A Chanced Encounter

Tristan’s POV 

No matter what the Lycan King had said, I knew that the woman I had just seen was Reya.

I did nothing but stand there and let her walk away, and every instinct within me screamed for me to run after her. I knew that was she. That was my fated mate. Or maybe I was beginning to lose my mind again.

You're not losing it,' I said, referencing my wolf. My wolf, Liam clarified, supporting my assumption. 'This is what I've been trying to communicate for the last decade of minutes. I sensed her and our bond the minute we entered his pack.' 

"But it's not possible." I answered, yanking at my hair. "She could not have been staying in his pack all of all these years.

Why couldn't she?" Liam retorted. "He's the Lycan King. He doesn't obey you."

"And she’s, my mate!" I snapped, growling. "She obeys no one but me!"

"Lycan Tristan," Isaac called, giving me a warning look. In the mind link, he said, "Keep yourself under control. Don’t lose control here, at least not in the presence of the Lycan King."

I massaged my temples, breathing deeply, thinking it’ll calm my fraying nerves. "That was my friend," I replied through the mental connection. "How can I control myself when I've just seen her after more than five years? So, she is not dead like you assumed, except dead bodies roam around here".

Problem, Lycan Tristan?" the Lycan King asked, his gaze darting from Isaac to me. "You appear shaken."

I glared at him. The Lycan was another one of my problems. While everyone else believed him to be a good sort – deadly and powerful – but a good king, I knew what type of snake he was. I knew him better to be full of his pretense of being a friend.

“.The lady." I began slowly, peering in the direction Reya had gone. "How long has she lived with your family?"

His eyes narrowed into slits. "You mean Ray? She's my –"

"She's not yours!" I exclaimed, the words tumbling from my mouth before I could stop them. 

Isaac face palmed himself. I mouth-breathed, closing my eyes as I hunted for a way to restore my composure.

"What I was getting at was that Reya – Ray hasn't always resided in your family, right? I don't recall noticing her when I was here previously?"

I gazed down the empty corridor, grinding my teeth as a piercing pain burst through my chest. Had she taken her name for him because of me? Had she even recognized me? There had been no sign of familiarity when she looked at me. No sign of emotions…

'You murdered all the emotions she had for you.' Liam barked. 'You can’t blame anyone but yourself.'

The Lycan King chuckled and wasn’t bothered by my earlier rant. "Ray is kind of a new member to my family, yes. But she has been with us for what I will consider a long time. To me, she's irreplaceable and I won't even consider sharing her."

He backed away. "Enjoy yourself here. I'll see you at dinner".

I watched him as gallantly left, wondering what this was. It was clear he was claiming Reya, marking her as his even though I could not see any marks on her to indicate that they had been intimate or that she belonged to him.

My blood seethed as I thought of my Reya with someone like Lycan Xander or any guy period. I mean she was mine and I'm fucking mad if I let her go like that.

‘Don’t forget you already gave her away,’ Liam told me.

"That doesn't count!" I snarled, shoving him out of my head. "Now shut the fuck up!"

Anger could not describe the emotions struggling within my heart. Frustration and jealousy too. Reya stood before me and then she walked away from me. Something that never occurred during all those years we were together.

I could almost hear my wolf whispering to me that she ran away from me.

Now the Lycan King was claiming her for himself or what else would he have meant by his declaration of not sharing her with anybody?

'Do you think they are married?' Liam questioned. 'Could they have –?’

"Enough!" I cut him off, shoving him into the deepest and darkest corners of my mind. I turned towards my beta who looked at me expectantly.

"Find out everything you can about her. I want to know her entire history here, when she entered here and where she was before and what her fucking relationship is with that cocksucker King."

"Alpha…" Isaac hesitated, shaking his head slowly. "I don't believe it's such a great idea to spy on the Lycan King's territory. And anyway, you heard him make his announcement. What is he going to do when he finds out we're taking information on his mate?"

"My mate!" I yelled. "Reya is my mate until I lay eyes on his official declaration on her. Even then, I won't believe it or let her go to that asshole. Get every fucking detail or else, I'll do the snooping myself!"

Isaac agreed. He could see he still wanted to argue but knew it was not wise to give voice to his thoughts when we were in public. "Yes, Alpha. I'll get you all the information you require. Why don't we get settled first?"

He forced a smile on me and opened the door to our room, entering it first. He glanced inside the room and, when he was certain that it was safe for me, poked his head through the opening in the door and growled, "You can enter."

I scowled at him for no reason at all and went inside. Reya's fragrance wafted all over the room. I still recalled how her floral fragrance drove me wild almost every time. It was why I stayed away from her all this while, only coming back whenever my wolf could no longer take it.

Her fragrance was the only one that I wanted this time.

I hadn't realized I'd missed her so much until I saw her standing there, being so utterly and shatteringly perfect in that evening dress and heels.

Goddess, how did I never notice how beautiful she was?

"Are you sure that's your friend?" Isaac asked as soon as the door closed and we were alone. "That woman might be Reya's twin but she is definitely not the same. Her aura is completely different and so she is –"

"Save yourself precious time," I growled cutting him off. "And go and bring me the information I have asked for. That is the only way we can know that she is the one. I need to have that information before the competition tomorrow."

Isaac bristled but did as he was told. Without further ado, he left the room leaving me alone to sleep.

I collapsed on the king-sized bed and closed my eyes, allowing my sub-conscious mind to recall memories of Reya. The shy, soft-spoken, and polite Reya that I knew previously.

Isaac was right. The woman we had seen earlier was a whole different kind of mate I had known previously. Although they bore a striking resemblance to each other in looks, the two women could not be more different. The two of them appeared to live and breathe in worlds that were very different from one another.

However, I was certain that the lady I had seen was my Reya and as soon as Isaac returns with the news, my suspicions will be confirmed.