Chapter 1
“Freya… Freya, did you hear?” I could hear my best friend running into my room before I could see her. “Did I hear what Penelope,” I asked when she burst through my room door. Greta was right behind her, looking grumbled. “Miss. Penelope, Miss. Freya was still getting her beauty rest,” she reprimanded. Penelope rolled her eyes while ignoring what Greta had said.
“It’s fine, Miss Greta.” Miss Greta had been my godmother since I was a baby. She helped my mom deliver me. My mom… oh, how I miss my mom. Nope, not going to start my morning with sadness. Penelope landed on my bed, smoothly resting next to me. Miss Greta huffed but left my room.
“The prince is coming,” she singsong. I turned my attention toward her. I knew she had a crush on my brothers, but telling me they were coming home has me confused. They were already home. They haven’t left. She rolled her eyes while looking at my confused face.
“Not your handsome brothers. They are already here. I’m talking about Prince Jasper. The brother of King Ezra,” she said, exasperated. My eyes went wide before I schooled my face again. King Ezra is known to be a cold-hearted, unfeeling man. He lost his wife and baby during childbirth ten years ago. This set him on a path of killing and ruthlessness.
He is said to be handsome, but no one is ever close enough to find out. He keeps to himself unless he is at war. We haven’t had a war in years thanks to how quickly he kills anybody who even mentions the wrong thing around him. Just thinking about him makes me shiver.
“He’s looking for a wife,” Penelope says bringing me out of my thoughts. “A wife,” I asked. She nodded her head. “Yes, Prince Jasper is looking for a wife. It’s said that his brother, King Ezra, wants him to find a wife soon. But you know it’s hard to believe since everyone knows the prince has many women. He doesn’t seem to be the one to want to settle down,” she rambles.
She’s right, the prince is known as a ladies' man. He never sleeps with the same woman twice, is what I’ve heard. King Ezra and Prince Jasper come from the werewolf kingdom, which Penelope and others in my kingdom are unaware of.
Yup, you heard right. They are werewolves. I am one too, but no one knows. My dad is a King as well, but our kingdom is full of humans. There are four types of kingdoms. The human kingdom, werewolf kingdom, witch kingdom, and vampire kingdom.
My dad, King Oscar, is human, but my mom, Queen Faye, was a werewolf. It’s unusual for werewolves to mate with humans, but my mom didn’t care. When she met my dad, it was love at first sight, or so I was told. I always wanted a love like theirs or well, like the one they had before… Nope, no sad thoughts, Freya.
Since they are werewolves, that means Prince Jasper is actually looking for his mate, not a wife. But Penelope doesn’t know this. I would hate it for his mate, though. She will have to deal with all the rumors of him and other women, but also probably have to deal with his other ladies. We werewolves are meant to be with our mate, a soulmate if you wish. We’re not supposed to have multiple partners unless we find our mate and they die.
Which is why King Ezra has probably become such a cold man. His other half, his mate, is gone. Sometimes we are blessed with second-chance mates, but rarely does it happen. I doubt the King is looking for a second chance mate, anyway. No one will be able to thaw his stony heart.
“Are you listening to me,” Penelope asks as she snaps her fingers in my face. “I swear sometimes you are in your own little world,” she mumbles. I push her hand away. “I’m listening. You are excited because the prince is coming and looking for a wife. You are hoping you will be his wife,” I say.
She gasps while her face turns red. “I didn’t say that last part, Freya.” I laugh because I know my friend. “You might not have said it, but you were definitely thinking it.” She shakes her head. “You know me so well. Yes, I am hoping to be his wife,” she laughs.
Penelope lounges in my room while I get ready for the day. I dress in a long, simple baby blue dress that slightly hugs my curves. I’m not skinny like most girls in my kingdom, but I don’t care. I got my curves from my mom and I love them. I would probably be bullied for my curves if it weren’t for me being the princess of the kingdom.
I walk out of the bathroom and Penelope whistles while staring at me. “I wish I had your figure, Freya. I’m a stick figure, but you... you have boobs and a butt.” I shake my head at her. “Penelope, you are a beautiful girl and you’re not a stick figure. I may have boobs and a butt, but that also makes me stick out around all the other girls. Everyone wants a slim figure while I am stuck with curves.”
“Rather have your curves than my slim frame,” she mumbles. I wrap my arm around her arm and we leave my room. We take our seats at the kitchen table, waiting for the maids to serve us. Penelope is my only friend, so she gets to eat breakfast with me at my house.
Nicholas walks in with some girl on his arm. She glares at me and Penelope before trying to sit down. Nicholas notices, “You can go home.” She looks shocked at him. “You can go home,” he says again. “Did you think I didn’t see you glare at my sister? No one glares at her, so go home and lose my number.” Nicholas ignores her while she stomps away.
Lance comes in after him and settles at the table. Nicholas is the older brother by two minutes, then Lance, and finally me. We are triplets but look nothing alike. I look like mom and my brothers look like dad. They have his tall height, brown eyes, black hair, full lips, and sharp noses.
We all turned eighteen last month, but neither of us found our mates. Nicholas has been enjoying his time with many females while Lance has been in a friends-with-benefits situation with some girl who wasn’t his mate. I’m the only one who actually waited for my mate.
“Why did what’s her face glare at you,” Lance asked. I shrug my shoulders. “Don’t know, don’t care. You both know that most girls don’t like me. “Her name is Ellen,” Penelope said. Nicholas turns his nose up. “Oh, that’s her name.” I scoff, “You don’t know her name, but she was in your bed.” He just shrugs his shoulder while stacking his plate with a bunch of food.
“Well, she probably doesn’t like you because you told her she could never get with your brother,” Penelope said. I grimace, “I tell a lot of girls that. They all think they will make one of them settle down with them. I just try to help them, but they take it the wrong way.”
Dad walks in and the maids bow at him while he walks to his chair. Once he is seated, his food is served and we all eat. Dad clears his throat, gaining our attention. “Prince Jasper will be here today. He will be bringing his guards with him and they will stay for a week. Martha has made up the guest hall for them. I expect you all to be on your best behavior,” Dad says while staring at my brothers. They grumble but it doesn’t phase Dad. After breakfast, Dad sends us on our way.
