The Lycan King's Secret Mate

chapter 5

Maddox POV

I can’t believe I let Leo take control even if it was only for a second. “Like you could keep me from my mate.”

“She is not our mate Kara is.”

“You chose Kara, the Moon Goddess gave me Lucy. They are not the same.”

“Leo, be reasonable. Kara is an Alpha and she has large pack that will make good allies. We can’t cast her aside for an Omega that has nothing to offer.”

“She doesn’t have to have anything to offer she is our mate. And any wolf would understand if you ended your engagement because you found your fated mate.”

“We’re done with this conversation. Father linked me he needs to talk now.”

Leo finally retreated and gave me some peace. I know he wants his mate but he has to understand that sometimes sacrifices must be made for the good of the kingdom. I make my way to my father’s office and knock before going in. “You wanted to see me?”

“Ah Maddox yes, I did,” he rubs his temples looking like he’s aged years since I last saw him just a few weeks ago. “We have a problem with the timing of the ceremony.”

“What’s the problem?”

“Rumblings of an enemy we thought long gone have resurfaced. I’m concerned that the ceremony, my passing the crown to you, is the reason for this resurfacing. I would like to push the ceremony until we can figure out what is going on.”

“You can’t be serious, whatever the problem is we’ll deal with it head on like we always do. I’m not going to let rumblings dictate what we do.”

“Maddox, I know this is an odd request. I know you have been preparing for this since you were only sixteen, but this is something we can’t risk. They may just be rumors right now but this is not like any enemy we have faced before. If it were I would say we go on with this but, even rumors of this enemy are something that should terrify all of us. I’m not talking about werewolves or Lycans –“

“It doesn’t matter who they are,” I cut him off, agitated that he is acting so weak right now, “we will face them with our allies if you’re this concerned about it.”

“Damn it, you need to listen to me,” he yells standing and punching his desk. “We are talking about something beyond your comprehension boy. You think because you have fought in a few wars you know everything? You have no idea what we’re up against.”

“Then explain it to me!” I was furious and I know that my father had taken some convincing when it came to retiring so part of me thinks that this was all something he created to keep himself on the throne longer. S.hit, as soon as that thought hits me I feel bad for thinking it. My father has always been a good leader, he wouldn’t pull something underhanded like this. “I’m sorry for yelling, it’s been a long few days.” I slump down in the chair opposite him. “Can you please just tell me what has got you so rattled days before the ceremony? This isn’t like you to be so worried about an enemy.”

My father sat back down and put his head in his hands. I was starting to get a little worried, I had never seen him act like this. “I suppose I should have spoken with you about this before, but we really thought he was gone. It’s been close to 80 years since anyone has seen him. Your grandfather fought against him in the great battle all those years ago, I only know about him because of what he passed on to me. I wasn’t old enough to be involved at that point in time. Actually,” he takes a deep breath and finally looks up at me. “I was old enough technically speaking to go to war for my pack, but my father forced me to stay behind in case anything happened to him.

“He went to battle against Proteus. It was a bloodbath; he had been trying for years to bring the old man down to no avail. He is a master manipulator, and has special gifts that make fighting against him almost impossible and fighting for him almost impossible to resist.”

“I’ve never heard of this enemy; I know grandfather fought in a great battle but all you’ve ever taught me about it is that he was able to create alliances between packs that had never been done before and they were victorious.”

“I know, I should have told you more. I should have told you the whole truth. Yes he did create a super alliance but that was because he had to. Proteus was creating devastation and destruction everywhere he went, mistrust was high, packs were fearful of everyone, it was a really dangerous time.”

“And how did one man manage to do all that?” I was curious, we had faced numerous enemies in the past, other packs, rogues, sometimes even witches but none of them created the widespread issues my father seemed to be alluding to.

“He’s a shapeshifter.”

“Okay,” I respond slowly, technically we were shapeshifters and there were various other shifter types.

“No, no, no, it’s not what you’re thinking. I’m not talking about a werewolf, or werebear, or any other type of animal shifting. Maybe shapeshifter isn’t even the right word for what he is. He can change his appearance at will, unlike anything you have ever seen. He can become any person by looking at them. And you can’t tell that the person standing in front of you is him and not the real person he is portraying. You have no idea the kind of problems that caused. Lunas and Alphas were sleeping with him thinking he was their mate, you know what happens to a mated pair when one of them cheats. They had no idea what they were doing but the effect was the same, pack hierarchy was destabilized when Lunas or Alphas became heartbroken. One Luna even took her own life after she realized what had happened, which further hurt their Alpha. His wolf died after his mate took her life, and then he died a few weeks later, and they didn’t have an heir.

“He shifted into ranked members and joined confidential pack meetings, using the knowledge he learned there to attack pack weaknesses, to attack between warrior shift changes, to attack ranked members when they would be traveling. He was taking down packs left and right with the army he had amassed. It took years to create alliances without suspicion, even once the war began suspicion ran amok. It wasn’t until Proteus was gravely injured and unable to shift that we were able to declare victory and go back to our normal lives.”

“What the h.ell, why have I never heard about this?”

“Because we thought he was gone, he disappeared after the battle and nobody has seen or heard from him since. But now, we’ve been hearing rumors about people becoming confused because they spoke with their mate or their mate spoke with them about something and the other one doesn’t remember anything. Rumors of wolves seeing someone they know walk bye then seeing the same person walk in to where they are a minute later.”

“Father, these could be coincidences, or something else entirely.”

“They could be, but I have a bad feeling about it and Proteus had always vowed to get his revenge on your grandfather for leading the charge against him. What better time to come back now than during a transition of power?”

“I guess I can see where you’re coming from but it still seems a little farfetched to me.”

“That may be, but I would like to look into these cases before we proceed with your ceremony. I won’t push it off forever but as of right now I would like to push it off until next month at least.”

I had never seen him so rattled, and even though I wanted this ceremony to happen more than anything if it would help set his mind at ease I guess I could push it off. “Okay, if that’s what you think is best.”

“Thank you Maddox, come by my office tomorrow so we can discuss this more.”

“Will do.”