Chapter 52 - My Omega Queen

POV: Zain

My mate’s attempt to reject us only confirmed my suspicions that she willingly agreed to the King’s plan. After all, how could the little perfect princess go against her daddy’s wishes?

The mere thought of another male touching what was mine was enough to spark anger within me. My wolf stirred to flaunt his fangs that would so easily pierce the delicate skin of her neck.

Yet, I could not stop the pain accompanying these feelings of anger and lust. We were barely two feet away from each other, and I could already feel the bond working its magic. At one point I thought that these feelings of pain did not even belong to me. But I shook it off. She tried to reject us. She had clearly made her choice.

My fists clenched at my side repeatedly as I watched my mate turn her back towards me and walk away. My entire body screamed and pleaded for me to follow her and force the mate bond on her. That way, she could not leave us so easily. Ever. Her werewolf instinct would kick in and she would have to accept us.

And I was about to give in to the urge.

I took a step forward to begin after her when a pair of glowing eyes attracted my attention.

My mate’s friend, a very possessive friend if you ask me, threw me a lethal glare before following in Grace’s footsteps. No words were needed to convey what her look meant.

You f*cked up and I’m on her side.

A hand grabbed my forearm in another attempt to hinder my leaving. A low growl built up inside my chest directed at the owner of said hand, but I was met with Lyra’s gloomy, serious face. Her lips pursed and she shook her head.

I understood what she meant.

The place where I would have to take Grace if we mated was full to the brim with werewolves that made hurting the King their only life goal; werewolves born in harsh conditions by exiled she-wolves, left to fend for themselves in a world where everyone twitched their noses when meeting them. The desire for revenge born out of anger is a highly potent motivator for survival.

The little princess born and raised in silk sashes, never having known what hunger or cold even is, would not understand where my people come from. Much less the life that I can offer her.

“We should get going,”, Lyra spoke with a sweet tone, as if scared not to anger Timber, my wolf, “before Her Highness tells on us.”

I was still looking along the dark path that she disappeared on, searching for even a shadow of her. “She won’t.” The words left my mouth before I could think about it.

Lyra sighed, “Even so, let’s not risk it. We already wasted a wolfsbane gas bomb for your, uhm…” she paused a second mulling about her next word, “mistake.”

An overwhelming sense of unease and frustration overtook me at her words. I spoke through clenched teeth, “She is not a mistake.” I grabbed Lyra by the hand she used to touch my forearm and I tightened my grip on it, my claws extending slowly, “Grace is my mate. You better respect that.”

Lyra quickly broke eye contact and bowed her head.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Alaric and Ava approaching. They quickly tried to defuse the situation, “I also agree we should hurry and return to the others.” Alaric said, “We can think up another plan on our way.”

Ava agreed, nodding her head in quick, short successions.

I slowly released my grip on Lyra’s arm and retreated a few steps. Lyra used her other hand to tend to the mark that my claws left on her arm.

Despite the distance between us now, my body still craved to follow Grace. I closed my eyes.

“She would never understand. She would never understand.”

I kept repeating in my mind, mostly for myself, but also for my wolf.

“Our world does not fit her.”

I almost convinced myself.

Almost.

Before a desperate howl broke through the night. It was full of anger, desperation, and a call for help.

My body sprang into action instantly as the howl came from the direction Grace left in.

“Zain, wait!”

But Lyra’s voice fell on deaf ears as Timber lent me his strength to run.

POV: Grace

Hell itself will have to freeze, melt, and freeze again before I take another step towards helping that as*hole in any way.

Chloe's voice interrupted my train of thought, “What are you going to do about the mate bond?” she asked as we walked side by side.

I couldn’t stop a frown from forming on my face. Any mention of the mate bond triggered a reaction in my body, be it anger or sadness, and I hated that. Even Raksha hasn’t spoken anything to me since I attempted to reject him.

“Nothing,” I said finally with resignation, “it will eventually fade with the distance growing between us, until it becomes only a memory. A sour one.” I tried to mask the disappointment that I felt as I said the words.

“Yet it will never truly go away.” Chloe paused, “Are you going to accept Jason?”

“Can fish climb trees?” I said without thinking.

Chloe chuckled, “Debatable, the ways of the sea are mysterious. If you think about corals, they do resemble trees. And swimming can be just as much as cl-”

“Okay, I get it, I get it” I interrupted her, “I have no intention of allowing Jason to mark me.”

The truth is, even if Jason seemed attractive when I first met him, ever since the mate bond between me and Zain fell into place, I’ve felt repulsed by the other males. Nothing could compare to the wildness embracing Zain’s body, as if nature took him for a second coat.

At this point, Chloe was barely containing a burst of laughter, which meant that I most likely wouldn’t want to hear what she had to say next. Regardless, that didn’t stop her from continuing, “So let me get this straight, Grace.” She spoke teasingly, “You are not only defying the Moon Goddess herself by choosing to ignore your fated mate, but you are also defying your own Father, the King of Werewolves.” Then she nodded her head, “Myea, this can only turn out well.”

I sighed.

“Now’s your time to back out, I guess.”

“Are you crazy? That’s the most fun I’ve had in years!”

As we got closer to the village, with no reason to avoid it any longer, the sound of the party we heard before got louder and louder. Images of happily fated mates finding each other during the Mating Season scratched at my mind, grabbing my childhood dream and ripping it to shreds. Over, and over again.

My first instinct was to stray further from it, to head onto dark alleys and avoid the conglomerate of happiness that I’ll never have. But the proud Grace in me wanted to prove to someone, anyone, that I wouldn’t let a feeble thing like a mate bond bring me down.

“It only has the strength that I choose to give it.” I thought as I swallowed a lump in my throat.

We were almost past the noisy mansion before a voice broke through the loud music.

“Look guyz, it’z da f*cking printhess!”

Sh*t.

I didn’t even need to look at the person shouting to tell that they were much too drunk. The slurring of the words and the boldness to tie my title with a swear was enough of a tell.

More voices came after that, calling other people over to see and speak to me. Before I realized it, a crowd had already gathered surrounding me and Chloe, a mixture of the packs that came for the Yearly Mating Season. Most of them smelled like Silver Fangs pack members.

Chloe’s signature lethal resting face was the only thing standing between me and this crowd of drunkards.

My head was already spinning from the sudden, overwhelming attention, yet one voice caught my attention, “Jason, the princess is here!”

A sense of unease and dread washed over me, triggering alarms all over my body and mind.

We had to get out of here. Fast. I jerked my head toward the forest that we had just exited from, so dark yet so familiar and comforting at the same time. Then I grabbed Chloe’s hand and tried to breach the crowd. Unfortunately, my attempts yielded no success against the layer of warriors and omegas gathered to celebrate their happiness using alcohol.

I tried to feign calmness, despite my racing heart. My aura and words were powerless against way-over-drunk wolves that couldn’t even tell a squirrel from a deer.

When a hole suddenly appeared in the circle, I felt a sliver of relief. But it was short-lived. A moment later I learned that the hole was created just so that Jason’s figure could step inside.

He was being flanked by two she-wolves very underdressed. And judging by the way Jason was flaunting a wine bottle in one of his hands and by his messy attire, it became obvious that he too, was celebrating.

What exactly?

I did not know.

But since my effort to flight had been prevented, my only choice remaining was to fight.

“Grace!” He spoke, less stuttering than the other guests, “What a pleasure for you to delight us with your presence! I knew you wouldn’t be able to wait until tomorrow.” His mouth curved into a sly grin as his eyes lustfully trailed my body from toe to head.

A shiver passed through my body. I couldn’t believe that I had once considered him handsome.

Sensing my unease, Chloe stepped forward and let out a threatening growl.

But the people surrounding us were too far gone to understand the deathly meaning conveyed through her timbre. Only a wolf would be able to interpret that, and these people’s wolves were most likely asleep.

“A fierce one…” One of them muttered, “I like them a little aggressive… if you know what I mean.” And laughter erupted.

The circle closed in on us again, this time with more curiosity and anticipation.

“Come on, Jason,” another voice boomed, “What are you waiting for? Just mark her now! Imagine the party we’d have for such an event…”

Jason bit his lower lip, “Hold my bottle,” he said to one of the girls beside him as he passed the bottle to her. Then he rolled up his sleeves and began treading toward me, one of his fangs glinting under the moonlight.

All I could think of at that moment was that I should have taken the dark alley.