by J Rose
“It’s from the King,” He said.
“It must be Crystal,” I rationalized in my head. Somehow I could never stop that fast pace beat in my heart whenever I thought of the Kingdom and Parker. Sometimes I’d think about what kind of king he’d turn out to be. Was he still that same guy? Would I be the same girl I was then if I met him now?
“Lyric,” Andrew called out gently.
“Sorry,” I said shaking my head before opening the invitation.
The Kingdom of Archer would like to cordially invite you to
The Wedding of Spencer Archer & Crystal Mane
“The younger Prince is getting married,” Andrew said, reading over my shoulder before taking the invitation from my hands.
“It’s in a few months are you going to attend? I could go with you if you want?” He asked.
“I get my results in a week. I might not be able to go myself,” I said to him.
“Maybe,” He said again, but I refused to dwell on something that I knew would be impossible for me to feel with Andrew. Thinking back to Spencer and Crystal I couldn’t help but smile. Somehow it seemed picture perfect and meant to be. God had blessed them both.
“If only I could have had that.”
(Parker)
5 years. 5 years of regret. 5 years of torturing myself, thinking of her. Wishing that she was somehow better. 5 years of waiting…
I thought of her all the time, Lyric. How was she? Had she found her mate? How much did she hate me? How much did she fear me?... Things had certainly changed in my life. I was no longer that immature boy that though the world revolved around him. I’d like to think I’d matured since then.
There was so much to do in our kingdom, so much to change. I tried to help people now, to dedicate my life to the Kingdom of Archer. I knew I would one day take over for the kingdom and tried to focus on that.
“Parker.” Hearing my name called I turned to see Crystal who offered me a smile.
“She answered back,” Crystal said, walking in and making her way toward me as I sat in my father’s office. It was a rather large office filled with hundreds of Nova books. The entire walls filled with rows and rows of books. There was a single chair and desk in the back of the room where the window was and where I would take care of troubles for our Kingdom.
“I haven’t opened it yet, but I thought you might want to hear how she’s doing,” Crystal said.
Lyric. It surprised me how the years had passed and yet her friendship with Crystal remained. Letters would be exchanged and sometimes Crystal would come to give me an update. I never asked but Crystal always said it was something she felt she needed to do. She never talked about me in her letters, and I asked Crystal never to ask her about it. I didn’t want any bad memories to stir inside her head if she had indeed tried to forget about me. For a moment, I watched Crystal smile before her eyes turned sad.
“Something wrong?” I asked. For a moment, she was quiet, unsure of what to say to me before she shook her head and offered me a smile.
“Yeah,” She said.
“She’s just been enrolled in the Nova DNA lab. She’ll find her mate in a week so she might not be able to make it to the wedding,” Crystal said.
The DNA lab? I hadn’t thought of that in a while. I was 23, and I had been in the mating pool since I was 21. Everyone always tells you a week at most. There are those rare cases where you’re forced to wait a few months if your mate is not of age yet. However, I’d been waiting for 2 years. Sometimes I think that it’s my punishment for what I did to Lyric. Thinking of that always makes the guilt sink in further. I know I’m a bastard and I hate to think what my own soulmate would think when she finds out about what I did.
“I wanted her to be my maid of honor. I guess I’ll have to pick someone else,” Crystal whispered, snapping me out of my own thoughts.
“I’ll see you later. Spencer and I have a few more things to work out before the wedding,” She says, offering me a smile before leaving.
Crystal and Spencer. It seemed so unlikely and rare for anyone to find their soul mate before joining the Nova DNA lab. Somehow it made sense for them, Crystal and Spencer. I could remember them together at such a young age. They would always spend so much time together, play together. That intense look in their eyes for each other was always there. I couldn’t understand it but looking back now I realize I was jealous of their connection. To have something like that with someone and not even know it was a gift.
“It’s the hearts that call to one another. That one moment that ignites a spark. Magical,” My mother had said to us right before she had left us. I couldn’t understand it, in fact, I resented her for leaving as did Spencer. Still, he somehow seemed to understand that feeling she described and I couldn’t. Thinking back to the very hectic past year between Crystal and Spencer I was glad that they were still them.
#
Parker could still remember how troubled Spencer was. Right before Spencer’s 21st birthday 9 months ago Crystal had decided to cut all ties with him. Parker had been out in the courtyard at the time. He had not meant to overhear but he had seen them.
“What are you trying to say? That we can’t be friends anymore?” Spencer asked Crystal, his eyes filled with pain. Crystal, on the other hand, looked at him calmly her eyes tried to portray harshness although the unshed tears in her eyes gave her true feelings away.
“I’m sorry Spencer. I just feel our lives are going in different directions. We’ve been friends for a really long time,” Crystal whispered, taking Spencer’s hand.
“Since we were kids,” Spencer told her before Crystal pulled her hand away from his.
“I’ll be joining the Nova DNA Lab in 3 months. I just. I don’t want this to be harder when I have to leave,” She told Spencer, a few stray tears falling from her eyes. Parker watched as Spencer reached to cup Crystal’s face in his hands and wiped her tears away gently with his thumb. Pressing her forehead against his own Spencer spoke to her.
“We could find a way. You’re my best friend and I don’t want to lose you,” Spencer whispered to Crystal.
“You’re my best friend,” Crystal said, tears in her eyes.
“But I-” She began, only to be silenced by Spencer who pressed his lips to hers gently.
“I love you,” Spencer whispered to her. Pushing him away Crystal shook her head unable to process what had happened.
“I’m sorry. But I can’t do this. I can’t let you break my heart. This won’t work. You and I both know this. I’m sorry,” Crystal cried running out crashing into Parker as she did so. Looking at his brother Parker was unsure of what to say to him. It seemed Spencer didn’t care either because he simply ran in the opposite direction Crystal had run, shifting into his Nova werewolf form and running off. It didn’t take long for Parker to hear the painful howls of his brother that were heard for the entire night and every single night after.
It would be 3 months of this. Parker couldn’t say anything to Spencer. There really was nothing that could make him feel better everyone was aware of that.
Of course, life always has a funny way of working things out doesn’t it? …
#
Parker could see how truly depressed Spencer was. He had not shaved in months. He had dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep and he would often go out into the night to howl at the moon. Overall he was a mess. Parker had taken it upon himself to try to cheer Spencer up by inviting their friends over to have a small gathering. However, like the previous months, it seemed like Spencer was anywhere else but there. Spencer was currently at the far end of the room a drink in hand and an expression of loss on his face. Hearing the doorbell ring Parker got up from where he had been chatting with Brad in order to go answer the door.
“I’ll get it,” He said opening the main door.
There was a man standing there in a black suit and tie. His demeanor seemed professional, and he simply reached out and handed Parker an envelope.
“From Nov
a Lab,” He said before leaving. Unsure and part of him hoping it was for him he read the envelope finding disappointment when he realized it was for Spencer and not him. Walking inside he was unsure of how to approach his brother who had been dreading to know who his mate was.
“Who was at the door?” Brad asked him.
“Nova lab. It’s for you,” He spoke and he could see Spencer tense before he shrugged.
“It doesn’t matter just throw it away,” He said to Parker coldly.
“Dude. You want to know who she is. Come one man open it,” Brad said to him and Parker found himself nodding as well.
Everyone watched as Spencer hesitantly reached for the envelope opening it with caution and uncertainty. When he finally opened the file something in his eyes seemed to trigger. Before anyone really understood what happened Spencer was already out the door; a feral howl echoing out through the Archer grounds. Picking up the letter himself Parker found himself smiling as he came across Crystals’ picture, her name, and information. Under all that, there was one single word. MATE
#
The rest had simply been history. Spencer had immediately gone over to Crystals’ home and proposed to her. Hearing laughter from outside I didn’t need to look out my window to know it was Spencer and Crystal. There were moments in time where I wished I had found her. Parts of me still selfishly wished that maybe I could have something special with Lyric. But knowing what I had done to her always lessened that want, knowing I could never make her happy. Reaching inside my desk drawer I found that note she’d written many years before.
Whenever I felt this way whenever I thought of her in such a position as my soulmate I’d pull this letter out. I’d read it for hours to remind myself just how much I hurt her, how much pain I caused her. This letter let me know I could never deserve someone like her. If my punishment was to never find my mate, then I would gladly take it. I’d written a letter back to her five years ago. Hoping she’d accept it as an apology, though my coward self could not give it to her. I knew then and there that if she never forgave me I hoped she’d forget me.
“Still, that doesn’t mean I’ll forget you.”
Standing up from where I was sitting I made my way toward the window where I had a canvas set up to face the courtyard. Days like this when I remembered her vividly. Her chocolate brown eyes were penetrating. Almost as if she were thinking of me, looking at me, talking to me. I could always see her so clearly in my mind. Only then would I find myself sketching her. Still, I could never truly sketch out a happy Lyric. Though I drew a smile on her face thousands of times. Her eyes always remained the same. Sad. I had drawn those chocolate orbs now so many times. Each time they seemed to pull me in far more than I realized. And yet, I could not seem to get them right. Something about her always felt so untouchable. There were so many regrets and things that I could have done that would always linger in my head.
“How long will I have to see those eyes of pain,” I wondered to myself as I gazed back at the sketch of her. Her eyes sad, and filled with deep pain that somehow I seemed to understand.
“If only I could have understood that years ago.”
#
Watching her leave had been the most painful thing he’d ever seen in his life. Far more than any other pain this had been the second time he’d watched someone walk out of his life. Both times he had been unwilling to let them go, but he knew it was what needed to be done. From a distance, he could see his father, Crystal, and Spencer talking to Lyric and her mother. There was something in her eyes this time, clarity, he realized as he looked at her. There was still that sense of fear, pain, and sadness in her eyes but he also saw hope in them.
He wanted nothing more than to tell her goodbye and though he had done so in his letter to her he wanted so much more than that. He wanted to hold her tightly in his arms, tell her he was sorry, and tell her he would miss her. He could hear the moving truck start and then Lyric’s mother leads her into the car. He knew she wasn’t looking at him because he had hidden by the side of the house. Still if only for a moment he saw her look his way. Not at him but at the house before looking away. Even after the truck seemed to get smaller and smaller until eventually, it disappeared. Parker stayed until the sun fully set and night came. Without thinking too much he let his heart and instinct guide him as he ran off back to Devil’s creek. Howling the rest of the night with pain and loss.
#
Everyone was gathered at our home. My father would soon be announcing my reign as king. He’d wanted to retire for a few years now.
“I’m getting too old for this” He’d say to Spencer and I. Although there was a sense of fear at being crowned King I was glad I wouldn’t be doing it alone. Spencer would always be my second in command and he was always as involved as I was when it came to helping our kingdom. Of course being the new king didn’t mean I could reign free there was always the council of the Nova kingdoms. The neutral grounds of each kingdom.
Most of the time the council stayed out of conflicting realms. However, there were few occasions where they needed to step in such as the ongoing fights between our Kingdom and the Kingdom of Cray. The fights had gone on for centuries from generation to generation.
Unfortunately, I knew too well that it would be passed on to me. Every single Cray King had started a war with a King of Archer. Tyranny versus fair rule. The ongoing war, however, worsened after my mother left something I knew would happen.
Treaties for our kingdoms did not seem to help. Cray was about tyranny and power while Archer was about harmony. The next king of Cray would be crowned soon and my father had, therefore, decided it was time to pass on the crown to Spencer and I. Maxwell Cray, like his father was a tyrant, worse than his own father. We would often hear stories of how vicious he was with his people. Starvation was not uncommon in their Kingdom. They took away from people, keeping everything for themselves, not caring about anything but their own wealth and power. Dividing mates because of sexuality, or not allowing Cray’s to meet and unite with their Archer mates. Why would they when it meant the loss of their people and an increase in our own?
“Parker.” Snapping me out of my own thoughts I smiled tightly at my father.
“The Councilwoman asked you a question,” My father said.
“I’m sorry I didn’t hear,” I found myself saying. The councilwoman in front of me showed disdain in her eyes at my answer. She’d known my father for years and were civil with one another. Her hair was tied in a bun a few gray hairs here and there and her old green eyes expresses impatience. Still, she forced a smile.
“It’s alright Prince Parker I assume your duties as future King have you a bit… distracted,” She trailed off, her tone condescending that it made me feel annoyed.
“Parker!”
“Parker it’s here! It’s finally here!” Crystal shouted through the crowds of guests that were inside our home. She received numerous stares from the guests but Crystal seemed to brush them off and continued to run toward me. Without saying much, she simply grabbed my arm and pulled me away from my father and the councilwoman.
“What’s going on?” I questioned as she led me out of the ballroom through the empty
hallways and to my father’s office where Spencer was waiting, envelope in hand.
“Your letter from Nova Labs just arrived,” Crystal said, her voice filled with excitement while Spencer simply offered me a smile and extended the letter out.
“What?” I asked unsure if I’d heard right.
“Your letter came. They found her Parker. They found your soulmate,” Crystal said gently. Taking the letter from Spencer’s hands and handing it to me herself.
In that moment I could feel my heart racing and my chest tightening. Did I want to know? Was I prepared to see her? I’d given up on waiting long ago and I wasn’t sure if I was truly ready to let go. Finding someone you always knew existed and letting go of someone you always wanted. Was I ready to let go of Lyric and love someone else?
“Open it,” Crystal says interrupting my train of thought.
“Whoever she is I have to live with it,” I thought to myself while opening the letter. I don’t look at what the letter says and simply stare at the photograph that makes my heart stop and my stomach churn.
“What?” Crystal asked after a few moments of silence though I could not seem to look away from those eyes. Her face. That non-existent smile.
“Parker who is she?” Crystal asks. When I don't answer she huffs impatiently and finally snatches the letter away. Her eyes widen in shock and a gasp escapes her lips as she drops the letter. A single picture sways it's way to the ground like a light feather.
“Lyric,” Spencer speaks up first while looking down at the picture that lies in between us.
All at once everything seemed to hit me, more than anything the feeling of guilt sunk further inside me. It was her. All along that feeling I’d felt years ago was that pull of her own heart calling out to mine. Why did I not see it? Why did I treat her in such a way? The one person I was supposed to love, to take care of, and to protect with my own life I had finished breaking. I’d broken the most precious thing in my life and I knew then that she’d never forgive me or love me. More than ever I knew I could never forgive myself.
CHAPTER 7:
REUNION
(Lyric)
I’d lie if I said I had a peaceful night's sleep since my torturous days with my father. Still, there was something about finding my soulmate that brought more fear and sleepless nights. Finding him, not knowing who he was or what we’d be caused turmoil inside my heart and my stomach to churn like a washing machine on high. I’d tossed and turned for what felt like endless nights in my bed after the DNA test. Each night I’d stare at the exact spot where the nurse had drawn the blood. Somehow I found myself hoping that his name would suddenly appear on my arm and that I’d know exactly who he was. I hadn’t quit my job yet because I didn’t know if I’d have to leave or not. Chances where however that I would leave.
