The Lycan King & I

Fifteen.

"Why does the North have so many rituals?" I crinkle my nose curiously some time later, our dinner plates laid pushed towards the center of the table. I had remained mostly quiet as Wells dramatically lectured on the process of becoming a Luna and a mate. Grace had taken over after Benjamin grew annoyed with his gloating over 'finally knowing more about something than the King'.

"The Council." Benjamin answers, "The pack members who proceeded all of us in our roles, plus representation from a few other places are big on tradition."

"Don't forget the marking ritual," Wells chimes in.

"The bite has a ritual?" I hiss is horror.

"It's not a bite," Ben corrects me quickly, bite was a touchy word.

"Yes," Wells nods, "The guardian ceremony, the marking ritual, and your coronation."

That sounds like a lot. It sounded like a lot of attention, and scrutiny from the Lycans. I felt a bit like I was setting the stage for public judgement. All to soon, everyone would know what an insignificant Underling I was.

"Benjamin and my mother in law are part of the council, they'll help you through it." Grace assures me with a comforting smile, "I was nervous for my beta coronation as well." 

Beta coronations? How much fanfare did this place have? They had explained much about society here, what to expect a the rituals, how the kingdom was structured, but talked the most about the bond. There were so many processes to it, I just thought it was a painful bite. But there was the blood oath, the marking, the wolf appraisal, and the part I was glad we didn't expand on. The part that wasn't proper to say out loud.

"Can I see..." I begin, looking at Grace.

"My mark?" Grace asks, her eyebrows shooting up. "Sure."

She pulls her silky hair to one end and cranes her neck slightly to the side, there is was. The indentation of teeth, almost like fangs. Hers was a soft shade of pink.

"Is that what it will look like?" It looked much different than the marks I'd seen in the South, much bigger. Must more painful looking.

Benjamin shifts in his chair uncomfortably, reddening a bit. He doesn't even glance at Grace's mark, as I openly gawk at it. "I suppose it'll look something like that." It occurs to me that maybe asking to see Grace's mark was improper.

"When are we doing all of these rituals?" I turn to Benjamin, how long did I have to prepare?

He starts to pile everyone's plates. "Whenever we feel like you are ready."

"But we have Hamilton.... aren't we ready for the Guardian one?" Wells and Grace had skillfully danced around saying the Lycan's name, being in the dark irritated me greatly. Grace winces slightly in anticipation.

"Absolutely not."

There's a long silence that follows. It feels longer because I don't have my plate to avoid eye contact with. "But.... why?"

There's another long silence that follows as Grace and Wells duck their heads, probably feeling the underlying tension radiating off of Benjamin in overwhelming waves. He grumbles slightly, a warning.... to me? My annoyance was steadily growing.

Wells finally answers for Benjamin, seems completely avoidant of the subject. "The Goddess picks a guard for every Luna, normally it's a top warrior or one of the higher ups. The Luna and her guard have a special relationship, your guard is only loyal to you. So Hamilton, his wolf is completley in tune to you. It's kind of like the mate bond- but not at all. Chill out." Benjamin's growl has Wells rolling his eyes.

"Your guard is the only one in the pack who is ultimately commanded by you, not the Alpha." Grace further explains, "It was assumed Axle or Valerie would be your guard, not Hamilton."

"Can we stop saying his name, please." Benjamin's eyes are squinted shut, he is breathing the way he had been earlier when he was trying to calm down. 

"Perhaps we should go." Grace offers, folding her napkin neatly on the table.

"No, please stay." I beg. I didn't want to be left alone with Benjamin again, especially if he was angry. Angry Alphas were dangerous, I trusted Grace to protect me.

"Perhaps now is a good time to share the news, Grace," Wells says pointedly, an attempt to ease the building conflict.

"Yes," She smiles brighter than I've ever seen her, "Luna already knows, but Wells and I are pregnant!"

"You were right!" Wells eyes are shinning brightly as he looks at me in wonder.

"It's still too early to tell the gender but we don't have a preference, just as long as our baby is healthy." Grace shares, a shadow casting over her face. I know she is thinking of how tragically her first pregnancy had ended.

I shake my head, crinkling my eyebrows. We didn't have much high-tech gear in the South, but it seemed odd that the North hadn't picked up on what seemed to be obvious. "You're not having a baby."

All eyes are on me in bewilderment. I know they can't sense it the way that I do, but aren't they supposed to be able to smell it? Or hear the heartbeats?

"You're having twins."

Benjamin groans and shifts his chair so his knees are touching mine. Though it 's unintentional, I blush as if the action should only be done in private. Everything with Benjamin, even the most innocent words, filled me with a painful bashfulness. Everything felt a bit too intimate for company. "It's too early to tell that-"

"No it's not." Grace shakes her head wildly, looking shell-shocked. "Not with her, it's not, Benjamin."

"What did Doctor Otis say-"

"It doesn't matter what he said." Grace cuts him off, she sounds choked up. "Eliette knows, Wells told me you both got the file on her blessing, you know she's knows. She was right about me bring pregnant too-"

"Twins," Wells speaks for the first time, his wide eyes looking spooked. The next statement that follows has Benjamin letting out a growl. Wells ignores him, engulfing his mate in an elated hug.

"If you don't believe me then why did you ask her to not drink the wine at dinner?" I breath under my breath, too defiant for my own good.

"I'm not doubting you." He sighs, running a hand through his locks of hair. "I just... we have a great team of Pack Doctors. They are more than capable of taking care of the she-wolves."

His words sting a bit, did he not think me capable? Did he just see me as a foolish girl? He practically admitted last night that I needed a babysitter. My temper is back, the brief joy brought to me by Grace's announcement is gone.

"I don't mind if you want me to work to earn my keep, or maintain your house," I begin calmly, "But I can't bear being locked up in this house everyday."

"You will not be working, we don't exploit Underlings here."

He wasn't getting my point. I fidget my knees under the full attention of the table, "It's just... the whole babysitter thing is hard. It makes me feel like a child."

"A child?" He says the word like it's a foreign language, and I nod. He groans, eyes rolling to the ceiling. "For the last time, Eliette, I don't care about the age difference between us."

"Are you sure you want us here for this?" Wells coughs, Grace looks just as uncomfortable as I feel. Perhaps I shouldn't have pleaded for Grace to stay, I keep my arms crossed angrily.

"I care if it means I'm going to be treated like a pet." The words fire from my mouth without permission, right after I say them I squint my eyes shut and hide behind the wall of my hair, folding my arms over my face.

I had spoken out of turn- to a king, I deserved to be reprimanded.

"I'm sorry, Sir." I squeak, keeping my eyes shut.

"Let's all take a deep breath before we say anything too rash," Grace's angelic voice fills the room loudly before Ben can respond, "Benjamin, can I...?" She trails off and though I am still hidden, I know a mind link follows.

I flinch when I feel Grace crouch down at my level and her voice soft in my ear, "Eliette, this isn't the South, you won't get punished here for sharing. Benjamin won't hurt you. Can you come out?"

I can see how she is a Baitor. Her words are perfectly crafted to deescalate, she's a great diplomat. I lower my hands down to my lap and open my eyes, keeping my eyes on the wooden table. A few stray tears have escaped my eyes and I sniff pathetically.

"Please don't cry," Benjamin pleads softly, he reaches a hand forward hesitantly to push my hair back behind my ears. I allow him too, his fingertips brushing the side of my face made me feel at peace. "I won't hurt you."

"Just like we won't hurt you," Grace adds, already sitting back in her seat.

"The Lycans life is ruled by bonds. Like the mate bond, or the bond between alpha and omega. The nature of our bonds are so deeply in our instincts, we would never go against them." Wells complements her statement naturally like they've said this a million times.

"A mate can never hurt another mate," Grace nods, placing her dainty hand on top of Well's, "Benjamin's number one instinct is to protect you and care for you. You don't have to hide, Benjamin will never harm you."

I sniff a wipe a tear a stray tear, not wanting to look up.

"We better go, mate." Wells whispers out tentaviley, him and Grace say a few soft goodbyes before hurrying out the door. I don't want to be left alone with Benjamin, it means we're going to have to talk. There's nothing to do in this house but talk.

Avoiding Ben's eyes, I grab the stack of dirty plates from the table and bring them to the kitchen. I'm halfway though hand washing them when I feel Benjamin's presence on the other side of the room. I don't know how I could sense it, but it was strong.

"They were right," He speaks up after a moment of watching my back complete the small movements of scrubbing. "I could never harm you, El."

I don't say anything as I grab and towel move to start drying. He tries again, "I don't know much about life in the South, but I promise I will do my best to teach you everything I can about the North. And whatever I don't know, we will learn together."

I finally turn around, he doesn't look so much like a king in the dim lighting of the room. His casual clothes, messy hair, and stressed face. The fierceness in his eyes doesn't make me dare question his words.

"D-do you think I belong here?" I stutter out.

"I have no doubt, our entire world is destined by the Goddess. She doesn't make mistakes."

I take a deep breath in, "But doesn't that Hamilton isn't a mistake?"

"He's not even through with his pack training," Benjamin grinds out, his hands are in fists on the by his side. "And he doesn't have a mate!"

I shake my head, thinking back to my brief conversation with him. It had lasted no more than a few minutes, but there was no romantic intentions whatsoever. This whole situation seemed to be blown out of proportion. "I need to go for a run."

He takes off through the door that connects the house to the garage. And that's that. I wait on the couch for Ben to return, but grow bored. I shower and prepare for bed in silence.

Part of me is bitter that he can just leave as he pleases, but I don't have a lifeline here. I can't drive and am terrible at directions, I wouldn't even have a place to run to if I left. Another part of me felt like the role of "Queen Luna" wasn't any better than being a working Underling- no freedom, controlled by someone, to not have an opinion.

It isn't until I am crawling under the covers some time later that I hear the front door shut. Benjamin opens the door to our bedroom, he is loosely wearing a pair of shorts. His hair is windblown, cheeks red from the chill outside. His anger from earlier has evaporated.

Changing quickly in the closet, he makes a motion to enter the bed as well. His mood may be improved, but I had just been left to stew for hours.

"Ben, I think I know how I feel now." I say as I stare stiffly up at the ceiling. 

His eyebrows raise, remembering my promise earlier, but he crawls into bed. "Tell me." 

Not even a question, a demand.

"I am angry."

"Angry?"

"Angry at you." I huff, standing up and grabbing the down feathered pillow from my side. "Don't follow me." I grind out. The couch was quickly becoming my new bed.