Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Jessie

I can't believe it.

This can't be possible.

My fated mate.

The Dragon Prince that I'm supposed to marry is my fated mate…

And I instantly wanted him the minute that I laid eyes on him.

He is drop dead gorgeous, that is the first that I noticed when I looked at him. He is really tall, dressed in the perfect clothing that shows off the perfection of his body. He is really muscular as well, that much I noticed almost immediately the minute that I looked at him. His short, curly silvery-blonde hair is a little wild and unruly, but it was his beautiful silver eyes that drew me in the most.

I wasn't sure what was going to come from it, wishing that I could have done a lot more with him, but I had to get away from him. It was the best thing for me, that much was clear when I looked at him and I knew that if I did it this way, then nothing else was going to end up coming from it. I just had to draw him closer, that much was pretty obvious.

"Wait!" I hear him calling after me, making me feel really weird about it, "Jessie, wait! I think we need to have a talk about this."

Just the sight of him was enough to make my stomach churn and I had to get away. As I'm rounding the corner, I bump immediately into someone who makes me shiver with disgust. When I looked up, I saw it was Hayden, and I have to keep myself away from him because there's no way that I could have done something like that. I step away from him, something that I normally wouldn't have done but I have to keep myself away.

I can't allow him to get close to me.

If that happens, I know that I would end up regretting it.

"Sorry." I grumble but he latches onto my wrists, making me stay there.

"What's wrong?" He asks me softly, a weird look on his face that makes me feel weird as well.

"Nothing." I grumble but as I look over my shoulder, Ruka is finally here.

I see the possessive look spread across Ruka's face when he notices that Hayden has a hold on me. Marching forward, he wraps his arm around my waist, making the sparks fly as I'm much closer to him now. His touch is enough to drive me crazy, that much I noticed almost immediately, and I have no clue what I'm going to do here.

Oh, fuck me, what am I going to do?

"Why are you touching the Princess?" Hayden growls, and I know he is just being protective of me again.

"As her fiancé and fated mate, I think that I can because she's not pushing me away." Ruka corrects him, making me smile slightly even though I should have been more upset about it.

Hayden looks at me with surprise and hurt, like he didn't expect to hear that. I didn't want to tell him like that, wanting to do this a completely different way but there was nothing else that I could do about it. I wish that I could have done something else about it but there's nothing else that I could do.

I can't be anything to Hayden.

"He is my fated mate." I tell Hayden, seeing the sadness in his eyes, "Ruka, this is my best friend and guard, Hayden. He has been standing by my side and he is the one who has been taking care of me. He made sure that we were going to be safe and that I would one day be here. Thank you."

Just the sight of Ruka and Hayden staring at one another was enough to make my heart almost skip a beat. It was kind of scary if you ask me because I knew this is going to lead to a big fight if I didn't end up doing this a certain way. I wish that I could have made sure that I'm going to end up being Ruka's mate.

I can't be with Hayden.

I can't have anything that I used to want.

But it's like my feelings for Ruka are long gone and I hate it. I didn't want something like that to happen because I have cared about him for so long but maybe I'm going about this the completely wrong way. Maybe I need to draw him closer and do this a certain way because it is like nothing else that I have ever dreamed about.

I wish that I could have done a lot more, but I don't know if it is going to end up going the wrong way. I know that with Ruka, I am going to be content even though originally, I thought it was going to be okay the minute that I fell for Hayden but now, it's like nothing else that I have felt.

I don't care if I'm close to Hayden anymore.

I just want to be everything to Ruka.

"I'm sorry, I think we need to talk." I tell Ruka, slipping my hand into his because I just want to lead him away from there, "I'm sorry, Hayden."

I can't believe that I'm doing something like this, longing to do whatever I can to make sure that this is not going to turn around and destroy everything that I have built. I can't believe that this is happening either, wishing that I could be close to Ruka, but I also know that I have to keep my distance. If I do this, I think it is going to be okay.

I mean truthfully, how did I end up being his mate?

He is someone that I don't deserve…

I won't ever be strong.

"Do you really want to marry me?" I suddenly ask him, feeling kind of weird about it.

"Why wouldn't I want to marry you?" He asks me gently, raising an eyebrow at me, "I mean, you're my fated mate and although I had no intention of falling for you like that, there was no way that I was going to end up loving you like that. I mean truthfully, what else am I going to do?"

I don't know how to talk to him about this because I didn't want him to be my fated mate. I wanted to keep him at a distance, and I didn't want to dare be close to him. I wanted to run away, and I didn't want to think about anything else.

"I know you didn't want this when you didn't know that I was your fated mate." I explained to him finally, feeling a little weird about it but there wasn't much else for me to do, "I mean truthfully, do you think that you would have been okay with me either way? I wasn't interested in being married to you either and now… You're my fated mate."

It's like everything has fallen down and there's nothing more for me to do. It makes me feel a little sick to my stomach because I never dreamed of something like this happening, and I wish that I could have done a lot more. I realize now that I have hurt Hayden as well and I'm not going to be able to forgive myself for it because there's no way that he is going to forgive me. If anything, he is going to push me away and he's not going to care.

I don't know what is about to happen, but I do know that I'm going to do everything that I can to make sure that I'm going to be the best mate. I can't just push him away, it doesn't matter my feelings because in the end, I know I'm always going to feel the pull to him, and nothing is going to change that. There's really nothing else for me to do.

Something tells me it is going to be a whole different ball game.

This is the best thing to happen for me.

"Well, if you're certain then I will marry you." I finally assure him, seeing how he looks up at me with surprise, "But if I'm being completely honest, I have no idea where this relationship will lead us but I'm willing to find out with you. I just want to make sure that no matter what, we're content with everything that ends up happening afterwards. It's the best way for everything that'll come next."

I don't know if I can truly do this, but I want to do the right thing. I want to hold him close and not dare let anything stand in my way. I can't believe how intensely I feel about this, like nothing else I could even begin to dream about. I just longed to make sure that we would be close and that I would eventually one day love him.

I know he wants the same thing.

I know that he will not dare to push me away either.

I guess finding my fated mate could have been the best thing to ever happen to me.