Third POV.
The first rays of sunlight lit up their room and the dawn chorus of melodic bird songs drifted in as a sign that the day dawned crisp and clear. As Leila turned around and opened her eyes by mistake, she was hit by the rays of the sun making her groan.
Hearing the sound, Aiden knew that she was wide awake but he still couldn’t help himself from chuckling.
“Good morning, mate,” he said as he drew the curtain to allow more sunrays and lighten the room.
“Do you hate me that much?” she asked in a sleepy voice but didn’t dare to open her eyes.
“Why?” Aiden asked since she was confused.
“I am sleepy, can’t you let me sleep a little longer?” she asked.
“As much as I wanted that, I can’t. It’s already past nine o’clock and people are waiting for you downstairs,’ he said as he pulled away the duvets uncovering her.
When Leila heard that, she was hit by the past events and remembered that she wasn’t at her parent's house where she could even wake up in the afternoon if she wanted. She knew that she had a lot of responsibilities as the king’s mate and time wasn’t on her side since she had to start practicing.
She opened her eyes immediately and jumped out of bed. When she saw a figure in front of her, she subconsciously looked at it and noticed that Aiden was already set to start the day.
Seeing her frowning, Aiden asked, “ Why are you frowning early in the morning instead of being happy?”
“When did you get ready? And why didn’t you wake me up when you woke up if you knew that there would be people waiting for me early in the morning? No, why didn't you tell me yesterday before going to sleep?” she asked one question after the other.
Aiden patiently waited for her to finish speaking before replying, “I got ready after I woke up and after that, I woke you up. You were tired and I couldn’t bring myself to wake you early when I saw how tired you looked and when I remembered that you slept so late yesterday. You are their queen, they can wait for you till you wake up. Don’t mind them so much.”
Hearing this, Leila glared at him before turning around and walking towards the bathroom.
After some minutes, she had already finished getting ready and emerged from the closest room wearing a purple sundress and white flat shoes. Since she was going to meet some people for the first time and to her, the first impression mattered, she wore light make-up which made her stunning.
Looking at his mate, Aiden was unable to speak as he wished he could hide her in here instead of allowing her to go and meet his people. He was afraid that someone would covet what was his but when he remembered how special the mate bond was, he let go of his fears and approached her.
“How do I look? Do you think that I look presentable?” she asked nervously.
Aiden was annoyed when he realized that he was trying to please others when she had not even dressed for him. Despite that, he dared not show his jealousy since he was afraid of making her sad.
“You are stunning,” he said as he planted a kiss on her forehead.
Leila let out a sigh of relief when she heard that.
“Let go. I don’t want them to think that I love sleeping. First impression matters, you know,” she said as she walked towards the door even without waiting for him.
When she reached downstairs, she saw some people seated in the resting room together with her family and Aurora. She rushed to her sister’s side making Marcus who had already noticed her make space for her between Elana and him. Leila sat down and glared at Marcus.
“Morning kid. Why are you glaring at him this early morning?” Elana asked as she was amused by her sister's reaction.
“You are my sister. You belong to me and not him! Why is he taking advantage when I am not present,” Leila said, making people smile as they listened and looked at her.
“There is no problem with that. You are the one who woke up so late,” Marcus said as he glared back at her.
Knowing that they might end up arguing any time soon, Elana glared at both of them making them stop throwing tantrums but not before they glared at each other the last time.
“You only have your sister in your eyes. What about me?” Aurora asked as she pretended to be pitiful.
This scene moved the people present apart from Leila who rolled her eyes at her.
“Girl, you better stop acting pitifully cause it won’t work on me. Don’t forget that I am also a last born just like you and I have done that countless times when I need attention from these two,” Leila said, making them chuckle as they had never thought that there was someone who behaved spoilt like Aurora and at the same time, both Elana and Marcus thought the opposite of what others thought.
“I am your best friend boo,” Aurora couldn’t help but complain.
“Okay. I have seen you, happy? Can you introduce me to your friends, huh?” Leila asked, making Aurora displeased.
“No way! You are my best friend. How can I let them steal you from me?” Aurora asked, making Leila face-slap herself.
“What? Do you have to be so selfish? I can see that they dote on you the same way Elana and Marcus dote on me. Don’t you want them to also dote on your best friend? They can’t just be spoiling you alone when I also stay here with you,” Leila said.
“Sorry. I didn’t think of that,” Aurora said as she bit her lower lip.
“I know you didn’t,” Leila said as she nodded her head.
“You met Jordan yesterday, the lady beside her is his mate, next to her we have Caleb, our..”
Before she finished, she was interrupted by someone who came running.
“Elder Simon requests to enter the palace and see you, my king.”