Chapter 22

Kelly “But I don’t want to see him!” I huffed.

“Kelly, you volunteered to put your name on that list and now you are being called upon. This is not up for debate!” My father yelled.

“It was months ago!” I yelled, flailing my arms. “How long was I supposed to put my life on hold for?”

“You will call him back and agree to meet with him.” My father said in a deadly calm voice. “King Derek is an honorable man, Kelly. I will not have you playing games with him.”

“I’m not playing games!” I scoffed.

“You call him back and agree to meet with him or you can k**s any chance of becoming queen goodbye.”

– – – – – – – –

I paced my room, my temper rising by the second. I could almost feel Keres trying to surface. Fortunately, the pills Emmett gave me were strong for moments like this. How could my father threaten to take away my title?

“Because you are acting like a spoiled princess..” Keres snipped.

Goddess, I hated my wolf.

Reluctantly, I picked up my phone, praying that he wouldn’t answer. But he did. And surprisingly, he seemed super nervous. It was kind of cute to see an alpha king like that. Maybe meeting him wouldn’t be so terrible after all. I mean, as a pre-shifted teen I did have a mega crush on him at one point. I haven’t seen him in years though. Would I be able to rekindle that crush? While also ignoring my other crushes? I guess we’ll see. Derek and I made plans for the following week. I agreed to go to him. Anything to get out of the palace and away from my father.

– – – – – – – – – –

“Just breathe” I told myself as I drove over to Dereks’ office. I had a slew of butterflies in my stomach, wreaking havoc. I arrived at the palace early this morning, but was told Derek had a work emergency and was at his office. Not wanting to wait for him to return, or have a wasted trip, I said I would go meet him there. So here I was, driving over. Nothing but a long stretch and lots of time to overthink.

Would Thorin ever forgive me for this? I mean, we weren’t a thing to begin with and this was just a date. But it was an important date, one that would mold my future. One that would affect my kingdom. One that might be my only chance to become queen. No pressure. Before I left, I was told Derek had already met with two other women. This might all be for nothing anyway. I might not have even a slight chance left.

When I arrived at the office, I was basically treated like a celebrity. That was nice. Derek was on edge, but I’m sure it was just because he had a work emergency and perhaps was nervous about our date too. He said food was on the way and just a few minutes later, a tiny human came bursting into his office.

“Hey, I got extra chicken and pita, just how you like it.” The human with jet black hair said, oblivious to my presence.

“Oh good, what perfect timing Derek.” I smiled. “You can just set them down on the table, and shut the door on your way out.” I said.

“I-” She began to stutter, obviously flustered that I was there.

“Thank you for grabbing our lunch, Valerie, that will be all.” Derek said, dismissing his secretary.

“I didn’t realize you hired humans.” I began, as we started opening the containers of food.

“I’m trying to, they are hard to find and even harder to keep.” Derek sighed.

An awkward silence fell over us as we began to eat. I needed to do something to break the silence.

“This is really good Greek…but no onions?” I said, trying to strike up more conversation.

“I don’t like them,” he shrugged.

“Really? I love onions in my salad. But that’s okay.” I smiled.

Miraculously, we were able to make light conversation throughout our meal. I didn’t see any noticeable red flags, so far so good.

“So, if we move forward….what happens between our kingdoms? Once your father steps down, of course,” Derek asked.

Here comes the bomb. He will either love or hate the idea. Lets pray for the former.

“Well,” I said, swallowing hard. “Either we merge our kingdoms or I relinquish my birthright to my sister Kelsey. I would prefer the former.” I shrugged. I could see the wheels turning in Dereks’ head. He didn’t seem to like the idea. Time to backtrack. “I know it’s a lot to mull over, but we have time to figure things out, if you chose me, that is. But enough heavy talk, tell me about you. What are your hobbies? What do you enjoy doing?”

“I like to run. I love the forest.” He shrugged.

“We all do. Tell me about you.” I rolled my eyes.

“Oh you know….sometimes Jeff and I go out for drinks after work.”

First potential red flag. How often does he drink? Ignoring my apprehension, I gave a simple answer. “Yeah? That sounds like fun.” I could always circle back to that later.

“Yep. What about you?”

“Well, I love to go hiking, I enjoy archery, horseback riding…” I began to list off.

“That all sounds like fun to me,” Derek nodded.

And then back to our awkward silence. Time to break the ice, again.

“Listen, I know this is a lot for you, having to pick a chosen mate and have her made queen in less than a year, but I hope, no matter who you choose, you are happy. I know you already met with Angelica and Annalise, and maybe you have made a decision already, but if you haven’t, I think we have a fair chance together. I like you Derek, you’re a good guy. I know some of your past and you probably know some of mine. You work with my father well, you even have an alliance with our kingdom, something my father doesn’t take lightly. It just seems…easy, me and you.” Half truth, half lie.

Honestly, I hardly knew the guy. He might call me out for my bullshit here and now.

“You’re not wrong. And if I’m being completely honest, you are my choice. But I wouldn’t force an arranged marriage on you just to please the council. I want you to want me, not feel obligated,”

Of course, he had the perfect answer.

“Such a gentleman.” I smiled, not knowing what else to say about that. “Well, Derek, I won’t keep you all day. I know you are busy, but perhaps we can have dinner or breakfast together before my flight tomorrow afternoon? Get to know one another more?”

“Yes, definitely.” He nodded.

“Alright then, I will see you later then.” I stood up and Derek followed, escorting me out to the palace vehicle I had borrowed. I needed air.

“It was nice seeing you again.” He said, extending his hand for me to shake. I shook my head, pulling him in for a hug. If I was supposed to potentially be his queen, a handshake was not a good start. “Drive safe.” He said, shutting my car door and waving me off.

I drove back to his palace in silence, thinking over our date. I didn’t learn very much about him. I will need to change that soon. At least I knew he knew what coming from royalty was like. If I ever chose my own mate, they probably wouldn’t know all that came with being a royal. The expectations, the commitment, the sacrifices. At least Derek already knew that. That was one point for him. He was also hot as hell. Another point. Successful. Point.

– – – – – – – – –

Late getting home. Minus a point. Hardly acknowledging my presence. Minus point. Distracted at dinner. Minus point.

“Alpha? How would you like your eggs?” His chef, Harper, asked.

“Oh, um, over easy. Thanks.” He said, lost in thought.

“And Princess Kelly?”

“Scrambeled please.” I smiled. I pushed my fruit around my plate a few times before being the one to strike up the conversation yet again. “So I was thinking today you should give me a tour of the palace before I need to leave for my flight.”

Silence.

“Or maybe we could shift and let our wolves meet?”

It was a ballsy suggestion, but it would be a good way for me to break the ice. More silence.

“Derek?”

More silence. Goddess help me!

“Derek!”

“What? Oh, sorry…I kinda zoned out there…”

“I noticed, everything alright?” I asked.

“Just work stuff.” He shook his head, taking another small bite of breakfast.

“Well, I was going to see if you wanted to do something this morning, but maybe we should save it for another time?” I said, trying to hide the irritation in my voice.

“Yes, another time. Thank you for understanding.” He nodded.

I sighed, frustrated at how this morning was going, but understanding none the less. My father was king. He looked like Derek did on many occasions.

“I’m sorry, but I must be going. I will have Jeff take you back to the airport.” he said, taking his napkin off his lap and setting it on the table.

He’s not even saying through breakfast?! We were almost done anyway!

“I understand, I’m an Alpha king’s daughter, remember?” I gave a dry laugh.

“I will make it up to you next time,” he said before all but running out of the room.

Right. Next time.