The Lycan King's Human Queen

Not Her Mate

Claire slowly blinked awake and stared up at the familiar ceiling of Candy's bedroom.

Her joints groaned, painfully as she sluggishly sat up and she rubbed her pulsing head with a groan.

Last night had been a terrible mess and her aching head was enough proof that they had all been too caught up in the moment and taken things too far.

She heard her friend's voice coming from the living room and the memory of Candy smashing her fists into the king's car and destroying it, suddenly popped.

The blonde woman pushed away the covers and rolled out of the tempting bed with a soft moan.

She made her way out of the room on shaky legs, using the wall to support herself.

She was still in last night's dress and it clung uncomfortably to her body but the feeling was ignored as she followed the sound of voices.

"I don't care much for politics," said a deep voice followed by Candy's scoff.

Claire frowned in confusion and turned the corner to the living room as her friend responded.

"But you are the foundation of our nation's politics. How can you dislike what you helped build?"

Claire stared at the gathered group in Candy's living room with confusion and trepidation.

Her new friends from last night were seated on the ground with bowls of cereal in their laps and decked in Candy's pyjamas.

The television was playing one of the many cartoons Candy enjoyed, but was left ignored by the women who had their gazes fixed on the mountain of a man.

The large man was casually perched on the small two-seater facing the screen, a bowl of the sugary mess balanced on his huge thigh.

The werewolves noticed her presence, first and she was greeted with big, expressive gold eyes that twinkled with mischief and a wide, cheerful grin.

"There's the woman of the hour!" The boisterous man said with as he set his bowl aside and got up from the couch.

"Hi," she greeted, cautiously as he walked over to her and wrapped his large arms around her small frame, pulling her into a tight hug.

"Hello," he greeted, as he set her down and bowed, playfully. "You are very beautiful and have such a lovely scent," he complimented as he fiddled with a strand of her hair, staring at the brightly coloured lock of hair with interest.

She laughed bashfully and shuffled her feet. "Thank you, Lunae Penumbra." She responded, feeling flustered by his attention.

"Oh please," he said with a careless wave, letting go of her hair, "call me Alark. You'll be Lunae Antumbra soon and it is only appropriate that we are familiar with each other."

Claire frowned in confusion at the title.

Her mind, muddled from last night's drinking, was unable to process or understand what was happening or why the second most powerful man in the kingdom addressed her as the Queen.

"Hah!" Candy yelled with an accusatory finger pointed at him, "that's politics, right there," she said with a triumphant smile and Stephanie groaned in annoyance.

"What is political about being informal with someone you are related to?" The other brunette asked the bushy-haired woman.

Candy stared at the other woman like she was stupid. "It's a front for the public to make it look like..."

"Pardon my language, but what the f*ck is going on?" Claire interrupted the growing argument, her voice taking on a hysterical edge.

The room fell silent as they stared at her with varying expressions of discomfort and pity, the previously cheerful and playful mood, turning sour and causing her to worry.

Claire's eyes roamed over the three women, who avoided making eye contact with her and finally landed on the man standing beside her.

Now that she was paying attention, Claire could see that he was decked in a formal looking attire, usually worn for important ceremonies, which confused her, further.

"Oh this," he said, gesturing at the many badges and pins littering his thick jacket, "it is for the sake of formalities. We have to dress like this at the first meeting which is termed the 'introduction'." He explained to her with a smile and her eyebrows furrowed.

"The introduction," she repeated, slowly and he nodded. "What is being introduced?"

"The King to his new Queen," Alark said and Claire's brain went quiet.

"It is a simple ceremony, usually involving the future Lunae Antumbra's parents, where he presents himself as a worthy mate." He explained, further when she gave no reaction.

"That can't be right," she whispered as the fog lifted from her mind, "I have a mate," she informed him and her blue eyes darted around, taking in the stiff expressions on their faces.

A sudden thought of it being an elaborate prank planned by Candy, popped up, and she wondered how her friend was able to get the Lunae Penumbra involved.

"You are confused," Alark pointed out with an understanding nod, "I would be too if I was in your place which is why I insisted on staying back when Octavius left."

"The King was here?!" She asked with wide eyes, turning to her excited friends who nodded in confirmation.

"I wish you had seen the way he was staring at you," Stephanie whispered in a way that made it seem scandalous.

"Staring at me?" Claire repeated as she searched the room for something with a reflection. "Why was he staring at me and why didn't you stop him?!" She glared at Candy in accusation.

She finally found a small mirror resting on the cluttered centre table and flipped it open to stare at her reflection.

"Oh, Goddess," she gasped in horror when she saw her reflection.

"If it's any consolation, you all looked terrible last night," Alark assured her with a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I can't be the King's mate," she denied, weakly, drawing the conversation back to what was important. "I just can't."

Alark frowned down at her. "Why do you think that?" He questioned and she stared at him like he had grown another head between his eyes.

"I already have a mate," she repeated with growing frustration and turned to Candy, desperate for some support. "Tell him, Candy," she urged the frowning brunette, "tell him about Nathan."

"I'm sorry, Claire," the purple-eyed woman said as she looked away, confusing Claire.

Alark sighed, loudly and muttered something under his breath. With a firm hand on her back, he led her over to the couch and urged her to sit.

Claire watched with growing trepidation as Candy switched off the television to give attention to the conversation.

"Your mateship with Nathan Till is a lie and the man you know as your mate is not your true mate." He revealed, bluntly and the human woman blinked in shock.

"Excuse me?" She rasped, feeling like she has been doused in cold water.

"I always knew he was sketchy and suspicious but I never thought he was capable of doing something like this," Candy added with a frown as she got up and made her way towards the chair.

"This can't be true," Claire lamented as Candy settle beside her and allowed herself robe pulled into a hug. "Why would he lie about us mates?" She asked the gold-eyed man standing above them and looked away with a sob when he, softly shook his head.

Candy rocked her sobbing form, whispering words of comfort that went unheard amid her grief.

"How did you meet this... Nathan?" Alark asked, as he sat beside her and placed a comforting hand on her back.

Claire turned to stare at him with wet and flushed cheeks, her eyes taking in the pitying look on his face.

A part of her protested against telling the story to a stranger while another part of her was too heartbroken to preserve the now-tainted memory. "We met at a small carnival four years ago and we were mated after dating for a few months."

"A few months," he repeated with a raised eyebrow. "I thought humans live to almost two hundred, now, and prefer getting married later in life. Why did you mate with him so soon? You had a lot of time to decide."

She flushed red and looked away, "my parents were very... loving and sometimes controlling." She frowned as she recalled her family. "They smothered me with so much attention that it grew suffocating as I got older and I just needed to get away from them. It seemed like a good idea at the time because he was my mate..."

"What made you think he was your mate?" Stephanie questioned and Claire turned to her with a confused frown, sniffling slightly.

"What do you mean? He told me..."

Gloria made a noise, drawing Claire's attention.

"That's not how it works," the ravenette corrected with a sympathetic frown on her face. "You have to feel something, right here," she tapped the area below her sternum.

"But I'm human," Claire reminded the other woman, "we can't feel anything when we find our mates. Only werewolves and lycans can."

"You felt something last night, didn't you?" The gold-eyed man questioned and looked down at her torso, "something in your gut that warmed up and told you something important was about to happen."

She nodded, slowly and stared at the wall across from her, the thought of Nathan's betrayal too much to handle. Claire may not be the smartest woman in the world but she prided herself in being observative enough to understand what everything meant.

She sighed shakily, the lazy morning sun that poured in through the windows, a comforting warmth compared to the bitter cold that had taken ahold of her.

"He's not my mate." She admitted, more to herself than the others, and felt something in her hum.

Saying it out loud gave the truth a lot more power, and her, the strength to turn to the gold eyed man and ask.

"What's going to happen, now?"