My Royal Mate

Get Ready.

Morgan’s POV:

I yanked the door of the car open and I literally traveled like the speed of light inside the diner. “Dimples!” cried Allison the moment I came into her line of vision. She was sitting in the booth, facing the entrance to the restaurant. Usher was right next to his mate.

She jumped on me, pushing me back with the force of her body. She always did that.

“Calm down woman. My girl just got here, and you are about to break her leg,” said Ryan as he kept me from falling on my ass.

“Oh, shut up, Ryan. You are just mad that I am about to take Morgan away from you." She pivoted toward me, "Dimples, you, and I will go shopping as soon as we are done eating our waffles."

She ambushed me. Shopping? Oh Lard.

Ugh! Why do I need to go shopping? I just got here. Did she forget about the long flight I just took here? Could I at least rest for the remainder of the day? I had just sat on my ass for almost fourteen hours. I barely got to sleep because there was a little pup crying throughout the entire flight. I was hungry, sleepy, and tired. For Goddess’s sake, could this shopping trip wait for another day? Perhaps a week's time?

I sighed heavily.

Allison must have read my thoughts. She knows me so well. Plus my face doesn't help at all-- my expressions are an open book to whomever needs to know what I'm feeling or thinking.

“I know you are tired, Morgan. However, we do not have time. We are having a small welcome dinner for you at the pack house tonight, and tomorrow is our annual Wolf-Ball”, Allison uttered.

“f**k, Allison Smithson— I forgot all about the Wolf-Ball” I confessed, taking a deep breath.

Each year, a different pack in the kingdom had to host the Wolf-Ball. It had been 29 years since the ball had been hosted at the Crescent Moon Pack. None of us had been born when the last one happened here. This was a major event for our Pack, and a significant opportunity for Usher as the new Alpha. How the f**k did I forget about this?

Alex told me how substantial this event was for our pack. Our new King will be making his first appearance since he took over a few months ago. This meant so much to Usher and Allison. The whole pack must be going crazy with such a major event.

I was lost in my thoughts.

Two soft arms wrapped around my shoulders. I immediately turned around to see who it was. “Oh my Goddess, Lily!” I exclaimed. She hugged me for a long minute before she let go of me. I had missed her so much. She was out of town the last time I came.

“Morgan, I am so happy to have you back,” she said softly.

“Oh girl, I've missed you so much. We have major catching up to do,” I responded.

My eyes immediately flew to her belly when she let go of me.

What the f**k? I hastily gulped down my saliva.

Is she pregnant?

Had she found her mate?

So many f*****g questions flooded my brain. I felt like an outsider. I had no clue what was going on with my best friends anymore. I had forgotten about the Wolf-Ball-- which meant so much to Allison, and now I see Lily's big belly. Why did I not know this?

“Lily, will you be sitting with us?” asked Allison. She was always busy, running the diner with her mother.

“Not today, Alli. We have a full house and one of our employees called in sick.”

“Well, we have a new doctor in town,” Alex chuckled. "Tell her to go visit the hospital if she doesn't get better," he continued.

We walked and sat down at our usual table. At the same table, Alex and I sat down with our parents. Also, the same table where my friends and I sat down to gossip around. This was our executive spot.

Lily’s mom came over to hug me and welcome me back home. She then left and Lily started taking our orders. I wanted to ask her, was she pregnant? She clearly was. Why wouldn’t Lily or Allison tell me anything? This was one of the first things Alex and Ryan should have mentioned as well. They told me everything about Dawn and Henry, and a bunch of other s**t.

What the f**k? I didn't know if I had the right to feel angry or if I actually had every f*****g right to feel the way I was feeling. I mean, we used to tell everything to each other. We didn't keep any secrets among us.

To say that I was mad was an understatement, and I’m sure they noticed.

My face had to tell them.

“Lily, there is no need for you to take our orders. We always order the diner's special. Five big blueberry waffles with a side of your famous bacon casserole, and an extra-hot vanilla mocha with milk foam." I gave her an unyielding look. "That should be it. Thank you!”

My voice was cold.

She just stood there looking at me with a shammy smile.

We have been coming to this diner since before Thomas Edison invented electricity. I know I am exaggerating—but for real, we have been coming here for the longest time. After mom’s death, this became like a second home. She should have known what we order all the time. Or was it just my anger projecting her ignorance?

I was waiting for someone to say something, but they kept quiet.

I noticed Alex’s eyes were dark. I knew he was mind-linking with someone. So, I looked around the table just to make sure he wasn't mind-linking anyone sitting with us. He could be apologizing for my attitude. Or he could be telling them how much they had f****d up by keeping Lily's pregnancy from me.

“s**t, I have to go” he said a moment later.

“But we just got here” I complained as I crossed my arms over my chest.

“Gwen needs to go through some border patrol operations for tomorrow,” he said in a sad tone.

“Can it wait?" I asked in an annoyed tone, but I was looking at Usher, hoping he could do something about it.

“Unfortunately, it cannot. Gwen had a very tight schedule, and he got confused about his time. He apologizes Morgan, and says he cannot wait to see you later,” Alex replied.

Ugh, what the hell? I wanted to spend more time with Alex before Allison kidnapped me to go on a shopping spree. He should have been given the f*****g day off. After all, I had just returned home after almost four years.

“Okay” I said with a sad face.

“I will see you at home in a couple of hours. I love you, Princess,” Alex said as he stood from his seat. He arched down and kissed the top of my head before walking out.

I was busy watching my brother leave when I felt Ryan’s hands grab hold of my face. His lips immediately covered mine in an intense kiss. His tongue entered my mouth so fast that I couldn't fight it. I even ran out of breath.

I panicked.

I didn't know what to do. He could have waited for us to be alone. Why do it in front of our friends? He broke the kiss a minute later and said “s**t! I don't know how much longer I would have been able to wait. I was dying to kiss you, beautiful.”

Allison and Usher were just observing the eerie kiss Ryan had just given me. Meanwhile, Lily was just standing there. Like, em-bar-rass-ing! I just gave them a faded smile and asked Lily for a glass of water.

I needed to swallow the lump in my throat. This was totally out of place. We had kissed, but never when we had an audience. Never when that audience were our friends. Our family. They refrained from saying anything. It would have started an argument. Usher and Allison were neutral to Ryan and me, but deep inside I knew they had an opinion that I was not ready to listen to.

I waited for Lily to walk to the counter before saying “Can we please address the elephant in the room?”

“Is there an elephant in the room?” chuckled Usher.

A gave him a murderous look, and he threw his hands in the air as a sign of surrender. This was no time for jokes. I really wanted to know if Lily had found her mate. If I knew who he was. I wanted to know it all. She was one of my best friends.

"Is Lily.." I started speaking, but Allison cut me off.

“That is for Lily to tell you, Morgan. We don’t know who or when it happened. She has been very reserved about the issue,” she told me. "I've tried, Morgan. I have asked her on multiple occasions, and she has put up walls between us. She didn't speak to me for weeks after I pressed her about it."

Why was she keeping this a secret? Wouldn’t you want everyone to know who the father of your baby was? It was not so common for a she-wolf to be a single mom. It was considered dishonorable among our kind. Our society was f****d up when it came to its bias. They were so f*****g judgmental about it.

If only they did the same to men.

To them, a single mom only indicated that she had entered an affair with a 'taken' man. A man who either had a mate or a man who only wanted a good f**k with said woman. No strings attached. So, why would Lily participate in such a dilemma? Her reputation was jeopardized.

Maybe I was just ahead of the situation. Maybe there was a mate somewhere and she was keeping him a secret. But why would she be ashamed of him? A mate-bond is the most beautiful thing, isn't it?

And now I was only kidding myself. If a mate-bond was the most beautiful thing, then why wasn't I out there looking for my fated mate? Why did I accept to be with Ryan? Who was I to be judging Lily?

Kira was laughing in the back of my head, and I resented her for that. I just knew which battles to fight with her and this was a battle I wasn't ready to fight with her. She had more leverage in this matter.

Kira knew she was successfully changing my mind. But we were talking about Lily, not Ryan and me.