Once A Luna, Now His Queen

Chapter 4: Heat Day

JADE

ONE MONTH LATER…

I adjust the thin crown on my head, and prepare to welcome my new husband’s baby sister back home.

Cleo went camping with her friends last month, set to find a dragon pet. Lukas says she loves exploring and going on adventures, but these are habits which must tone down if she intends to fit in amongst the Faes.

They value elegance and class, and the future of our races depends on her mating with the Fae lord in six months.

She can’t mess this up, and I can’t fail in grooming her, otherwise, Lukas won’t help me destroy the people who hurt me.

The door to the house opens, and a blonde sixteen year old girl walks in, backpack slung over her shoulder. She looks a lot like Lukas, the female version of him.

Cleo hates that Lukas never moved on from his first mate’s death. She’s been trying her entire life to get him to love again.

A party horn goes off behind me and I jump, startled out of my wits. The maids, who planned this welcome party with me, begin clapping and cheering for her too soon.

“Welcome home, Cleo!” I squeal what the large banner above my head says, and my face falls when I see the look of horror masking hers. “Uhm…” I turn to the maids and wave them off quickly.

I clasp my hands in front of me nervously and step closer. “Hi. You must be Cleo, the Lycan King’s sister.”

“Yes, but who the hell are you? And where’s my brother?” she frowns, looking at me like I’m an unwanted flavour in her lunch.

“He’s…working.” I swallow, adjusting the crown on my head again and hoping she gets the point.

Lukas and I didn’t exactly prepare a*********s about how we met and…supposedly fell madly in love. I have to lift my end of the contract first before he uses his influence on the Suncrest pack. Hence, why I’m the one welcoming her now. This is a test, and I’m not doing so well at this point.

Her lips part in surprise. “Did he pay you to do this?”

“No,” my heart races as everything starts spiralling out of control. “Your brother wanted to tell you first, but he thought it would be best as a surprise. We found out we are second chance mates so we got married.” I lift my ring finger, letting her see the bold shiny gem on it. “Surprise?”

“Queen Jade, the cake you requested! Sorry, it’s late. Do we start singing the song now?”

My eyes widen as the new baker dashes out from the mansion’s kitchen, holding a cake with an embarrassing photo of Cleo on top of it.

I pinch the bridge of my nose because of all the pictures the elderly woman could have gone with, it was one of little Cleo in braces from the king’s photo album.

She presents it to Cleo, and I don’t even know how to stop this disaster.

“Cleo, I can explain—“ the girl shoves the cake out of her face and it smashes into my face unexpectedly.

My fists clench as I shudder from the embarrassment. Cleo storms up the sweeping staircase and leaves me standing in the foyer, looking like a mess.

“I’m sorry, ma’am!” The woman rushes to clean my face, but I swat her hand away and march off in search of the man who brought me here.

It takes a while for me to navigate the large pack house, meant for only the Lycan king and his close subjects, and a few pack wolves who can’t afford living on their own.

After crossing the back entrance, I take a cobblestone path, going through the garden he proposed to me in. There’s no sign of Starfall, and each time I pass, I can’t believe I won’t see it until the next hundred years.

“That was a disaster. You knew it would be, didn’t you?!” I say frustratedly as I approach where he’s axing a fallen tree, all shirtless and sweaty.

In his free time, Lukas involves himself in the hardwork around the house despite his status as King. He’s ruthless, and still sees himself as a part of his pack, not some demigod. I admire that…especially the view.

“You’re not thinking of backing down, are you?”

“Not a chance, Lukas.” I cross my arms, lips pursed. “I would have never done this if I thought I wasn't up to the task.”

“Good. My sister can be…difficult. But just give it time.”

“She thinks you paid me.”

He c***s his head, a lopsided smile flashing on his face. “A close one, don’t you think? But I marked your wolf, Jade. Wedded you, and now you’re my queen. Nothing about this is fake.”

“Except that it is.”

“She just has to never find out.” He holds my gaze, and my breath hitches in my throat at the sudden shift in the air.

I step back, but he grabs my wrist and hauls me forward. My throat bobs, mouth drying. I’m now a marked wolf, completely mated to my second chance. We may be faking being in love with each other, but the attraction that comes with every matebond is non-negotiable.

He swipes a finger through the remnants of cake on my face and sucks on it.

My body hums sweetly watching him do that. I blink when I realise he’s saying something else.

“We have a meeting with the Faes in an hour. They are here to discuss our alliance and meet their lord’s future bride.”

“What?!” I shriek, placing a hand over my mouth when I remember where I’m standing. “Cleo’s not ready yet,” I whisper.

“Well, it’s up to you to get her there in six months.”

He swings his axe at the tree again, and I’m hypnotised by how his back muscles work with each hit. I shake my head, waking up to my situation.

My original plan of winning Cleo over turned out to be s**t, but I’m not a quitter.

Two hours later, I’m dressed in an a-line, strapless, metallic pleated dress, which has a side split. We are not in his grand throne room now. Lukas wanted to meet them out in his gazebo while receiving the evening fresh air.

“We’ve never been on good terms, but I’m glad to witness a change in our history, King Kamari,” says the man with pointy ears, which have gold tips.

Lukas has his hand placed on my thigh possessively, and I’ve not had the time to complain yet. This is my first formal meeting as Queen. I’m still trying to get used to my new job. And apparently, that’s a part of it, too.

“Yes, our realms have been at war for far too long. Time has been lost, and we are eager to make up for it.”

Another one with tiny black horns in his head, sitting across from us scoffs rudely. “Your race wants this because of our rare gems, which you will now have access to. I’m just more worried about the child’s ability to procreate.”

Lukas stiffens in his seat, and although his expression is blank, I’ve spent a month with my new husband to realise his rage is usually silent.

I place my hand above his on my thigh, but the second I do that, my wolf, Ava, lurches inside me. She’s suddenly howling and trying to claw out of me. I’m now squeezing Lukas’s hands too tightly.

Something is happening, but I’m not sure. It can’t be what I’m thinking. There’s a phenomenon about marked wolves and heat day.

I had thought because Lukas and I shared nothing romantic it wouldn’t be the same for us. I suffered because Sebastian held out on marking me while our bond lasted, but Lukas couldn’t do the same, because mating with the Lycan King is different.

If he didn’t mark my wolf, the consequences would have been far worse than being in pain.

My p***y throbs crazily and I look around the table frantically for help. Why now, moon goddess? What the hell am I supposed to do?

Lukas glances at my discomfort and raises a brow in question.

“Uhm…Let…Let me get Cleo for you all to meet her now,” I stutter as I stand on wobbly legs, but Lukas just grabs my wrist, stopping me. “Can the moon court excuse my queen and I?” he says darkly, eyes locked on mine.

The men and women from the Fae house murmur at the sudden dismissal as they stand. It’s wrong, and I shake my head.

Lukas growls again, “I’ll see you all in six months. Escort them out this instant!”

The guards surrounding the area immediately lead all four of them out of the gazebo until it’s just us left in the space. My eyes flash silver despite the heat burning inside me, and making me ache.

“What the f**k are you doing, Lukas?! You can’t treat them that way—“ He traps my hands behind my back, making me lean against the table.

“Yes.” His knee nudges my thighs apart. “My wife needs my c***k so I can do whatever the f**k I want.”