Kace's eyes rolled closed as the cool night breeze flowed through his hair. The man released a relaxed breath when the wind shifted direction, only for Kace's body to tense. The shift in the wind carried the alluring scent of the prince of Eternal Dawn and alerted the blue-eyed that he had been found. Kace turned his head in the direction of the source of the strong, musky scent to see a tall man standing at the edge of the clearing. His build was wide and strong, and his well-defined arms were down by his side.

Kace's blue eyes snapped up to the true blood's to see the most beautiful emerald eyes. The prince's scent was the strongest Kace had ever smelled, and the blue-haired found himself entranced by the strong man before him. It did not take long, however, for the blue-eyed to snap out of his trance and turn to flee.

Kace had never been interested in finding his mate. He had Jae, so he did not long for another. His heart and soul belonged to the prince of Crimson Night, so the appearance of his fated one would only complicate things, and Kace preferred to keep things simple. He did not need another wolf to enter his life and shake up his heart. Kace had resigned himself to the fact that he would be mateless for the rest of his life and was content to serve only Jae until the end of his days.

These reasons did not hide the fact that Kace was afraid. Strong wolves had only shown him pain. Jae was the only strong wolf who had not shown the blue-eyed torment. Not only was he afraid of being hurt by another strong wolf, but he was also afraid of rejection. Kace feared Eternal Dawn's prince would reject him once he discovered what he was, and Kace did not want to go through the pain of rejection. He was aware that he could never fully open up to someone other than Jae and that he held no room for trust. So, he could not bring himself to remain under the true blood's longing gaze and decided to flee while he could.

Kace swallowed dryly as he whirled around and prepared to shift into his wolf form, but before he could take even his first step, a broad body appeared in front of him. Kace sucked in his breath in surprise as he lifted his head to see the tall true blood standing before him. Silence filled the space between the blue and green-eyes as the two fated wolves gazed at each other, one in shock, the other in hope.

"Don't go, please." The words were incredibly soft and threw Kace off-guard. How could a wolf so fast and so strong be so soft? The man's voice was deep and soothing, and Kace found himself standing still. Why aren't you moving? You need to get away! You don't deserve to have a mate! As strong as his inner thoughts were that told him to flee, Kace did not move. Instead, he lowered his head and let his gaze fall to the ground.

"What's your name?" There it was again. The unexplainable softness. Jae was the only wolf who had spoken to Kace with such softness. The blue-haired remained silent to the true blood's question and merely blinked his dark lashes without making eye contact with the man before him.

A thumb under his chin startled Kace, and his eyes darted up to see the true blood gazing at him intently. The man's brows were scrunched, and his eyes were focused on Kace's cheek. "Did somebody hit you?" The man asked as he studied the discoloration on the blue-eyed male's face. Kace brought his chin out of the man's hold and turned it back to the ground in silent response.

A gentle brush of the man's fingers over his cheek started Kace even more. "How did this happen?" Kace looked up at the man's question to meet his emerald orbs. "Are you alright? Why do you have bruises covering your..." The prince trailed off when he spotted the fringe of a bruise peaking out from the sash tied around the blue-haired's neck. The man reached out and gently tugged on the sash, loosening it until it fell to the ground.

The man's movement was fluid and quick, giving Kace little time to react. The blue-eyed instinctively brought his hands to his neck to hide the gruesome scars that had been previously hidden by the sash. But it was not quick enough; the prince had seen them. The true blood's jaw clenched when he saw the scars and fresh bruises covering the blue-eyed's face and neck. "Who did this to you?" The man's voice was now stern, sending fear through the blue-eyed.

Kace started backing away from the true blood, his hands still around his neck. He did not want his mate to know him; he carried too many tears. He did not want to drag a bright and good prince who had his whole life ahead of him into his pain-filled existence. He did not want to tarnish a shining heir with his tormented soul. If Kace was sure of one thing, it was that he did not want to involve himself with someone who deserved a better wolf as a mate.

So, Kace did the one thing he knew how to do: he ran. He ran and ran without looking back. He was aware of the man calling after him, but he did not slow, and he prayed the prince would not pursue him and would let him leave. He would end their fate before it began.

>>>>>>

"Thank you for your help, Omega," the head chef said to the zeta once the cleaning of the dishes, pots and pans, and utensils had been completed.

"It was my pleasure," Syri replied with a small bow. "I learned many things tonight. Thank you."

"Oh, don't even mention it, sweetie. It was definitely my pleasure!" The chef replied rather enthusiastically. She was always ecstatic to teach someone the ins and outs of cooking and baking. The chef and zeta bowed to each other once more in farewell before Syri turned to make his way to the door that led into the corridor outside the kitchen.

"So, you off to the stables?" Aliza inquired as she caught the zeta in passing.

"Ae," Syri replied before continuing. "My friends are probably looking for me."

"I don't get a goodbye?" A small whine left the young female when the zeta continued on his way. Syri stopped in his tracks and turned to the pouting female, giving her a smile before saying, "Goodbye, Aliza."

The girl's pouting expression turned into a sweet smile at the zeta's kind expression. "Bye, Syri. It was nice to meet you."

"You as well, Aliza. Don't get into too much trouble," Syri replied before turning back around.

"Tsh, you wish," Aliza sounded with a pucker of her lips. "Have a safe walk back!" The female called after the pink-haired. Syri lifted his arm in a short wave of farewell as he exited the kitchen and entered the expansive corridor. The zeta released a huff when he found himself standing in the corridor turning his head back and forth. He did not know the way out of the castle.

Syri shut his eyes and attempted to reimagine the path Estan had taken him to the kitchen from the banquet hall and then match that with the route the maid had taken the five stable workers from the dressing room to the banquet before tying that back to the path they were led down by the guards from the stables to the dressing room only to fail at attempting to reimagine the path he had taken with Estan. The zeta gave a sigh and put his hands on his hips before pressing his lips together and picking a random direction: left. The zeta had no earthly idea where the direction of 'left' would take him, but he thought it could not hurt to give it a shot...right?

So, without a second thought, the zeta started down the random direction of 'left' in hopes of striking his luck for the night and finding a way out of the expansive palace.

>>>>>>

"Prince!" A polite call stopped Jae in his tracks just outside the massive hall where the lively banquet remained ongoing. The true blood turned to see the princess of White Fang approaching him. Freyah held the skirt of her dress in her hands to keep her from tripping as she hurried after the tall true blood. "Are you retiring for the night?" The princess inquired when she reached Jae, letting the length of her silken dress with a lace overlay fall to the floor.

"Ae. Tomorrow is going to be long and filled with meetings, so I shall retire early," Jae answered cordially. "Please enjoy the rest of your night." The prince bowed to the princess politely before turning to continue his way down the corridor only to be stopped by a small stutter from Freyah. "Um...uh...uh," uneasiness filled the quiet sounds that filtered out of the omega's pink lips.

Jae returned to facing the princess to see Freyah's brows scrunched together in contemplation; she clearly had something she wished to discuss with the prince. "Is there something you would like to ask me?" Jae inquired in an attempt to encourage the timid princess.

The princess lifted her gaze at the prince's words, and pressed her lips together before opening them to speak. "Please disregard me when choosing your mate." The request startled Jae; he had not expected the princess of White Fang to speak so boldly on the matter of him choosing a mate. The true blood's expression softened toward the omega, and he assured her, "Do not fret. There is only one wolf whom I would choose to mate."

A breath escaped Freyah's parted lips in a smile. "Thank goodness. I feared I would be forced to reject my fated one shall I meet them should I become your mate. I would hate to be the cause of someone's pain." The relief was evident in the princess's light expression as she smiled up at the prince. "Thank you, Prince. I wish you and your future mate happiness."

Jae's lips curled into a small smile at the princess's blessing, and he inclined his head slightly in thanks. "I appreciate your kind words, Princess Freyah. I wish happiness for you and your fated one as well."

With her goal accomplished, Freyah bowed to the prince of Crimson Night in goodbye before returning to the lively banquet, leaving the true blood to his thoughts. Jae watched the kind princess slip through the heavy, oaken doors before turning to continue down the corridor. The prince reached the end of the corridor before a faint whiff of vanilla and roses wafted past him.

The prince's heart immediately began to race as he smelled the sweet scent. Syri!