Rowan woke up to someone knocking on his door, he dazedly stared at the door, confused at what was reality and what was not. In his dream, which was more like a nightmare, he saw Willow making out with Hunter in her bedroom, no matter how many times he yelled at them to stop, they didn't move, then Willow finally looked over at him and yelled, "Monster", Rowan felt his heart breaking over and over again, he didn't like the thought of Willow with someone else, be it Hunter or anyone, he hated even thinking about it nor did he want her to think of him as a monster.

That day after he had killed Easton, his older brother, Rowan had looked everywhere, but he couldn't find Willow, up in the attic he had found two Vampires tied up and a faint smell of Willow lingered in the air, the spell to conceal her scent had come off. As he had walked out, in a hurry, he felt felt something shooting his way, as a reflex he fought it, only to find that it was an acorn. Inside the acorn was a note that read, 'I dropped her in her room.' without guessing much, Rowan knew who sent him the note, the only faerie who had been on site.

Rowan had rushed back to Willow's house and there he found her lying in her room, her wrists bruised and her face pale. He he didn't know whether he should wake her up or not, but then he smelled something that was off on her, just then there was another acorn on her side table which said that she had an intake of Easton's blood. Fear rushed in him, but he calmed himself down and called Georgia the witch, who was the Royal healer.

Rowan shook the thought out of his head and headed over to the door, he didn't know why but he suddenly started feeling restless. He peeked through the peephole to find the person he had been dreaming of, standing outside.

Willow's face was red, as she looked like she would fall off any moment. Rowan's eyes brightened but then he pulled back with a frown, he didn't want to meet her because he was afraid, afraid that she would not end up being his mate, he didn't know what he would do if that were the case.

A day before his birthday, he had a dream in which he was sitting at a café and when he saw a blonde girl call him her mate, only when he woke up did he remembered that the other person was Triple. And on the very day he he thought of spending the night at Willow's room because it comforted him a lot, but then he found a stack of portraits, all of them had the same person painted on it, Hunter Reed.

Rowan recalled how Willow had once said that she had previously liked Hunter, and also everyone telling him about Hunter and Willow being mates.

There was only one day left until he turned eighteen, only one day till he finds for sure whether Willow was his mate or not. But he feared that fate would not turn out the way he wanted it to. So, he ran away, like a coward. It was so unlike the usual him, as a prince he should face everything head on, but when it came to Willow, he turned weak.

Rowan contemplated whether he should open the door or not, he wondered if he should act like no one was in the apartment, he didn't want her to see this side of him, a coward. But when he looked through the peephole again, he saw that Willow looked like she would fall off any moment now and from what he could see she looked quite out of order. Panicked, Rowan was about to open the door but he noticed that his clothes were rumpled, he had even grown a a light stubble from the past few days.

Rowan sprinted for the washroom and washed his face but he didn't want to waste time shaving the facial hair. Rowan rushed to the closet and grabbed a clean t-shirt, which he had bought after moving into the apartment.

Before he opened the door he disposed the last night's takeaway and beer bottles and the blood pack. Ever since he had been born, he had never done chores or any sort of household activities, so living here had been a big challenge for him. He had hired a cleaner, who came thrice a week to clean the house, he had thought of hiring a full time worker, but he felt it would be a nuisance.

When Rowan opened, Willow's red face came in his vision and her scent which had been faint behind the door, hit him hard, calming him immediately, but then, he noticed that her smell was strong, stronger than usual.

Rowan felt his breath get stuck in his throat as his heartbeat accelerated, it wasn't what he was thinking, was it?

Willow, who stood in front of him was staring at him, or more like at his collar, where a little star had appeared out of nowhere, he wondered a lot about it, even was ready to go to a witch to have it removed, but then something inside him told him to wait.

"Mate." Said Willow and collapsed.

Rowan caught Willow as a reflex, her tiny body relaxing when it came into contact with his. "I'm mad at you, why do you always do this? Why do you always run away?" Though she said it in an angry tone, her action of rubbing her face on his chest proved otherwise.

He frowned as he pulled her tightly into his arm, why did he feel that her body had slimmed? All he could feel was her bones poking him. "You've lost weight."

Willow looked up, her face which had previously looked like a tomato, now returning to its normal color. Her eyes brightened when she heard that. "Really? Do I really look skinnier? Wait, that not the point, are you trying to change the topic?"

Rowan mentally took a note to fatten her up, being in a vegetative state must have taken a toll on her, his heart ached when he thought of it, he really was to blame for all of this.

"First you ignored me when Mel told you that Hunter was my mate, and now—why now?" Willow furrowed her brows, her blue eyes looking sad as she looked into his eyes. Rowan felt his heart ache even more.

"I'm sorry." Said Rowan, and he was, he knew it was wrong of him for running away without telling anyone about it, especially Willow who was at the hospital. "I'm really sorry, it's just that I was scared. I was scared that you might not turn out to be my mate. I even found few portraits under your bed and that added to my anxieties. I know it was weak of me to run away and I hate myself for it, I hate that I wasn't there for you when you needed me the mo—"

Rowan's words were cut short as he suddenly felt a pair of soft lips meet his. Willow snaked her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her, her hand caressed his nape, sending a bolt of pleasure through him. He was shocked for a moment, then he pulled her closer to him and moved his lips along with hers.

Rowan picked her up and pulled her inside the door, and shut the door with the back of his hand. He pushed Willow against the wall and pulled her higher, making her wrap her legs around his waist.

Willow pulled back, breathless, her eyes looking dazed at him. Her red tongue slipped out and licked her lips. Rowan leaned in and kissed her again, taking her tongue into his mouth, sucking lightly on it.

Willow moaned, making Rowan's blood rush. He pulled back from her mouth. "I want to mark you."

Willow shut her eyes and leaned onto his shoulders. "Then what are you waiting for?" Willow said lightly, her voice husky from the lip exercise they just did.

Rowan went still as he tried to calm his nerves. "I mean it."

"So do I." Willow pulled back, her face glowed as she smiled at him.

"Are you not mat at me anymore?" Even though he really wanted to mark her right then and there, to make her his and his only, he didn't want her to regret it later, because once he would mark her, this time he won't let her go. The last time he had done it unintentionally and he also feared that she would later hate him for turning her into a Vampire. "You might also turn into a Vampire. Are you sure about this?"

Willow narrowed her eyes. "Do you want to mark me or not?" She tapped on his shoulder to let him drop her, he did gently put her on the ground, but he kept his arms wrapped around her waist. "Yes I'm mad at you, but we'll talk about this tomorrow and as for me turning into a Vampire, the goddess said that I can't."

"The goddess?" Rowan furrowed his brows.

"Apparently, the moon goddess is my paternal grandmother. She laid a mark on me and said that my other half , my soulmate, would have a star on the same place as my mark, and once we mate, we'll both complete each other." Willow pulled at her collar and showed a tiny black moon laid over it, the crescent moon looked incomplete.

Willow leaned over and touched his collar. "This, is what you are missing?" Rowan asked.

Willow looked up at him, her finger tracing over his star. "You once said that we're mates and that every problem I come across, we would face them together."

Rowan nodded.

"Then why would you not apply the same rule to yourself? Why is it that every time you feel troubled, you avoid me or bottle all your feelings up? You can tell me, anything, I won't hate you for it, I won't judge you. If you feel insecure about any of this, or if Hunter is bothering you then you should just punch him in the face. I did just that before I came here." Willow pitifully showed him her hand, which was didn't borne any scars and was soft to the touch, as if it had been looked after with utmost care.

"Does it hurt?" Rowan furrowed his brows.

Willow smiled, "You can talk to me."

"I killed my brother." Rowan said after a moments thought. He grimaced, he didn't want her to hear about this, but he knew that he should tell her about it himself, then have anyone else tell her. "I killed him and I don't even regret that I did it."

Willow stared at him, deep in his soul. "I know why you did that, I understand. If you wouldn't have killed him then he would have harmed you either way. I understand, being the heir isn't an easy job."

Rowan pursed his lips and after a moment he said, "Sometimes I really want to kidnap you, and lock you away so that no one would meet you and fall in love with you." It was true though he really wanted to do just that, but he would regret it later, he would regret trapping this little bird and locking her in a cage, she would certainly start hating him and think of him as monster again, that would have broken him.

"Really? We really are soulmates, because I want to do the same to you." Willow smiled mischievously, but then she cringed. "God we sound like psychopaths."

Rowan felt helpless.

"Mark me." Said Willow.

Rowan's blood rushed to his head, but he calmed himself down just in time, before he would get a nosebleed. "Okay."

"Take me to your room." Asked Willow.

Rowan guided her to the bedroom that he has been staying at for the past few weeks.

Willow sighed beside him. "Why do I feel like the big bad wolf?" She muttered under her breath.

Rowan was speechless, if she was the big bad wolf then did that make him little red riding hood? But then again he would probably be a much badder wolf who was undercover as the little red riding hood.

When they reached the bedroom, Rowan pulled Willow and started kissing her as he pushed her into the bed. "I'm going to mark you." He said between kisses for the n'th time today.

Willow moaned in response. Rowan leaned over to her neck and kissed her on the spot right above her moon's mark. He licked on the same spot, making willow clutch his shoulders.

"We both bite, at the same time and then you accept me as your mate and as your your equal." Rowan explained.

Willow nodded.

"I'm going to do it now." Said Rowan as he bared his fangs, which had been be begging to be released ever since Willow had called him her mate.

Rowan gently bit her, making sure not to hurt her much. He dazedly felt her teeth graze his neck before they bit into his skin making a cut on his neck, but before he could relish in the feeling he tasted Willow's sweet blood seeping into his mouth, making him want to continue drinking onto her blood.

Rowan forcefully pulled himself back. "I, Prince Rowan of the Vampire, accept you, Willow Greene daughter of the moon as my one and only Mate, as my future Queen and my equal."

Willow was breathing heavily as she pulled back her lips colored red with his blood, she then repeated his words. "I Willow Greene, accept you, Rowan Kingson as only my mate, and as my King and my equal."

Rowan swooped in to kiss her in a heated kiss, he leaned over her body on the bed and pulled at her hospital gown, and threw it over his shoulder. His clothes sooner joined the dress.

Both of them lost in passion, failed to notice a crescent moon forming over Rowan's collar, similar to Willow's but it was forming in golden, right below the newly bitten mark and a tiny golden star formed at the centre of the the crescent moon, on Willow's collar.

Their mating completed.