His Sweet Little Mate

Holding open the paper that had the speech she prepared with Ezgar’s help, Abby stood in front of the mirror in the cloakroom. In hopes to practice delivering the speech, she dismissed her maids’ help when they asked her if she needed anything else for the night when she slipped into the cloakroom adjoining their bedroom. Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

However, not a single word would make it past her lips, as she could feel her throat drying at the very thought of memorizing every word and presenting it with no mistakes in front of thousands of people during the ceremony.

And, she couldn’t s k i p it no matter what. If she couldn’t even speak a few lines about the kingdom she was going to rule alongside Micah, how would she be able to convince them all that she was up for any challenge at all?

She needed to act brave even if she had forgotten the meaning of that word, not because she was afraid that they would find fault with her, but because her failure might cause Micah more problems.

Just like Ruby said and hoped for, she couldn’t continue being a burden for her mate, who was doing so much for themselves to stay together, where he didn’t even hesitate to start an internal war with his own royal council.

But the pressure she was trying to ignore was real as she could feel her whole body shivering just at the thought of facing so many people, including royal councilors like Arthur and the others who hated her with guts.

She looked upward as she closed her eyes which started to get blurry with tears of frustration at the thought of Arthur’s actions from the moment they met regarding that manipulative b i t c h, Ruby’s, house arrest by Micah.

“Stop thinking about all of them, silly girl. You need to focus.”

Abby had to pep talk herself when the pressure started overwhelming her as it had been two hours since she locked herself in this cloakroom, wanting to practice delivering her speech.

She only opened her eyes when she was sure that she willed her tears back, as she looked at the contents of the speech with determination. She had to see the end of this.

“T- this K-kingdom…”

But, it wasn’t as easy as a random thought of wanting to do something correctly slipping into your mind. It required more than courage and determination to pull off something

you never did.

Or something Abby never even dreamed of trying. It was really pathetic when she thought back to the last time she actually tried to have a normal conversation with people from her pack.

In fact, she couldn’t even remember ever talking to any of them after her own father and older sister branded her as a monster who killed her own mother.

No one would want to be acquainted with a person who was hated by their one family, when werewolves were known to live in groups, large ones to be precise, with a perfect hierarchical system in place.

And this hierarchical system also accounted for her desolation in a pack as big as theirs, as everyone was afraid to cross the beta of the pack and her father, Ryan, who had the backing of the Alpha James.

But then she could count the few times she was allowed to go out of the dark room, Hanna enjoyed confining her to, on one hand when someone was actually around.

Even though a few pack members tried to help her behind her father’s back, by giving her food, they never dared to linger too long for her to actually say a word to them.

But now, she had to deliver a speech as the queen of this kingdom before thousands of people, who also had been waiting for Micah to find his destined mate for years.

Abby felt her forehead drench with sweat just at the thought of all those probing eyes that would be fixed on her among the thousands of curious eyes.

If she were to stutter like this, it would be the end of her!

But what could Abby do when she was so nervous? After all, it left her anxious and stuttering whenever she tried to read the speech out loud.

“G o d! How do I overcome this?”

Abby could feel her knees going weak the longer she looked into the mirror. She didn’t even have enough courage to talk to herself, let alone before a crowd.

This is simply nuts!

She felt like crushing the paper and then throwing it far away before falling to her knees and crying her heart out. She felt suffocated at the need to act her part well and reach the expectations of all the people of this kingdom.

She couldn’t help but read the page long speech written by Ezgar again and again, but the moment she looked up and faced her own reflection in the mirror, every word she ever learnt failed her.

But then she couldn’t give up and let her nerves get the better of her, so she could only force herself to practice and practice.

She had to ignore the fear that kept clawing up her throat, trying to block the words from leaving her lips, if she didn’t want to embarrass both herself and Micah in front of the whole kingdom.

***********

Abby didn’t know how long she locked herself in the cloakroom, but around midnight, someone knocked on the door of her bedroom and she finally went out of the cloakroom.

She had been waiting for Micah to come, so when she heard the knock, she thought it was her mate.

“But why would Micah knock on the door?” Abby whispered to herself as she crossed the sleeping area and walked up to the sofa.

Reyna, who seemed to have been waiting for Abby to come out of the cloakroom since. dinner time, so that she could accompany her master until she slipped into slumber, went to get the door.

She then heard her maid talk to whoever came before stepping back into the room and closing the door behind her. So it was clear it wasn’t Micha who had come.

“Lady Abby, King Micah sent this for you,” Reyna called after her when Abby turned around to go to her bed, wanting to wait for Micah there.

“What did he send?” Abby couldn’t help but ask as she turned around so quickly, and stumbled a little.

“Careful, Lady Abby. You can get hurt!” Reyna almost shouted as she threw her arms to support Abby.

If her maid hadn’t been quick enough to break her fall and then steady her on her own feat, she would be sporting a sprained ankle during the ceremony.

“Thank you, Reyna,” Abby thanked her maid as she asked for the things Micah sent her.

This was the first letter he wrote to her, and she couldn’t help but feel a little excited.

However, her excitement dwindled quite fast when her maid presented her with a single flower and a small letter.

Abby quickly opened the letter and the contents of the letter were just what she had expected.

‘I am caught up with something, go to bed early.’

He just wrote two short phrases and reading them, Abby felt her spirits plunging even

more.

She had been down all evening, and when she thought Micah would come back and provide her the warmth and the support she had been so dearly craving, she was only left with disappointment.

Tears immediately welled up in her eyes, and she struggled to keep them at bay, just like she had been doing all evening.

Even though she felt like crying, she couldn’t give into that urge right now, because she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to stop once she started letting them out.

She looked behind her, at the bed. It suddenly felt so cold and empty, Abby felt her heart shrivel with sadness. She had been waiting for him all evening, but he didn’t even return tonight.

Even though he had been busy for the last two weeks, he would at least find time to come bid her good night. And it always helped to lift her ever dampening spirits.

But when she wanted his presence more than anything, he couldn’t make it to her.

She couldn’t remember the last time she felt this desperate for something. She suddenly felt like running to Micah and seeking comfort in his embrace, because only he could make her feel better right now.

But she knew she couldn’t do that. She didn’t want to bother him while he was busy with his plans for the ceremony. She couldn’t be that ignorant, only caring about herself and her own emotions.

However, she couldn’t even bear to look at the empty bed, let alone lie on it all night, alone, feeling cold and desolate.

“Lady Abby,” Reyna called when she noticed how Abby looked like she was going to cry any minute now.

On the other hand, Abby/immediately folded the letter in her hands as she looked at

the yellow flower Micah sent her.

“I want to take a walk,” Abby suddenly decided, as she quickly draped an outer robe over

her shoulders.

Reyna was still stupefied in her place, when Abby already walked out of the King’s bedroom, but then she came to her senses as she ran after her master. But Abby prevented her from following her.

**

Abby was walking toward the bench in the garden that had been her sanctuary for the past few days when she saw someone walking toward the garden.

Upon a closer look, she realized it was Ezgar. She immediately turned around to leave but the man noticed her already.

Lady Abby!!!”

bby heard him exclaim her name in the next moment.