Chapter 201: Two Days to Forever
It was Thursday already. Two days before the royal mating. Goodwill messages had started pouring into Emma’s communication device. Some of her fans have started sending gifts. Everything had been put into place. The Royal mating planners were doing a great job. Lunara, who had been released, was receiving good treatment in a good healing den and would be discharged tomorrow.
Nira Greyson, her new social media account handler, arrived at the estate to update her followers on her newly created social media account and also share pictures of the gifts and tag senders. Nira and Brooklyn were in her duty chamber, putting pictures of the mating gifts she had received so far. She kept screaming as the gift kept coming in. She never knew people loved her so much.
Brandon had earlier invited the king and the high Luna. They were going to spend the night with them. He had one of the chambers in their estate mansion luxuriously and expensively furnished for them. It would be the first time they would be spending the moonfall on the estate since Brandon moved into the estate. They couldn’t wait to sit together once again.
They were also expecting Uncle Liam and his mate. Uncle Lia, as he was popularly known, is Luna’s younger sibling. Emma had heard about him but she had not set her eyes on him and his family.
Everything was busy at once. Workers crossed paths without really seeing each other. Voices layered over voices, footsteps never fully stopping long enough to settle.
Emma moved through it quietly, but her eyes kept shifting. Left. Right. Up the hall. Back again.
No sign of Brandon.
Her fingers tightened around her device again.
"Still nothing?" she muttered under her breath.
The screen stayed blank.
She let out a small breath through her nose. "Of course."
A maid passed quickly and nearly bumped her shoulder.
"Sorry, Alpha’s mate..."
"It’s fine," Emma said quickly, already moving again.
Her pace didn’t slow.
"I haven’t seen him all day," she said, quieter now, like saying it too loud might make it worse.
—
By noon, the royal jet touched down on the estate grounds.
The sound rolled through the estate like a warning bell.
She froze for half a second.
Then she was already moving.
"Alpha’s mate...wait..." a staff member called behind her.
"I’m fine," she tossed back without looking.
Her dress caught slightly at her knees as she hurried down the stairs.
"Open the doors!" a guard called ahead.
The doors swung wide.
—
The king stepped out first.
Emma didn’t stop.
"Father!"
He barely had time to turn before she reached him.
"Emma..." he started, but she was already wrapping her arms around him.
He let out a short laugh, surprised.
"There it is," he said, steadying her shoulders. "Still running instead of greeting properly?"
"I called you," she said against his chest, then pulled back quickly. "You didn’t answer."
His brows lifted slightly. "Busy flight. You know how that goes."
Emma stepped back just enough to look at him. "You could’ve sent a message."
A soft voice cut in.
"She’s right."
The High Luna stepped down next.
She turned immediately.
"Mother."
The tone softened without effort.
The High Luna opened her arms slightly. "Come here."
She went in again, slower this time, holding her tighter than before.
"You look tired," she said quietly.
The High Luna gave a small hum. "And you look like you haven’t slept properly."
She didn’t deny it.
Instead, she asked, "Where is he?"
A silence stretched longer than intended.
The King glanced toward the estate. "We were going to ask you the same thing."
She blinked once. "He’s not with you?"
"No," the High Luna said simply. "We assumed he was here."
Silence landed between them again.
Emma’s hand dropped slowly.
"That’s not funny," she said.
"I’m not joking," the King replied, more serious now. "We haven’t seen him since we left the capital."
She turned slightly toward the guards. "Check the estate."
"Yes, Alpha’s mate," one of them said immediately, stepping away.
The High Luna watched her face. "When did you last see him?"
"...Since I woke up," she said.
That earned a sharper look from both of them.
"Emma," the King said gently, voice steady, "don’t worry. He’s just tied up somewhere."
—
Inside the estate, things didn’t slow down.
Boxes kept arriving.
"Another one!" a worker called from the entrance.
"Where is this even coming from?" another worker asked.
"I don’t know—just sign it!"
Nira leaned over a table, eyes bright. "Wait—wait—don’t open that one yet. That packaging looks expensive."
Brooklyn didn’t look up from her device. "Everything looks expensive. That’s the point."
Nira shot her a look. "We’re supposed to be documenting it properly."
"I am documenting it," Brooklyn said, raising the camera. "Look."
She turned the screen.
Nira leaned in. "That angle is awful."
"It’s authentic," Brooklyn said flatly.
A staff member walked past carrying another box. "Where should this go?"
"Anywhere that isn’t here!" Nira called back.
The staff paused. "That’s... not helpful."
Nira exhaled. "Fine. Over there. Just—stack it neatly."
Brooklyn finally looked up. "This account is going to blow up."
Nira glanced at the screen again, then at the growing pile of gifts. "It already is."
Her device buzzed again.
She checked it, then frowned.
"...Why are followers asking where Moon Prince Brandon is?"
Later in the day, Emma finally lay back for a while.
When she woke again, the chamber felt too still.
She sat up, pushed the covers aside, and crossed to the curtains. The fabric slid apart, light spilling into the chamber in a soft rush.
Down below, near the garden, she saw him.
Brandon stood with his hands in his pockets, shoulders relaxed, head slightly tilted as Ken said something that made Brooklyn laugh out loud beside him. The sound carried faintly up through the air.
Emma stayed there for a second, watching without moving.
Her gaze dropped briefly to the clock on the wall.
Almost dinner.
She turned before she could think too long and was already out of the chamber, footsteps quick against the stairs, dress shifting as she moved faster than she meant to.
She hadn’t seen him since she woke up at moonrise.
And now that she had, she wasn’t about to stay upstairs a second longer.
Brandon slipped his arms around her waist from behind. She let out a small giggle, shoulders lifting a little.
"Where have you been?" she asked, glancing over her shoulder.
"Ken and I were at Spinach Resting Den," he said, his voice low. "Making sure everything’s going as planned."
She turned slightly in his hold. "Spinach Resting Den?" Her brows pulled together. "Why there?"
"For tomorrow," he said, leaning closer. "The bachelorette party. You forgot?"
Her eyes paused on him for a second, then she sighed. "I almost did. Too much on my mind."
She shifted like she wanted to step away, but his arms tightened a little more around her waist.
Her gaze narrowed. "So that’s why you left the estate at moonrise?"
Brandon went quiet for a beat. Then he smiled faintly, like he was trying to slide past the question.
She didn’t move. Just wait.
He gave a small breath and finally spoke. "The king has a surprise for Elara tonight."
Her face lit up instantly. "Really?"
"What is it?" she asked quickly.
He leaned close to her ear. "He bought an estate for her. Don’t tell her."
She shook her head at once. "I won’t."
His arms relaxed a little as he continued, "We’ve been there since moonrise, checking the final work. After that, we went to Spinach Resting Den."
His breath brushed her ear again. "Will you sleep in my bedchamber tonight?"
She tipped her head away, smiling, shaking a slow no.
"Why?" he asked, quieter now, still close. "Moonheart... I want you there. All night. You, me, our pup... through moonfall."
Her smile widened a little. "We’ll see."
" Alright,Alpha’s bride," he said, tilting his head like he was testing the words.
She laughed before she could stop herself.
Ken leaned back against the wall, arms crossed. "She’s not your secret bride anymore."
Brandon didn’t look away from her. "She never was. And she’s my official bride. Always."
"Come on, guys. Go take your showers and get ready for dinner," Emma said, slipping her arm under his. "We need to be in the family feeding chamber before our guests."
Ken and Brooklyn did the same, and they all walked toward their separate bedchambers to prepare for dinner with the king and Luna.
—
Dinner came later with quiet order and heavy expectation in the air.
They sat around the table like no one wanted to be the first to move. Silverware barely touched plates. Conversations stayed low, careful.
Emma kept her hands folded in her lap, eyes flicking across the table now and then.
The king sat at the head, calm and unreadable. The High Luna beside him, composed as ever.
Emma straightened slightly as she ate, catching herself watching them more than her own plate.
For a moment, she felt it—being there, included, not brushed aside.
And when her eyes drifted to Bernard, no one at the table reacted at all. They kept eating and talking like nothing had changed.
The High Luna suddenly set down her fork and reached for her napkin. As she dabbed lightly at the corner of her mouth, her gaze lifted and settled on Emma.
"Emma."
Something in her tone made Emma look up immediately.
The High Luna studied her for a moment before glancing at the King seated beside her.
"There is something your father and I should have told you a long time ago."
Emma’s hand stilled around her glass.
A small frown appeared between her brows.
"What is it?" she asked.
The High Luna opened her mouth as though she intended to continue, but no words came out.
Instead, she looked at the King.
Across the table, Brandon’s attention sharpened. He glanced from his mother to the King, clearly sensing the shift in the atmosphere.
The King slowly placed his fork beside his plate and leaned back in his chair.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
The sudden silence felt strange after the warmth of the dinner.
Emma’s eyes moved between them.
"What is it?" she asked again.
The High Luna folded her hands together on the table. "We wanted to tell you sooner."
"Sooner?" Emma repeated. "Tell me what?"
The King and High Luna exchanged another look.
One that lasted just a little too long.
Emma sat up straighter.
Even Brandon was watching them now.
Finally, the King released a slow breath.
"After the mating," he said quietly. "We’ll tell you after the mating."
Emma stared at him.
The answer only made her more confused.
"After the mating?" she repeated. "Why not now?"
The King’s expression remained unreadable.
Beside him, the High Luna lowered her gaze to her empty plate.
Neither of them answered.
Brandon frowned.
"Father?"
The King looked at him briefly but remained silent.
Emma felt a knot tighten in her chest.
Her eyes moved from the King to the High Luna and back again.
"What is it that can’t wait all these winters but suddenly has to wait two more days?"
Still nothing.
The laughter and conversation that had filled the feeding chamber moments earlier seemed to have vanished completely. Even the servants moving quietly around the chamber appeared distant.
The King reached for his glass, turning it slowly between his fingers, but he never took a drink.
The High Luna remained unusually quiet.
And as Emma stared at both of them, a strange feeling settled over her.
Whatever they were hiding, it was important enough to change the mood of the entire chamber.
And for the first time that evening, two days before her royal mating, she found herself wondering if there was something about her own life that everyone knew except her.
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