The Princess and Her Lycan Pirate

the aftermath

While the sound of the church bells died aways James was looking into Alan's eyes with a smile. Suddently this smile turned into a painfull expression. His wolf made himself present in his head and talked to him calmly: “Why do you look over to that girl? Yes, she is breathtaking but our mate is over there! Can't you smell her? She smells like a warm summer day!” James' heart ached. Oh yes, he could smell his mate and yes again it was intoxicating for him but Alana was the one his heart had always desired. He couldn't believe that she wasn't his mate. And when he let his eyes sliding over the crowd he found his mate without problem. Actually he knwe who it was before he saw her because since he could remember he had deep feelings for her as well.

His eyes went back to Alana and with sadness on his gaze he shook his head slightly. Then he dropped his chin to his chest.

Alana's heart was racing. How is it possible that they are not mates? She could feel his pain. It was her pain as well and it was eating her alive. Suddently she had problems breathing and leanded havily onto her mother. Amena took her daughter into her arm, knowing too well what was going on inside of her. Edward and Ginessa seemed confused. Edward went over to his son and whispered: “ Whatever it is, we will talk later about it. But for now, let your wolf take over! Give him control and run, son, that will help, trust me!”

James looked into his father's eyes and nodded slowly. Then he closed his eyes and concentrated on being a wolf. He thought about running through the forest on four paws. Smelling the deer, the water stream, the earth and all the wolves around him. Markus and Connor were already in their wolf form waiting for him.

Everbody was quiet watching the young man. Then it was audible for everybody, the cracking and rearranging of bones, the growing of a snout ...Alana couldn't watch any more. All she knew was that he was not her's and she wasn't his.

Once the process was finished and James stood there in his wolf he let out a sad howl. He was mourning the loss of his childhood sweatheart. For Alana it was a good bye.

Connor and Markus jumped onto the stage and nodged James to follow them. All three were then running towards the forest. The crowd cheered not knowing about the heartache and drama that just happened. Conall quickly walked to the front and congratulated his best friend and mate to the handsome grey wolf with black ears and black paws that James had turned into. The crowd cheered again and raised their glasses as they could see the three young wolves now entering the forest.

The celebrations were now officially over. Edward and Ginessa weren't tired and started to say their good buys to the people living near by that just wanted to go home. A huge group of young Alphas with their Lunas and some unmated young wolves wanted to continue celebrating. Edward let them party in his huge garden (more a park) and just reminded everybody that he wasn't keen on drunken wolves roaming his mansion. The elderly wolves excused themselves and went to their homes to bed.

Conall and Amena had a mind link conversation about what to do. Initially it was planned to allow Grian and Alana to stay awake till everybody was going home. Normally that would mean by dawn. That was the time they expected the freshly changed James back with Connor and Markus. But now...their daughter was heart broken. Amena and Conall were in complete agreement, as usual. So when Edward walked over to them Conall didn't hesitate: “Edward, my dear friend, I know we had planned a few drinks together and a few dances with our mates but I'm afraid, we can't stay. We will head back to our castle straight away. You understand...Alana doesn't feel like celebrating and we just don't feel like it neither.”

“Even though I do understand I urge you to stay! Please! Grian was so excited to spend the night awake with Alana. Maybe this is what the girls need right now. I'm still hoping, that James only misread his wolf's signals or that his wolf pranked him for being such a love sick puppy! I beg you, stay! If we break them up now the air between them will be uncomfortable forever. Let the girls have their night and when James comes back he will talk to Alana and explain himself. At least for one drink together!”

Amena smiled “Because you hardly do that together, right?! But I agree with you, Grian and Alana need their night to talk and then James and Alana need a chance to channel their love into friendship. Hopefully it will work!” Conall looked at his mate with a hopefull grin: “And you don't mind if my good friend Edward and I will have a drink or two?” - “No, I don't, as long as you two don't over do it! I just remember the state you two were in when Connor got his wolf!” Conall kissed his mate passionately, gave Alana a peck on her forhead and said to her: “I promis you, you will forget about him! As soon as you find your mate he won't count anymore in that way and you will even forget that you ever loved him.”

Alana thought that that was a stupid way of calming her down! The earliest she would find her mate was in two years time when she would have her wolf! And even then it wasn't guaranteed that she found her mate straight away! Her father had to wait five years to find his mate!

But it made her smile. While Edward and Conall walked over to other importand guests to get a drink and talk, Amena took her daughter in front of her “Don't listen too closly to your dad! Yes, as soon as you find your mate your heart will stop hurting but for now the best thing to do is to enjoy yourself! Young Adonis was quiet taken in by you...maybe you talk to him for a bit?” Before her daughter could answer, Amena waved young Adonis over “Don't say no. I didn't say jump on him and kiss him! All I said was: Talk to him for a bit.” She turned around when she sensed the young man approaching “Ah, young Adonis, here you are! Grian is still talking to guests with her mother and I have to follow my duty as Queen and talk to other Lunas, would you be so kind and keep my daughter company till her friend comes back?” Adonis bowed to Amena “Of course I will, with pleasure!” Amena looked at her daughter and mind linked her “Try to enjoy his company. What happened wasn't anybody's fault! It was just life!”

She excused herself and walked off. Conall had watched everything and gave his wife a bewildered look for leaving their daughter with a young man alone, cousin or not, but she just mind linked him to mind his friends and let her daughter talk to the young man in peace.

Adonis stood there and watched Alana. After a short while he sighed and offered her his arm “Let's go and get you some grape juice.” Alana got a hanckerchief out of her dress poket and dried her tears away. Then she took his arm and guided him to a bench in front of the garden. On the way they met a servent and told him to bring her a juice and him another wine.

Once they sat down Adonis watched her again for a while before he started speaking: “What was all that about? This wasn't my first turning party, but it was the first where the young wolf was so sad.”

Alana swollowed hard “James' wolf told him that I'm not his mate.” It didn't hurt as much as she thought first. Saying it out loud made her realise that she had known it before and that she was actually not hurt because she wasn't his mate, she was sad because it had hurt him! Weird!

It didn't take Adonis long to understand “So, the clock struck 12, he got his wolf and this wolf told him straight away: Nope, not the one.” Alana nodded her head. “And now? Are you sad? How do you feel? I mean, you are still just a child!” That stung “I'm not a child! I'm a young woman! Only a few hours ago I kissed him passionately! Don't say I was a child! In your human world I would be married off this season!”

Adonis' lips crimped and he became sarcastic “Sorry, your highness! I forgot, I am the mere human without a wolf that can tell him which woman is meant to be his! At least I don't have said wolf who can boss me around and let me ignore the most beautiful girl on earth!” Alana sat up straight “What do you mean by that?”

“Alana, you are stunning! Do you actually understand what you are doing to men with just one look of your eyes and one smile? This James was lucky enough to kiss you today and he is stupid enoug to let you go just because his wolf told him to? If I had a wolf I would have told him to do one! I'm still part Lycan. I might have not a wolf but my need to find the one she wolf is still there! Believe me, I have tried to find a woman for me! For years now! To answer your question from before I am 23. Since I was 18 I went to every single mating ball in the hope that a she wolf would tell me that I was her's and she was mine! And evey year I was dissapointed again! My cousin, the human King tried to order me a few times now to find myself a nice girl on the debutant ball but till now I refused to anticipate. I don't want to marry a girl and then suddently one day a beautiful young she wolf tells me that I was born for her! Do you understand me? It is just so frustrating! I want everything that your world could give me and on the other hand I just don't understand how you can just sit there and accept that he is not for you! If I was in his place I would have ignored my wolf because you are all a man can possibly want!”

The servant came with the glasses and Adonis took theirs, gave Alana her's, gulped his down in one and ordered another one. The servant looked a bit shocked but didn't say a word and left with a deep bow. Alana took a sip and looked shyly at Adonis “I have never looked at it from that side. Maybe you are right and it is stupid to wait for the right one but, you know, it is still better this way, than him persuing me and then running off with his mate one day. But speaking of, didn't you just say, that you have been waiting yourself for 'the one' for years now? So what ist so different? And my heart doesn't even hurt that much. After he told me I wasn't his I realised that I love him because he was the only unmated man around that wasn't related to me! I always have. Even when I kissed him, deep down, I could feel that we are not meant to be. To be totally honest, when I was sitting next to you talking I felt the same attraction that I felt with him. It was just impossible for me to admit it to myself.”

Adonis' eyes opened wide “Does this mean there is a chance that I am your mate?” His voice was trembling. Alana smiled at him “All I'm saying is, that I feel the same attraction, I didn't say that I loved you! How could I tell you you were my mate if my wolf doesn't come out till I'm 18?”

Adonis got up from the bench, kneeled down in front of Alana, took her hand and looked deep into her eyes “I will wait! Anything for you! Even if I'm not your mate I will wait and try to win your heart. Maybe we can just be together till you find your mate. If there is a chance to be yours forever than I will grab it with both hands!”

“Get up!” Alana pulled Adonis off the ground and looked nervously around whether anybody had witnessed him kneeleng in front of her!

Just this second Grian walked over to them grinning. “Am I interrupting something?”

Alana blushed and Adonis just admired her even more. “No, Grian, you don't. Adonis was just telling me that he is joyning the debutant ball this year for the first time, like me. And then he showed me how a human man would propose to a woman.”

Adonis turned to Grian with a smile “I don't think I had the pleasure, my name is Adonis Arch Duke of the Eastern Moors, and you must be the goddess of the sun visiting us humble creatures, how do you do?” He took her hand and placed a soft kiss on it. Grian giggled: “My dear cousin, we were introduced earlier! It must have slipped your mind after seeing our beautiful Alana here! My name is Grian and I am your cousin Eilidh's daughter!”

Adonis looked a bit crestfallen. He was brought up do be the most observing and polite young man and then he forgot his own cousin! “As an apology let me get you a juice and then the three of us can sit down and talk about the human world.” He gave the girls a wink and walked away to get refreshments.

Grian sat down next to Alana and looked at her face. Once Alana looked up at her, Grian wiggled her eye brows. “What? We were just talking!” - “Just talking, my ass!” Alana covered her mouth when she heard such a word from her cousin “I saw the way he looked at you! And when we were still eating it looked like he would've preferred to eat you instead of the lovely steak in front of him!”

Alana had only time to slap Grian's arm before Adonis came back. He sat himself inbetween the two girls and they started to talk about the dresses, the dressmaker had made for Alana and the trick her aunty told her to do in order to seem poor. Adonis laughed a lot but had to admit that most men were really just interested in marrying a rich or powerfull girl. They talked for hours, laughing at Adonis' stories of the noble world and the way they were getting married and then making each other's life hell. The girls got very tired and both leaned their heads onto Adonis' well built shoulders. He put his arms around both girls to give them stability and just enjoyed the moment.

Here he was, sitting on a bench watching the sun coming out and having the most beautiful girls sleeping on his chest! Life was beautiful! Till he heard a dangerous growl behind him.