The Lycan Kings’ Fated Mate

Chapter Two

The sun had already started setting when we got home. A crowd had gathered at the centre of the village where the alpha normally comes to make his speech and announcements.

“Wonder!” I saw my mom waving at me. Turning to Kyle, I said to him.

“There’s mom, let’s head over and see what’s going on”

“You go on, I see my dad calling me” he says tiredly.

I looked in the direction he was pointing at and saw his dad. He seemed to be sober at the moment and in his warrior attire. I waved goodbye to him and we promised to meet up tomorrow. I watched him walk towards his dad, his shoulders sagged, I finally turned and hurried to my mom. On getting to her, she grabs me and kisses me on my cheek while ruffling my hair.

“Where have you been”. I opened my mouth to answer but was cut off by the alpha climbing the platform, releasing his alpha aura on purpose, making everyone turn to him and bow. It didn’t affect me, it never did. But I felt a hand on my head forcing me to bow. I knew it was my mom not wanting the alpha’s wrath on me.

“News reaching us is that the Royal army is on their way to our pack to pay us a visit.” he informs us, his voice booming at every corner.

Alpha Ismail, a tall man with dirty blonde hair and blue eyes. He stood roughly 6ft if I would say. He was the second born. His elder brother, who was the alpha before, was killed in a rogue war right around the time I was born. Having no heir, Ismail had taken over. Not that anyone complained though, for he was stronger than his elder brother, whose major concern was about the steady supply of barrels of wine and the women that were free and beautiful, so I heard from my father gossiping with his team.

Although there were rumors that he had orchestrated the attack in a bid to get rid of his brother, the rumor had died down as quickly as it started.

“As you all know, the Lycan kings have been scouting in search of their mate, as the oracle had foreseen many years ago at her birth. And now I guess it has fallen on us to host them and display our females unmated and unmarked for their inspection”.

The people whispered amongst themselves, I noticed unmated females quaking in fear, parents already grieving for their unmated daughters looking defeated.

The hand on my shoulder tightened, making me turn to my mother, confused as I saw the fear in her eyes.

“Why is everyone upset, mother? Isn’t it a privilege to host the royal army and the kings?”

“There is no privilege in watching your daughter get taken away from you if she catches their attention, or getting slaughtered if you resist having your daughters taken or even when the kings don’t find us entertaining enough” a woman beside me, states wide eyed, shuddering, like she was in a trance.

I look up at my mother for clarification. She nods her head in agreement.

“The Lycan kings aren’t kind, Wonder. Having had no female mate and heir for the longest time, it’s been rumored that they have gotten more and more feral and ruthless”, she whispers.

“But why are there two kings, mother?” I asked.

“They’re mates, sweetie.”

“So why do they want another one” I asked, still confused.

“The female is the only one who can conceive and birth their heir. Now hush Wonder, you do not want to attract the wrath of the alpha”.

“Every female from the age of 12 shall be presented, make sure to be presentable”. The alpha instructs, clearly not happy, his daughter was within the age range.

“Why from the age of 12? That is too young. Mates can only identify themselves at 17 in rare cases, but 18 at most” a man addresses, to my right.

He was a blacksmith and had twin daughters around my age. Somehow, I felt sorry for him, seeing that he was already petrified with fear.

“According to the timeline of the prophecy, the oracle stated that the Kings’ mate had been born 12 years ago. So, now the child should be within the age range of 12-14, and mind you, the kings are not mere werewolves, they are Lycans and royalty. They can pick up the scent of their mate even if the mate in question is not of age and can not identify her mate yet” a man dressed in expensive attire states.

“ Everyone meet the King’s courtier. He brought the information here himself and he will be staying till the Royal army gets here” the alpha points out at the expensively dressed man.

There was murmuring amongst the people, while some females eyed him longingly. Not that I would blame them because the man was appealing to the eye. Standing some inches above alpha Ismail, he had broad shoulders, narrow hips. Pale skin that screamed for some sunlight, grey eyes and blond hair sleeked back.

Slowly his eyes roamed the crowd, stopping when it landed on me. He raised an eyebrow.

I felt someone pull me and suddenly I was staring at my mom’s back. She had pushed me behind her back to shield me from the man’s scrutiny. I peeked from behind her back and found him staring at my mom. He goes to say something but decides against it.

“You can all return to your houses and prepare your daughters, until they arrive” the alpha dismisses us, clearly unaware of the little interaction that just happened.

We all started dispersing, heading back to our houses. I saw Kyle and waved at him. He waved back. I turned back to stare at the platform as my mother led me away, and I locked eyes with the Courtier. Quickly, I turned back and drew closer to my mom. We got home to find Dad already waiting for us. He was pacing around our little living room. Mom let go of my hand and walked to him. I sit on the couch and watch as she embraces him and whispers soothing words. As always, it works and he starts calming down and wraps his arms around her slim waist. Leaning down, he nuzzles the crook of her neck.

“What do we do, Bloom? We can’t lose her. It’s not yet time to let go. It’s too soon. This is not what the oracle told us” dad whispers.

“I know.. she specifically told us not to let them have her until she’s of age. We must not let them tamper with her future like this” said, glancing at the confused expression on my face.

“Let’s talk about this later Love, we don’t want to be scaring Wonder now” she beamed at me.

My father turns his head to look at me sadly.

He sighs “you’re right, I’m sorry. We will find a way around this. I will be back, I have to meet up with my warriors, everyone is on edge with the preparation for their arrival”. He lets go of mom. Walking up to me, he kisses my forehead and ruffles my hair.

“See you later fruity”, he smiles, calling me by his chosen nickname for me.

However, even as young as I was, I saw that the smile didn’t reach his eyes.

“Bye daddy” I chimed, not allowing my worry to show. I watched him walk out of the house before turning to my mom.

“Go wash up and come help me start up on dinner, it’s getting late. You need to eat and head up to bed”, mom informed me.

I nodded and headed to my room, noting that she had avoided mentioning me attending the event.

Getting to my room, I strip off my clothes and, using a washcloth, I wipe myself clean. I change into my night clothes and head back to the kitchen.

Mom was already dishing out food, so I sat down as she placed a plate in front of me. We eat in silence, she barely touches her food. When I was done, I cleaned up the counter and washed the dishes. Once done, I said goodnight and headed to my room. Lying on my bed, I replayed the day’s events in my head until sleep embraced me.