The Fall Ball
Chapter 27

(Rose)

I just watch him walk away. I look at Craig who has a smile on his face. I roll my eyes at him, “What are you smiling for?”

“It’s just so cute to see the soon to be King snuggled up in your bed. Then waking up in fear. What was he doing here anyway?” Craig asks me.

I get up off the bed and walk towards the door.

“Well he came to talk and we did. I noticed he was tired so I told him he could lay down here if he wanted. That way people wouldn’t be able to bother him and he could get uninterrupted sleep. So he agreed. He stayed on top of the blanket and the only cuddling happened after we both had fallen asleep.”

“Well that’s nice. Have you told him that you think you guys are mates?” Craig asks me.

“Um, no I haven’t brought it up. He either doesn’t feel the sparks or is ignoring it, but either way I am leaving it alone until he says something to me.”

Craig nods. And we head out the door so that we are not late for supper. When we get to the dining room I realize that I never changed out of my comfy clothes. I freeze in my tracks. Craig looks at me in confusion.

“What’s wrong?” he asks me.

“I didn’t change,” I tell him. He laughs.

“Well it’s too late now. Looks like you’re gonna see the King and Queen in your sweatpants. I’m sure it’s not a problem.” He says to me.

We walk in and I’m blushing in embarrassment. We sit at our spots and everyone has a smile on their face. Luna Liz and Alpha Jake are talking to one another. The King and Queen are talking in whispers with one another.

They look up at us. “Glad you made it on time. I was worried you would oversleep. How are you feeling after resting?” The King asks me.

“I am feeling much better, the migraine is gone.” I say.

“Yeah, I’m sure she got the most restful sleep she has had in a very long time.” Craig says with a smile.

I elbow him in his side to get him to stop talking. He just giggles.

“Well I was going to wait for Ash, but he is not responding to the mind link. So we will just start without him.” The king says with a sigh.

“He is normally very punctual and always on time, but he seems a bit off today.” The Queen says.

The kitchen staff brings out a salad for everyone. It has all my favorite things. I dive right in with a happy sigh. I notice that Craig is just moving his salad around in his bowl.

“Something wrong with your salad?” I ask him.

“Um, not at all. I just don’t normally eat rabbit food; I like my meat.” He says quietly.

Luna Liz giggles, she heard what he said.

“There will be plenty of meat, I promise. I have noticed that Rose prefers veggies and fruit. So I added a few things to the meal plans, so that she has plenty to choose from.” The queen says with a smile.

“Well thank you for that, I appreciate it very much.” I say with a smile.

She nods back at me. We all finish our salads, just as the server brings out the next part of the meal.

It smells amazing! We all have a small dish in front of us covered with a lid. I lift the lid and I’m pleasantly surprised.

In front of me is a stuffed crab! I have never had crab! It’s a more pricey food. There would need to be a lot of them to satisfy a wolf. So this is a delicious start to a meal.

I dig right in. It is just as good as I had anticipated! Craig digs in and finishes first.

“That was delicious!” he says.

Everyone nods in agreement.

We finish that course and the final part of the meal is brought out to us. On the plate in front of me now, is a large steak and a baked potato. It is amazing! Not cooked as well as I normally would of liked, but for some reason that doesn’t bother me at all.

It is the most delicious steak I have ever eaten!

“So how is the steak?” The king asks us.

Luna and Alpha both respond at the same time, saying how terrific it is. Craig just nods in agreement, while stuffing his face.

“It’s the finest steak I’ve ever eaten! But I am a little surprised, because I normally prefer it to be well done with no pink in the steak at all. But I have eaten almost all of this one, and it is still a tad bloody in the middle.” I say while looking up at the king.

He nods with a smile on his face. “Yes I figured that would be the case. I believe your wolf is coming closer to the surface which will cause your tastebuds to change. You will start to want more meat that is less cooked than normal.” He says to me.

I nod at him and continue to eat. I eat the entire steak and the baked potato. The kitchen staff comes in and clears the table.

“There will be desert available shortly. In the meantime I have a question for you Rose.” The King says to me.

The whole table turns and looks at me.

“I noticed your wolf getting closer to the surface, at the same time your eyes changed colors. This was also the time that you met Ash and shook his hand. You both jumped a little at the contact.” He says to me with a small smile.

I am getting nervous. I look at him and nod. “Yes that is true. What is your question, my King?”

“Are you and Ash mates?” He asks.

I am now sweating. I don’t want to lie to my King. But I am not sure he is my mate. I don’t know what to do. I am starting to panic while he waits for me to answer.

“Umm…” Just as I’m about to answer.

The door opens and Ash walks in.