The Lycan's Queen - Book cover

The Lycan's Queen

L.S. Patel

Stirring of the Wolf

“Aarya, what happened?” Sophia’s panicked voice called out.

I turned to see her rushing toward me, looking terrified. She sat next to me, and I watched as her eyes scanned all over me, checking that I was okay.

“I have no idea what’s wrong with my wolf,” I admitted. “She was so angry that I nearly shifted. I had to get out of there.”

“What? Your wolf has never been like that,” Sophia exclaimed.

“I know, I know. That’s why I’m so confused. She seems to be calm now, though. I think I’m ready to go back in.”

Sophia looked at me warily. “Are you sure you want to go back? If your wolf is acting weird, maybe you shouldn’t.”

I shook my head. “No, I can’t do that. I came here with Carter, and it looks bad for the pack if I leave. I feel fine now.”

I stood and smiled to prove my point. Sophia still eyed me cautiously as we walked toward the palace. I felt nervous too, but I didn’t want to worry anyone.

As soon as we entered the palace, Carter rushed over to me.

“Are you okay? You’re not hurt?” He looked worried.

I smiled and shook my head. “I’m fine, Carter. Honestly, I just needed some fresh air. I feel a lot better now.”

I could tell Carter wasn’t convinced, but he nodded, nevertheless.

Sophia cleared her throat. “I need to go to Luke. The king will be arriving soon. Carter, look after Aarya.”

She walked away, and I turned to Carter, who was holding hands with Diya. I smirked.

“Mates with my cousin, huh?”

“She’s my mate and your luna now,” Carter said smugly.

“She’s my cousin before she’s my luna, dumbass,” I replied.

Diya smiled at me. “That’s true; I am.”

“Hey, you’re supposed to be on my side,” Carter protested.

I stuck out my tongue. “Sisters before misters.”

Niya laughed. “You two argue like children.”

“It’s your ‘sister’—she started it.” Carter rolled his eyes.

I raised my eyebrows. “And that is something a child would say.” The three of us laughed.

I stuck by Carter and my cousins. We didn’t have long to talk, because the crowds soon quieted down. I glanced up and saw a lycan standing at the front of the ballroom, waiting for silence.

Above us was a balcony with two thrones—the places where the king and Savanah would be sitting. That didn’t sit well with me or my wolf.

I didn’t want to risk my wolf going crazy, so I quickly tried to think about something else. I distracted myself by looking around the room at different guests’ lavish outfits.

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for coming here today,” the lycan up front began. “On behalf of the king, I welcome you to the lycan ball. I hope this will be an enjoyable evening for you all. Very shortly, the king will be joining us, and he will be accompanied by Savanah Willows.”

The man tried to mask his cringe after saying Savanah’s name.

My eyes found Sophia and Luke, who looked super uncomfortable. My wolf suddenly stirred again, her anger building.

Oh no, not again.

The king was coming. I couldn’t afford to lose control. To distract myself, I looked around for Hunter and Lana, who were holding hands, and I watched as Hunter kissed Lana on the cheek.

Even though I hated seeing that, it diverted my wolf’s attention. She slowly calmed down.

“I can’t wait to see the king,” Diya gushed.

“He has a certain aura that makes everyone want a glimpse of him,” Carter said.

A certain aura? Maybe that’s why my wolf was acting up. Somehow, I still felt like something else was up. My skin felt jittery—like my wolf’s claws were skittering just under the surface.

There was no time to dwell. Everyone suddenly went quiet again. Guards came and stood at the sides of the ballroom.

The king was coming.

I clutched Niya’s hand just as the announcer shouted, “Introducing His Royal Highness, King Adonis Dimitri Grey, accompanied by Savanah Willows.”

I watched in awe as the king strode past the announcer. Everyone bowed, and I followed suit. I glanced up and noticed the king’s dark-brown hair, which was styled to perfection.

He gave a solemn nod to the crowd and sat on his throne, his cape pooling around him.

My gaze snapped to Savanah, who was behind the king. She was about to sit down on her throne, but the king held out his arm to stop her.

Savanah’s expression flattened as the king motioned for a guard, who escorted her to stand next to the king instead.

My eyes found their way to the king’s hair again, and I found myself imagining how it would feel to run my hands through it.

Jeez, Aarya, stop thinking dangerous thoughts. It won’t end well. I tore my gaze away. Instead, I looked at my shoes. I couldn’t do anything to embarrass myself by looking at my shoes.

“Oh my Goddess, look what the king is doing!” Niya whispered to me.

No, Aarya, don’t look, I told myself. ~Don’t do it—you’ll regret it.~

Urgh, damn it.

I couldn’t help myself. I glanced up to see the king sniffing the air.

Well, that wasn’t what I’d expected to see. What in the world was he doing? Savanah was looking at him weirdly, but the king clearly didn’t care.

In a split second, his hazel eyes connected with mine, and I gasped.

Holy shit. I had never seen eyes that beautiful before. I was lost in them.

The king shot to his feet, which snapped me out of my trance.

Oh no, please tell me this isn’t happening.

My wolf was jumping up and down, and I knew exactly what that meant.

But that didn’t mean I wanted it.

As the king stood, the crowd began to push past me to get to him. They seemed to think he was coming down to greet them. If only they knew.

His hazel eyes never lost mine. His gaze was locked firmly on me.

The air felt heavy. When I stared into the king’s eyes, it felt like there was no one else but us in that moment.

I temporarily forgot about all my troubles and my heartbreak.

More and more people moved in, causing me to stumble back and break the eye contact. Our connection was lost. Niya was gone. So were Carter and Diya. I was by myself at the back of the crowd. Only a few wolves remained here.

Everyone wanted to see the king. Everyone but me.

I was breathing heavily, and I racked my brain. Should I run? This was the perfect time to do so—I might not get another opportunity.

My wolf protested, but I didn’t listen. I ran outside. This time, I ran past the bench and into the gardens.

Shivers went down my spine as I heard a powerful roar.

Shit! That was definitely the king.

I groaned and rushed toward a row of bushes and sat to catch my breath.

Those movies where the female characters run in heels have got it all wrong. You can’t run in heels without tearing your feet off; it’s just not possible. My toes burned as I sat among the shrub leaves.

As I caught my breath, I heard a sudden noise erupting from the palace—the door must have flown open, letting the wild crowd spill out into the darkness.

I could feel that someone else was approaching me. My eyes widened, and I swallowed the lump in my throat.

I was in trouble. My heart was pounding but my wolf maintained a smug calm, like she had known this was going to happen. It seemed like she enjoyed seeing me struggle. How annoying.

“You can run, little mate, but I’ll always find you,” a deep voice said, sending my wolf into a frenzy.

He said it—the word I’d been dreading.

Mate.

My mate was the king.

Next chapter
Rated 4.4 of 5 on the App Store
82.5K Ratings
Galatea logo

Unlimited books, immersive experiences.

Galatea FacebookGalatea InstagramGalatea TikTok