Getting Answers

Stefan

We continue to spar, and I need to ask him about Harlyn, but I can't just ask straight out without him questioning why.

“How are things with you and Lucy?” I ask, unwilling to get into my issues yet. We continue to move against each other and take the hits while blocking others. I know now he can’t attack me with his questions about my eyes, as when I mention Lucy, his mind focuses solely on her, as if no one else exists.

I need that. How can I tell him I was so angry because his sister had a ring on? The same sister I threw vile words at and rejected. The one I now realise I hurt, and somehow, that reality hurts me?

“All is going well, Stefan,” he smiles at me before swinging; I dodge the hit and swing back.

“And the wedding, have you two decided when this will happen?” I know they kept planning it, but they kept putting it off for some reason. “You don’t want to wait too long. You never know when someone might get the courage to sweep her away from you,” I say teasingly. He hits me, and it hurts. Those words got to him clearly.

“We were waiting,” he sighs. He looks around us nervously. “Both Lucy and I want to do it before Harlyn leaves; she wants her best friend at the wedding. So we’re having it before Harlyn goes.”

His words end, and I swing my leg, watching as I take out his, and he falls before quickly recovering.

“When do you think Harlyn will be leaving?” I ask, trying to make it seem like a casual conversation as we throw punches.

“Three days,” he says quietly, his words full of sadness. I fight back the shock, and he gets a hit in. That's my fault.

“Just three days?” After seeing her mother, I thought she would stay longer and realise this was her home. “When are you having the wedding?”

“Lucy says in tomorrow.” His words shock me, and he must sense it as he talks again. “It’s what Lucy wants, and I won’t refuse. I can’t get Harlyn to stay longer to ensure we have longer to plan. She has a life and someone waiting for her to return.”

Someone? I swing harder and hit him; he doesn't seem phased, though.

“Someone is waiting for her return?” I say, acting like I don’t care, but I do.

“Wayne.” He smiles at me, and I see happiness in his eyes. “She’s engaged, my little Harlyn, engaged.”

Anger swirls within me. My hits become faster and harder, and he blocks most of them while still hitting me every now and then. I tried to tell myself the ring was nothing. It’s something. Clearly, it’s something, and I’m not happy about that.

“She found her mate. Leaving here was good for her; it led her to her mate,” he says. His breathing is unsteady, and his moves are sluggish now. I guess we will need to stop soon before he gets too tired.

I feel like I misheard him. Harlyn found her mate? That’s me. I know I rejected her, but she clearly hasn’t accepted my rejection, so our bond is still there.

How could she have found a mate when I am her mate? I’m still connected to her, and she didn’t accept my rejection. My mind reels.

“She’s found her mate?” I repeat his words. Something isn’t right. How could she have found her mate when I am?

She can’t have found her mate; I’m here right now. I’m losing it, repeating the same things to myself. A king never repeats himself; well, I am!

“He’s an alpha; they live quite a distance and are a boat ride away.” He smiles with pride. An alpha? I look at him in disbelief.

He doesn’t understand.

You boast about her marrying an alpha when her real mate is a king. I wanted to scream the words at him, but I would look crazy. I rejected her.

“Oh.” That is all I can say. I swing and hit him. He groans and falls back. Shit, reaching down, I pull him up, and he laughs. My head is a mess, and I don’t understand my feelings. I’ve no control over my thoughts or emotions. Everything feels like it’s been controlled by someone else.

“I’m happy for Harlyn; she deserves happiness, you know,” Samuel says. “Which is why I won’t keep her long. When she returns, she has a wedding to plan. I’m set to ensure I can make it as well.” His words are loud, and I stand.

“You’re going?” I ask, how can he go to her wedding?

“I would invite you, but I know you can’t come, not with the kingdom. Mother wants her to marry here.”

“Then get her to marry here,” I say, knowing I can’t leave the kingdom just to go to a wedding.

“She won’t agree.” He says.

“I can’t have my best soldier leaving. That’s not possible.” I say, unwilling to let him leave or let her marry elsewhere. If she marries here, I can see this mate of hers.

“Calm down! You have plenty of worthy soldiers to take my place. I’m not sure, Stefan. I don’t think she will agree. Mother wants her to, more so she can show all those who ridiculed and said Harlyn wasn’t worthy will see her marrying an Alpha. She won’t agree to marry here, though,” he admits.

I am one of those people. I ridiculed her, said she wasn’t worthy and rejected her.

"Plus, father won't allow it. She's still exiled, Stefan," he says.

"She's not! Just fucking ask me and I will clear it, just tell me why she was exiled in the first place, and I will ensure she can stay here and marry here," I shout the words, and his eyes widen.

Shit, I'm losing it. Damn you, Ghost, and your jealousy.

I grab the crown and place it on my head. His body stands up straight, his eyes rolling.

"Your Majesty, you're going to use your crown to force shit, really?" he asks.

I need to, I need to keep Harlyn here until i figure out things. Like that feeling, there's a connection there, not the bond, but something else. Ghost is obsessing over it, like there are more connections, now just one.

“Your mother wants to see her marry; she can’t travel, so you will ensure that Harlyn gets married here. Harlyn isn't exiled, if you had asked when I took over six years ago, I would have removed it.” I say, unwilling to argue on the subject anymore.

He nods in agreement. I know it’s cruel, but something makes no sense, something doesn’t add up, and I feel like I am missing something. I walk away from him before he can even argue with me.

How can Harlyn do this to me? She got another man and got engaged before even accepting my rejection. She put another man’s ring on her finger, all while still being bound to me.

Deep down, I know I have no right to hold resentment against her; I rejected her. I’m engaged to Diandra, but the bond is still there. Maybe that’s why?

Am I going crazy because of the bond? Is my wolf unsettled and unwilling to share her, and that’s where the feeling comes from, somewhere inside me? It didn’t seem to care when I rejected her.

Still, she hasn’t accepted my rejection, which makes her mine. We were mated first, and I won’t share her. I scold myself. What is happening to me? This isn’t me.