BONDED TO THE ROYAL LYCAN KING

5

Ellie's Point Of View

“I'm so happy we can catch up,” Kira slid out of her faux fur coat, draping it on one of the chairs as she settled into one of the chairs.

“Same. Goddess knows I feel so out of loop since I got back,” Chloe sighed, taking the chair between Kira and me.

Chloe, Kira, and I had been close friends since we met years ago at the academy— Maxim Academy. We were just teenage girls who hadn't even acquired their wolves yet. Maxim Academy wasn't just for the royals, but also for ranking wolves such as future Alphas, Lunas, Betas, Gammas, and even Deltas. Although my father's reason for sending me there was completely different from the path I took. He'd never envisioned a life of a Beta for me, even worse a Beta for a different pack. Just like my sister Bridgett, I was supposed to excel in Luna studies, and one day, become a Luna to the Alpha of my father's choosing.

“So what did I miss?” Chloe rubbed her palms together, expectantly. Her dark eyes shifted between Kira and me while I made the usual order for all of us.

Chloe was an Alpha daughter, just like Kira and me. Though technically I wasn't really my father's daughter. Alpha Andrew Cross had taken me in as a newborn and raised me as his second daughter. But I wasn't really his.

She and her mate, Alpha Jason had conducted their mating ceremony a month ago and had just returned from a month-long trip and this was our first time seeing her since she returned. Between her busy schedule as an attorney in the Wolves Court inherited from her parents and Kira and I demanding schedules in running the pack and at the same time, Floral home— for event planning and pressed flowers— it was hard for us to be at the same place at the same time.

“Nothing much. El and I have been swarmed with work, and yes, we lost the alliance with King Killian,” Kira sighed just as the waiter returned with our orders.

I sipped from my apple juice, at the same time feeling the weight of Chloe's attention. ”Any chance you hooked up with someone handsome? Finally, succeeded in murdering the dickhead who shouldn't be named? Won a lottery?”

It was so hard to lie to Kira and Chloe. They knew everything about me down to the kind of family I grew up in in Daniel's situation. I told them every little thing. But I hadn't told them about King Killian. Not the fact that we had been mates, nor the fact he'd rejected me and I was doubtlessly the reason he'd called off the alliance we'd badly needed.

My laugh came out strained. “Goddess, Chloe. Sorry to disappoint but no,” I inhaled slowly. “Nothing special happened,” I lied effortlessly through my teeth. I didn't want to bother them with too many of my problems, and the longer I kept things from them, the less I wanted to explain why I hadn't said anything in the first place.

The fish tacos I ate for breakfast churned in my stomach. I forced down the remnant of pain that still vibrated through every muscled bone within me. It'd been almost a week since the Council meeting and I accepted the King's rejection, yet I still felt the rejection pain. I'd never expected it to hurt so much.

Nina was constantly howling in pain, and she'd refused to talk to me, completely shutting me out. I wasn't sure if she was howling for the rejected mate or the mate who'd broken our hearts.

“El?” Kira's voice pulled me out of my deep thoughts. It was even harder keeping the secret from her. She knew something had happened. Something I wasn't saying.

“Are you okay?” Chloe asked.

“I'm good. Now enough with the interrogations, and tell us how interesting your trip was?” I changed the subject.

I relaxed into my seat as Chloe rambled on about her trip. That was a safer topic than anything about my life.

We stayed in the restaurant for another half an hour before I felt an insistent buzz on the table. My stomach sank when I caught a glimpse of who was calling.

My blood iced. Even my friends could feel the shift in the air as I slid out of my chair and excused myself. I slipped into the nearest restroom.

“Hello, Father,” The formal greeting rolled off my tongue easily after years of practice.

“Where are you?” His deep voice rumbled over the line without even as much of a “How are you doing?”. But again, I was used to this.

“I'm having lunch with my friends,” I leaned against the counter, staring at my reflection in the mirror.

“Come over for dinner tonight. Your mother and I have important news for you,” He ordered and my body quivered slightly.

A strange uneasiness bloomed to life within me. “An important news? What could it be—”

“Dinner is at seven sharp. Don't be late,” He hung up right away.

My phone stayed frozen in my ear for a fraction of a minute before I removed it. It was unbelievable how one fall from my father always managed to send me into a state of panic.

An important news?

Had something happened in the pack? I ran my fingers through my long hair. There was nothing that had ever ended up being good when Father said those lines. My mind raced through with a thousand questions and possibilities. I didn't have an answer to each one. But one thing I knew for certain emergency summons by my father never bode well.

*****

My father's pack, the Silver Cross Pack, was almost two hours away from Leonardo's pack. And despite the time I'd wasted combing through my wardrobe for a Margaret Cross-approved choice of dress, I was relieved to have made it to the Cross Manor a few minutes before seven.

“Hello Mother,” I released a small polite smile, as my mother's gaze assessed me from the wavy ponytail I'd tie my brown hair into, to the red expensive tailored suit that was almost identical to the one she'd been wearing, and then to my red heels.

Her eyes moved back to my high ponytail. “No one styles their hair like that anymore. I'll make an appointment with my stylist and beautician tomorrow to meet this weekend. You need to take better care of yourself, Ellie. No one would want a Luna who doesn't look good in public eyes,”

I held back from rolling my eyes. This was one of the reasons after graduating from Maxim Academy, I went with Kira and joined the Night Moon pack as a warrior instead of returning home.

Beside her, my father's thick gray-tipped brows formed a frown as he examined me with similar critical eyes.

Andrew Cross looked ten years younger than his fifty five with small streaks of silver through his black hair. He was always in a suit and you'd never find a wrinkle in it, but that gentleman's look was just a facade.

My father was Alpha of the Silver Cross Pack, and dangerously feared. He'd easily conquered weaker packs, and thus, led to even larger territories.

“Your mother's right. Take better care of yourself, remember you're not mated yet,” Andrew Cross strolled leisurely into the dining hall and I followed behind him, along with Mother.

“I'm working on that—”

“Exactly what you said two months ago. The only difference was that you'd found your mate,” Father settled into his chair, his cold eyes on me.

Father had never fancied Daniel, not once since I introduced him to them. And his dislike hadn't been from a place of love and care. He just hadn't liked Daniel because he hadn't been the one to choose Daniel for me. And Daniel was still a future Alpha, not an Alpha himself. In his words, Daniel was below him and wouldn't contribute to the family's status just like Bridget's chosen mate had. My sister wasn't married to her fated mate but instead, a mate chosen by my father. He was an Alpha and a brother to the Royal Alpha family in the South. My parents had married my sister for a title, and I always knew my time was coming.

“I've given you enough time to find your mate, and since that has turned into a horrible mistake on my part. I'm not giving you any more time Ellie,” His tone seeped with a decisive firmness that almost left me breathless.

A feeling of dread filled me. I had only spent a few minutes and I was already on the verge of anxiety. “I'm trying best to find someone but—”

“But you need to understand you're not getting younger. And with your scandal with Daniel, it'll be much harder to find an Alpha befitting for the family to get mated to. No one likes damaged goods,”

I swallowed a bile, my hands curling into a fist I tried to suppress my growing anger. Nothing good would come out of picking a fight with them.

I was only twenty four but my parents acted like I would shrivel into the crypt keeper any second.

“I'll work harder—”

“You don't have to anymore. We've given you enough time to find a proper match and you've failed at every attempt. It's clear you're no longer capable of finding a mate who wouldn't reject, that is why I did what I had to,”

My body froze as my father's words echoed twice. “What does that mean?”

My parents' silence made my blood ice. My thoughts spiraled and for the love of all things sacred, I hoped it wasn't what I was thinking. It couldn't be.

“I have found a befitting mate for you, Ellie. And trust me, he is the best there is,” My father dropped the bombshell with little to no warning or visible emotion at all.