Chapter 17: Unrecognized Bond

KAIST:

A strange tide of emotions was brimming in my chest, threatening to pour out all at once while I was in front of Dahlly. I tried to contain what I felt, but it was far too much that my wolf, Cruz, couldn’t even stop his whimpering. The longer I stay in Dahlly’s room, the more dangerous I might become, so I excused myself…

Dahlly was my childhood friend and my closest friend. She always referred to me as her ‘best friend,’ but I always knew she was more – absolutely something more for me!

I was fifteen when I started feeling something else than friendship for Dahlia. I had always loved the quiet but morose way that she would smile. Her brown hair matched her pale face perfectly. She was a little flower in a field full of green grasses – truly a beautiful and delicate thing.

My father – the king – had always told me that Dahlly and I belonged to each other. When he was drunk, he’ll elaborately start to tell me a story of how Dahlly had sacrificed herself in my behalf, but whenever he was about to spill the details on how she did save me exactly, my father would stop. It always got me curious. I tried to get the truth out of him, but in his somber state, my father always feigned innocent of the truth behind his justifications why Dahlly should become my queen.

By and by, I stopped caring whether there was a real and legitimate reason why my father was eyeing Dahlly as my future wife. There was a time I hated that prospect too. How can my father think so much in advance when he didn’t even ask me for my opinion? Does he not want me to find my own fated mate?

That was before I reached the age of fifteen. On the day I celebrated my birthday, I watched as Dahlly walked towards me with her gift. It was a scarf she made with her own, frail hands.

I don’t know why, but the scent that emanated from her body was especially strong on that day. She smelled so much like cherries laced in cream. I wasn’t even conscious about this fact before. When did she even start to smell like dessert?

“Here you go, your highness,” she said wounding the scarf around my neck. As soon as she tucked the edges of that thing around me, I felt my heart thumped in surprise, and for the first time, I heard the word escape from my excited wolf’s snout…

“Mate!”

My eyes widened. I had known Dahlly since we were small, and Cruz and I had been part of her life since my first shift at twelve years old. How can he utter such a word now when I am not even of age yet? Was this some kind of dysfunction? Maybe my wolf just got confused…

That’s what I told myself at that time. This was all a mind trick! Dahlly was a friend. We were just very close, so I must be imagining things…

But on the next day or the day after that, whenever I see Dahlly, Cruz could only call her by one term of endearment – mate.

I would look at Dahlly from time to time, but nothing seemed to change in her. She was still the affectionate, lovely, but lonely girl I once knew. Does she not feel it then? Can she not feel that we are each other’s mate?

Probably not, I told myself at that time. She was too young, and she couldn’t even shift at will. She told me that her wolf lurks inside of her head, sometimes growling, sometimes whimpering, but never saying anything back to her.

One day, I couldn’t help it anymore. When we were cloud-gazing, I decided to seal the deal with Dahlly and ask her to marry me at seventeen. It had been months since Cruz had first recognized her as our mate. She was still unaware of this fact, but she’ll get used to it soon if we set ourselves to get married.

I thought it’ll be easy to confess to my close friend, but it was harder than I thought. Dahlly couldn’t feel her wolf, and I didn’t want to be the only fool who could recognize this incessant tug at my chest to pull her closer. I decided I would wait until she felt it herself that we are destined for each other. At that point, however, I absolutely wanted her to start seeing me as a man. So then, I decided to propose to her in an indirect way.

“Dahlia, if we haven’t found our mate yet when we turn seventeen, will you just marry me?”

I tried to sound as uninterested as I could, like what I was saying at that moment was just a passing thought. In truth, my heart was beating so fast like a drum, I could have died waiting for her response.

She did what I had never expected – she laughed so hard she started to cry.

“Why are you laughing that hard? Did I say something funny?” This proposal was a serious matter to me. I have thought of countless ways on how she’d reject me, but I never thought she’d find this all amusing.

“Is it for real? I thought you were joking, Prince Kaist,” she replied.

Relief swelled in my chest. At least she didn’t seem to hate the idea. Then, that means she will consider it, right?

“So, how about it, Dahlia? I don’t like to marry anyone I don’t know, and since we know each other so well, shouldn’t we just get married to each other by then?”

Dahlia looked concerned. She cocked her head on one side, thinking deeply, “well, what if we find our mates later on? Seventeen is far too early a time to give up on finding our mates.”

“Then, will you marry me at nineteen,” I said, amending my terms, “If we find our mates within that time period, we could just break off our engagement. Mates are more important, of course…”

It was because I was sure back then… I was so sure that when Dahlia comes of age, she’ll recognize me too… She’ll know I was the one for her…

I was still very sure until today. If only I could kiss her lips and give her the feeling she keeps on giving me since I was fifteen; if only she’d recognize that strong pull in my heart wanting to be near her, to be together, perhaps she’ll finally recognize me for who I truly am…

Was it too wrong for me to have had my hopes up high? When she mentioned that her wolf Eva can speak now, I was truly elated. Finally, her wolf could tell her who I really was! She’ll recognize me now, won’t she?

I decided to take her in my arms and kiss her. I have never tried kissing her before or getting intimate with her, for I wanted Dahlia to recognize our intertwined destinies first before I do. I pulled her face upwards toward me and kissed her.

That simple touching of our lips felt like heaven to me and to Cruz. It was an elation beyond the bounds of reason. I wanted to hold her, to possess her right there and then, but at that exact moment, I realized it too…

Dahlly didn’t have any sort of reaction to my kiss… She wasn’t affected by me at all!

As I pulled away from her, I looked at her light blue eyes. There was nothing there – only confusion and sadness.

“My prince, where are we off to now?”

In my daze, I didn’t recognize that I had already walked and exited Duke Hurst’s manor and was now presently standing in front of Pelle, my knight, and Rimbaud, my couch man.

“Let’s go to Seymour Villa,” I said, my implacable face never betraying what I truly feel inside.

“Seymour Villa? That’s the house of that new count, isn’t it your majesty?” Pelle questioned, his eyes opening up a bit in surprise.

“Yes, there’s some I need to speak to him about urgently.”

I gritted my teeth. Dahlly called him her mate, that Count Abell…

By the Bloody Goddess, I’m sure there is sorcery going on in here! How can my own mate fail to recognize me? I’ll make sure I could get to the bottom of this ruckus and get my mate back before some damn wolf begin to snatch her away from my grasp!