(From Blue''s Perspective)


    "That night, Draven had beaten me up. Well, he would do more, but then Mother called Father downstairs. Draven can''t just keep beating me up that time, right? The visitor could hear after all. So he went downstairs as well. Max was not home at that time.


    Or he would put ointments on me. Anyway, then Mother came to take me downstairs. I didn''t know what was going on. And besides, I was not in a good condition. I had bruises, my hair was a mess, mainly I was a mess at that moment. When I saw him for the first time, the first thought was- he is freaking handsome.


    I mean, I''ve never seen anyone as handsome and good-looking as him. Then he said that he wanted to buy me. That''s the moment I wanted to kill him."


    "Kill His Highness?"


    "Yep. I know there was no way I could do that. First of all, he is stronger than I am. I mean, just look at us. I look tiny next to him. Then I thought of escaping from him.


    But he threatened me that he will drag me with him if I try to escape."


    "Oh my god! His Highness threatened you?"


    "That''s right. I yelled at him and then he told me that he wants to make me his bride. It''s not like I had a choice. So I had toe with him. But unlike how dangerous he looked, he treated me with kindness and gentleness. Now that I think about it, it was the best thing that ever happened to me.


    Though I still hate the way he brought me here, I''ve forgiven him about that."


    ''Not that he apologized... He doesn''t think he did anything wrong. Well, again, it''s Demetrius I''m talking about...''


    "Your Highness, did His Highness kill your family?" she asked.


    "Erm, no."


    "... Then I need to request His Highness myself...," she muttered.


    "What? Why?"


    "They''ve hurt you a lot, Your Highness. They don''t deserve to live," she said.


    "... Well, they did hurt me a lot. But I don''t want them to die. I mean, I want them to see what I''ve be. I need to improve myself a lot, so I can stand in front of them and show them that I''m not the broken girl they thought I am."


    They wanted to break me into pieces and they thought that I was broken as well. But what they did not know was that I was never broken. I was just a bit fractured who needed to be mended a bit.


    "But that''s not enough punishment," she urged.


    "After that, if I''m not satisfied, I''ll just tell Demetrius to kill them. What about it?"


    "That''s a great idea, Your Highness!" she eximed. She truly looked happy. I did not know she could be this scary unconsciously. Perhaps all the werewolves had a dangerous version of them deep down.


    "By the way, haven''t you found your mate yet?" I asked.


    She sighed. "No, Your Highness. I''m already neen, yet I haven''t found my mate."


    "Really? I''m sure you''ll find a great person as your mate."


    "I hope so, Your Highness."


    "That makes me wonder- you have to be with the one chosen for you, right?"


    "Yes, Your Highness."


    "Then what if you fall in love with another werewolf and then find out that he is not your mate? Then what?"


    "That''s why we''re not supposed to fall in love before we find our mate," she replied.


    "But how can you decide if you''ll fall in love or not? Sometimes even if you keep your guard up, you might end up falling in love with someone."


    "Even if that happens, we have to leave the person for our mate. That''s why it''s better not to fall in love before meeting our mate," she said.


    It must be hard. It was not fair either. Love was not something to be decided. Was there no way to change this kind of fate?


    "So how do you find your mate? I mean, how do you know that someone is your mate?" I asked.


    "I haven''t experienced that yet... Well, but I heard that, there is a rush of emotions and we feel a connection with the other person. It''s hard to describe. It''s like we''re destined to be with the other. It''s our fate after all."


    "Then you marry?"


    "Yes, Your Highness."


    "That means you can''t date... The sequence- I don''t like it."


    "You should not say it like that, Your Highness. Even though I don''t like it as well, we''re supposed to respect our goddess''s wish."


    "Is she the Moon Goddess?" I asked. Demetrius told me about her before. I had never been curious about her, but now hearing all these things, I wanted to know what she truly was.


    "Yes, Your Highness. The Moon Goddess chooses our mates for us. She gives us a destined partner whom we''re bound to till death."


    No matter how I looked at it, it was a weird thing. Real love was never fated. It was natural and unexpected.


    It had been long since I had been in the bath. I was so engrossed in chatting with Ruby that I did not notice.


    After the bath, I had me breakfast. Ruby kept chattering away while I chewed on the food. And that was the moment, the unexpected letter came.


    It was from Demetrius''s aunt. She had changed the time to have tea with me. Earlier, she had invited me this afternoon, but now she changed it to tomorrow afternoon. She wrote that she was not feeling well since morning. I wondered if she was telling the truth or was it just her n. But what would she gain by dying?


    Nothing came to my mind. I hated this kind of anxious feeling. They always tired me out and gave me headaches.


    "Ruby?"


    "Yes, Your Highness?"


    "Is Demetrius in the training ground now?"


    "Yes, Your Highness. There is still half an hour left of the training."


    "It''s still too early."


    "Are you nning to go somewhere, Your Highness?"


    "Yes," I said. "I want to visit the magic tower."