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- mimibandy7
- Jul 25, 2021
- 19 min read
I’ll never forget the day. It was three months ago on our eighteenth birthday. Even though I usually just wear leggings and tees to school, I wore a cute green sundress for the occasion. Caleb always said he loved me in green because it made my eyes pop.
I had carefully ran a straightening iron through my hair, put on some lip gloss, and raced downstairs to meet Caleb who always drove me to school, and I just knew that we would feel our mate spark, I was so certain.
Caleb and I had dated four years. He was two years older than me, but we had basically grew up together, and had always been close. He asked me out when I was fourteen and we were inseparable. I was there for him at every football game, I was there when his dad passed away, and I was there when he took over being Alpha of our pack.
We spent every single day together. I snuck out to meet him every night. When we weren’t together, we were texting each other. We talked about everything together, shared all our thoughts and feelings.
But on that morning of my eighteenth birthday when I opened the door, Caleb froze.
I watched in horror as he sniffed the air and stepped past me where he looked up the stairs to see Lily. Lily, who looked beautiful in her hot pink mini dress and nude wedges, at the top of the stares staring back at him.
Then I watched as my boyfriend of four years bounded up the stairs to embrace my sister in a long passionate kiss...
“I can’t decide between the taupe or beige napkins. What do you think, Ava?”
I jerk my head up from the palm of my hand where I had been staring out the dining room window in a daze. I look over at my twin sister who is holding up two napkins that look identical to me.
“Uh…the one on the right?”
My sister makes a face. “Really? Hmm. I don’t know.” She grabs her cell phone and snaps a picture. “I better ask Caleb what he thinks.”
I drop my chin back into my hand and sigh, my gaze drifting back to the open window.
I have no idea why my sister insists on including me on her Luna commencement ceremony planning. She doesn’t take any of my advice, and it’s flat out painful to watch her make plans to spend her future with Alpha Caleb.
Maybe that’s why she does it. To rub it in my face that she is Alpha Caleb’s mate, not me.
I feel a familiar flip in my stomach and the knot that always accompanies it in my throat.
I blink several times and glance over at my sister.
She’s furiously texting away on her phone, a frown on her pretty face.
Lily may be my twin sister, but we couldn’t look or act more different.
While Lily is tall, 5’10, super skinny, and has straight white blond hair and blue eyes, I am short, only 5’2, with dirty blonde wavy hair and green eyes. I’m skinny too, but I have more curves than my sister. My sister is actually pretty flat chested, but you wouldn’t know it with her super padded push up bras.
She has always cared more about her appearance than doing well in school, sports, or even fighting. She’s the only female in the pack with acrylic nails and fake eyelashes. Her long hair is perfect, never one hair out of place, and she always wears bright pink lipstick, short dresses, and super tall high heels.
Caleb and I used to call her barbie behind her back.
I look back to the window and swallow back the lump in my throat.
“Uh!” Lily’s high voice breaks into my thoughts again. She puts down her phone with a flourish and waves a perfectly manicured hand in front of her. She sticks her lips out in a pout. “I don’t know why I even bother trying to include Caleb. He either never answers or just says, ‘whatever you want sweetheart’. It’s like he doesn’t even care that this ceremony binds us together forever.”
I flinch. He used to call me sweetheart, and the thought of them being together forever…oh God, it hurts.
“Ava.” Lily elongates the first A in my name in a super whiney voice.
I look up at her and she’s staring at me with her lips still pouting.
“You aren’t even listening to me.” She accuses, wagging her finger at me. “This is important for you too, it’s important for the entire family that I am becoming the Luna.”
Lord help us all, I think as she sticks her lower lip out even further looking all of about six years old.
This is how Lily is. She never liked to work hard and discovered early on that if she looked pretty and asked nicely, she could always get her way. She never even had to participate in mandatory pack training. Basically, Caleb thought it would be a waste of a partner to make someone train with her. So, Lily got her nails done and stayed on the sidelines to watch and compliment the unmated good-looking guys when it was finished, not worried at all about taking care of herself, some strong man would do it for her one day.
I’ve never even seen Lily shift since she first could at sixteen. (My first shift was at fourteen.) She’s probably worried it would mess up her nails.
“Could you pretty please talk to Caleb for me?” She tilts her head and smiles at me as she reaches across the table to grab my hand. “Just tell him that it would be nice of him to show a little more enthusiasm? Tell him that I feel like he doesn’t even love me when he acts like he doesn’t care about my ceremony.” She bats her eyelashes at me and sticks out her lower lip.
This is another thing Lily always does. She seems to think that the moment she mated to Caleb that all my feelings for him, and his for me, just completely evaporated into excitement for her. She is always asking me to talk to him about their relationship, “since we use to be such good friends.”
Well, maybe his feelings did evaporate for me, but it wasn’t that easy for me. I still think about him all the time. I miss him and I miss talking to him.
Ever since he mated to my sister, we’ve barely talked at all, unless it was something Lily wanted me to ask or tell him, which I always did through text.
“Lily…Alpha Caleb is away fighting right now.” I emphasize fighting. I feel like I am dealing with a self-obsessed toddler sometimes. I try not to roll my eyes.
“I can’t believe he is even texting you at all right now. Aren’t you worried more about him even making it home safely?”
Lily straightens up and flips her hair over her shoulder.
“Of course, I worry about him, but he’s an Alpha, he can take care of himself.” She waves her hand dismissively at me and then starts shuffling through different colored ribbons on the table. “He has beta Ralph to watch his back too. He’ll be fine.” She says this last bit casually, but she steals a glance at me to see my reaction to her mentioning beta Ralph.
She’s been trying to set me up with Caleb’s best friend and beta, Ralph, ever since she mated with Caleb. She keeps dropping all these hints on how perfect it would be if we both got to live in the packhouse together. And oh, what fun we could have on double dates.
No thank you. I will only ever see Ralph as the annoying third wheel on countless number of dates over the years. Not to mention, I know that Lily use to hook up with him. I mean, eww. No thank you. And I really don’t find the idea of living in the packhouse with my sister and my ex-boyfriend that appealing.
I’ll wait until I find my mate before I date anyone else. Or, I’ll just be alone forever. That’s better then spending four years in love with someone just for them to mate with someone else.
I sigh and watch Lily separating different color ribbons into sections in front of her.
She glances up at me. “Well?”
“Well…what?”
She sags her shoulders and rolls her eyes upward. “Uh! Ava! Caleb…?”
“Oh.” I fiddle with a bronze napkin ring on the table. I hear Lily strumming her fingers impatiently on the table. “Fine.”
I reach for my cell and hesitate. I look over at Lily who is watching me.
I sigh again. I click on Caleb’s name and am trying to decide what exactly I should say, when all of a sudden, Caleb’s voice is in my head.
“Ava.” His voice is soft and slightly hesitant. “Are you alone?”
I look over at Lily who is back to studying the napkins.
I stand up, pretending to be typing on my phone, go to the screened in porch, and take a seat on the swinging bench. The same one Caleb and I spent cuddled on or making out on countless nights.
“Yes, I’m alone.”
There’s a pause. “We have visitors coming tomorrow.”
I’m surprised, but I try to keep it out of my thoughts. “Who? Are you on your way back?”
“No. We can’t leave yet. We were instructed to stay here and wait for reinforcements.”
“Instructed?” Since when is an Alpha instructed?
Another pause. “Yes. We came to help the Blue Moon pack defend itself against the Red Night pack, but it looks like the Red Night pack has reinforcements, and they are pretty fierce and growing fast in numbers. Now they’ve caught the attention of the elite.”
“The elite? The Lycan royals?” I’m shocked. The Red Night pack must be gaining a lot of power to draw the Lycans down from the North.
“But what does this have to do with visitors coming here?”
“King Cameron will be bringing some of his pack to stop over on the way to joining us.”
The Lycan King Cameron, here? I start to feel panicky. We’ve never had any Lycan royalty here before, now the king himself?
“Ava, I know you’ve helped plan a lot of visitors before…” I’ve never heard Caleb be so hesitant when speaking before. “I was wondering if you could help Lily prepare for the guests.”
“Of course.”
“And…” It’s the longest pause yet. “Can you make sure Lily wears something appropriate?”
Chapter 2
Ava’s POV
I’m watching Lily running around the great hall.
It’s been three hours since Caleb told me about the visitors and Lily hasn’t blinked since.
When I told her that Lycan King Cameron would be here tomorrow at 11:00 and that she would be expected to act as host, she dropped the napkins from her hands, her face ghost white, and started squealing, ‘oh my god’ over and over.
It took about thirty minutes to snap her out of it and I’ve been gently guiding her through all the preparations.
The thing about Lily is, she wants the help, but she doesn’t always want to know that you are helping. She really wants to be a good Luna and have the respect of the pack, but she doesn’t have a clue on how to host, let alone a Lycan king.
I mean, , I don’t even know how to host a Lycan king.
But I have been making little suggestions quietly to Lily, and she has been repeating them to the chef, maids, and the council.
The Lycan clan will have a buffet lunch, catered dinner, nice clean bedrooms for the night, and a quick breakfast before heading out early the next day.
It’s custom to host a welcome celebration for visiting packs, but given the circumstance of this visit, we decided to host a nice, but more casual style, dinner instead.
I also had Lily add extra members to the patrol, we want to look like a strong pack while our Alpha is away.
I quickly volunteered the night shift. I don’t sleep well anymore anyway, and I’ll be back in time to help get Lily ready in the morning.
I watch as Lily looks around the great hall with a manic expression on her face.
She turns to me. “Do you think it looks ok? Oh my goodness, King Cameron!” She shakes her head in disbelief, her eyes wide. “What was Caleb thinking inviting him here while he was gone?”
“Um, well, I don’t think Caleb had much of a choice in the matter Lily. My guess is, he’d probably rather be here than off fighting some vicious pack.” My sarcastic tone goes right over her head.
“Well, maybe if it goes well, King Cameron will come back afterwards for the Luna ceremony.” Lily nods her head, her eyes getting a dreamy look to them. “Oh, can you imagine. Daphne would just die if we had royalty at the ceremony!”
Daphne was Lily’s frenemy growing up. She mated to a beta at a neighboring pack before Lily mated to Alpha Caleb. Lily was super pouty about Daphne getting such a powerful mate that she wasn’t even going to go to their mate ceremony. Until she mated with Alpha Caleb. Then she was more than happy to show up in a slinky pale pink dress on her new Alpha’s arm.
“Well, you have this under control, I’m going to go get ready for my shift.” Lily nods absently, I’m not sure if it’s at me, or if she’s just nodding at the thought of having a Lycan king at her Luna ceremony to make everyone jealous.
I hurry out of the hall and start running when I reach the road. It’s a short jog to our house where I let myself in the front door up the stairs to my bedroom.
I change into small black athletic shorts and an old grey tank top before throwing my hair into a messy bun on top of my head.
I catch a glimpse of myself in my mirror and feel a fresh wave of pain. I wore this outfit on countless patrols with Caleb.
Shake it off Ava. I take a deep breathe and rush down the stairs, slipping my feet quickly into tennis shoes, and taking off at a run to the patrol meeting spot in the woods.
I love running through the forest, in human and wolf form, it’s such a freeing feeling.
Caleb and I use to go on runs together. We’d run to his aunts abandoned house on the outskirts of town so we could be alone…
I shake my head as I reach the meet up spot. I can’t keep thinking about him. It hurts too much, and I really don’t want anyone seeing these thoughts while we patrol in mindlink together.
Kevin is waiting for me in the clearing where we always meet up to start our patrols. He’s an older man with greying hair, too old to go off to fight other packs, but still able to handle his own against the occasional lone rogue.
I nod at him as I walk over and he nods back.
“Annie and Dave have already left. You can cover the south side tonight, I’ll take the West. Meet back here at 5:00.”
I nod in acknowledgement and go behind a tree to take off my clothes before shifting to my white furred wolf.
I can feel my spirits lift as I bound through the forest, no longer thinking about Caleb or Lily, just letting my mind be blank.
I spend the next several hours letting my mind stay that way, running around the forest, listening and smelling for anything out of the ordinary, enjoying the feel of the forest floor on my paws.
5:00 comes fast. I meet up with the others in the clearing, go behind a tree to get my clothes on, and say a quick hi and bye to the new shift.
I run back home to get ready for the day. I made a promise to Caleb that I would help Lily today, which means I don’t have much time.
As soon as I get home, I shower, dress quickly in a modest pale blue dress, and go to Lily’s room.
I knock and open the door at the same time.
Lily is still in bed, a hot pink sleep mask covering her eyes.
“Lily!” I whisper loudly and poke her arm.
She grunts but doesn’t wake.
“Lily!” I poke her harder and she wakes, pushing her eye mask up. “We need to get ready for the visitors!”
Lily sits upright and her face turns to panic. “King Cameron!” She squeals and jumps out of bed.
It takes a lot of back and forth, but I finally convince Lily into a light pink fitted dress that has a modest top and goes to her knees, instead of the skin tight hot pink mini dress with side cutouts. She still looks amazing, but she isn’t revealing nearly as much skin as she usually does, which is what I think Caleb was hoping for.
Her straight white blond hair is half pulled up in a sophisticated hair do with a diamond covered clip holding it in place and her huge diamond stud earrings exposed.
She looks stunning. She looks like a barbie doll.
We are about to head to the packhouse, just waiting on Lily to grab her purse, when I catch a glimpse of myself in the hall mirror.
I didn’t even take time to blow dry my hair and I’m regretting it as I look in the mirror at my big wavy hair looking like a wild mane around my face.
I open the drawer to a little catch all dresser under the mirror and rummage around for a hair band. I find one and pull my hair back into a quick loose braid down my back.
Lily comes into the hall and looks up from her purse.
“Oh! Ava! Your hair…” She looks wide eyed at my freshly done braid. “You really should leave it down, it looks like you slept on it in that braid, it’s all loose and falling out. I think we have time for you to straighten it…”
“It’s fine Lily.” I walk towards the door. “No one will be looking at me anyway.”
Lily’s face went from a critical frown to a smile instantly. “Oh, you’re right Ava, I’m sure King Cameron will be wanting to talk to the future Luna.” She walks to the door and stops expectantly.
I roll my eyes and step in front of her to open the door for her.
“Let me get that door for you, your highness.” Once again, the sarcasm goes unnoticed.
Lily giggles as she walks through the door. “Oh Ava, I already have a mate, remember? Otherwise, I’m sure King Cameron and I would really get along.”
I throw my head back in an epic eyeroll as I follow her through the door.
How could I forget you already have a mate? I only dated him four years before you took him from me.
I shake my head and catch up to Lily as we walk to the packhouse together, Lily holding on to my arm to keep her steady in her four inch high heels on the uneven pavement. She’s a foot taller than me in them. She used to complain all the time when I insisted on always wearing flats while she wore heels. Being eight inches taller than me already, she said we looked weird next to each other. She changed her mind as she got older though, she liked having everyone looking at her, the tall beauty, instead of the plain shortie next to her.
When we reach the packhouse we pause, people are frantically running around doing last minute touch ups.
“No no!” Lily squeals at a young girl putting white tulips on a table. The girl pauses and looks terrified as Lily hurries toward her, her high heels clicking loudly on the wood floors. “I said I wanted pink roses!!”
I walk over to the buffet table that still has coffee out. I’m going to need a lot of this today after my all nighter. I mix a ton of cream and sugar into my coffee cup and watch my sister freaking out on all the helpers.
I’m just wondering if I might be able to sneak away for a short cat nap when Kevin rushes in the room.
“Lily! They’re here! They arrived early!”
I’m so shocked that I accidently sloosh my coffee down my dress. !
I hastily grab some napkins and start dabbing away blindly while I look over at Lily.
She’s frozen in shock, hand in the air, her finger still pointing at a table she was apparently telling someone they had set up incorrectly.
“Lily!” I hiss loudly and wave her over to me. I need her to pull herself together. I told Caleb that I would help her, and I don’t want him to be let down.
Lily comes to with a shake of her head and takes quick clicking steps toward me, her eyes wide.
I throw the napkins on the table and walk towards the door, still waving her over, so we can meet the visitors at the entrance.
Lily is almost to my side when it happens. I smell something I had never smelled before, and it was the most wonderful and enticing scent in the world.
I stop walking as I watch a group of the largest men that I have ever seen striding through the door. All are nearly seven feet tall. All are extremely handsome. And every single one is incredibly intimidating.
About eight of them walk in and step aside to make room for the largest man of all to walk through.
He was easily seven feet tall and the most gorgeous of them all. He wore a green dress shirt that was fitted against his wide shoulders and huge arm muscles and tucked in at his slim waist into dark wash jeans. He has dark brown hair with just a slight wave to it, intoxicating big hazel eyes that were incredible intense, high chiseled cheek bones, and kissable full lips.
He keeps walking purposefully past his men, his eyes meeting mine. I’m frozen in place, I feel like the closer he walks to me, the more likely I am to melt into the floor and I can’t stop staring at him.
He walks all the way up to me, his eyes blazing into mine, wraps an arm around my waist to pull me up and against him and growls, “Mine!”
Chapter 3
Ava’s POV
What is happening?
I’m nearly being crushed by this giant of a man. He has me pulled against his hard chest, my arms pinned to my sides, my feet off the floor, one of my flats has fallen off and the other is dangling from my toes. He has one arm wrapped around me, holding me up, and the other is gripping the back of my neck, his face nestled into my hair.
My face is pressed into his chest and I inhale his delicious scent and all I can think is, “mate.”
But who is this? Who is this giant man who apparently is my mate? He has to be a part of the Lycan clan, which explains his giant stature and stunningly good looks.
I inhale deeply again. My head feels slightly foggy, like I’ve had way too much to drink.
I want to look at this stranger’s gorgeous face again. I try a little wiggle.
Someone behind us gives a little cough.
He loosens his grip on me and lets me slide down his long, hard muscular body until my feet hit the floor, my body tingling like crazy.
I look up into his gorgeous face and I sway a little. He wraps his giant hands around my waist to steady me and lowers his head to take me in just as much as I am him.
This is my mate? Oh my god! He’s the most beautiful man on the planet! Not just a man, a Lycan!
I reach my hand up without thinking and touch his chiseled cheek. Electricity runs through my body and I bite my lip at the sudden desire I’m feeling towards this stranger.
His eyes darken and he pulls me closer.
There’s another slightly louder cough behind us and I pull my hand back.
He grabs my hand tightly with his and stands up straight, turns around and looks around the room.
I begrudgingly tear my eyes away from him and follow his gaze.
My eyes fall on Lily, standing just four feet away from us. Her eyes are huge and her mouth is open while she stares at us.
“A…Ava?” Lily stammers as she gawks at us.
“Are you Luna Lily?” My Lycan’s voice is deep and sexy. His words are slow and deliberate, authoritative. I feel my knees going weak. His grip on my hand tightens.
Lily closes her mouth and looks at my Lycan. She seems to shake herself awake.
“Yes, yes I’m Luna Lily.” She takes a couple of clicking steps towards us with her hand outstretched.
My Lycan looks at her hand and after an embarrassingly (for Lily) long pause, he shakes it.
I’ve never seen Lily so flustered, it’s defiantly the first time I’ve seen her blush.
“Welcome!” Lily’s voice is high pitched.
“Thank you for your hospitality. We will need fifteen beds for the night, the rest of my men will keep patrol around the village overnight.”
Lily nods, her mouth open again, a very confused look on her face.
I’m confused as well. Where is King Cameron? I lean forward to look around my new mate to see if I could tell which one he is. Is he even here?
“If someone could show my men to their rooms, I’ll have…” He turns to me. “What is your name?”
“Ava.” My voice sounds weird, quiet and scratchy, like I haven’t actually talked in days.
The man looks at me for a moment. “Ava.” He repeats my name and my name has never sounded more beautiful then when this man says it. I never thought of myself as a swooner, but I actually feel like this man is making we swoon.
He turns back to Lily. “I’ll let Ava show me to my room.” He turns and nods to the other men before turning back to me, raising an eyebrow, and gesturing for me to lead the way.
I glance over at Lily who is still standing in the same spot looking more confused than ever. Her eyes sweep the men around the entrance and back to us, her eyes go huge and she puts her hands over her mouth.
What is her problem?
I turn away, my mate still holding my hand, and make my way to the large staircase down the hall that leads to the visitor’s wing.
The way that my mate talked to Lily made it seem like he had some authority, maybe he is a beta or some council member to the king. It’s important that I know so I can put him in the right guest room.
As we climb the stairs, I look up at the gorgeous man holding my hand, he’s looking back at me. I nearly miss a step.
We make it to the top floor landing and I stop.
“Wha…what’s your name?” My voice still sounds small and quiet.
A look of amusement comes across his face. He tilts his head to the side as he looks at me.
“You don’t know who I am?”
I’m confused again. Why would I know who he is? Lycan’s and werewolves rarely socialize with each other. The elites throw elaborate parties every year for some of the larger and more powerful packs, but our pack has never received an invitation. The only thing we know about the elite’s are the things we hear secondhand from other packs.
“I’m…I’m sorry…I’ve never been North to the elite village…” I trail off awkwardly.
Whoever my new Lycan mate is, he is very intimidating. He looks at me for a few moments longer before speaking.
“I am King Cameron.”
Oh my god!!
I instinctively take a step backwards. King Cameron watches me.
“I’m…I’m so sorry…I…I didn’t know…” I’m stammering like an idiot. I glance wildly around me. I feel a sudden urge to hide in my embarrassment.
“No need to apologize.” He doesn’t move, just watches my face.
I can feel my face flaming red and I clumsily pull at my dress, noticing the large wet, dark coffee stain for the first time.
No. No! I finally meet my mate and it’s a freaking Lycan KING, and I have a huge coffee stain on my dress. I swipe unconsciously at it, and that’s when I realize I never put my other flat back on. Oh my god. I am only wearing one shoe. I nervously go to run my hand through my hair and remember too late it’s in a braid, which I can feel I just messed up beyond it’s already sloppy state.
So, just to make sure I totally have a grip on my reality right now…
I have just mated to the most stunningly gorgeous Lycan king, and I am standing here with a huge stain on my dress, only wearing one shoe, and God knows what my hair must look like, but we can safely assume, not good!
Oh, and I’m stammering like an idiot.
The urge to escape the situation is overwhelming. I glance towards the stairs.
King Cameron puts his hand under my chin and turns my face towards his.
“I believe you were showing me to my room.”
My stomach does a flip at his touch. A mixture of excitement and nerves.
Not trusting myself to speak in coherent words, I nod and take a couple steps towards the guest Alpha suite. I figure it’s better to be barefoot than a moron walking around in just one shoe, so I try to discreetly kick off my one flat as I walk.
It catches on my toe after the first kick, so I quickly kick out my foot harder and the flat flies off and hits the leg of a side table with a surprisingly loud thud.
I want to die. I don’t dare look at King Cameron. I can feel my ears burning with humiliation.
His thumb starts to rub circles on the back of my hand and I feel a wave of desire flow through me.
He leans down and whispers in my ear. “One less thing for me to take off of you later.”
....
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