Chapter 3

Grayson:

"Good morning!" I say. 

"More like good afternoon. It's 3:00 PM!" She exclaims. "Prince Gabriel's ball is today. You have to be ready by 6:00 PM," She reminds me.

"Actually... I met him at the soccer match yesterday..." I say.

"Really? Is he your mate?" She asks excitingly.

"Ex-mate. He rejected me! Isn't that great?!" I exclaim joyfully. Her eyes went wide.

"Rejected you? What?" She asks in disbelief. I nod proudly.

"So that means I don't have to go to the ball, right?" I ask. She shakes her head.

"Nope, you are going young lady. You can find your second chance mate!" She says. I groan. 

"Nope, I'm not going," I declare. She glares at me.

"Grayson Ember Vasquez Lopez!" She screams. If you're wondering about my last name, then lemme explain: My mom was white, and my dad was half-Hispanic and half-white. So I guess I'm a quarter Hispanic.

"You are going to the ball whether you like it or not!" She yells. I roll my eyes, grabbing some bacon strips and going upstairs to my room. Aunt Cassie is really ticking me off. So I'm gonna tick her off more...

*Time skip*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's 6:20 PM right now. I'm purposely late just to tick off Aunt Cassie. Bonus: I'm wearing cargo pants and a tank top. I put on my brown contact lenses and slip a dagger in my boot, just in case. I walk out the door, and Aunt Cassie's jaw drops to the floor. 

"We're too late now, I can't go change into a dress," I say. She huffs and turns around.

"Fine, but I do not know you, ok?" She says. I roll my eyes and look at Adrianna; she was wearing a short purple dress, and black heels. She was intently staring outside. I lean close to her.

"What's on your mind?" I ask her. She gasps in surprise, but calms down as she sees me.

"Nothing... I was just wondering if Prince Gabriel is my mate..." She sighs dreamily. Maybe he gets a second chance mate. Maybe it'll be my sister. Chances are low, but it's still possible, right?

"Boo. I don't get why people want mates. They're just... They're just gonna control your life and everything you do," I tell her.

"But they'll love you and protect you forever, and you'll have their pups, and-" I cut her off:

"Ew. Nope, that's just gross," I say. She rolls her eyes and look back at the window. After an eternity of boredom, we finally arrive to the Midnight Royalty castle. 

As as we walk in, everyone looks at me weirdly.

"Outfit game on point," I say to Grace. She giggles in response. I notice a guy with a bandage on his leg; the same guy I threw a dagger at. I try to stifle a laugh at his helplessness. He glares at me in anger.

"Hey! You're the one who threw a dagger at me!" He yells. 

"Well sorry for defending myself," I say, putting my hands up. He looks me up and down, licking his lips. Did he really just do that? Even after I threw a dagger at him?

"What's your name beautiful?" He asks. 

"My name is... Jess.. ica... Jessica. Jessica Andrews," I lie. 

"Well Jessica, nice to meet you. My name's Brent Meyers." He says with a wink. Ew. Make it stop. 

It's so loud in here... My head is hurting. I don't like noise.

"Uh, I gotta use the washrooms, nice talking to ya," I say nervously, walking to an empty area. I notice a random door, and I open it. I see a huge balcony, and I run over to the edge and place my hands on the railing. I breathe in the fresh air. I hear a growl and I turn around. I see the infamous 'Prince Gabriel' sitting by the doorway. Woah. I walked right past him without noticing.

"Oh sorry. Do you want me to leave?" I ask him.

​​

"No, stay," he says. I shrug and turned back around, staring at the landscape.

"Why are you here? Shouldn't you be at the ball looking for your mate?" I ask.

"I already found her.”

"Then shouldn't you guys be on stage right now, announcing everyone about your... Mateness," I say. I don't even know if 'mateness' is a word, but whatever.

"I'll wait for a while before announcing everyone about our 'mateness'," He said. Fair enough. I place my hands back on the railing, peering at a faraway forest. I could see some deers running around, and a few owls flying by. That forest looks cool. I think I'm gonna go run there later, when everyone is occupied by the Prince and his mate.

Suddenly, two large hands are placed on top of mine, covering my hands. 

"Mine," I hear someone growl right behind me. I elbow the intruder in the rib, hearing him groan in pain. I run as fast as I could to the ballroom, not turning to see who it was. I run through the crowd, and I was about to run out the main entrance door, when two hands grabbed my waist, pulling me into someone's chest.

I started squirming and kicking as the intruder picked me up and started walking somewhere else.

"No, you can't do this! Help! Let go of me!" I yell, getting everyone's attention. I'm causing a scene, but I don't give a shit. I quickly grab my dagger from my boot, and I was about to plunge it right into his heart, when someone else grabs my wrist. 

"If you're gonna kill him, you'll do it under my dead body!" The other intruder says. I stare at him. He's one of the creepy 4 men from the soccer match yesterday.

"Well if you insist.” I try to stab the dagger in his chest. He dodges it, and the dude that's picking me up growls and pulls me closer to him. The other intruder knocks my dagger out of my hand, leaving me defenceless. Oh shit.

The dude holding me starts walking away, carrying me.

"Wait no! I want my dagger back! Help needed! Someone call 911! Please!!!" I yell as he carries me upstairs, away from the ball room. He brings me in another room, while I desperately try to get out of his grip. He drops me on a bed, allowing me to finally see who he is...