He saw me, didn’t he?”

“I think he did,” was the uneasy reply.

“Then why isn’t he reacting at all?”

Kytes kept quiet.

“Will, are you all right?” his father said, looking at him confusedly. “You look a bit sick.”

Will felt his lips part and close like a helpless fish out of water for a few moments. What could he say? That for the entire day, he had been absolutely certain that the First Son of the pack was his fated mate, but he had just been proven utterly wrong?

“I-I think I need to go rest for a bit,” Will mumbled, turning around. Confusion was swelling inside of him, and as he hurried along the field back to the main building of the inn, he felt his heat flourishing. A dizzy spell struck him, and he stumbled. All turned black as he fell.

*

C
HAPTER
F
IVE

A cool, damp cloth was pressed against his forehead. Will came to with the sensation of a single drop of water running down his temple.
 

He opened his eyes, and saw his father looking at him.
 

“Will,” his father breathed in relief at the sight of him waking up.

He was in his bedroom, tucked snugly under his blanket.

“You had me worried back there when you fell,” said Pa. “Kytes carried you back up here. You should have been more careful if you knew you were going into heat. I would’ve given you a few days off then.”

Will wordlessly nodded, not wanting to say anything in response.
 

“But you’ve always been very much in control of your heats,” mused his father, scratching his stubble. “I’ve never seen you black out before. Your heat should only just be starting as well, judging from your scent. Are you feeling all right? You’re not sick, are you? You didn’t look too well just now.”

Will nodded again. “I’m fine,” he lied.

“Kytes having the kitchen stir up some wagsroot broth for you,” informed his father. Wagsroot was a common herb used to suppress the overwhelming effects of one’s heat. It worked marvellously, with one cupful of broth enough to last anyone a whole day. Some people chose to eat it raw, for just a single cut of it was powerful enough to mute the throbbing need of a heat, but it was horribly bitter uncooked. Mixing it in a soup made it bearable for the common person. “It’ll be done soon enough.”

“Thank you.” Will rolled over to his side, facing away from his father. He didn’t want to be rude, but at the same time, he very much wanted to be alone with his thoughts, to mull over what was wrong with him. He had never been so certain about something yet equally as doubtful. Everything within him was telling him that Prince James was his fated mate, yet circumstances and what had just happened was telling him otherwise.
 

“Is something bothering you?”
 

His father was staying put.

How could he tell his father what was happening? Kytes, who had been convinced earlier, was now starting to doubt him again, and Pa would be even more skeptical. He could already imagine his father’s response: “Will, it is highly unlikely that you have a fated mate, much less one that will be the pack alpha one day. You’re just a little confused with your feelings now, that’s all. After all, Prince James barely gave you a second glance, did he?”

“No, I’m fine,” said Will, half of his face buried into his pillow. He wondered how convincing did he sound.

A knock at the door disturbed them, and at Pa’s word, the door opened. Will knew it was Kytes from his scent, accompanied by a very fragrant broth.
 

“Got the wagsroot ready for him.”

“Thank you, Kytes.”

“Is he awake?”

Will raised his hand in greeting just as his father responded, “Yes, he’s just resting.”

Will sat up, peeling the cloth off his forehead as he did so, and propped his pillow up. He took the bowl of soup in his hands and started spooning it into his mouth. The chefs downstairs were masters at their craft, the best in the region, and none of the bitterness of the original root could be tasted.
 

“Are you feeling all right?” Kytes asked him, and his eyes were asking more pressing questions that he didn’t feel like saying in front of Will’s father.
 

Will lowered his soup bowl long enough to grunt an affirmative, but even he knew he was failing to convince anyone.

Tell him
, Kytes mouthed at him. He jerked his head towards Will’s father.
 

Will frowned. Pa was still staring at him, so he didn’t want to overtly respond to Kytes’ suggestion. But before he could do anything, his father spoke.

“What were you and Kytes doing down at the party field, Will? I thought you’d be busy.”

“Nothing, Pa.”

Pa narrowed his eyes. “Didn’t seem like nothing, Will. You looked … anxious about something down there.”

“It’s nothing,” Will insisted.
 

“What were you and Kytes talking about anyway? Something about someone reacting?”

Will panicked, looking up at Kytes for support.

Just tell him
, his friend insisted more aggressively this time. Out loud, he said, “I’ll leave you two to it,” and out the door went Kytes.

Unhelpful asshole
, Will cursed at Kytes’s departure.

Pa sat back in his chair, crossing his arms, looking unbudgingly stubborn. “Something’s going on, Will, and I want you to tell me what.”

“There’s nothing to tell,” said Will, taking another sip of the broth. “I’m just confused about something … and it’s nothing worth worrying about, Pa.”

“Let me be the judge of that, son.”

Will prolonged the silence by drinking deeply. He struggled for a long moment — what would be the point of sharing this with his father?

“Will,” Pa spoke softly, “I know you find it hard to talk to me about things. And I’m sorry that … that I’m not like your mother, that I’m not as easy to talk to as she was. But can you give me a chance to listen?”

Will looked shamefully down into his bowl, the light brown liquid swirling around with minuscule chunks of wagsroot and other herbs floating about. His father would judge him, doubtless, but here he was nonetheless, trying to make an effort to listen to Will.
 

“Pa,” Will started reluctantly, “you promise you won’t get mad?”

“I won’t.”

“I’ve been feeling funny lately.”

“Sick?”

“Something like that … I know we just had this talk last week, and I wasn’t lying or anything, but … I’ve been getting this weird feeling for a while now.”

“About what?”

Will shifted uncomfortably, the blankets started to tangle by his feet. “About my fated mate.”

His father’s face hardened slightly. “Oh?”

He had gotten this far, and Will felt he might as well go on. “And well, I’ve had this nagging feeling that I’m going to meet my fated mate soon for the past few months, and then…well, I think I just have.”

Will looked up at his father, watching his face.

Pa stared at him, slowly piecing it together. “You’re not talking about … you don’t mean Prince James, do you?”

Will nodded slowly, watching anxiously for his father’s reaction. His father sat there, thunderstruck, not speaking for several achingly long seconds.

“Why do you think he’s your fated mate?”

“I just know,” Will answered, struggling to explain. Everything about fated mates was so intangible, abstract, ineffably innate that it was impossible for him to put it into words. How do you explain a fact that sits right in your heart and in your heart only?

“Your heart stopped when you saw him?”

“Yes.”

“You got all dizzy for a second, and then you suddenly wanted to run to meet him?” Pa’s words were picking up pace.

“Yes.”

“Everything within you was aching to go to him and the only thing holding you back is your common sense and a slight pinch of anxiety?”

“Yes.”

Pa let out a loud exhale, slumping back in his chair. It was then Will saw a small smile lingering on his face. “That was exactly how I felt when I met your mother.”

Will’s eyes widened. “You believe me?”

“Of course I do. Other people who’ve never experienced meeting a fated mate for the first time would never understand, Will, but I have, and I do. You just know it, and there’s no way you can confuse this feeling for anything else. You won’t forget this feeling either, you know. Nothing else in this world comes close to the moment when everything just clicks inside of you. Will, nothing will be more obvious than this truth. If you’ve found your fated mate, you’ve found him. I don’t know why you were worried about telling me this.”

Will felt tears prick his eyes, and he quickly hid his sniffling by slurping down the remains of his broth noisily. “Thank you, Pa,” he said softly, probably too softly to be heard.

“And that would explain why your heat’s starting up so suddenly. Luckily the wagroot will suppress and mask it for you,” his father went on, as if still in the midst of solving a great mystery. “I suppose you found out when they first arrived at noon?”

Will nodded.

“But he didn’t see you, I suppose, it was too crowded then for anyone to see anything. So you came down later to have a good and proper look at him and — ah, that’s what you and Kytes meant about him not reacting.”

“He should’ve, shouldn’t he?” Will pressed. He was so immensely glad that his father believed him, and especially since his father was the only person he knew who had a fated mate — maybe Pa would be able to explain what was going on.

“Did he have a good look at you? You’re sure he looked right into your eyes?”

“Yes, I’m certain. He looked me over, he looked me in the eyes, and then he just went back to talking to Alpha Miles.”

Pa frowned. “That’s not right.”

Will bit his lip. “Have you heard of this happening before?”

Pa shook his head, and Will felt his heart sink. If his father didn’t know, who else could he ask for help?

“Will,” Pa got his attention again, “don’t worry.”

“I can’t help worrying, Pa,” said Will. “I’ve found my fated mate, and he’s not responding to me at all. It’s like I’m invisible to him. What more, he’s the First Son of our pack, and he’s already engaged — and we’re hosting the celebration feast for his wedding — and —”

“Will,” Pa interrupted gently, “worry about that later. Let’s take it one step at a time, and we’ll start from the very beginning. I’m going to ask around my friends and see if anyone knows anything — don’t worry, I won’t let anyone know it’s about you,” he quickly added as Will opened his mouth in protest. “Meanwhile, we keep carrying on. And you…have a chat with Prince James if the opportunity arises. I don’t know what’s wrong with him, but whatever it is, you hiding away and avoiding him isn’t the answer.”

“I’d sound insane if I told him outright he was my fated mate, wouldn’t I?”

Pa grimaced. “It’d be a very hard thing to convince him if he himself doesn’t know you’re his fated mate. No, keep that to yourself for now, until you’ve spent at least a bit of time with him. Don’t rush anything until I find out more. And make sure you take some wagsroot every day. It was a lifesaver in the days that followed after I met your mother.” He smiled again. “Only thing that’d keep me calm once I saw her. Take as much as you need, more than a cup might be necessary. I’ll have the kitchen make some every morning and night for you.”

BOOK: The Prince's Fated Mate: M/M Alpha/Omega Paranormal Werewolf Romance (Norvargen Wolves Book 1)
2.91Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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