Lycan Chronicles; From Curse To Queen

Chpt 1: Bully For A Mate

~Emily

My heart was beating so fast; it felt like the world was spinning, and everyone was watching me as I ran out of the ballroom. I couldn't bear to keep standing there because it all still played haphazardly in my head. Just how did this happen? Kyle? Me?

FEW HOURS AGO

I was standing at the doorway, the entrance to the grand hall where the ball was being held. The girls all trooped into the big hall with glowing gowns that clung to their bodies like a second skin from the top to the bottom, making them look elegantly breathtaking. Some others, their dresses cascaded beautifully down their bodies like water falling from the noose of a water fountain. The golden lights and the chandelier, which dangled from the center of the hall, only added a shimmering shine to all their dresses, making them look like something out of a fairytale.

But then here I was, looking very plain in a forest green dress that had no shape of any sort. It didn't cling to my body and neither did it reach down to my legs or sweep across the golden polished floorboards of the hall.

Instead, it stopped briefly past my knees and it seemed as if I was placed in a box. Sure, it has glittery stones and all, but then, it made me look twice my size already.

I was a hideous freak.

Everyone sashayed their way with their small elegant bodies. The hands of their respective dates rested smoothly on their tiny waists which were made visible by the way their dresses clung to their waists.

I was the daughter of the freaking Alpha, the leader of the pack, and yet, I wasn't looking half as good as anyone else in the room. Worse of all, I had no date.

Maybe I should just walk away.

I turned and was making my way to the large double golden-painted doors of the grand hall when suddenly, my nose caught the whiff of something.

Something delightful. Something exciting.

I looked around, my eyes scanning every area of the grand hall as I tried to find out where that enticing smell was coming from.

I didn't look too far long before my eyes landed on whatever it was that caught my attention. More like whoever it was.

It was Kyle Black. The extremely handsome Kyle Black. The son of my father's Beta. Every girl's dream. And yet, my biggest bully.

My eyes grew wide with shock and I immediately looked down at the hem of my dress. My hands found it and fondled with it.

Soon, I could see his shoes.

"Hi."

The moment I heard his voice it was as though my mind was plagued with the images of what he had done to me a few weeks back. It all came back like a flash in my mind.

"Drink it." He had said to me, a wicked grin stretched across his face as his gang of mischief held me down, pulling my hair back and forcing me to open my mouth while he poured a brown liquid substance that seemed to be from the sewer into my mouth.

"It might make you shed some weight after all." His sinister voice added.

That incident had been enough to make me sick for a week.

"Are you alright?" Kyle asked me, pulling me out of those horrible thoughts he put me through a week ago and bringing me back to the present.

I jumped in my skin, a little too scared to speak to him.

He sighed, "Alright, let me take you for a drink."

He stretched his hand to me. His palms, open and inviting.

"Me?" I asked him to be sure.

He nodded his head eagerly.

My hands were shaky when I placed them in his.

He held it tightly and firmly and it actually made me feel less insecure and actually—safe.

He led me to the large table where varieties of food and drinks were laid out.

Picking a plate, he turned to me, "What would you like?"

The way a small smile rested at the corner of his lips in a very casual manner worried me a lot. What was going through his head at this point?

He stretched the plate to me. It was now filled with pork and veggies.

I shook my head and took two steps away from him, leaving his hand hanging.

"Look, you don't have to pretend to like me now simply because we have only just found out we are mates," I said point blank.

I didn't think that it was true. That when mates identified each other through scent, they would instantly fall in love with each other. Maybe that was in the past, centuries ago. Not now anymore. Not in this century anymore.

He was silent for a while and then, his shoulder began to bob, moving up and down in rapid movement as he suddenly began to chuckle.

"You don't have to be so guarded, Emily." He said after he had calmed down a bit.

But a tinge of excitement still lingered and twinkled in his eyes.

"Then tell me why you're suddenly acting very nice towards me?" I asked him.

"Will you at least have some of this first?" He asked me, looking down at the plate in his hands.

I looked at it skeptically before taking it from him, then ate only the veggies, avoiding the pork entirely as my body raked with nervousness and anxiety.

"You can have as much pork as you want." He urged while he kept smiling sweetly at me.

I shook my head and continued with the veggies.

For most of the night, he stayed by my side, not leaving me for a bit. It was so awkward to have him treat me the way he was treating me.

Soon, it was time for the dance and I was so shy. My insides were practically shaking with nervousness.

"Everyone, get a partner and let the dance begin." The announcer called, and loud, excited jeers from the mouths of everyone present filled the air.

I was sitting at the back, refusing to stand while everyone immediately grabbed a partner. Kyle had moved away from me before the announcement.

Who would want to dance with an overweight like myself?

"Emily."

I looked up ahead to see Kyle waving down at me as he walked over to me, weaving through the crowd like a thread in a needle.

"Oh hi." I smiled dryly.

It was only a matter of time before all his niceness faded off. Heck! There was no way he would dance with me. In fact, I bet he was about to tell me to my face that he already had a dance and that I should try to be happy.

"Can you dance with me?" He asked me as soon as he came to stand in front of me.

I felt like the world was spinning around and what I was seeing was in some sort of parallel universe.

"Me?" I asked him.

"Yes? Who else would I be talking to?" He added sarcastically.

I blinked severally, "Oh!"

"Come on, you're my mate after all. I just want to make this night special."

It felt like a cuckoo clock was ringing in my head as my mind raced with questions. Was this real? Did he really mean this?

Oh please, let it be true.

"Um... I'm a bit shy. Go on ahead and dance without me." I said and smiled nervously, trying to avoid the situation.

One I believed wasn't real in any way, considering our history.

He sighed and kept mute for a while before his eyes lit up and a smile stretched across his lips.

His hands clamped over mine as he pulled me up and started making his way to the entrance of the grand hall.

We were walking before we broke off in a sprint. Teenage Dream hummed from the speakers and slowly faded as soon as we ran out of the hall and took a turn to the corridor that led to the rooms.

We halted in front of his door. His free hand circled over the door as he moved to get it open but I pulled my hands away from his as my heart began to beat fast.

"Kyle," I said, a little bit unsure of what I was doing.

He just gave me a reassuring smile while he opened the door and took me in with him.

He turned on the lights and my vision was filled with the boyish aesthetics. While he walked over to a corner of the room, I was distracted by the decor of his room. I've never been in here. I had no reason to be.

He pointed a small remote to the lights, and slowly, they dimmed down.

"You won't be shy anymore." He said in a husky tone as he came up to me and placed his hands on both sides of my face.

My nervousness only increased at this point, "Kyle, I don't think—"

"Shh." He breathed, "You don't have to think." He said.

His eyes were searching mine calmly, "We're mates and this is totally normal for mates."

His voice was so smooth and held a lot of care in it.

"Kyle, aren't we rushing things?"

I heard him let out a groan before his lips quivered, a strained smile stretching the side of his lips.

"Don't think, Emily. Just—" he paused, his eyes searching mine, "—trust me."

Slowly, he circled around me and stopped at my back. Then I felt my zips going down slowly, revealing my back.

My skin tingled as his hands slowly slid down my bare back. My breath hitched in my throat.

Then, he came to stand in front of me.

"Just trust me." He said softly.

Then, slowly, his head was coming down to my face, and mine was only inches apart from his. Kissing Kyle black. That was the dream of any girl in the pack.

But then, I wasn't any girl. I was overweight, Emily, and this didn't seem right to me.

I flattened my palms on his chest and put some distance between us.

"I'm sorry, I can't," I said and immediately pulled my zipper up as rapidly as I could.

"Wait." He said, trying to get me to stay but it was too late. I had already gotten to the door and was now running down the corridor, my hands pressed to my heart.

I ran to the grand hall to grab the rest of my stuff before I ran out of there as well. It felt like a lot of eyes rested on me.

I couldn't do it. s**t! I was a coward.