The Lycan King & I

Eighteen.

Hamilton's wrong, when he says a party is next.

 What's next is every pack member entering the ballroom for said party, which consists of each Lycan stopping in front of both Hamilton and I to bow. While it's terrible for me, Hamilton can't keep the s**t-eating grin off his face.

"Congratulations, Protector." A particularly attractive she-wolf purrs at him. He puffs up his chest with a pompous, "When the Goddess calls, I listen."

"You're pathetic." I roll my eyes. I'm thankful the line is nearly over with. 

"I'm the youngest of four brothers, let me enjoy this." He retorts back, winking at another young lady entering the grand ballroom. 

"Disgusting, Hammie." I hiss, taking a step away from him. How long did I have to hold his hand for? I hoped I didn't have to stay at this so-called party for much longer, or more horrifying; dance.

"What did you call me?"

"Hammie." The name just slipped out, but now that it had, it seemed fitting. Hamilton was too long, same as Benjamin. 

"Don't call me that." He warns, "From this point I'm adopting the title Great Protector Hamilton."  

"Not calling you that, Hammie." 

"It's not Hammie!" He whines like a baby. 

"Hamilton." Ben's voice has both of us jumping slightly, distracted from our little tiff. He stands in front of me, a white cloth in one hand. He keeps a slight glare fixed on Hammie as he scrubs the blood off his hand. When he's done; he drops it carelessly. "Leave us, Hammie." He scrams quickly.

"You did wonderful," He smiles slightly as he focuses on softly cleaning off my hand. I can't meet his eyes, but I can tell that his is pleased with me. I feel proud at this, and stand a bit straighter. After he's finished he leads me into the grand hall. I stay silent on his arm as we rotate around the room, mingling with everyone. 

I feel bad that I don't offer much to any of the conversations, especially as everyone seems completely starstruck to speak with us. But Ben seemed more than happy to fill all my awkward gaps with the right words. 

I am able to retreat into my shell until I feel a soft hand on my shoulder; it's Grace. "May I steal the Luna?" She smiles to Ben. All the pack members are wearing black, but Grace still somehow makes it look more beautiful that I thought possible. I don't know what I am expecting,  but it isn't for her to pull me into the stone bathroom and lock the door.

"G-grace, why are we in the bathroom?" I feel nervous when two other she wolves emerge from two of the stalls; one tall and red-headed, the other shorter. Like Grace, both are breathtaking. 

"Relax," Grace grabs my shaking hand, her eyes are lit with a fierceness. She's on a mission. "This is the only place to hide with your Queen's red." She's referring to my crimson gown; which is even brighter in a ballroom that's black from head to toe.

"An honor, my Queen." The taller one bows slightly. "My name is Margaret."

The shorter one bows as well, her eyes are a beautiful shade of blue. "I am Aggie, your highness."

I c***k a half smile back and wait for Grace to explain, "These are my friends I told you about- the baiters, that day in town, remember?" 

"I think so-"

"The one's who lost their pups like me," The intensity in her voice makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. 

"We ask your help, Luna." Aggie pleads, "Grace told us you're blessing." 

"The Goddess sent you here for a reason," Margaret agrees, "Too many of us have lost children in the womb, your highness. Last year, two of us died in childbirth."

"If a pack isn't growing, it's dying." Grace adds.

"W-what about the pack doctor?" I ask, it wouldn't be too much trouble at all to help. My intuition with midwifery came naturally to me; like breathing. But I couldn't deny a part of me that felt irritated. It was typical of Lycan's to see me a tool that could benefit them, and not as a person with feelings. But, I owed the Northern Wolves for the hospitality. 

"He's a doctor, not a midwife." Margaret supplies.

"They are clueless to our fertility problems." Aggie nods eagerly,  "All of our midwives were killed in the old regime." 

"Will I be killed too?" I ask slowly.

Grace titters a small chuckle, "Absolutely not. The regime change was ages ago, a bloody mess. Things are different now under Benjamin's rule."

"Our Alpha had led us out of the dark ages," Margaret nods, "But the Goddess needs you to lead us and our young now." The three of them stop their convictions and stare at me expectantly. Oh, they're waiting on me. It was such an odd shift to have so many people hanging on every word I said now, very unlike my upbringing. 

"I-i'll need to ask Ben, I think." I'm a grown woman, there's no need to ask his permission. But I felt unsure about the whole situation. If it wasn't a big deal, then why were we hiding in the bathroom? It felt dishonest that Ben didn't know what was going on. The three woman visibly deflate at my words, so I add in a, "But I will help you." 

I was supposed to be their Queen, right? That meant not disappointing my people. The smiles that break out are enough to make me smile back, these women radiated joy and gratitude.

"Now cmon, I'm sure you're tired of all the small talk. Come join the cool kids." Grace grabs my hands and leads me out of the bathroom, along the sides of the magnificent hall and to one of the bars counters that lined the room. At the seats are some familiar faces; Axle, Valerie, Wells. 

"Queenie! There you are?" Cries Wells, a bit too loudly. I'm the only one wearing a color, how could he not know where I was?  I eye the amber colored liquid in his crystal glass. Grace takes a seat between him and Val, so I'm stuck on his other side. 

"Cold?" Valerie asks me, I'm glad she's not in guard mode, but back to being decent company. She notices my slight shudder as I feel a cool draft from somewhere. I understand that it was freezing outside, but that didn't mean the indoors had to be frigid as well. 

"I can't never get warm," I mutter darkly, rubbing my hands along my goosebump covered arms for some heat. 

"Someone's not feeding the bond," Wells sings, taking a long swig of his drink.

"Huh?" 

"Wells," Grace's tone is warning.

"What?" He feigns innocence, "Everyone knows it." 

"Knows what?" I demand, I hated how everyone here always talked over my head. Like I was a child. Hell, I'd done more growing up that anyone at this table. 

"It's a classic trick of the moon." Wells finally tells me, "You and Benny-boy haven't completed the bond. You're always freezing and he's always warm, it's a way to push you two closer." 

"Careful," Val mutters as she takes a sip from her drink.

"Here," Wells hands me his half-full crystal class. I swirl the liquid around, it smells strong. "This'll warm you up."

"Absolutely not." Axle speaks up for the first time. Even with his closest friends at a party, he still somehow always looks annoyed. As he and Wells bicker back and forth, my irritation grows with how little control I had over anything here in the North. It was almost worse than the South. 

Oh, what the hell. I tilt my head back and finish the drink in one long gulp, my face scrunching up with how badly it burned my throat. I break into a few disgusted coughs, that was putrid. 

The laughter of the table drifts away like I've entered a tunnel; and when I re-open my eyes, everything seems a bit too vibrant. I bite my bottom lip, I felt almost... hazy? I had drank a few times back home, it had taken much more to feel even a fraction of my daze now. 

"Are you alright Eliette?" I vaguely hear Grace's voice. 

"I feel..." Why did my words sounds so slow? "not cold anymore." I settle on, and the laughter that follows sounds even farther away this time.

"You just dug your grave." I hear Valerie chortle.

"Hey, I didn't think she'd get drunk off half of a glass!" 

"She weighs about a feather." 

"I'm not drunk." I shake my head determinedly, it felt strangely light to move it. Then I remember the tiara and gasp, only to exhale into giggles once I felt the chill of the large jewels. "Don't worry, Mallory's crown is okay!" 

"What about my mother?" a new figure joins the table. I turn; the newcomer is handsome. He has short raven hair, with ringlets just like Ben's. Too much like Ben's, was this is brother? 

"I-i have her crown." He wasn't as built as Axle, and he was very friendly looking, but I was still weary. Especially if I was wearing his mother's heirlooms. 

"I think it's yours now," He reaches out a hand and I shake it slightly, he smile was kind. "And I think I'm you're new brother, Cole." 

"Sixteen." I blurt, then giggle at my mistake. "Oops, I mean Elliette." 

"Sixteen?"

"Habit," I shrug, "Underling Sixteen." 

"You were born a number?" Grace looks horrified. 

"No, no, no, born Elliette" I shake my head, defensive of my upbringing. I also had turned into a chatterbox, very unlike me. "I was number sixteen in the Middle Kingdom, It's how they keep track." The silence that follows is so long that my stupidity keeps me talking, "We wouldn't do that in the South. We aren't the type, you know? Well, I guess you wouldn't know, no offense. Not that I blame you, my room has this thing called a shower, have you heard of it? It will change your life-"

"Wells." He frowns for a second at me before shifting his eyes to the Lycan, "I assume this is your doing?" The table is back to laughing. "You do know this is alcohol made specifically for Lycan's high body temperature, it's incredibly potent on the human kind." 

"I did not." The color drains from his face. 

"Why are you so pale, Wells? You're reminding me of the snow." I shudder, "I hate, hate, hate snow." 

"Fuck."  

"Do you know where Ben is?" I look to Cole, talking to him was reminding me of Ben. He had the same full lips, the same dark curls, the same shaped eyes. But not the same at all, I felt like I hadn't seen Ben in too long.

"I just called him over." Cole pats my hand kindly, I liked his smile. He was nice. 

"Thanks for that." Wells mutters. 

"Anytime."