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A few weeks later the answer to what I would do for my birthday came.

I was sitting with Ashton on the sofa in his living room. I was still battling with myself over whether I truly liked Ashton or not, but there was no denying that we had gotten closer to each other over time. Melissa was busy doing volunteer work at a local law firm and Callie was completely engrossed in preparing for the school play and working with the lead who was suffering from a sudden case of stage fright.

Daniel was back in Italy for the time being, still sorting out his transfer to this kingdom and spending time with his family. Callie was immensely suspicious after he left, but he talked to her as often as he could, despite the time difference. He left messages and pictures and called her almost every day to talk about whatever.

His behavior contrasted with Demetri, who had gotten into another fight with Callie after she told him that she and Daniel were on speaking terms. He barely answered her calls and he wouldn’t text her unless she texted first. This made Callie miserable, but Daniel helped her to feel better.

Nicole had been missing from school for a few days and a rumor was going around that she was pregnant. I doubted that though.

On a happier note, Micah had begun eating his lunch in the cafeteria and even had conversations with some of his classmates. He was getting more social and was beginning to open up to others more and I really liked that.

I used Ashton as my pillow as I texted Kevin, who was back in Gregoria.

“Elizabeth, Ashton,” Mrs. DeLorentes greeted as she swept into the room. We looked up at her in surprise. She smiled widely.

“Hi, Mrs. DeLorentes,” I smiled back.

“Ashton mentioned that your birthday was on Saturday, so my husband and I decided to give you something special.”

Ashton narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the small square box that his mother placed in my hand. I gave her a surprised glance as I lifted the lid. It was a reservation for a dinner by the beach. For two.

“Umm… thank you. You shouldn’t have,” I smiled.

I appreciated the gift but I couldn’t help but wonder the reason behind it. The last time they had planned a date for me and Ashton, his father had tried to manipulate every second of it. I wasn’t too keen on that happening again and apparently neither was Ashton.

“What is this about?” he asked her directly.

“It is for Elizabeth’s birthday.”

“Okay. What’s in it for the king?”

“Your father just wants you two to enjoy yourselves.”

Ashton grabbed the reservation paper out of the box and there was another one underneath it. Reservations for a single hotel suite. I pursed my lips.

“Yeah, I’m sure we’ll really enjoy your present,” he retorted.

He stared at his mom until she sighed and sat on the sofa beside me. “The dinner reservation is from me. I suppose your father thought you two might be tired afterwards so he booked a suite just in case.”

“You know that’s not the reason why,” Ashton scowled.

“Whatever his reason was, he hopes you can accept the gift. Elizabeth?” she said, turning to me suddenly.

“Umm,” I glanced at Ashton. “Yeah, we appreciate it, right Ashton?”

He scoffed. His mom looked sad when he did that so I tried to cheer her up by summoning all my enthusiasm for the gift.

She smiled at me. “I really hope you bring each other happiness.”

I stared at the ground, but she continued. “Will you tell me why it is difficult for you to accept your soulmate?”

I was surprised at her question. Neither her nor her husband had ever asked me that before. I met her eyes and I could tell that she was genuinely curious. Ashton frowned beside me, but I knew he was curious too.

I sighed. “Because scientifically it just doesn’t make sense to me. I feel like my feelings are being influenced by the soulmate bond and I can’t tell if what I’m feeling is real. If I accept my soulmate, I want it to be all me.”

“Are you trying to reason this out with science?” Ashton asked dubiously.

“Yeah.”

“If that is the case, then Origens do not exist,” his mother smiled. “But here I am. There are some things that even science cannot explain. The soulmate bond is one of those things.” She paused. “It is like using a dating app, except you do not need to search. It matches you with the best person for you. Someone you are capable of loving and who is capable of loving you back. The bond only shows you who that person is, but it will not make you fall in love. That is something that must happen naturally.”

I looked over at Ashton and realized that deep down inside I already knew that. I had already come to the conclusion that I didn’t just feel this way because of the soulmate bond. I guess I was just trying to find an excuse to object to these feelings.

Ashton’s gaze shifted to his mom and his brows furrowed. I looked back at her to see her hastily wiping away tears. I dug into my bag and pulled out my wipes, offering her some. She thanked me and daintily dabbed her eyes.

“Talking about soulmates always makes me so emotional,” she said with a sad smile. “I want you two to find the happiness that I cannot know.”

I frowned. What was she talking about? She did have a soulmate and seemed happy most of the times. It felt weird seeing the strong, smiling queen cry.

“I guess it is time Ashton knew this,” she sighed. “CaVaughn has already heard this.”

“I’ll give you some privacy,” I offered, sensing that what she was about to say might be a private affair. I was about to leave when she held me back and shook her head.

“You should hear this too, Elizabeth.”

Ashton cocked his head in mystification at his mother’s sudden change in mood.

“Your father is not my soulmate,” she confessed.

I think Ashton stopped breathing. I glanced behind me to see his lips parted in surprise. His eyes held every bit of confusion that I felt. The king wasn’t her soulmate?

“I know what you might be wondering. But what I had with him was an arranged marriage. I was mated to his half-brother who died under mysterious circumstances before we could marry. Your father was mated to a low ranking noble, so to keep the peace between my kingdom and his, I had to marry him instead,” she explained as more tears flowed.

“What the hell?” Ashton asked with a perplexed scowl. “You had an arranged marriage? Mysterious circumstances? Your soulmate was obviously killed so that he could have you instead,” he growled furiously.

His mother didn’t look surprised at his outburst. “There is nothing to prove that,” she said bitterly.

I stared at her, shocked still. I never expected her to have such a tragic past. She was an Alpha, a queen, and yet she was as sad as an Omega. It did seem a little suspicious that her soulmate had died mysteriously.

“I’m so sorry,” I mumbled.

Ashton went over to sit on the other side of her and rubbed her back. She allowed herself to relish in the comfort for a moment before she dried her tears and cleared her throat.

“This is why I want all of you to be happy,” she continued. “You and CaVaughn and Brooke. I don’t want any of you to have arranged marriages because it will make you so unhappy.” She cupped Ashton’s face in her hands. “He tortures you and CaVaughn and most times I cannot do anything because he threatens to break the alliance with my kingdom. If that is broken, other kingdoms will take advantage of our weaknesses. I am sorry.”

Ashton hugged her to him. His jaw was set and his lips were pressed into a thin line. I could feel the anger rolling off him in waves. I was livid too, and I wasn’t even in his position. It was a heavy burden for him to bear. The fate of his kingdom as well as his mother’s kingdom.

As I sat there, I thought back to a few months ago. Ashton was just a confident, arrogant, rich player. He didn’t have a care in the world. He threw wild, lavish parties and had every girl at his beck and call. He was the captain of the football team and the most popular guy in school.

I thought I knew who Ashton was. But that was just the part of himself that he let be seen. The part of him that was trying to distract himself from everything else that was going on in his life.

Brooke was possibly the only person in this house who was happy and that was because she was blissfully unaware of the struggles around her. She was busy being the child that she should be allowed to be.

My heart cried for Ashton’s mom who was stuck like a princess in a tower. Her only escape would be when one of her children became the next ruler. It was all up to Ashton and he knew it.

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After a minute or two, she excused herself and went upstairs.

“You know,” Ashton said hoarsely, “That’s the first time I’ve seen her cry.”

I scooted over to him and hugged him as he sighed and rested his head on mine.

“Your mom is a really strong woman,” I murmured into his shirt.

He nodded, too upset to speak. But I understood the words his heart said.

“You’ll be a great king, Ashton,” I told him, but he looked uncertain.

Our moment was broken when the king came back from wherever he had been all evening. Ashton’s body stiffened and his nostrils flared as he glared at him in contempt. His father didn’t look bothered by any of that.

“I see you've received your gift, Elizabeth,” he said.

“Yes.”

“I trust you like it?”

Ashton scowled at him. “How generous of you to book only one hotel suite.”

“You shouldn’t have a problem with that,” the king retorted. “It’s Elizabeth’s present and now you finally get a chance to do something you’re good at.”

Ashton made the slightest movement to go towards him, but then clutched his head, biting back groans.

“Stop, please stop whatever you’re doing to him!” I pleaded, flinging myself in front of Ashton. “I’ll go!”

His father gave a satisfied smile as his eyes glinted with what I recognized as newfound victory and I realized what I’d just done. I had unwillingly allowed him to manipulate me by using Ashton.

“No, Elizabeth,” Ashton groaned. “Don’t do it.”

His dad smiled. “I knew you’d make the right choice. Be a good girl and everyone will be happy.”

Ashton stopped clutching his head and his dad walked out of the room.

“Why did you do that?” he asked me angrily.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know if you can handle any more of his mind torture.”

“That’s my business,” he scowled. “Don’t let him get to you.”

“I couldn’t just stand here and watch him destroy you slowly,” I argued. “It’s just a dinner and then we can try and get two different hotel rooms so it shouldn’t be a problem,” I sighed.

“No, you don’t get it. He wants me to mark you fully.”

“Mark me fully?” I frowned. “You mean he wants you to do all three steps of the soulmate acceptance?”

“Yes. I’ve already done the first step. Now he wants me to mark you and then consummate the agreement.”

“By consummate, you don’t mean…”

He nodded.

“But we don’t have to.”

“I’m not forcing you to do anything, Elizabeth. I just don’t want him to get used to thinking that you’ll do whatever he wants,” he said wrapping me in a hug. “Let’s go to your house today. I’m tired of this place.”

I nodded and pulled him along behind me as we left.

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