Queen Huntress

Mate with her if You Dare

King Lucien Forrest P.O.V.

The wind howled as the rain pelted down on his hard-muscled body. His jet black hair slicked out of his face as he ran. His six-foot-seven frame bounded through Blood Moon's forest as he ducked to avoid branches. The moon seemed to illuminate a pathway to his unknown destination. A howl pierced the sky as a bolt of lightning crashed two feet to Lucien's left causing a tree to become uprooted from the ground. A great white light appeared directly in front of him the orb circled the clearing where Lucien had abruptly stopped. : "King Lucien, it is I, Selene."  sang a serene voice, the orb began to circle the large Alpha until finally the most breathtaking a woman with flowing platinum hair appeared. "Moon Goddess?" questioned Lucien. "Why are you here?" 

"Child I have an important message for you. I must be quick we don't have a lot of time." urged the Goddess. Lucien nodded prompting the Goddess to deliver her message. "There is a war coming," she revealed. "It will be much bloodier than the battle of your pack's namesake. I'm afraid the winner is still unclear. Demons are rising once again, I need you to unite the hunters and werewolves for this fight. I have bestowed upon you a warrior meant to deliver us from evil. But her identity will not be revealed until it's time." The weight of the world felt as though it had been dumped on Lucien's shoulders at this moment. "How will I recognize her?" wondered Lucien. The Moon Goddess smiled and her electric blue eyes narrowed in thought. "She is my direct descendant, I sired her on earth myself. She will resemble me almost identically." The Moon Goddess reached out towards Lucien and placed her hand on his forehead. "Do not fret my dear child, I will bestow you with many gifts to help my Moon Children. Now I must go for I have said too much already." 

Lucien awoke to sirens filling the kingdom. He didn't have the luxury of digesting his dream he just propelled himself from where he had fallen asleep on his study desk and off the terrace onto the ground. He shifted into his massive black wolf in one swift movement. 'Update?" he demanded over mind link '100 rogues, 50 vampires all attacking from the east sir' Beta Theseus replied. Lucien cut off his link and effortlessly bounded off to the east of the territory. Warriors were spilling out of every direction running towards the fight. Some were half shifted while others brandished weapons in their human form. Women and children were being ushered into the bunker below the parkade. Lucien spotted the rogues a young warrior was cornered, six rogues had him cut off from the rest of the warriors. Lucien sprang into action and fearlessly jumped in front of the young warrior. He let out a loud growl that shook the trees surrounding Blood Moon's territory causing the Rogues to back up. Lucien's wolf Xerse brought his jaws down on the biggest rogue's throat and spit his jugular on the ground. Blood matted his dark muzzle as he beheaded yet another rogue. The young warrior used Lucien's distraction as an opening to take out two rogues of his own, With two rogues remaining Lucien circled his target waiting for the perfect opportunity to tear it apart. The rogue charged and Lucien sidestepped it, the wolf lost its footing and rolled to the ground. Lucien jumped on top of the rogue and tore it to pieces beneath him. Bounding further towards the battle he slew twenty rogues with ease. After two hours of fighting the battle was won and there were no rogue survivors. Warriors were tasked with cleanup duty while Theseus and Lucien discussed the attack in the King's office. 

"That was too f*****g organized to be just plain rogues," announced Lucien. He continued to contemplate the battle this was the tenth attack in the Kingdom of Lycanis in two weeks. He remembered his dream and got an idea. "Theseus call Commander Nightshade and tell him we require his services. Based on the attacks we have an idea of where the rogue base is. We can allow the hunters to investigate this matter." 

His beta scoffed "are you saying the royal pack can't handle an army of rogues and a couple of bloodsuckers because--" Lucien growled cutting his beta off midsentence. "If you must know there is something coming. The Moon Goddess told me that in order to win this we must unite with the hunters." Theseus widened his eyes in shock, "What's coming? The Moon Goddess never interferes like this unless it is pertinent." Lucien sighed all the stress of the impending battle weighing him down. "A battle bloodier than the war of our namesake." replied Lucien, "But that's all the Moon Goddess was able to say." 

Theseus let out a low whistle "And I thought being the Royal Beta to your cranky ass was hard, " Lucien rolled his eyes and playfully punched his betas arm. "Imagine if you had a snarky beta you were stuck with," he retorted. The men laughed and then returned to reading the reports from tonight's attack. "I'll have Commander Nightshade arrive tomorrow at lunch, let me call him before he turns in," announced Theseus. "Thanks,' replied Lucien, "we should both get some rest tonight. We won't find any answers here. " He gestured to the reports they had just poured through. 

"I'm going to call Commander Nightshade first," Announced Theseus. "Then we'll have a drink before bed." Lucien smiled "Okay thanks Seus." Lucien wondered who his mate was, what she looked like, and if maybe she was wondering the same things about him right now. Xerse willed images of Selene the Moon Goddess into Lucien's mind. "Your mate will be with you soon Xerses, and she is quite beautiful. She is very strong-willed but do not be afraid for your love will prevail."  as fast as the vision appeared it had dissolved. "Mate is perfect." Xerse whined, "She will love us." He affirmed. Thank you for making me feel better I thought to my wolf. I don't what it would be like to navigate through life as a human without Xerses for moral support. Loud howl-like whoops jostled Lucien from his stupor, no doubt Theseus on his way to debrief him and enjoy a thumb of single malt scotch before bed. The office door swung open and inbounded the royal beta still hollering loud enough to wake the dead. "The Nightshades will be arriving at one pm sir." he gloated shamelessly. "Now for some royal scotch." Boomed Lucien matching his childhood friend's enthusiasm. Lucien's office was quite regal, behind his large black solid wood desk sat matching black file cabinets on either side with the official Blood Moon pack crest hung in between. The walls were painted light grey while the crest was black and red. A blood moon was engraved behind a depiction of the Moon Goddess, with golden swords laying at her feet. To the right of his desk was the door to the office. His mother and acting Luna had decorated the wall with forest-themed wallpaper and had an Omega paint a lone black wolf howling to the moon in the center, while to the left of his desk was a floor-to-ceiling window that took up the entire wall. A gold-encrusted liquor trolly was positioned on an angle next to a black leather sectional. A large flatscreen was mounted on a tv stand as a comfortable lounge area for less formal meetings or simply for Luc and Seus to enjoy a glass of the finest scotch you could buy in the kingdom. Lucien rose from his plush red leather office chair and approached the liquor trolley, grabbing two crystal scotch glasses he poured a thumb of whiskey for each of them and sank into the black leather sectional Theseus not far behind.  "Seus when you met Arriane...did your wolf know when you would meet her?" asked Lucien. Curiosity for his future mate was eating at him each day he lived without finding her, his heart panged with loneliness that only the mate bond could ease. "Well," began Theseus a familiar look of pure bliss and adoration lit a passion within his blue eyes. "My wolf started to pace the day we met. It was unbearable, every hair stood on edge and it took every ounce of strength to keep my body from shaking as my wolf fought to get through. But before all that I saw her in my dreams. I know it sounds corny but over the years I dreamt of her wolf's fondest memories and her mine. We were always connected it was just dormant until we kissed for the first time." Adrienne Sai was Theseus' mate a sear who can see into the past and the future, it made sense that her mate could draw on her powers just by thinking of her. Adrienne is quite the powerful little hybrid. Her mother is a wolf from the SIlver line of werewolves known for their white fur and rumored ancient powers that no one confirms even exist. White wolves were said to be descendants of the Moon Goddess placed on earth to maintain the balance of good and evil so that only good could prevail. Adrienne's father was a werewolf from Europe, and when bred with other supernatural creatures werewolf blood made them better, faster, and stronger than the full supernatural line they mated with. "My wolf knows about her, he senses her existence if that makes sense," offered Luc after a while. "The moon goddess told Xerses a bit about her." he smiled. Seus eyed his friend carefully. "You know Luc, if the moon goddess is getting involved then your mate's heritage may shock or even scare you. It's no secret that demons are rising, it would only make sense to unite the supernatural realms against what is to come. I think your pairing may just be the first step you need to take to get there." Luc sighed, he already wondered who or what supernatural he would be paired with through the mate bond could be the key to unifying supernaturals. At first, he worried that his mate's background would scare him and wondered if he could accept her. But he knew in his heart that he could place his trust in the Moon Goddess and quickly admitted to himself that he would accept his mate no matter what. "I'm not blind Seus, I see how you look at Arienne. I couldn't imagine giving that up due to something as silly as parentage." he admitted. Seus smiled knowingly "Adrienne wasn't what I expected but she was exactly what I and Blood Moon needed. Her Bloodline is strong you know, her mother was the lone survivor of their coven after the Blood Moon War." Luc looked at his friend in surprise. "And you didn't think to tell your King?" he asked in mock anger. "Look, Luc, it's a part of her life she wanted to keep private just like we chose to keep her Hybrid status to ourselves. She would be hunted if anyone knew that she was a sear could you imagine what they would do to her if they found out she was also a witch forged of Silver blood?" He asked. Wheels started to turn in Luc's head. It was originally his idea to keep Arrienne's bloodline a secret. At the time he believed that revealing his wild card to potential opponents in battle was a bad move, and the more he thinks of the situation the more questions he has surrounding Arriene's role as the female beta of Blood Moon. "Seus mind-link Adrienne, I believe your mate's parentage could help us and the Nightshades." Seus smiled at the mention of his mate before becoming annoyingly protective. "Relax Seus, I'm not sending her into battle my intentions are simply to ask her some questions and hand her some research." Luc couldn't help but roll his eyes. "When you find your mate you will understand why I'm so cautious. Adrienne can help and will be with us in a minute." Seus replied. "I don't mind her casting spells, and using incantations to help during the battle but I need her to be safe, her bloodline is of great importance." he explained. Luc chuckled "I'm just joking I already understand I believe that Arriene may know how to fight demons in a spiritual way." he admitted. Seus smiled and his eyes sparkled. "I don't know why I never thought of that honestly." chuckled Seus earnestly. "She's here he announced." Thaseus rose from his seat to open the door revealing a small but ferocious she-wolf. Adrienne was a little sister beautiful to Luc with her pale ivory skin and flaming red hair. Freckles adorned her high check bones and sprinkled her slim nose. She stood at barely five one however her wolf was the same size as Thaseus' muscled beta wolf standing a mere inch below Lucien's gigantic black alpha wolf. Today she was wearing emerald green sweatpants and one of Theseus' grey hoodies with her hair french braided down her back. Her emerald green eyes were eyeing her mate curiously. "Hey, babe, Luc, what's going on?" Lulled her airy voice. Luc and Seus shot each other guilty looks. "Well Luc here is our alpha and he wants to know a bit about your bloodline, specifically any rituals or incantations that can harm demons." Seus explained simply. Arienne nodded thoughtfully and sat down in Seus' lap. "I can help you, my mother taught me a lot about our heritage along with calling on my powers. I have a few suggestions for you actually Luc. I am trying to find a glamour spell to hide our kingdom from enemies and preventing them from crossing our borders." Seus was staring at his mate in wonder. "Air, I need you to tell him how your bloodline survived the witch trials my love." asked Seus, I could tell he was enchanted by her upbringing and I myself was quite curious as to how demons were able to decimate almost an entire race of impossibly powerful witches. 

"Many years ago the first witch was made by aphrodite to aid in a battle. She called upon the gods to bestow a gift to the earth, magic. Through magic we are able to sustain life, I am as connected to the earth as I am to my mate. I draw my power from the elements like wind, fire, and water. Aphrodite survived the first-ever battle between supernaturals. Demons rise every few centuries and before witches, there was no adequate way to slay them. They are dangerous and vile creatures who only know death and pain. Aphrodite observed their ability to occupy a human mind, so she gave witches the ability to project thoughts and ideas. She also found a way to banish a demon back to hell by using incantation and a devil's trap. Much like witches demons have powers and are masters of telekinesis and telepathy. Aphrodite matched witches' powers to that of demons and begged Selene to gift them strength and power. After the Blood Moon battle, Selene and Aphrodite were able to imprison Lucifer their king and creator. Hell, the very place was created by our kind. Both kinds. It was required in order to restore balance to the world. Even though he is contained he is able to communicate with demons, they've gathered strength in numbers and hunted witches in order to weaken the incantation that chains Lucifer to the pits of hell. Demons can live among humans like werewolves they drove the Salem witch trials, by inciting fear in humans and exposing them to the evil side of the supernatural realm they were almost able to eradicate us. There are four bloodlines actively keeping Lucifer at bay. I'm afraid that if we lose even one the gates could bust open." Explained Adrienne. "So essentially witches were our fail-safe, the demons knew that so they destroyed almost all of them?" questioned Seus. "Exactly, witches are the destruction of demons, we balance all the chaos they cause and have the ability to bind them so they can't move beyond hell's realm and into our own," she added. Luc mulled over what was said before deciding to speak. "What is a devil's trap?" he asked. Adrienne tapped ferociously at her phone and opened a picture of what appeared to be a Star of David but with a Satanic twist. "This, you draw it in Himalayan salt chalk on floorboards, windows, vehicles, doors, or even the earth itself. It traps a demon and drains its power similar to how wolfsbane impacts us. By reading the incantation while a demon is trapped we can expel the entity back to hell, however, neither of these things will work if the gates of hell fall." she reminded. Luc was almost relieved to hear that demons had weaknesses but he wondered if there were more than Adrienne hadn't thought to mention. "Do they have any other points of weakness?" He asked. Adrienne sighed as a sad smile graced her lips. "Salt, Holy water, rock salt, crosses, rosary beads, and religious tongue," she answered. "Any physical harm you unleash on the demon is also suffered by the host," she admitted. As much as Lucien hated the idea of hurting humans he also hated the idea of watching them become enslaved or eradicated along with werewolves and every other supernatural being. "In times of war, we may not have the luxury of attacking spiritually. The fate of our kingdom and the balance of the world is on our shoulders. Adrienne for now I want you to assemble the elders and use the devil's trap to secure the palace and surrounding kingdom. We don't know how many demons could be among us already. Then research ways to preserve the host while we battle the demon. I want our wells and water supplies blessed by a human priest, distribute rock salt, crosses, and rosary beads to everyone in our kingdom. I want my subjects to be safe." Luc suggested. Adrienne nodded but seemed to be lost in thought. "In the meantime, you need to train the entire kingdom to slay demons, have an alpha meeting and order them to do the same with their packs. I think the Nightshades could be instrumental in these pieces of training. Their bloodline has remained intact since the Blood Moon war, and from what I've heard the heir Blaise Nightshade is quite the weapons connoisseur.." She spoke still lost in thought letting out occasional hmms. "Adrienne I can see you have a lot of information that can help us. I am willing to implement them all but it will require a great deal of support and logistics from you and Seus. Will you please accompany us to all our meetings from now on." Lucien asked, he always wanted to include Adrienne in every aspect of running the kingdom. But Theseus wanted her to stick to the safer duties and Luc felt that it should be his friend's decision when he allowed Adrienne to reach her full potential. Theseus opened his mouth to argue but Adrienne glowered and I held up my hand a knowing smile spread across my face. "Seus it is no secret that I view females as our equals. Adrienne is your mate and therefore your equal, I have been waiting for you to come to your senses and let her help us lead the kingdom. Battle meetings, strategy, and policing are not dangerous matters to attend to and I have a feeling your mate is more than capable of defending herself. Just relax we will keep her out of battle for now."  He warned his best friend that he needed to let his mate do her job effectively. It shut Seus completely up. "Thank you, King Lucien," said Adrienne. "If you don't mind there are some pertinent protocols I would like to put in place by tonight. I have reason to believe that there are already demons aiding in the attacks." Lucien nodded his head "Okay let's start with protecting our borders, then our subjects. We'll send mindlinks to the proper pack members." Adrienne nodded her head and thought for a minute. "First and foremost get priests and Nuns from any surrounding human churches. They know about demons and will bless our territory and our water to prevent anyone from becoming possessed. I read a scripture that roughly translates as priests are able to protect the land from demons and vampires. Only witches and priests are able to exercise demons so it's important to disperse the fathers between packs.I'm also having my mother stay at the castle and build portals in case a battle breaks out." Lucien nodded. "Thank you, Adrienne, this meeting has been rather insightful. It is time for us to get some rest. Tomorrow is a big day." Thaseus rose from his seat. "Goodnight man." he said as he retired from the room. "Luc," started Adrienne, "I asked Seus to go to bed ahead of me so I could tell you about a vision I had. Tomorrow the moon goddess will bestow a gift on you. You will find your mate but due to the nature of your wolf, I also saw some bloodshed. When you see her, you must remain calm. She is supernatural but is unaware of her parentage so you must court her slowly, or else you risk losing her." Lucien furrowed his brow. "Thank you, Adrienne, I promise I will hold it together." Adrienne laughed lightly. "Good, now get some rest, King Luc, you look as though you haven't slept in a month." Lucien laughed enthusiastically as Adrienne sprinted out of the room in jest. Lucien looked around his office once again thinking of the moon goddess and her message. Just one more night alone Xerses he thought. His wolf pranced in his head. Mate is coming, Adrienne and Selene are right. he purred. Just you wait until you see her. he affirmed. Lucien bounded to the elevator excited to reach his room knowing that his mate will be arriving tomorrow. The elevator whirred quite quickly as he reached the eighth floor to his royal suite. His room was decorated the absolute opposite of the dark castle. It boasted 12-foot ceilings and a grey interior. The white marble floors contrasted the grey perfectly. His black king-sized bed was fitted with a white duvet and a snow leopard printed throw. Inside two massive walk-in closets sat a freestanding bathroom fitted with a large glass shower, and a white clawfoot tub. Inside his bedroom was a kitchenette, a black sectional, and a massive flat-screen television. Lucien laid in bed and sleep came almost immediately. 

Lucien awoke to his alarm blaring at 11 am.  He had two hours until the Nightshade hunters arrived and much like Theseus had explained the night before Xerses was thundering around his head and causing a massive headache. Xerses buddy you need to chill. Lucien groaned in his mind. Sorry, Luc, mate is coming I am just excited. Okay, buddy just try to prance lightly so we can get some prep done. replied Lucien. Rising from the bed he opened his curtains and headed to the bathroom to shower. Lucien escaped the steamy bathroom after brushing his teeth and toweling himself off eager to select the most polished suit for today's meeting. He settled on a blue tailored suit, with a white dress shirt adorned with navy blue pin-stripes, a red tie, and black leather dress shoes. He looked himself in the mirror as he fastened his gold watch to his wrist. Lucien glanced at his watch once more as he exited his suite to check the time. The clock read 11:45 am. 'An hour and fifteen on arrival how is the packhouse looking?' he mind-linked Thaseus inquisitively. "Everything is good to go boss" returned Thaseus in mind link. Lucien reached the kitchen in record time, and just as Thaseus reported the packhouse was in excellent condition. "Omega Alexandra I need you in the kitchen please." Lucien mind linked. The omega materialized quite quickly. "Alpha Lucien." the petit omega acknowledged with a deep bow. "Alexandra thank you for all the hard work you put into cleaning the packhouse. Your dedication is greatly appreciated and after our guests have been greeted and shown to their suites I would like you to have the evening off."  Alexandra giggled with excitement. "Does this mean I get to go to the dinner and the dance tonight?!" she exclaimed. "Of course you can kiddo! I believe Adrienne may have a special dress you can borrow as well." Lucien offered. The small omega squeezed Lucien in appreciation. "Thank you, Alpha!" Lucien smiled affectionately at the young girl, he saw her more like a little sister than a subject. Alexandra was abandoned after one of the first and most brutal rogue attacks, both her warrior parents died in battle and she was left all alone with no wolf at the age of 13. Lucien offered her a position as omega and allowed her to keep her family home. He helped her find tenants for the empty rooms to pay the mortgage and made sure to fill them with older female omegas and warriors equipped to help her with homework and supervise her when Lucien couldn't. He also adjusted her salary and added her to his own medical insurance plan so she didn't need to worry about finances. Now at 17 years old not only did Alexandra graduate high school early but she is now enrolled in the were-university working towards a medical degree. Adrienne reached the kitchen just as Alexandra was finishing her happy dance. "Adrienne, would you mind helping miss Alex find a suitable gown for this evening's dinner?" Adrienne smiled brightly at Lucien and the small teenager they had all grown to love. "OF COURSE! I think I have the perfect one," she replied. "Is it blue?" the doe-eyed teenager asked sweetly. "I still expect a fashion show--but there is a crystal blue number that would make your eyes just POP!" exaggerated Adrienne complete with dramatic hand gestures. "Now if you ladies don't mind I'm going to get the kitchen staff to prepare a kraft kart for the meeting. We have a big day ahead of us." Lucien happily excused himself. 

Lucien anxiously glanced at his watch, it was already ten minutes to one and he desperately wanted to be in the meeting with the Nightshade hunters. The alpha was sitting in the armory awaiting their arrival, remembering his father's meeting etiquette. Being the Alpha, Lucien needs to be the last one to enter the room and the last one to leave. After what felt like hours he received a mindlink from Thaseus. "Alpha the head hunter is here and he brought a supernatural guest." Lucien perked up a little. "Who," he replied via mind link. "His daughter, something doesn't seem quite right -- they think she's human." replied the royal beta. f**k, Lucien thought to himself. Of course, I'd be mated to a Nightshade who is unaware of her lineage. This will certainly cause an uprising. "Let me know when they've reached the war room," replied Lucien. Just like that, the link was severed and Lucien's day had gotten a lot more complicated. after a brief moment, Thaseus came through the mind link once more. "They're in the war room sir I'm on the way now." Lucien rose from his seat and made his way into the hallway. From his spot, he could see a small blonde hustling through the hallway and her aroma filled his nostrils. "MATE, MATE, MATE GO TO MATE NOW." screamed his wolf Xerses. Lucien gripped the door handle of the artillery room tightly heading Adrienne's warning. 'Xerses we musn't scare her, she thinks she is human.' Xerses whined but retreated giving Lucien full control again. Lucien waited until he could smell Thaseus before he made his way to the war room, and they entered together. Her scent hit him like a ton of bricks and any control he had withered. Of course the second he entered the room his eyes immediately locked on her. 'Breathe' reminded Thaseus via mind link. Lucien watched her, she had long pale blonde hair that fell to just below her ribcage, Her large indigo eyes poured into his soul. She had big full pouty lips that contrasted her delicate facial features perfectly. 'Alpha quit staring we have a meeting to get through.' chided Thaseus over mind link. 'Okay just one more second and then I will focus on the meeting.' replied Lucien. After a few beats Lucien tore his eyes away from her, he never even registered the room rising to acknowledge his presence but he definitely felt Thaseus jolt him into action. "I know our call for help was very vague. I want to start today's meeting by thanking the Nightshades for your help. We recognize your talents and hope to build a lasting relationship with your pack." Started Lucien. "Recently we've seen multiple devastating rogue attacks, within the last three attacks we've seen not only rogues but vampires. Our supernatural allies believe that demons are orchestrating these attacks and we've got a few combat techniques exclusively for demons and ghosts." Lucien chose to focus on commander Nightshade instead of his daughter. "We will have our armory boys brief you in the artillery room and send a priest to your compound so you guys can adapt to our new safety protocol. I will also send a witch to put a glamour on your home. It's important that we stay safe any more casualties and we have no chance against this particular enemy."