Chapter 6 Syndra/Marcel

(Syndra)

The day at the salon without my mother interfering was more fun than I expected. My hair is now a few inches shorter, and my nails are clean with a French manicure. My mother was nowhere to be seen when I returned home, and I was a little disappointed but also relieved.

Dyna is restless, but she won’t tell me why. Remi and I went for a run after everyone else in the house went to bed. Once we were both sufficiently calmed and tired out, we went to our rooms to finish packing.

Now, I am lying in my bed and staring up at my ceiling. A ceiling that I will see for the last time tonight. We leave bright and early in the morning because my father has an important meeting before the ball starts tomorrow.

He received the summons after dinner. He wouldn’t tell us what was in the message. All he would say was that we had to leave earlier than planned if he were going to make the meeting on time.

That means I will be in the palace earlier than planned. That will give me time to explore before the party starts. Will my mate be there, too?

As I drift off to sleep, all I can think about is who my mate will be and what he will look like.

The dream starts normally. I am by the river, sitting in my favorite spot with my sketchbook open on my lap. The sounds of nature soothe me as I draw.

A twig snapping in the distance causes my head to shoot up, and I look around. I wait for the sound to come again as I scan my surroundings. Nothing happens for several minutes, so I go back to my drawing.

Then, everything around me goes quiet and still. All the surrounding wildlife quiets down as if they hear something coming. There is a dense fog surrounding me, and a sense of danger wafts toward me.

My heart rate spikes as I hear another twig snap. This one is closer. Much closer than it was before.

I jump to my feet and spin around. I reach inside my mind for Dyna, but there is nothing there but a blank wall where she usually is in my mind. A sudden sense of panic bubbles up my throat as another twig snaps.

“Who is out there? Remi? Rapha? Are you two playing a joke on me?”

I reach for them through our mindlink, but just like Dyna, all I hear is silence and all I feel is that same wall. Why can’t I reach any of them? What is going on?

Another twig snaps, and I practically jump out of my skin.

I have never once felt afraid while I was alone out in these woods. Our pack’s borders are heavily patrolled, and we rarely have rogue attacks. Yet, there is something out there, stalking me as if I were its prey.

It is an unsettling feeling.

Then, a sudden calm rushes over me, just as an enormous black wolf steps through the dense fog. The wolf is jet black and bigger than any wolf I have ever seen. Its eyes are an arctic blue and are locked onto me with a look that sends shivers of awareness down my spine.

I know instantly that is wolf isn’t an ordinary wolf. It isn’t just a wolf at all. I can feel the lycan just below the surface. I also feel something else.

An aura that is so strong that my knees almost buckle from the majestic presence. I have never felt anything this strong. Not from my father or any of the visiting alphas.

“Who are you?” My voice cracks as I back up, and my back hits a tree.

The wolf tilts its head, then stalks forward, one agonizingly slow step at a time, until it is a few feet from me. The closer it gets, the calmer I feel. How is that possible? What is happening to me?

When the wolf stops, I have to crane my neck backwards to look up at it. This beast is massive. It makes me wonder just how big it will be in its lycan form.

“Who are you?” I ask again.

Instead of answering, he steps back and then transforms into his human form. My mouth drops open as he does. I know who he is instantly even though we have never met.

Marcel Deveraux, the Lycan King.

The Lycan King is standing before me.

He is strong enough to retain his clothing during and after a shift. I have heard of this ability and marvel at seeing it. He is wearing a think looking black velvet robe over black silk pants. His torso is bare.

“Your...” I start to say but clamp my mouth shut as his piercing blue gaze meets mine.

That is when I feel it. That is when I know why he is here and what he is to me.

“Mate,” he growls.

That sound causes a visceral reaction in my body. Before I can stop myself, I am moving forward. My eyes are locked on his as I move.

The Lycan King is my mate.

Instead of the panic and dread that I would normally be feeling, there is only a calm acceptance coursing through me. Among other feelings, that is.

When I am a few steps away from him, I stop. My eyes traveled down his body and soak in every bare inch of his exposed torso that I can see. His abs are toned to perfection, and I can see what looks like a tattoo on his side, mostly hidden by the robe.

I lift my gaze to his and blush. There is humor in his eyes, as if he knows what I saw and knows what he looks like to me. Sexy as sin.

Marcel reaches out a massive hand to catch a chunk of my hair. He holds it up to the moonlight and watches as the red strands practically catch fire. When I look into his eyes, I see something that surprises me. He likes my hair color.

“It is red,” I say dumbly.

He twines one of my curls around his finger and nods his head. He hasn’t said a single word since he growled the one word that binds us together. All he has done is stare at me like I have done with him.

His gaze feels hot as it travels over my face, then lower to my body. It is then that I realize I am not in my normal T-shirt and jeans, but in my silk nightgown. The one I almost didn’t wear to bed. I prefer a loose-fitting, oversized cotton sleep shirt.

“How are you here? Is this a dream?”

“Yes, we are dreaming, little mate. The goddess sometimes shows powerful lycans who their mates will be. It seems that I am in your dream this time, which means you are stronger than you look.”

Marcel’s voice is deep and smooth like the silk we are wearing. Things low in my belly tighten, and my body comes alive in a way that it never has before. My breath catches as he takes that last step to close the distance between us.

“You are not at all what I expected, little mate. I like that. You are also tiny compared to me. I like that even more. What is your name, my queen?”

My queen.

That simple phrase and the tone of his voice are like a warm summer breeze on my skin. Before I can open my mouth to answer him, he frowns, then steps back. I miss the heat from his body instantly.

“I must go now, little mate.”

“No, wait...”

He steps back again.

“We will see each other soon.”

With that said, he transforms back into his wolf, then runs off into the fog. I am left shivering and alone. Confused and frightened by what my future holds now that I know who my mate is.

My mate.

The Lycan King.

I never saw that coming. Now that I know, there is no escape from it. My future is set in stone.

I will be queen.

(Marcel)

I jerk awake with my heart pounding in my throat. I sit up and look around my room to find whatever woke me up. The room is pitch black, but I can see everything just fine. There is nothing I can find, no source for what pulled me from my mate’s dream.

I lay back and close my eyes. My mate’s face swims into my mind, and I feel a rush of euphoria and fear. She is so damn small, yet I could feel her strength. My mate is an alpha-born female.

Those are rare and precious.

I don’t even know her name.

Her beautiful green eyes will haunt me until I can see her in person. I can’t wait to run my fingers through those flame-red curls. They felt so soft in the dream, and I want to know if they really are as soft as they seemed.

Tomorrow, I will meet her in person. Tomorrow can’t come soon enough. My body aches with need for her, and there is nothing I can do about it until then.

Well, there is, but there is only so far self-gratification can get me. Not when I know she will be here tomorrow. My beautiful mate will be mine to claim.

I palm my aching cock as I think of her beauty. The way she gasped when I stepped closer to her. The way she smelled of lavender and fresh rain.

She is perfect in every way, and I can’t wait to feel her under me, above me, or anyway I can get her.

My cock throbs as I stroke up and down. Images of my little mate in that black silk nightie are making this feel so much better than it ever has before. What would it be like to strip her naked for the first time?

How would her pale skin feel against me? Would she scream my name in pleasure as I bury myself deep inside her? Fuck, I can almost feel how tight she will be.

Stroke.

Stroke.

“Fuck, baby, I want to feel you so badly.”

Stroke.

“I want to taste you, my little mate.”

Stroke.

“Oh, fuck, yes. I want to feel your pussy milk my cock.”

Stroke.

“I need to feel you come all over this dick, baby.”

Stroke.

I moan my pleasure as I release all over my hand like a horny teenager. The images of her in that nightie were enough to make me forget everything else. Now, I have a mess to clean up, but it was worth it.

Twenty minutes later, I was back in my room after cleaning myself up. I stop short as I look at the bed. Lying in the middle of my bed, naked as the day she was born, is my little sister’s best friend.

There is a knowing smile on her face, and my room smells like sex.

“What the fuck are you doing here, Camille? I banned you from the royal living quarters. That included my bedroom. How the fuck did you get in here?”

Camille sits up, then crawls to the end of the bed. She gives me a seductive and knowing look. “I watched what you did just now. It was me you were thinking of, wasn’t it? There is no reason to lie anymore, baby. I know you feel the pull between us, just like I do.”

“You are not my mate, Camille.”

“Stop saying that!” She screams as she reaches the end of the bed. “We are mates, Marcel. I feel it to my core. Why can’t you just let me touch you? I know if you did, then you would feel what I do.”

I mind-link Elias to send guards to my room.

“Get dressed, Camille.”

“No! Not until you touch me. I need you to feel me. Only then will you know. You will feel the sparks and then you can’t deny me anymore!”

“Get dressed, Camille. Unless you want the guard to see you naked? It doesn’t matter to me if they do because you are not my fucking mate!”

Her eyes widen. “You don’t mean that, baby. My body is only for your eyes to see.”

I arch a brow at her in disbelief. She steps off the bed and starts walking towards me with a seductive sway of her hips. I gave her body a dismissive look, then stare straight into her eyes.

“This is the last time you will go against my will.” I put my alpha command into my tone.

It is something I should have done a long time ago, but I didn’t want to because she was my sister’s best friend. After this stunt, I am done being nice. I have known for years that she isn’t my mate, and after tonight, I have it confirmed.

My mate is a tiny, little red-haired beauty with emerald-green eyes. Those eyes drew me in, and I can’t wait to spend hours staring into them as we get to know each other. She will be my queen, and no other woman will ever hold a candle to her.

The door behind me opens, and I step aside for the guards.

“Take her to the dungeons and lock her in the deepest, darkest solitary hole we have down there. She is hereby stripped of her title and all of her possessions. Camille, you are a prisoner of the crown until I deem otherwise.”

“No!” She wails as the guards cover her and start to drag her out of my room. “Marcel, you can’t do this to me. I am your mate, your queen!”

The guards pause and look at me.

“This woman is not my mate. She snuck into my room, then climbed into my bed while I was in the shower. I want her thrown in the dungeons, and I will deal with her after the party tomorrow.” I make it a command as I put my alpha aura into my voice.

“Right away, your majesty,” the guards say in unison.

“Marcel, nooooo, you can’t do this to me. I love you. Why can’t you see I would be good for you?”

I tune her out, and once they are all out of the room, I slam the door and bolt it from the inside.

What a shit show that was.

Now all I have to do is figure out how she got in here in the first place and make sure no one can use that to get in again. After searching for almost an hour, I give up and climb back into bed.

I fall asleep with the images and the remembered sound of my mate’s voice.

Tomorrow she will be in my arms.