Daemon's Pov

Her fingers trembled uncontrollably as she ran the brush over my hair.

The maid didn't dare look at my reflection in the mirror. All her focus was on my hair. If she stared hard enough, she might disappear into my hair.

“Enough!” I gripped her fist, making her flinch.

“Forgive me, my lord.” She bowed her head, body trembling.

“Get out of my sight.” I resumed brushing my hair by myself.

She bowed again and scurried out of the room like the useless rat she was.

“Ah, "Daemon, Xavier drawled as he adjusted his cloak in the mirror. You terrified the maid again. That's the sixth one this morning. ”

“Seventh.” I mumbled.

He grinned like the bastard he is. “Anyway, cheer up. Today's Hunting Day, you know. Time to stretch those claws and remind the kingdom why we rule.”

Rule. Right.

They always said we “ruled” but it sure didn't feel like it. Rulers were the ones that gave the orders, not those receiving them. If anything, we were being ruled by expectations and our stupid parents' obsession with tradition.

The Midnight Ball was a week away, and I had a deadline : Find my mate, or she would be chosen for me. Chosen like she was a fruit at the market.

Xavier had found his mate last year. Dexter, a month later but me? I don't have any. The crown prince and triplet number one was still single. Apparently, that was a national crisis.

So, here I was, joining my bloodthirsty brothers on a hunt. I didn't give two sh*its about, just so I could clear my head and maybe pretend, for an hour, that I wasn't about to lose the throne I never asked for in the first place.

The arena buzzed, the crowd screamed, and our horses snorted beneath us as we rode in like gods — Dexter, with his smug wave; Xavier, with that bloodlust in his eyes, and me? I was hooded, wondering how far I could ride before this shitshow would be over.

The announcer shouted our names, like we were here for sport. I hated this part. Always did. But Xavier and Dexter didn't care. They loved breaking bones. Well, Xavier does. Dexter just does what he sees him doing.

The guards brought out the slaves. A line of them shoved like cattle into the holding gate. There were young girls. Most of whom were shaking so hard they could barely stand. Most except… her. Unlike the others, she wasn't shaking. She wasn't even crying. She was watching, calculating, like she was planning something.

Forest-green eyes, ginger-hair, bleeding bare feet and lips, but her chin was up and there was this fire in her eyes. She looked like she'd spit in the face of a god if she had the chance.

For a second, my heart fluttered. I didn't believe in all that Fated Mate cr*ap. Not really. I figured mine had died at birth or was probably halfway across the world, blissfully unaware I was one week away from marrying an Alpha's daughter I didn't know existed. But this girl… there was something about her I couldn't name. I couldn't explain it. But I felt it.

What was it? Interest? Admiration?

Our eyes met just for a second and that was all it took.

Something inside me shifted like a storm on the horizon. I didn't understand it at first. I just felt... off. My breath caught, my chest tightened like I'd been winded. My wolf growls so loud in my head I almost flinched. I frowned, trying to shake it off. This couldn't happen. Shouldn't be.

She was a slave. A nameless rogue unworthy of me, but my wolf was howling now, but not out of fury but with need.

I sat on my horse, frozen. My mind raced to come up with a reason, any reason, why this could be a mistake. The Moon Goddess wouldn't tie me to someone like her, but I felt it then. The mating bond anchors itself in my bones. My instincts cold and ruthless now melted under something I couldn't recognize.

All of a sudden, I didn't want to hurt her. I wanted to cover her. Shield her. Rip the world apart for daring to bruise what was mine.

The gates slammed shut behind the slaves, the horn blew, and hell began.

A few minutes into the game, Xavier leaned over his horse, stabbing one slave with his spear like she was meat.

Dexter chuckled. “Easy there, brother. Don't get too excited, or you'll scare them all.”

Xavier barked a laugh. “But they're already scared…” he paused for a second, his eyes trailing ahead. A maniacal look appeared in his eyes and he grinned. “Are you ready, brother?”

My head snapped towards him and it clicked. He was staring at gingerhead. At my mate! He was going to kill her.

A growl tore from my throat before I could stop it.

"Touch her," I said, my tone dark and unrecognizable. "And I will skin you alive.”

His grin widened. “I can't help myself, Daemon,” then he announced to Dexter. “I want that one.”

Dexter threw his hands in midair. “She's all yours.”

Xavier grinned. “This will be fun.”

Bloody hell!

Now, I had no choice but to join the hunt. Not for the blood nor for the thrill but… for her.

The girls ran like shadows, disappearing into the trees. Xavier and Dexter followed after them. A few minutes later, screams echoed. An arrow whistled through the air and hit a dark-haired girl in the back. She fell hard and the crowd roared.

This had gone on for far too long.

I dismounted, tossed my hood back and walked towards the forest alone, the image of the gingerhaired girl still burned into my mind.

I had to find her before Xavier did.

I paused near a moss-covered tree and squinted into the fog-drenched path.

I turned slowly and there she was. Standing a few paces away with a stick in her hands like a blade was the gingerhaired girl, looking at me like she already had my funeral planned.

“Stay back!” she warned.

Her voice wasn't scared. It was furious. I almost smiled.

“I'm not going to hurt you,” I said.

“Liar!”

Well, that's fair. I'd probably say the same thing if I were in her shoes.

“You're not like the others,” I said instead.

“Wow. Congratulations on having eyes.”

Even now, bleeding and trembling, she had enough fire to talk back to the prince. Either she didn't know who I was or she was very stupid.

I took a step forward, and she tightened her grip on the stick.

“Don't move another muscle!” she snapped.

I stopped, raising both hands in midair. “Alright. You win. Just ... hear me out.”

“Why?” She bit out. “So you can play the nice prince before putting an arrow in my back like the other prince did to that girl?”

“I didn't shoot anyone,” I said.

“That just makes you a coward then.”

Damn. She's feisty.

A low whistle cracked through the trees.

I knew who that was.

Xavier.

He was getting closer.

I saw the panic flash in her eyes. Just for a second, she turned to run again, but I moved fast, grabbing her wrist.

“Stop.”

She turned around, nearly slashing my throat with the stick. I caught it midair and snapped it in two.

Her eyes widened and she gasped. “What are you…”

“Shh." I clamped my hand gently over her mouth and pulled her close into the shadows, my arm wrapping tightly around her waist to keep her from bolting. And the moment our bodies touched, an electric current jolted through me. My heart staggered in my chest like it suddenly remembered it had always been hers. The scent of her — storm rain and crushed violets wrapped around my lungs and something deep inside me, something primal and wild, howled in recognition.

Mate.

She felt it too. I saw it in the way her body froze, breath, eyes widening as if struck by lightning.

"You can't be..." she breathed, her voice trembling as she stared at me like I was a nightmare.

I nodded, my voice caught in the back of my throat. "I am."

Her pupils dilated. She stumbled back a step, away from my touch like it burned.

"No," she whispered, shaking her head. "It can't be. You — you're the worst of them."

She backed away like a cornered animal, but I could see it in her eyes.

She wasn't afraid. She was ... furious.

"No," she said, firmer this time. "I will never be yours! I reject you!"

Then she turned and ran, her movements sharp and desperate. She vanished into the forest, nothing but a blur of ginger hair and rebellion.

And I let her go.

Not because I wanted to. Not because I wasn't aching to chase her. But because she wasn't prey. She was a fighter. My fighter.

Xavier's voice tore through the night, sharp and bloodthirsty. “That gingerhead bitch! She's making a fool out of me! I want her head, Dexter! Bring her to me, dead or alive!”

That bastard!

He was putting a bounty on her. On my mate. I turned back to the forest, the last place I saw her before she disappeared like smoke in the wind.

I didn't know her name. But I knew one thing : if I didn't protect her, I would regret it for the rest of my cursed, royal life.