Collide

The moment my head hits the backseat, I’m out like a light.

I’m just starting to stir when the car grinds to a halt. I hope I didn’t snore.

Cracking one eye open, I see the silhouette of a tree through the window.

Great, we’ve arrived.

I start to sit up just as Roman steps out of the car.

The door on my side swings open, and Roman extends his hand to me.

I ignore his hand, still a bit miffed about the plane incident.

Unfortunately, my body isn’t fully awake yet, so the moment I step out of the car, I nearly trip over nothing.

Roman catches me before I can face-plant into the ground.

I give him a weak smile, and he rolls his eyes in response.

Yes, the Alpha Prince just rolled his eyes at me, and he looks damn good doing it.

His warmth radiates through my arms, and my skin starts to tingle even though he’s not touching me.

Off to the left, I vaguely hear someone clear their throat, but I’m too busy getting lost in Roman’s eyes.

The throat-clearing sound comes again, louder this time, forcing me to look in its direction.

A stunning woman, unmistakably Roman’s mother judging by her clear-blue eyes, is looking at me with amusement.

I turn to face her and give a small bow of my head.

I’m not sure how to act in the presence of a queen, but I figure this is a good start.

“Oh, you silly girl, come here.” Her accent is thicker than Roman’s, but her voice is angelic.

I walk towards her, making sure to put one foot in front of the other.

I quickly lower my gaze to the ground as I stand before her.

She’s wearing gorgeous white pumps with a flower detail made of... are those diamonds?

Before I can get a better look, her hands cup my face and lift my gaze to meet hers.

“Let me look at you. Finally, someone for my son. You are such a beautiful woman. Welcome.”

I stare at her in awe. She’s breathtaking.

Her lips are full and her nose is perfectly petite.

Her hair frames her face in strawberry blonde curls.

The amusement returns to her face, and I realize I haven’t responded to her.

“Thank you, ma’am. You’re beautiful too.” This makes her giggle.

Her smile lights up her eyes. She takes my hand and leads me towards a massive mansion.

Yes, it’s a mansion.

Seven off-white pillars seem to support the house.

From left to right, a large balcony appears to divide the house in two.

All the windows and even the front door are arched.

It looks like a classic Roman building.

“Hello, my son. Did you have a pleasant trip?” “Yes, mother. Thank you. How was your day with Father?

“It was a wonderful day, son. Thank you for asking. Let me introduce you to my mate. Her name is Katelynn.” I hear Roman say in a mocking tone behind me.

The Luna Queen and I laugh at him. She finally releases me and walks back to Roman to give him a hug.

“I’m sorry, my son.” I watch their exchange with curiosity.

Roman has a strong bond with his mother. The love in his eyes is undeniable. Suddenly, she whirls around to face me.

“Oh dear, I haven’t introduced myself. My name is Honora.” I smile warmly at her.

No need for me to introduce myself since Roman already sort of did, right?

The three of us walk inside while Honora talks about the house.

It was built over three hundred years ago, but they’ve renovated and altered it many times.

The inside matches the outside. It’s elegant, with chandeliers everywhere.

The color scheme is a mix of off-white and cherry red.

It’s stunning.

Honora continues talking, while my eyes nearly pop out of my head.

“Let’s go see your father, Roman. I know you both must be tired, but he’s eager to meet you.” Roman makes a very unattractive sound beside me and takes my hand.

I let him hold it because, honestly, I’m freaking out about meeting the Alpha King.

I don’t remember much about our king and queen, but I do remember that the king can be quite ruthless.

“Oh, don’t scare Katelynn. It will be fine. Your father is excited.” We wind our way through the house, climb some stairs, and soon I’m lost.

Well, not lost since Roman and Honora are here, but if I had to find my way out now, I’d probably jump out a window because finding the front door seems impossible.

We approach a door that’s made entirely of oak, unlike the cherry red doors I’ve seen so far.

When we walk in, my jaw drops.

It’s an office, but not just any office. It’s so large it even has its own lounge area and assistant station.

In the back is a massive oak desk that could easily seat ten for dinner.

Behind it sits a man who looks like an older version of Roman.

He looks just like his dad, except for the eye color.

His eyes are blue, while his dad’s are a light brown.

He’s a very handsome man.

As I study him, I can see him studying me with an impressive poker face.

I try to read any emotions, anything that might hint at what he’s thinking, but I find nothing.

Once again, I give a slight bow, and when I look up again, I see the hint of a smile on the king’s face.

Honora walks over to him and gives him a quick kiss before whispering something in his ear.

I can’t quite hear what she’s saying, but she’s probably telling him to behave.

I can imagine myself having to tell Roman to behave, though it might be the other way around too.

The king walks from behind his desk towards us.

He extends his hand to me, and I quickly take it.

“Katelynn, sir. It’s an absolute honor to be here.” The king looks me up and down a few times before he smiles.

“I am the Alpha King, Matteo.” His voice is deep, very deep. A shiver runs up my spine, and I almost laugh at his name.

Matteo doesn’t sound like a badass king name. Unsure of what to say next, I just nod and smile. Matteo releases my hand and walks back to his desk.

“You both need to cool down. We’re having dinner together in two hours.” His voice leaves no room for argument, so I quickly head for the door, pulling Roman along with me.

If it wouldn’t be considered impolite, I’d be running. That man gives me the creeps.

Roman hasn’t said a word this whole time.

After pulling him along for a bit, I realize I have no clue where I’m headed.

I stop abruptly, causing Roman to bump into me.

“I could give you a proper tour.” I roll my eyes at his offer.

“I know my father can be quite intimidating, but he’ll warm up to you.” That doesn’t make me feel any better.

“Want me to show you our house?” This grabs my full attention.

“Our house? You have your own place? You don’t live here?” I can’t hide the relief in my voice.

Living under the same roof as the Alpha King sounds like a recipe for disaster. Especially considering the conversation I had with Roman on the plane. It’s better if they don’t hear us arguing.

“I like my space,” Roman admits.

We take several twists and turns before heading back down the stairs we came up.

Once we’re downstairs, he doesn’t lead me to the front door but in the exact opposite direction.

So much for learning my way around.

We pass through two enormous glass doors into the backyard.

The scent of flowers fills the air; roses of every color and many other flowers I don’t recognize.

I could get used to this.

Roman follows the path, and after a few minutes, a house comes into view.

It’s not as grand as the mansion, but it’s built in the same style.

Maybe a bit more modern.

The first thing I notice is the windows. There are so many of them, and they’re huge.

While the mansion is white and red, this house is unmistakably white and black.

All the window frames and the front door are black.

Roman looks at me nervously.

“I designed everything myself. If there’s anything you don’t like, we can change it. Maybe.”

He didn’t need to say that.

When we walk in, I see the house is nothing like the mansion.

Apart from the double curved staircase, it’s much more modern.

Roman walks away, and I barely notice.

There’s a massive collage of pictures on the wall.

All the photos are in black and white.

There are some of a group of boys playing soccer, some of women cooking and laughing, some of pups making silly faces at the camera.

Suddenly, someone tugs at my arm.

Roman is pulling me somewhere. We go through black double doors into a huge kitchen.

Of course, it’s black and white too.

The cabinets are white, the countertops black.

In the center, there’s a large island with barstools around it.

On one of them sits a guy.

He looks a bit younger than us, maybe around eighteen.

He gives me a mischievous smile before bowing his head.

“Well hello there, Princess Luna. My name is Romeo. Nice to meet you.” He winks at me, and I instantly like him. Roman sighs playfully next to me.

“Could you not flirt with my mate before I feed you your teeth?” I stare at Roman.

Damn, he’s hot when he’s threatening.

Well…when he’s threatening someone else, not me.

Romeo laughs.

The almost identical names and the friendly banter between them don’t escape me.

I bow back slightly.

“Nice to meet you, my Romeo. My name is Juliette.” I wink this time. A growl rumbles deep within Roman, causing Romeo and me to burst into laughter.

“Just kidding, I’m Katelynn.”

“I like you already, Jess is the name.” He places a glass of water in front of one of the stools, so I sit down.

“So you’re here to tame our Roman, huh? What was your position back at your pack?” I grab the glass, suddenly very thirsty.

This is clearly one of Roman’s close friends.

I know he’s sizing me up to see if I’m a good match for Roman.

We’ll see about that.

After taking a few big gulps, I realize this isn’t water but vodka.

I almost choke on it.

“Goddess, are you trying to kill me already?” Roman shoots Jess a glare, while Jess just laughs at me.

“I’m a warrior,” I answer him proudly. “Half-blood wolf and witch, daughter of the Alpha.”

I lift my chin a bit to show him I’m not ashamed of that. Jess shoots Roman a worried look. Hmph, as if I didn’t already know that’s a problem for him.

“In my opinion, being a warrior is a good thing. Good luck with our Prince here though.”

With that, Jess gets up and walks away. So much for bonding time. I look up at Roman who’s glaring at me. Oh great, what did I do now? I roll my eyes.