Chapter 3 My mysterious little mate

Caesar’s POV

“Why did you run away, love?”

I stood a few feet behind her, watching the way her shoulders stiffened at the sound of my voice.

The open field stretched behind the palace, bathed in pale moonlight. The distant music and laughter from the ballroom drifted through the night air, barely reaching us across the grounds.

Not that I cared about any of them.

My attention was fixed on the woman standing before me.

Emily Clara Vintage.

My mate.

Three hundred and twelve years. I had waited three hundred and twelve years for this moment, and now that she was finally here, I was struggling to decide what to do with myself.

Her dark blue eyes were so intense that I felt myself being drawn into them. Her light skin glowed beneath the golden lights suspended from the ballroom ceiling, and those plump lips.

Gods.

Those lips were going to be the death of me.

Then there was her cleavage.

I had to fight the urge to pull her against me and shield her from every pair of eyes in the room. She had no idea what she was doing to me, and the thought of other men appreciating what was mine made my blood boil.

The Moon Goddess truly had a cruel sense of humour.

Emily let out a small whimper but didn’t answer.

I narrowed my eyes. “I asked you a question.”

Still nothing.

I took a few slow steps until I stood directly behind her. The sweet scent of vanilla and strawberries filled my senses, and for a moment, I forgot every irritation that had followed me here.

There she was. The woman I had searched for without even knowing her face.

I placed my hands on the sides of her waist and lowered my head, resting my chin on her shoulder.

“Aren’t you a pretty little thing, hmm?” I whispered teasingly into her ear.

Her heart began to race. I could feel her trembling beneath my touch, and the reaction should have pleased me. Instead, something uncomfortable stirred in my chest.

She was afraid of me.

“Are you always this quiet, or am I simply that terrifying?”

I tried to keep my tone light, but my patience was wearing thin.

Before she could answer, I moved in front of her and caught her chin between my fingers, forcing her to look at me.

“When I ask you a question, you answer.” My voice sharpened, and my grip tightened slightly.

Damn it.

I wanted her to fall in love with me willingly. I wanted her to look at me without fear, to reach for me because she desired me. Yet here I was, behaving like a man who had never heard the word no.

I loosened my grip.

“I thought you were going to kill me for getting in your way,” she stammered, lowering her eyes. “So I panicked and ran.”

I stared at her.

“Kill you?” I repeated.

Was that what she thought of me?

I had watched enemies beg for mercy and denied it. My name alone was enough to silence entire rooms.

But I had never imagined that she would look at me and expect death.

Perhaps the rumours about me had reached her after all.

“I would never hurt you, love,” I said, softening my voice. “Nor do I intend to do so now.”

“Then why are you here? And could you stop calling me love?”

I almost smiled.

She had enough courage to challenge me while standing close enough to feel my heartbeat. 

Interesting.

“I can’t tell you everything just yet, love.”

She rolled her eyes and scoffed.

I deliberately ignored her complaint about the nickname.

‘Tell her she’s our mate already!’ Max growled inside my head.

My wolf had been insufferable since the moment we discovered the truth. After centuries of loneliness, he wanted nothing more than to claim her, mark her, and make sure the entire supernatural world knew she belonged to us.

But I had other plans.

If I let Max take control, Emily would probably have a mark on her neck before she could finish insulting me.

‘You are wasting time,’ he complained.

And you are embarrassing yourself.

Emily’s gaze shifted between my eyes. I suspected she had noticed their changing colours.

“With all due respect, Your Majesty, I want nothing to do with you. So please, just stay away from me.”

Her fists clenched.

I should have been offended. I was not used to being dismissed, particularly by women who could barely look me in the eye.

“Nothing at all?” I asked.

“Nothing.”

“Not even a conversation?”

She gave me a look that could have frozen the sun.

I nearly laughed.

My feisty little mate.

The first time I saw her, she had been in her family’s garden with a maid. I had felt an attraction so powerful that I spent weeks wondering whether something was wrong with me.

Eventually, I consulted one of my advisers, a fortune-teller. She told me my mate already existed, but I might not recognize her when we crossed paths.

For years, I watched Emily from a distance, wondering if she could be the woman fate had chosen for me.

I had even watched her at college and noticed the times she passed by the castle to admire the scenery.

Then, a year and a half ago, the kingdom’s affairs demanded my attention. Border disputes and growing threats left little room for distractions. I stopped watching her, telling myself that I had no proof she was the one.

Now I wished I had never looked away.

“Then what exactly do you want from me, Your Majesty?” she asked, dragging me out of my thoughts.

I released her chin and stepped back.

“I want nothing from you. I simply want to get to know you.” I said sincerely.

Her expression didn’t soften.

Of course it didn’t.

I was the king of vampires and werewolves, a man whose reputation had been built on blood, fear, and the occasional unfortunate example made of those who challenged my authority.

But then again, why had she looked at me with something that resembled longing?

Could she feel the bond too?

Before I could question her, her expression changed. She turned her head slightly, listening to something beyond the field.

I focused my hearing.

Voices drifted across the palace grounds, drawing closer with every passing second.

“I keep hearing about an elegant, beautiful girl who attended the ball and caught the king’s attention,”a woman said.

Cordelia Vintage, Emily’s mother.

I remembered the Vintages visiting my office to suggest a marriage between me and their pick me daughter, Evelyn. They had spoken as though my future were theirs to arrange.

Their audacity had been remarkable.

“I heard that too,” Edmund replied. “Some say she’s a princess from a faraway land.”

A scoff followed.

“So a bitch came here, and the king went after her?” Evelyn said.

I had seen her throw herself at men with handsome faces and impressive fortunes. She was now apparently offended that another woman had caught my attention.

How unfortunate for her.

“But why did I smell a faint trace of Emily’s perfume in the hallway?” Evelyn continued. “Was she here tonight?”

Emily went rigid beside me.

“Well, we’re about to find out,” Edmund said. “Let’s head home now.”

Their footsteps began to fade.

“Shit!” Emily whispered.

I turned towards her and saw her terrified expression.

“I have to go,” she said.

My jaw tightened. “Why?”

“They’re heading back.”

She looked at me as though I had asked the most foolish question imaginable.

I understood then that whatever existed between Emily and her family was far more complicated than I had assumed.

Why would she fear her own parents? Why would the sound of their approaching footsteps make her desperate to escape?

Did they hurt her?

The thought awakened a vicious instinct inside me.

If anyone had dared to lay a hand on her, I would make them regret it for the rest of their miserable existence.

“I can’t stay,” she insisted.

I wanted to tell her she didn’t have to leave. That she could remain beside me, where nobody would dare threaten her.

I wanted to take her to my palace, lock every door, stay close to her in our bedroom, and ensure that no one could ever make her afraid again.

The thought was tempting.

But a cage was still a cage, even if it was made of gold. And if I wanted her to choose me, I couldn’t begin by taking away her freedom.

She looked up at me one last time. Her gaze hardened, and then she ran.

Just like that, she disappeared from my sight.

I remained where I was, staring at the spot where she had disappeared.

My mate had finally stood before me, and had managed to run away from me.

Wonderful.

Perhaps I should pay the Vintage estate a surprise visit. I had questions for her parents, and I doubted they would enjoy answering them.

If they had hurt Emily, I would tear their heads from their bodies and display them as statues outside my castle.

My smile returned at the thought, though it quickly faded.

I wanted to know how to make her love me. I wanted to show her that I could be different with her, that she would never have to fear me.

Yet I couldn’t pretend to be a harmless man.

Ninety-five per cent of the rumours surrounding me were true. If I showed weakness whenever someone displeased me, chaos would follow. The peace I had maintained for decades would crumble, and countless lives would be lost.

I had spent too long becoming the king my people needed to abandon that responsibility now.

But Emily was different.

For the first time in years, I had something to lose that power could not replace.

I smiled softly, imagining her blue eyes and the stubborn little frown she wore when I irritated her.

“Keep running, Emily,” I whispered. “I will find you in every lifetime. I will seek you out, chase after you, and love you, no matter how many times fate forces us to begin again.”

My smile faded as the silence settled around me.

But would she ever feel the same way? Would she ever love me as deeply as I already loved her?