The Lycan King & I

Thirteen.

Benjamin was right. About my sleepless nights, I mean. I was still skeptical of most things he said. He explained to me that the reason I couldn't sleep was because the bond was pushing me to do something, most likely.

His guess was that it wanted us to sleep closer to one another, but that was not happening. It was scandalous enough that I was sleeping in the bed of someone I wasn't married to. He offered to sleep closer when we settled into bed that night, but I shooed him away to his side of the giant bed. For someone who claimed to not want to pressure me, his disappointment was obvious.

That's what he gets for having a bed as big as an island.

I don't wake up in the middle of the night at all. In fact, I can't remember turning over once, I had slept so soundly. I suppose his theory is right because when my eyes open again, I'm not on my side of the bed.

I'm on his side of the bed. There's two large arms hugging me against his warm chest. I tried to squeeze out of his grasp but he wasn't moving on iota. I began to feel anxious, wiggling and trying to get free. I felt my breathing increase.

"Relax," I hear him assure in my ear, I freeze. He's awake. "I could feel you in my sleep, what's bothering you?"

"I-I" I couldn't put a sentence together when his arms were so encompassing, I wish he'd ease up. "I should go back to my side of the bed."

"Both sides are yours." He yawns, I can tell his eyes are already shut again.

"How old are you?" I squeak, craning my head, his eyes pop open at my question. I already knew the answer and was still unsure how i felt.

"24." He answers after looking at me for a long moment. His ringlets are a mop on his head, and his cheeks are rosy from the warmth of the blanket over us. "Does that bother you?"

6 years between us. Did that bother him? Instead of answering, I take advantage of the moment to free from his snakelike grasp and into the bathroom, where I get ready. Benjamin had given me a lesson in how to work most of the gadgets in his house last night, I stepped into the steaming shower.

"Why don't you live here?" I ask Benjamin as we arrive in his quarters at the Pack House later that day. He insisted on meeting here so I could get ready with Graces help. His apartment at the Castle was truly fit for a king.

"I like the privacy of my home." He shrugs, not seemingly impressed by the magnificence of the Castle. "I built it as soon as I became Alpha, for you and me."

"Me?" I spin my head from the tall bookshelf I was marveling at.

"Well, yeah."

"You didn't even know me." I shake my head.

"But I knew I'd have a mate," He shrugs, and I can't press it farther because of a knock at the door.

"Be gone, Benjamin." Grace instructs Ben with a smile as she enters the room, "I gotta make my Queen shine."

And that's how an hour later I am standing in front of the full-length mirror in a dark green dress. It was long sleeved, but stopped before my knees. Grace had forced 'kitten heels' on my feet, instructing me to just hold onto Ben if I wobbled. She had taken her time applying a feather-light touch to my hair as she brushed my long locks.

I am mostly silent as she works her magic, staring at the girl in the mirror. She started as a scared Underling, with messy hair and gray work dresses. Now, I almost fainted when Grace placed a large, jeweled broach in a piece of my hair. I knew it cost more than anything I'd ever touched in my life. I looked like an Underling trying to be a Queen.

"It's so sparkly," I whisper. Reaching a hand up to touch the cold Jewels on my head. I had never seen such riches this close before.

"You like?" Grace grins, admiring her work. "Benjamin, we're done!" She calls. How long had he been in the bedroom, listening in. He had excused himself to his office earlier. Sure enough, he enters the room and freezes when he sees me. His eyes darken, not black. I decide not to panic, too distracted by the diadem.

"What is it?" I am in awe.

"What? The jewels?" Grace is confused at my fascination.

"They've been in my family for generations. They're emeralds and diamonds." Benjamin explains.

"I've never touched a gem before," I breathe, and i am thankful the two allow me to have a moment to examine the broach. As we enter another room, grander than the first one we were in, I lift my fingers to gently touch the gems, trying to prove they really was on my head. Benjamin throws me a smirk each time. His arm is looped in mine, I don't protest because the heels are higher than anything I'd ever walked in.

When we enter the grand dinning hall, we are greeted by at least fifty Lycans. The humming chatter of the room silences when we enter, each pausing to bow at us. I flush in embarassment. How could they bow to a queen they didn't even know? A queen that they could snap like a twig? I dig my fingers into my palms to distract my thoughts.

"Looking the part, Queenie." I am glad Wells and Grace are the first to approach us, they are familiar faces.

"Thank you, thank you," Grace bows with a giggle, leaning into the side of Wells. They seem at total ease with another, unlike the stiff interactions between Ben and I.

"Ben, do we have to meet everyone?" I clutch his arm tighter at the thought.

"Ben?" Wells eyebrows raise, "Should I start calling you that too now?"

"Leave it alone." Benjamin growls at Wells. "Yes, most will just want to see their new Luna. This is very exciting for them, I promise I will be right beside you."

"Pleasure to see you again, Luna." A voice makes the four of us turn to the next couple awaiting their turn to talk to us; Valerie and Axle. I hadn't seen Axle since I screamed in his face on the journey here.

"Luna," Axle bows respectfully. He still has the same irritated look in his eyes, I don't think it ever goes away. The two aren't as affectionate as Wells and Grace, but still stood next to eachother protectively.

"I-I'm sorry for the how I acted in the Forest-" I blurt out, and Axle cracks the first smile I've ever seen on his face.

"Don't mention it," He assures me, "I understand."

"Did this old man scare you?" Valerie teases Axle, "He does that sometimes."

With that anxiety out of my mind, I greet the rest of the people in the grand hall. Each makes their turn to us, bowing and saying a quick hello. I don't say anything beyond the occasional, "pleasure to meet you." I let Benjamin do all the talking, he seems perfectly content to do so.

"This is Willa," Ben whispers in my ear, as a young woman and her mate approach us. She's holding a squirming baby. "She's our last She-Wolf to have a pup."

My eyebrows raise, Lycan's were always thriving with baby fever. This baby had to be nearly a year, that was a long time to go without another child being born in a Pack.

"Luna," Willa bows after her husband introduces herself. "Please meet our Son, Matthias." She holds him out like a trophy.

"Hello Matthais," Benjamin greets the child like any other adult, and I inwardly roll my eyes. The squirming baby breaks out into a wail, his one tooth visible. Willa rocks the baby, but he only cries more. "I'm sorry, Alpha."

"Hi Matthias." I reach my hands out hesitantly and allow Willa to place the struggling Matthias in my arms. He kicks a bit, he's a heavy bundle of a baby. I let out a small coo, and he immediately quiets as our eyes meet.

"There, all better." I murmur to him, feeling like he understands me. We aren't so different. A baby at a fancy dinner party, and an underling in a crown. We were both out of place.

I look up once he is calmed to find that the atrium has quieted once again. Each Pack Member is watching the interaction, Willa and Benjamin included. I hand Matthias back to his mother.

"Thank you, Luna." Willa bows, smiling at her sleepy baby. "You're magic. Now tell me, do we have a change date in the future?"

Change, like a Lycan. I shudder at the thought. Abort, abort, abort.

"Where is the restroom, Ben?" I stand on my tiptoes to whisper in his ear. Once he gives me directions, I escape everyone's gazes through the double doors. I ultimately decide to get some fresh air outside.

"Shouldn't you be wearing a jacket?" A voice makes me jump as I step onto the front stairs of the Castle, snow falling gently around me.

"Shouldn't it be unnatural for it to snow so much?" I complain back.

"A lot of things around here are unnatural." I giggle a bit at the truth of his statement.

I turn my eyes to the speaker; a Lycan who is smoking a cigarette. He doesn't look scary like Axle or any of the others, he looks about my age. He has buzzed dark hair, and dark eyes.

"s**t. Luna," He bows clumsily, trying to stamp out the cigarette with his shoe hurriedly. "I'm sorry-"

"You're fine." I shrug, finding his sudden panic amusing. "I'm probably not supposed to be out here anyway."

"That makes two of us." He snorts.

"Somehow I think you'd fend for yourself better when we get caught out here."

"True, underlings are weak. I won't tell if you tell." He smirks, pulling another cigarette out of his jacket and lighting it. He takes a puff, coughing profusley.

"You're not very good at that." I accuse him. I had seen many men smoking tobacco in the South, this seemed like his first time.

"I'm not going to take smoking advice from a Queen," The wolf rolls his eyes, but doesn't take another puff.

"Here," I grab the stick out of his hand and pop it in my mouth. I inhale. I laugh as the blow the smoke directly in his face, gloating.

"Thanks for that," He grumbles. He takes the stick out of my hand again and takes another puff, trying in vain to cover up a wheeze.

"You'll get better the more you do it," I try to make him feel better.

"Well, that's not very often." He grumbles, "We don't smoke here."

"So why are you doing it?" I fold my arms, the cold starting to hit me.

"Stress." He shrugs, "Being around all the high rankings at these events makes me anxious."

"Me too." I agree. "Does it help with that?"

"I think so." He declares. I like this kid. He was easy to talk to, and was the first to make me laugh in what felt like ages. He wasn't intimidated by me, and I wasn't intimidated by him. I wonder how often I would see him in my time in the North.

"Then I want another," I grab the stick again from his hand. Before I can take a puff, the front door creeps open.

"What are you doing?" Wells voice isn't friendly this time, but reminds me of a father catching a daughter sneaking in after curfew.

"Just... meeting the Pack." I finish lamely, dropping the cigarette in the snow. The cigarette supplier in front of me stomps it out with his boots.

"I suggest you get back inside, Pup." Wells commands him, pushing him slightly on the back as makes his way into the house. I brace when Wells turns to me. "Luna, you're lucky it's me catching you and not Benjamin."

"I'm not a child." I say, my voice too timid for him to take seriously. Wells just raises his eyebrows and leads me back into the house. Everyone's eyes fall on me again as I push open the doors. It's hard for them not to notice me, the grand staircase I'm entering in is practically has a spotlight. Most are already seated at the long dining table. I see the Lycan with the cigarette slip nonchalantly through a door under the staircase. If only I knew about the hidden entrance, I curse as I make my way down the stairs.

Without Benjamin to steady my 'kitten heels', I trip on the plush carpeting of the stairs and free fall forward head first. I squint my eyes as I brace for impact. Only I'm caught, there isn't the normal hot flush I get when Ben touches me.

I open my eyes to find the Lycan with the cigarette standing over me in a protective stance. I notice in this lighting, he has freckles dotting his cheeks.

I gasp when I see his eyes are dark black, and he growls ferociously as the rest of the Lycan's all rush forward to come to my aide, warding them on. Why are they freaking out over an clumsy human? Oh...must be the jewels.

I'm ripped out more harshly than I'd like from under the Lycan. My head and back slam into the chest that gives me that usual flushing feeling. I rub my aching arm and turn to Benjamin, "Ben, what's wrong?" His eyes are black as well, sk I try to comfort him, "Your jewels are okay."

"I've got you, dearie." I'm pulled out of Benjamin's shaking hold by an older woman, as she guides me to the sidelines. With her midnight curls and full heart-shaped lips, there is no doubt this is Ben's mother.

"I'm Mallory,." Her smile is warm and the twinkle in her eyes is wise. I instantly feel at ease around her, but I cannot respond before a roar grabs out attention at the scene at the end of the staircase. Axle is holding the Lycan who saved me by the arms. On the other end is Benjamin, looking rabid with black eyes. Wells and Grace are by his side, frowning.

"Wha-"

"Don't worry, It's just Benjamin being hardheaded." Mallory soothes me with a soft touch to my arm.  She is radiant, Fit for the role of Queen Luna, she emits a mother's touch. "Poor, Hamilton though."

Huh. So that was the his name. I didn't understand the hubbub with Benjamin and this kid.

"Did you know outside?" Wells commands Hamilton, who looks terrified.

"I dunno..." Hamilton's voice cracks slightly, Axle snorts at the blunder. "Maybe, I didn't know until she fell-"

"What happened outside?" This only seems to enrage Benjamin.

"He kept the Luna company while she got some air." I'm thankful Wells doesn't reveal the smoking, something tells me that wouldn't help the situation.

"You will not be her guard." Benjamin warns, "Absolutely not." Hamilton is visibly shaking at the rage hitting him in the air.

"I don't like it either but it's not like he can help it." Wells mutters. The look he receives makes me shudder.

"Mother," Benjamin calls out, Mallory sighs next to me. "Can this-"

"You know this can't be reversed, son." Mallory chides him, shaking her head. She leans to whisper in my ear, "It looks like Hamilton is who the Luna chose to be your guard."

"Guard?" Yet another thing I don't know that's said like it's common sense

"Are you even mated?"  Benjamin cries in horror.

Mallory rolls her eyes raises her voice to the room of astonished Lycan's watching the scene play out, "Everyone, please calm down. Let us eat before it gets cold."

We all begin to take our seats, but I turn back to Mallory,  "Oh, I'm Eliette."

"I know, dearie."

The dinner is tense. Once I eat half my meal, I decide I can't anymore. I am uncomfortable. Benjamin must be too because he takes my lack of appetite as his queue to grab my arm and announce a few parting words before leading me out of the atrium.

"You are forbidden to see Hamilton again." Are the words that break the long silence, an hour later as we both ready for bed in the bedroom. Benjamin has emerged from the bathroom, his face is still red with anger.

"Isn't even mated...." I stand numbly on the side of the room as he paces back and forth. "Not even in the rest of the guard, no way he's the guard. Nope. Not happening-"

His rambling continues until he's situated in his bed. Finally concluding that he would send Hamilton away with the trackers, so he wouldn't be near me. He lays back in bed, set on his conclusion. It takes him a moment to notice I'm not crawling in to bed with him, "You okay?"

I just stare at him. Lost. Why was he ordering me like I had done something wrong? Shouldn't he be explaining what was going on?"

"This will only work if you speak to me."

"You're angry." I finally say, still standing my distance.

"Yes."

"At me?"

His tantrum softens for the first time, "Of course not, Eliette."

"At Hamilton?"

He tenses at the name, "Please don't remind me of that child."

"Why?"

"He's...  It doesn't matter, I don't want him around you."

"But he's my friend." Friend seemed like a strong word for the short conversation between Hamilton and I, but he was the first person to make me laugh In a long time.

Benjamin growls at that and I feel sad he doesn't want to share the situation with me. Did he not trust me? "Why can't I know what is happening?"

"Hamilton's your guard and he's not even graduated from warrior training. Normally the Queen's guard is past betas or our most skilled fighters. But Hamilton's... a kid."

"A kid." I repeat. Hamilton was over six feet tall.

"He's only 18." Benjamin says, as if that explains it all. "He's needs a babysitter, not to be a babysitter."

"I'm 18."

"It's different."

"But you think we both need a babysitter." The word babysitter offended me, I had taken care of myself just fine before him. His comment stings a bit.

"You know what I mean," He argues back, only I don't know what he means. I'm reminded of our conversation earlier... 24 years old. Did the six year age difference between us bother him?

"I can sleep elsewhere."

"Why would you sleep somewhere else?" Our conversation seems to be making his frustration

Worse.

"If our age diference bothers you that much." I quip, not entirely sure if I'm trying to be polite or if I'm punishing him.

"Our age dif- El," He shakes his head, "You're not understanding. Let's just go to bed."

I'm not understanding. The Underling who will never understand, rings in my head.

"But I don't want to go to bed." I cross my arms.

His eyebrows raise, "You know I can feel when you're tired?"

"I don't want to go to bed here, Benjamin." His name sounds sour on my tongue, "It's not proper for me to be sleeping in your bed"

"We're mates, it's proper for us to do anything and everything in my bed."

I flush, "I don't know about the North, but we don't do that in the South. We don't crawl into bed with people we don't know."

"The South humans have too many rules, you'll forget about them soon." He assures me, trying to mollify me. The Southern Kingdom was my home. I didn't like how dismissive he was of it.

He doesn't even seem aware of how he's dug himself

Further into a hole. So I say the only ammunition I can think of, "I want my friend Hamilton for my guard."

He takes the bait. "You're being ridiculous."

I uncover the gown from my shoulders, so he can see the purple bruises forming in the shape of his hands. "The only one who hurt me tonight was you, not Hamilton."

His eyes flash black, but the fear I normally feel isn't there. In fact, I feel like my eyes would be black too if they could. "Valerie will be here in the morning to be your guard."

"Fine." I grab a feather pillow from my side of the bed.

"Where are you going, Eliette?"

"To bed, Benjamin." I cut off the protest already forming at his mouth, "A bed proper for a Underling child like me."

He doesn't speak until I am already out the door, but I hear him call, "For the record, you crawled to me last night. You clung to me like I was your only lifeline in an ocean."

Im not sure whether his words are meant to be harsh, but they are impactful. The starkness of his observation feels odd, I never had someone pay such close attention to me. But I just turn my nose towards the ceiling, "Almost like the way I clung to Hamilton tonight."

I hear his low growl as the bedroom door closes shut behind me.