Unknown Wolf

Trouble with Men

********* Arthur's POV

Well, that was truly interesting. Yes, I am infuriated that Rowen had the gawl to talk to me that way, but it also proved my point. In just a matter of days, the mate bond had worked its magic on him, and there is no one more important in this world to him than Lucy. He would literally go to hell and back for her, and the poor girl still has doubts about him. I kind of feel sorry for my cousin, but with time, I'm sure things will naturally straighten themselves out. I always knew that when Rowen found his mate, he would finally find that strength to make himself free of the Blackwood family. I just didn't know his mate would be frickin' Princess Lucilla Grey.

Now to smooth things over with her daddy. Hopefully, he is a rational enough man to get out of this recording what I'm trying to show him and not get stuck on the actual wording of Rowen's anger and frustration.

I appeared back in King Grey's study with his sister-in-law Rosalind at his side and the two Hart brothers waiting patiently for Rowen and Lucy's answer. They all slightly flinched at my sudden appearance except for the king. He slowly looked up from his desk, looking impatient and slightly annoyed.

"Mr. Hess, what was their response?"

"Well, your Highness, your daughter, Princess Lucilla, was more than willing to appease your added terms and will happily accept having her personal guards with her." I answered matter of factly.

"And Prince Rowen's response?" He narrowed his eyes at my avoidance.

"Let me remind you of what I stated earlier. Lucy is not a hostage. She is there by her free will and has been offered chances to return. She made a choice to leave with Rowen and was not forced. I know him well, and he is stubborn, but very much in love with your daughter. He has already lost his mother to his father. He's not willing to lose his mate, too. In order to truly persuade you in these facts, I recorded our conversation. I hope what you hear next doesn't hinder the case I am trying to make for them." I laid the recorder on his desk and pushed play. I had recorded the whole conversation from the beginning of my return so they could hear Lucy as well and determine she was indeed there willingly.

By the end of the recording, having heard Rowen's loud outburst, Rosalind, Wesley, and Jordan all had a look of shock and fear over how their king would take to Rowen's last words. Athelstad sat there face of stone, not giving away one ounce of what was going on in his head.

"Arthur," he purposely dropped the formalities, "Is it true you are the closest person to Prince Rowen? In fact, his second cousin by his mother's side?"

"Yes, sir." Hoping I was correct on where this was going.

"Has he ever had an outburst like that towards you before when you were giving him advice? Does he normally not have control over his emotions?" The king eyed me over carefully, waiting my answer.

"No, Rowen has never raised his voice at me, and he is normally known for being calm and controlled. He is, in most matters, a master of his emotions. He has had to be growing up under his father. In fact, only in the subject concerning your daughter have I ever seen him slip up to reveal his emotions in such a raw manner. He is a very stoic man, normally."

King Athelstad nodded a slight smile to the corners of his lips formed, barely noticeable as he turned his attention to some paperwork on the desk. He looked it over and placed it into envelopes, handing one to each man.

"These contain your new driver's licenses, passports, birth certificates, and social security numbers for use in the human realm. All with the added information that Arthur has provided us. I can get these done faster as all my elite soldiers already have aliases typed up in our system, and with some minor changes, my associate was able to get this together in a hurry. He is the only other person outside this room to know anything, and all he knows is I needed the paperwork for these two. I would never do anything to put my daughter in danger. You might remind your cousin of that when you see him. She is the most important person in my life, and all I have left of my mate. Do see that he can from here on out and keep his emotions in check." He raised an eyebrow at me.

"Yes, sir."

"You will be taking them with you, I presume, as my daughter has first say so over her own safety, seeing as she is there by her own freewill and not a hostage. The Hart brothers will make sure she is safe, including from Rowen, if need be. Mate or not, my daughter is still a lady and will be treated honorably and with respect. She has been sheltered and is inexperienced with males. I don't want him to take advantage of that."

I nodded my agreement with his orders, and the Hart brothers came closer to me so I could teleport them back with me. It would be faster than driving from a portal.

"Oh and Arthur, one last thing..."

"Yes, your highness?"

"If your cousin ever decides to speak to me like that in person, we will have a personal duel. I highly recommend he shows me more respect from here on out no matter what the circumstances are at hand are we clear?"

"Yes, sir." I placed my hands on the mens shoulders, and with a crack, we were gone.

**************

When we flashed back to the house, Lucy was alone in the back, sitting in a patio chair looking out into the distance. She turned at the sound of my return and bounced up to see Wesley and Jordan. Her whole demeanor changed from solemn to excited at the sight of their familiar faces. She ran up to them, hugging each one of them tightly. Wesley kissed her forehead, happy to see her alive and well.

I left them to catch up and went into the house to look for Rowen. Didn't take long to find him glaring out the kitchen window. I spotted a freshly broken mug in the sink with some blood on it. His hand had already healed, and his eyes twitched at the scene he was carefully watching transpire outside. I placed my hand on his shoulder, smirking.

He turned swiftly to see me and calmed. Sadness is evident in his eyes. I took a deep breath and patted his back.

"She doesn't see them that way, and you would know that if you took a minute to stop giving in to your wolf. I think they truly are like big brothers to her, and they see her as a little sister to guard and protect."

"I don't know what I thought, but I didn't think it would be this hard to win her over. I thought the hard part would be keeping her safe." He sighed.

"Rowen, that is the hard part. Just because it's going to take a little longer than you envisioned on the romance aspect doesn't mean she doesn't love or care for you. She's just trying to figure everything out herself." I tried to explain, "Sometimes you need to think about things from her point of view, and not so much about yours."

********* Lucy's POV

It had only been a couple of days, but with everything that had happened, it felt like a lifetime. Seeing Wesley and Jordan was like having a piece of home with me. It was a comfort I much needed.

"Lucy, are you alright?" Wesley was first to ask.

"Yes, I'm fine. Well, physically. I'm just worried about everything, and to tell the truth, I'm a bit scared." I sighed, clutching my arm nervously and looking down at my feet.

"Everything is going to be alright eventually. Let's meet Rowen again and see what his plan is." Jordan suggested.

"Okay, let's find them. This is Arthur's home, but I don't think this is where Rowen plans on staying. I think it is just a stop on the way." I shrugged.

We entered the kitchen to see Rowen throwing something away in the trash. He was stone faced and stoic. He didn't seem fazed by our entrance and seemed to almost be outright ignoring us. Arthur smiled and eyed Rowen.

"How about some lunch? Who's hungry? Maybe we could talk over everything at the table?" Arthur suggested. I nodded and followed him into the dining room.

Arthur pulled out a chair for me, and I graciously sat down, thanking him. He smiled encouragingly as he took his seat at the head of the table. Rowen took the seat next to me at Arthur's right side. Wesley sat directly across from Rowen, their eyes locking as they stared each other down. Jordan eyed them and Arthur as he took his seat next to his brother, not knowing what to expect next. The tension between those two was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

"Thank you, friends, old and new, for coming to stay with me. I rarely have visitors, so this is a treat for me to have a full house." Arthur always trying to be a peacemaker clapped his hands as he had last night at dinner. Before us was a grilled chicken breast, small strawberry salad, and a glass of lemonade. I smiled as everything looked wonderful.

"Arthur, I was wondering earlier while outside. It's late December. How do you have a full garden, flowers, and flourishing fields of corn?" I asked, truly curious.

He laughed, "This place is enchanted, so it is always about June outside. The crops grow, then I harvest, and then they grow again. Winter never touches here. You will also notice that no cars ever travel down the road either. No one can come here unless I invite them. The enchantments on this land are centuries old, and the deed automatically passes to my heir after my death, the same as it did my father and grandfather before me."

"Wow, that is amazing." He smiled appreciately at my fascination. I bit into my chicken and let out a soft moan at how delicious it was. I was purposely ignoring the tension between the guys, hoping they would grow up and settle it on their own.

Arthur, Jordan, and I all ate enjoying our lunch. Wesley and Rowen, on the other hand, seemed to be locked in a battle of wits that I wanted nothing to do with. Jordan looked at me, pleading to do something. I sighed, looking over to the two of them.

"Rowen," I decided to start gently. I laid my hand on top of his, causing him to calm and look down at me. "What is your plan? I know we can't continue to intrude on Arthur's hospitality, and the longer we stay with him, the more we put him at risk."

He stared at me for a moment and then looked back at Wesley and Jordan angrily. I squeezed his hand gently to regain his attention. He turned back to me, sighed, and closed his eyes, frustrated. He didn't answer or open his eyes back.

"I know you don't like the idea of them being here, but this is the situation now. They are trustworthy and will help us." I continued to push.

He opened his eyes to look at me. Then he pushed back his chair to stand and walked out of the room to go upstairs without a word. He hadn't even touched his food.

Arthur sighed, "You better follow him and see if you can get him to come around."

I nodded and left to follow him. I don't have any idea of what to do or how to fix this. My interactions with people were a fairly new thing since I learned I was a wolf the day my Aunt Rosalind came to the manor. Now I have to take charge and wrangle all these men? Is that what a queen would be responsible for dealing with? I need to work on stepping up and being a good leader, but that is a lot of pressure. Why can't they just grow up? I paused outside his door and rubbed my temple.

Taking a deep breath, I turned the knob and walked into his room without knocking. I know he could hear me coming up the stairs, and I'm pretty sure he wanted me to follow him.

His room was grey with navy curtains. It was basically the same layout as mine, but more masculine decor. There was a large rustic bed made out of barn wood with a blue and white striped comforter. He sat on the side of it, looking out the windows.

I walked over and flopped down next to him. He didn't move or acknowledge my presence. This was getting annoying really fast. I rolled my eyes and huffed.

"Okay, so is this what we're doing now?" I paused to see if he would say anything in his defense, but there was nothing. "Alright, this has to be the dumbest, most childish behavior for a twenty-three year old. I don't have the patience or time for this crap."

I stood to walk out, but he grabbed my hand to pull me back. I stopped looking back at him and noticed his eyes going back and forth between glowing and not. He was fighting his wolf for control. I tilted my head confused and came back to stand in front of him. His eyes were full of emotions, too many to keep up with. Then he leaned in and hugged my waist.

Why was he always acting like a heartbroken little boy? It really yanked at my heartstrings. I put one hand around to hug him back, and with the other, I brushed my fingers through his soft hair. He looked up at me with those beautiful storm blue eyes filled with sadness, and I had this urge to kiss him. I fought against it but brushed a few stray strands of his hair out of his eyes. He quickly swept me up into his lap with ease.

"Rowen?"

"Do you love him?" He asked, staring down at me now trapped in his arms. I laughed. He looked down at me, confused.

"Of course I do," I felt his grip on me tighten, "I love both of them like brothers."

His grip loosened as he continued to listen.

"That's probably why my father made that their cover. I don't have any siblings. They are the closest thing I've got. Plus, I'm definitely not their mate, and I do take the mate bond seriously. I saw how my parents were together. How devastating it was for my father to lose his mate. How my aunt and uncle are. I want that kind of bond and love..."

*********** Rowen's POV

She looked so tiny and fragile cradled in my arms, but the most beautiful creature I had ever laid my eyes on. Hearing her last words made my heart skip faster with excitement. She might not fully open up to the idea just yet that I am her mate, but she was willing to figure things out, it seemed. I brushed her cheek with my fingers just staring down at her.

"Are we okay now?" She asked softly.

"Yes, I'm sorry. You're right. I'm being childish. It's just my wolf, and I don't want to share you with anyone. We see you as ours, and I can be a bit possessive, I guess."

I gave her a sly smile, and she rolled her eyes. She began to wiggle, trying to get free.

"Where do you think you're going?" I said playfully with a smirk.

"I'm hungry, and my food is probably cold by now, thanks to you." She pouted, unable to get free.

I began to tickle her, and she started to giggle while squirming worse. Her laughter sounded like soft music trinkling out.

"Stop it!" She giggled, "Rowen, seriously, I can't take it."

Suddenly Wesley came bursting into the room steaming mad. Staring at me, holding and touching Lucy. Jordan and Arthur hot on his heels to stop him. Lucy froze. I became furious.

"Let go of her now." Wesley growled at me.

I stood up swiftly, gently placing Lucy down and pushing her behind me.

"This is my mate. MINE! Who do you think you are bursting in my room and ordering me around? I certainly rank higher than you, and no one will come between her and me." I snarled at him, fully prepared to rip this place apart to get to him.

Lucy put her hand on my shoulder to try and hold me back. Jordan did the same to Wesley. Arthur stood frozen, not knowing what to do. He seemed on the fence about something.

"You might rank higher than me second prince, but you don't rank higher than a king. I have been sent by King Athelstad Grey himself to speak for him in his absence and to protect his daughter at all costs even from you." Wesley continued to stand his ground.

"Wesley, he wasn't hurting me. We were playing. He was just tickling me." Lucy pleaded. I didn't move or cave.

He stared me down as he continued, "The king said to remind you that his daughter has still not fully accepted you as her mate yet. She has also been sheltered and maybe naive about men. You are to act accordingly and respectfully to her as she is an innocent young lady and a proper princess. In short, keep your grimy paws to yourself, Blackwood!"

He spat the last sentence out at me in distaste. I wasn't doing anything inappropriate, and she is my mate. Who is he to interfere? She wasn't in any danger with me.

Lucy went rigid and blushed scarlet from head to toe. I began to lunge forward, as did Wesley. I was beyond ready to beat the crap out of this punk when suddenly Lucy screamed, making us both freeze.

"STOP! STOP IT RIGHT NOW!" She bellowed in full Alpha tone that shook the walls. "ENOUGH! I am beyond done with this nonsense, and we haven't even made it completely through the day."

All four of us men stood to attention for this small woman as I was sure she wasn't finished on her tirade. Both Wesley and Jordan bared their necks in submission to her while I smirked.

"Wesley, I am fully capable of making decisions for myself. Thank you for your concern. How dare you make me feel as if I have come in here and lowered my own standards and morals, accusing me of just throwing my dignity out the window. I am not some dime store floosy, just giving myself away. I would think that you and my father would have more faith in my ability to remain a lady. Dear Lord, I'm not that weak." She threw her hands up it the air in anger before turning on me.

"And as for you, stop it! I'm not doing anything with anyone just yet, and then it will be for my wolf and I to decide. You don't own me. No one owns me. I'm not a prize to be won, so stop with this childish nonsense and grow up! All of you can back off and either be my friends or walk away now. I have had it up to here," She stretched her arm as high as it would go for dramatics. "I am going to my room, and I want to be left alone. Please try not to frickin' kill eachother while I'm gone."

She shoved through me and Wesley to get out of my room, and then slammed her door so hard I'm surprised it didn't break. Then screamed again in frustration when she was on the other side.

"Well, just great. You both have gone and done it now. I hope you're happy," Arthur shook his head and walked away. Wesley slumbed his shoulders and slantered out like a scolded puppy with his brother following him.

Ugh! I sat back down and held my head in my hands. I had gone and done it. She was right. I was a mess. I have never been this out of control before. Ryker was always the one out of control. I was composed, calm, collected, and this one little girl had thrown a wrench in all that without even doing anything. These feelings I have for her were making me crazy.

Kane, "That i***t was way out of line barging in here like that and making assumptions. She is our mate. What right does he or anyone else have to come between us."

"Shut up, Kane. As right as that may be, we could have handled it better, and you know it. We're just going to scare her off and push her away. Now stop and let me think of a way to get us out of this mess."

How do I fix this mess? She's beyond mad and with reason. I have these two extra vagabonds to deal with. This wasn't in my plan. I planned to take her to the ranch and slowly win her over. I figured as we spent time with each other and grew to know each other better, she would slowly fall in love with me. I guess it was selfish of me to want to keep her all to myself. She's right. I don't own her.

Arthur had told me I needed to see things from her point of view. I was blinded by her beauty and this stupid mate bond. Who was she? That's what I really needed to figure out and what would make her happy. Having her and her loving me were just selfish thoughts about what I wanted. Arthur could see that even when my head was clouded.

Kane, "As much as I hate to say it, you know exactly how to fix it and make her happy... Accept those two mutts down there. We have to prove to her that even though we don't like it, we care about her more."

I let out a deep breath, and as much as I do hate to admit it, my wolf is right. I have to fix things with those idiots, and then her.