Rejected, Now An Untouchable Lycan Princess

Conference

Luca’s pov

I stared at the invitation to the alpha’s conference that was to be held in the southern kingdom. It was the first of its kind. Honestly, I was somewhat surprised that they invited me to the Southern Kingdom. Although there was no animosity between the clans of both kingdoms, we usually kept to ourselves. I decided to accept the invitation anyway. Especially as our Crown Prince sent an email to all the Northern packs, encouraging us to participate in the conference.

The door opened. Rayna’s scent diffused into the room. I looked at her. She was dressed like she usually dressed: a low-cut top and a pair of jeans. Smiling, I gestured for her to sit on my lap – like she always did if she found me alone in the office. She sashayed inside, sat down on my lap, and threw her hand over my neck before giving me a kiss on the neck.

“Hi, baby,” she mumbled under her breath.

“Hey,” I said, gently tucking her hair behind her ear. “Did you miss me?”

“Yes. You have been working too hard lately. I barely see you,” she said. “What’s this?”

She took the invitation from my hand. Upon seeing the royal seal, her eyes lit up. “Is this a party? Are we invited?”

She started to read it.

“No,” I said. “It is an invitation to an alpha’s conference which is held in the southern kingdom.”

She made a face. “The southern kingdom? Why?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. This is the first conference. All the alphas of both kingdoms are invited, so I am eager to join.”

“How do you know all were invited?”

“The prince sent an email, urging all alphas to join. It addressed all of us.”

Her lips pressed together.

“Oh,” she said as she slipped the cream-coloured card back inside its envelope. “So are you leaving? For how long?”

“It is a one-day conference, so I will be back before you know it.”

“Are we invited?” She asked, looking at me with hopeful eyes.

I sighed. “I am afraid not. The invitation only addressed the alphas.”

She pouted. "But I would be so bored here," she said.

“Come on. You won’t be bored. It is just one day. Lina will be around. Help her around with the pack’s work.”

She rolled her eyes. “She doesn’t like me. Why would she want to hang out with me?”

“But you are the pack’s Luna, and you will be announced officially soon. You and she will have to work together.”

“But…” she complained. “I will be so lonely.”

I sighed again. “Come on. Do something fun with the pack members. Spend time with them. You don’t have to stay indoors all the time. You are their Luna.”

She grimaced. “What do I do with them? Play hopscotch?”

I sighed. “I think volunteering at the hospital and the orphanage is a great pastime.”

Her grimace deepened. “Eww. The hospital is gross, and the orphanage is full of spoiled little pups. I can’t deal with them.”

My eyebrows rose. Sam had no problems doing that. I guess I shouldn’t compare her and Rayna. They were different individuals.

“I really want to see the inside of a palace,” she said.

“Okay. I will FaceTime you. That way, you will see it. Remember, I won’t be allowed to wander around, so I can show you only the places I am allowed to be. But I just can’t take you with me to the conference.”

***

Our prince was at the palace of the southern kingdom before us on the day of the conference. We offered our respects and took the destined seats. Since the southern kingdom, the king, queen and their daughter officiated the conference, they were to be seated in the centre. I had seen pictures of King Jones and Queen Amelia, but their daughter was shielded from the public eye. I didn’t pay attention to them anyway, as they were not my king and queen.

However, I had a feeling today marked the beginning of a massive change. Why else would they invite all the alphas of both kingdoms to a conference?

I made small talk with the neighbouring alphas. My eyes caught the attention of Alpha Salvatore. My jaw ground at his sight. What a jerk. He had the nerve to show up after what he did to Rayna. But this wasn’t the time or place to confront him.

Besides, Rayna made me promise to let it go when I talked about standing up to him. I wanted revenge for unfair imprisonment, while she wanted to forgive. So I inhaled a deep breath and looked the other way. I didn’t want to greet him or talk to him about anything. I was pretty blunt and had no intention of putting up with his lies. If we were to talk, he would have to own up to what he did and apologise.

Time ticked away. As soon as the clock struck nine, the Royal Highnesses walked into the conference room. Our prince, too, entered the room with them. We stood up and observed as the royals took their seats. The king, the queen, and a slim girl with jet black hair…

Wait… that girl looked familiar.

My heart raced. Dressed in a rich cream-coloured garment, that girl surely looked like Samantha. I rubbed my eyes and looked again. Were my eyes playing tricks on me? That girl looked just like her, but how could that be my ex-mate? She was a wolf-less commoner.

I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She smiled at the crowd, holding her posture with elegance suitable for a royal queen, and sat with her legs tucked in as her father made the opening speech.

“Alphas of all the clans. I welcome all of you to the first alpha conference. There are a few important announcements we have to make today, but first, I will allow my daughter, Her Royal Highness, Princess Samantha, to give a short briefing of how today’s conference will proceed.”

Princess Samantha…

I couldn’t believe my ears.

“Thank you, father, your royal highness, King Jones.”

Her voice echoed in the conference room. That was definitely her voice. Samantha… the royal princess of the south. I felt as though I was struck by lightning. She was a princess. The heir of the southern kingdom. After realisation hit me like a tonne of bricks, I couldn’t follow what was said in the conference. I couldn’t focus. She had hidden her identity the whole time she lived in the Black Hunters. I couldn’t fathom why. Did she do it out of fear that we might usurp her?

I quickly took my phone and searched for the southern kingdom’s heir’s name. My lips pressed into a tight line when her name came up.

Of course, it was her. Why else would King Jones allow her to take charge of the ceremony? I somewhat listened to them. They spoke about merging the kingdoms and having to work together as one united dominion. I didn’t mind. Perhaps nothing would change. The only difference is that she would be my queen after the coronation.

Weird… my ex-mate is suddenly becoming my supreme leader.

Time and ceremonies passed. I barely kept up with everything. During lunch break, we went to the buffet prepared in our honour. The feast was remarkable, and everyone was having a great time. Although I mingled with the other alphas, I was still shaken up. Lunch break was almost over when I smelt her fragrance in the hall. My head snapped in the direction of her scent.

There she was, talking to one of the omegas who worked as a waiter. I walked briskly towards her, determined to look for answers. The waiter bowed her head and walked away, leaving her alone.

Perfect.

I wanted to talk to her by myself. I had so many questions I wanted answers to.

Why did she keep her identity a secret? What was she trying to achieve by getting engaged to our crown prince? My breathing was shallow as I grabbed her by the arm. She looked alarmed.

“Samantha,” I said, breathing out heavily. “Why didn’t you tell us you were the princess of the southern kingdom?”

A frown creased her forehead as she gracefully pulled back and held her chin high. She looked calm… but distant and perhaps slightly confused.

“Hello, Luca. I kept my identity a secret from everyone for private reasons.” She offered an archaic smile. “It is good to see my best friend’s brother at this historic event. We hope to host one conference annually. I hope to work with all the werewolf packs in the future.”

I was confused. Why was she talking like that? Was she angry about the rejection?

I couldn’t utter another word because our crown prince walked over. I bowed my head. He was my supreme leader, and I had to respect him.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the way she looked at him. Her eyes lit up the way they used to light up whenever she saw me. She linked her arm with his and looked at me.

“Luca, this is my fiancé. Lina must have told you about the engagement. My father will announce our marriage at the conference soon. I am telling you because you are my best friend’s brother.”

“It is time to go back in,” his royal highness, Prince Axel said.

“Yes,” she replied to him before looking at me. “See you back in there.”

As they strolled out of the hall hand in hand, I realised one thing. She no longer cared about me. I could only watch, speechless, as the woman who looked at me with nothing but love poured her heart out for someone else. She didn’t even acknowledge me as her ex-mate.

Yes, it stung. Did my rejection hurt her so much that she chose to ignore what we used to have?