Deceiving My Mate

Chapter 4

***Nova***

“Where could he be?!" I yelled in frustration as I paced up and down my room. "My brother would never run away from his responsibilities! He would never leave me!" I shouted, turning my back to the boys.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, comforting me. I was fearing the worst, not just for my brother but for what would happen if I had to take my place on the throne.

"Of course he wouldn’t do that, Nova. We know he wouldn't; we know he would never leave you or the kingdom unprotected. He would die before he would let that happen. Someone must have forcefully taken him; that’s the only explanation for his disappearance." It was Chase who spoke, his hand steady on my shoulder. "He came to us last night to go over the security plan for today. He wanted to make sure it was not only safe for him to be crowned but for you too," he explained.

I turned to look at both of them. "He also made us promise to protect you if anything went wrong. He wanted to ensure that you would be safe, so that if anything happened to him, you would be the last royal to take your family's throne," Dante said, reassuring me that my brother didn’t just leave of his own will.

My heartbeat was now uneven as I felt panic and fear spread throughout my body. His words, my brother's words to me when I had last seen him, were now flooding my mind. Did he know something was going to happen to him? Did he know that he wouldn’t make it to his crowning? He had told me the same words that he had told his future beta and gamma, who would also be taking their fathers' places today.

"He said the same thing to me before he went to see you two," I confessed, and they both looked surprised. "Did he know that our family's enemies would make a move?" I asked them.

Chase sighed, "I don't know. But our father did warn us that once we take their place, their enemies would become ours. They announced the death of your father after we laid him to peace. That gave the enemies less time, but it's been years; who knows who could have been preparing and plotting during all the years we had peace?" he said, and Dante nodded in agreement.

"The Alphas are here, and we need to do something before they see this as an opportunity to take the Lycan throne," Dante said, looking at me.

"How?" I whispered, but of course, with their hearing, they heard me. "How can I take the throne? The Alphas wouldn’t allow me to rule over them. They wouldn’t swear their allegiance to me. They won't because I'm a woman. I may be a royal Lycan by blood, but they won't allow a female to rule them," I finished in defeat.

I saw in both Chase's and Dante's eyes that what I said was true. The silence in the room was deafening, and the fear I felt wasn’t getting any better. So much for me promising myself that I would be a new princess today. I promised to be stronger and not shed any more tears for the loved ones I have lost. Yet here I am, trying to be strong in the face of my brother's disappearance and the prospect of stepping up.

"Maybe you can, if you were a man," Dante said, causing Chase and me to look at him in confusion.

"Now isn't the time for your jokes, Dante," Chase said in annoyance. "In case you haven't noticed, that is the problem here. She isn't a man; she is a woman, which is what she just pointed out. Aren't you even listening?" he added, a frown forming on his face.

"I know, and that isn't what I mean," Dante responded. "What I mean is we can dress her as a man." He explained, and my eyes widened at his words.

"Excuse me?" I exclaimed, and Chase looked at me from head to toe.

"How are we going to hide all of that?" Chase gestured to the top part of my body, which I assumed referred to my breasts.

I looked down at my breasts and realized I was still wearing my nightgown. On instinct, I covered my chest with my arms and gave them a glare. They didn't even notice my glare as they continued to discuss how they would hide my more feminine features.

"I'm not a battle plan," I exclaimed as they sounded as if they were planning a war.

"Dante is an i***t," Chase began, and Dante glared at him. "But his idea may be the only option we have—a plan B, if you would call it," he concluded, and Dante gave a small smirk.

I sighed, knowing they were right; it was the only plan we had. "Fine. You have three hours to turn me into a boy."

"Not a boy, a man. Well, in your case, a very small man," Dante said, eyeing me up and down again. "A small man with no muscles," he added before clapping his hands together.

"Let's do this." I was determined to pull this plan off, not for me or my brother, but for the kingdom.