The Lycan's Queen

I quickly ripped my gaze away from Hunter’s. I didn’t like the way he was looking at me one bit.

I had a mate now. And so did he.

So, why was he looking at me like that? And what would Adonis do if he saw it?

I tried to pretend I didn’t notice Hunter. I turned to where Adonis had been standing a minute earlier, but he wasn’t there.

I scanned the crowd, but the king was nowhere to be seen. I could still feel Hunter’s gaze burning into me as I searched. I willed myself not to look back.

I squeezed through the crowd looking for Adonis, hearing calls of “congratulations” and “I’m so glad our king found his mate” as I pushed past.

The fake smile I wore was starting to hurt my jaw. These people meant well, but all I wanted to do was find Adonis.

I finally got to the end of the giant ballroom and found a glass door leading outside.

It was completely dark out, but I could see the unmistakable silhouette of Adonis standing on the balcony.

What was he doing out there?

I pushed the door open, about to call out to him, when suddenly I heard a female voice in the darkness.

“How could you do this to me?”

Savanah stood by him, her shoulders shaking.

“You embarrassed me in front of everyone, Dimitri.” Her voice was thick with tears.

Wow, I must be a robot or something, I thought. Because not even a small part of me felt sorry for this woman. If anything, I felt angry.

I remembered that Adonis was very particular about who called him what. Savanah had called him “Dimitri”—it was clear that she wasn’t allowed to call him “Adonis.”

Oddly, it made me feel proud. I had a special privilege that she didn’t.

I turned to go before they realized I was there. Adonis could deal with this on his own.

But before I took a step, Adonis had bolted over and caught me in his arms. The feeling of him holding me was unlike anything I had felt before, both terrifying and thrilling.

“Aarya, don’t you even think about going anywhere,” he breathed in my ear. He looked at Savanah. “Please, just leave,” he told her.

“Adonis, I have better things to do than listen to your lovers’ spat.” I tried half-heartedly to escape his hold.

“Adonis?” Savanah looked appalled.

“She can call me that,” he said sharply. “Savanah, if you don’t leave, then I will get guards to escort you out.”

Savanah looked back and forth between the both of us before finally leaving.

“Can you let me go now?” I asked when we were alone.

“I thought I would never find you. I had almost given up,” Adonis said softly.

I nearly melted at the look in his eyes.

This would have been the perfect time to say something romantic—but instead, I blurted, “Well, I never wanted a mate after getting my heart broken.”

Why did I say that?

Adonis’s demeanor changed, and he held me tighter. His stance became different. He was angry.

“Who the hell had your heart before me?” he growled.

“You’re telling me no one has ever broken your heart before?” I asked.

“This isn’t about me; this is about you. You’re the one who said it.” He tightened his grip even more. It didn’t hurt, but I knew he was serious.

Damn it, this was going to be harder than I thought. Again, I tried to wriggle out of his grip but failed.

“Can we talk about this later?” I tried.

Clearly, that wasn’t going to happen. “I want to know now. Who had your heart before me?”

The scary look in Adonis’s eyes told me that Hunter would be in deep trouble if Adonis ever found out.

Even though Hunter had broken my heart, I didn’t want anything bad to happen to him.

“Who was it?” Adonis growled.

Suddenly, the door opened, and my mom poked her head outside. “There you are! Everyone’s been looking for you two. It’s time for the royal dance!”

I let out a sigh of relief.

There was no way I could keep secrets from a man like Adonis for long.

His eyes softened, and he loosened his hold on me but looked at me with his eyebrows raised.

“Don’t think I’ll forget about this. I will find out who broke your heart. And mark my words: I will end him.”

The audacity in his voice electrified my spine, making me shiver.

How was I going to hide something like this from him? At times, it seemed like he could read my mind.

I knew that Hunter could never be mine, but that didn’t mean that I wanted him to die at the hands of my erratic mate.

Adonis took my hand, and we made our way back downstairs. When we opened the main ballroom doors, all eyes in the room were on us.

It felt weird to be stared at. I flushed, uncomfortable with all the attention.

I had to get used to this queen thing.

Then suddenly, I was pulled close to Adonis’s body.

We stood in the center of the room, and he gently guided my hand out to the side. His other hand rested on my hip, which made me tremble.

I felt myself lean into his touch.

What was happening to me? Why were his touches so addictive?

I didn’t want the moment to end. Then suddenly, we began to dance.

I wasn’t exactly the best dancer, but he took the lead perfectly. It felt so natural, and all I had to do was follow his steps. It was like we were gliding.

He smiled, his powerful eyes giving me a look of affection. I could stare into those eyes for an eternity.

I looked away nervously, and my eyes fell on Hunter and Lana dancing. I stared, feeling confused. Somehow, I just didn’t care anymore.

Adonis noticed, and a cloud of concern fell across his face.

“What is it?” he whispered.

I shook my head, but Adonis quickly followed my gaze. His eyes landed on Hunter.

I remembered Adonis’s words from just minutes before: “Mark my words: I will end him.”

“He’s the one, isn’t he?” Adonis whispered.

“N-no—” I stammered.

“Don’t lie to me,” he growled into my ear.

Before I could say another word, Adonis dropped his hands from my waist and charged across the room.

In an instant, he had Hunter pinned to the ground.

A royal guard jumped into action, shouting at the crowd, “Get back! Get back now!”

Adonis ripped off his cape. His muscles began to bulge, and his dark suit stretched to the verge of splitting. He was about to shift. There was no telling what he might do in his lycan form.

But I couldn’t just stand by and watch my mate tear my first love to shreds.

As throngs of people ran away from Adonis’s rage, I ran straight toward it.