The Beauty and the Beast (1st book of Fantasy Series)

Chapter 44- Reif's POV

I moved the bow tie on my neck and shifted on my feet while I waited for my mate to appear on the stairs. I was nervous and excited and prayed that she wouldn't change her mind at the last second.

Someone cleared their throat from my left, and I turned that way to see Belle's cousin standing there with his hands behind his back. He bowed his head in respect before he looked at the stairs and then at me. "Your Majesty," he said in greeting while he bowed. "You wanted to see me?" He raised an eyebrow in question while he looked at me.

I bit back a small sigh and nodded in confirmation. "Yes," I said and looked at the stairs before I looked at him again. "I did."

Peter cleared his throat again and shifted on his feet, and he tucked his ears closer to the back of his head, looking very nervous. "What can I do for you, Your Majesty?" he asked while he cocked his head and studied me.

"Do you think she will come down the stairs and still go on this date with me?" I asked, not asking the main question that I had but something that had been bothering me while I waited for her.

"She will," Peter said with another clearing of his throat as if to hide a chuckle. He bowed when I looked at him and scowled, not meeting my gaze while a small smile appeared on his face. "I am sure that she is trying to get her hair situated and put on some makeup, if there is makeup available for her."

I furrowed my brows and cocked my head while I studied him. "But she doesn't normally wear makeup like that, does she?" I raised an eyebrow in question while I looked at him.

Peter bit back a small smile and shook his head. "She doesn't," he confirmed before he cleared his throat while he looked at the stairs and then he looked at me again, growing serious. "However, that doesn't mean she doesn't want to make sure that she looks beautiful for you."

"But she already looks so beautiful," I mumbled before I cleared my throat and shifted on my feet, feeling slightly bashful and nervous for some reason. "She doesn't need to have makeup on to look beautiful."

Peter bit back a small chuckle and slowly nodded. "I know," he said before he cleared his throat and grew serious. "May I ask you something, Your Majesty?" he asked while he looked at the stairs before he looked at me again.

'Uh oh,' Steven said while the hair on the back of my neck stood at attention, and I couldn't help but get slightly nervous. 'I wonder if you are in trouble.'

I set my jaw, feeling slightly worried and ignored Steven. "What is it?" I asked while I raised an eyebrow in question. "What do you need to ask?"

Peter cleared his throat and bowed his head. He shifted on his feet and didn't meet my gaze. "Do you like her?" he asked, hsi voice barely above a whisper, and I grew still while I looked at him, and my heart skipped a beat before it started to pound in my chest.

"I beg your pardon?" I asked, and Peter bowed deeply. "What do you mean? What did you say?"

"I am wondering if you like her, Your Majesty," he said before he cleared his throat, not meeting my gaze. "As in, are you attracted to her?"

I hesitated before I slowly nodded. "I am," I confirmed before I cleared my throat and shifted on my feet. "I am attracted to her, and it isn't just because of the mate bond between us."

Relief filled her cousin's eyes, and he slowly nodded. "Good," he said before he cleared his throat and placed his hands behind his back. "I think she is attracted to you." He looked at me, and my heart skipped a beat before it started to pound faster.

"Really?" I asked, hopefully, and he nodded in confirmation.

"She does." He cleared his throat again and looked toward the stairs. He flicked his ears toward that way, and I had a feeling that he was listening for any sound of his cousin before he looked at me. "I think she likes you like really likes you."

I tried to squash the hope in my heart before I cleared my throat and looked at him. "How do you know?" I asked while I cocked my head and studied him. "How do you know that she likes me?"

Peter smiled and shook his head, and his eyes grew soft and filled with pride. "Her smile," he said while he looked at the stairs, "and the way she looks at you. She likes you. She really does."

I tried harder to quench the hope in my heart because I had no idea if she was going to fall in love with me, especially since I knew that I was slowly running out of time; we all were.

Peter's smile turned to a frown, and I had a feeling that he knew what I was thinking, and pain flashed through his eyes. "You still have time, Your Majesty," he said before he cleared his throat and bowed. "I know that it doesn't feel like it, but you do have time."

"Are you sure?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper, and Peter bit back a small smile before he nodded in confirmation.

"I do," he said before he took a step back before he looked up the stairs again before he looked at me. "I am sure that you still have time." He cleared his throat and bowed. "Excuse me. It looks like your date awaits." He gestured toward the stairs, and I looked that way to see my mate standing there looking as beautiful as ever with her hair in a half up and half down situation and a gold dress.

Oh, Goddess, I thought, my mouth growing dry while my heart skipped a beat before it started to pound harder and harder in my chest, and I was glad that she couldn't hear it. How did I get so lucky to get a mate like her?