Teegan's P.O.V.
So I guess I've found my mate. I don't know what to think about that yet. He's attractive, and I can't deny the pull and sparks I feel with him. However, accepting him would be like accepting a life I know nothing about.
"If you mess this up, I will shift right here and hump his leg. Try me, and I can make you look like a fool." Okay, so we all know Mia's opinion. When Joel leads me to an Aston Martin, I look at him in surprise. Did everyone else picture werewolves living like those in the movie Twilight? I was sure I was going to be taken to a beat-up truck or half broken-down car. I'm not a material person; I don't even have a car, but I recognize nice things.
"This is your car?" I ask in awe. He smiles as he holds open the passenger door for me.
"Yes. I love driving it. The ride is so smooth." I sit in the leather seat that feels so soft I could go to sleep. This must be how the other half live. He gets into the driver's seat, and I realize I have no idea where we're going, and I just got into a car with a complete stranger.
"He's not a stranger. He's our mate. He's not going to hurt you." Mia is actually speaking softly and not yelling at me. Whoa, it must be the mate bond already taking effect because she's not acting like a raging bitch.
"That can change if you'd like." Damn it, I need to stop thinking everything.
"Where are we going?" I ask Joel. Why do my hands burn like I want to touch him? I rub my palms on my skirt to try to make them stop. He looks over and smiles.
"I can help with that." He takes my hand, and the feeling goes away. That feels nice. Although now my heart is racing. "As far as where we're going, I thought we'd go somewhere quiet so we can talk in private. Is that okay?"
"Yeah, that's fine." As long as he holds my hand, everything is wonderful. What am I talking about? I don't want to be a werewolf and someone's mate. I just want to be an ordinary human woman who finds a man she falls in love with and lives happily ever after.
"If you accept our mate, what the hell do you think will happen? You'll have your happily ever after with the bonus of knowing you're with your soulmate. Imagine you were a human. Don't you think they would all like to find the person who is literally their other half? The person that can feel their emotions and does what they can to make you feel better. Why do you think this is a bad thing? If you ask me, humans would all want this too." I sigh as I look out the window. As much as I hate to admit it, Mia is right. The women I know would love to find the man who was made for them and would never hurt them. Why am I being so resistant? Is it because the only werewolves I have been associated with were my birth parents who abandoned me?
"Is everything okay? You seem upset." Joel asks, squeezing my hand. I turn to him slightly.
"I don't know what to think. I'm twenty-five and have never had a relationship with a man. Not because I haven't tried, but my wolf wouldn't let me. She even growled and shifted right in front of people to keep them away from me. I don't know what to do or what's normal in a human or werewolf relationship. I know we just met, and I don't know a lot about anything, but the pull I feel toward you is something I can't deny." I sigh again. When Joel pulls my hand up to his lips and kisses it, I shiver with delight from all the tingling running through my body.
"Our wolves are a lot alike. I'm thirty, and my wolf Romeo refused to let me be with any women. I tried to kiss a few, and he growled at them, scaring them away. He always said we had to wait for our Juliet." I can't help giggling.
"Romeo and Juliet was my favorite book. I guess our wolves are the ultimate cock blockers." Joel chuckles as he agrees.
"Yes, they are. Although now I'm not so upset about it. If you accept me, we'll have all of our firsts together. What could be more special than that?" I look up into his emerald green eyes, and if I was standing, my knees would give out. Damn, he's a smooth talker.
"You're welcome. See what I was saving you for. Imagine having sex with some random guy. How do you think that would make Joel feel? Probably the same way it would make you feel thinking about him having sex with another woman." The pain in my chest is immediate. Even thinking about him touching another woman makes me sick.
"Yes, it would be special. Can you explain to me some more about being mates? You probably will explain it better than Mia." I think about sticking my tongue out at her as she pouts. That's one thought I want to share with her.
"As wolves, our mates are chosen for us by the Moon Goddess. She's supposed to pair us with the person who is our better half, and when we come together, it makes us whole. Unlike human relationships, werewolf relationships tend to move fast when both parties agree to accept each other. That's because we already know it's meant to be. We don't have to do the whole song and dance of trying to figure out if this is for the long term or not. Mates already know they'll be together forever once they mark each other. It's rare in the werewolf community to hear about mates cheating on each other; it happens, but it's rare. If a mate does cheat, their mate will feel the pain of their unfaithfulness. The connection mates have is out of this world; typically, they can't stand being away from each other."
Wow. I don't know what to say. Even when I pictured myself with a man, I never dreamed it would be on that level. Joel pulls off the main road and takes a back road. I've never been this far out of town before. The road suddenly opens to a clearing where we can look down at the entire town. It's beautiful.
"This is incredible," Joel gets out, and while I'm still too stunned to move, he opens my door and helps me out.
"I thought this would be a good place to have some privacy." He keeps my hand in his and walks to the front of the car. He gently lifts me and sits me on the hood. I typically would throw a fit about being manhandled like that, but feeling his hands around my waist excites me more than I'd like to admit. He sits beside me, so he's against my left side. Don't judge me for not moving away but actually leaning into him.
"I can't remember the last time I had a whole day off work. I never take the time to just breathe." I'm speaking so quietly that I'm almost talking to myself. Joel puts his arm around my shoulders, and I lay my head against him. Why did I say I want to fight this again?
"Teegan, I want to be honest with you about something." Oh shit, this is it. This is where he's going to hurt me just when I was getting comfortable. I should have known this was too good to last.
"You have got to stop being Miss Negative." I swallow and, for once, listen to Mia.
"Okay, what do you need to tell me?" I can't hide the fear in my voice. Joel must hear it because he begins rubbing his hand up and down my arm. Sparks are flying everywhere. Oh, my, that feels so good.
"I'm not just a werewolf." That wasn't what I was expecting.
"What does that mean?" I ask cautiously.
"I'm a lycan. Not just any lycan, I'm a prince."
Teegan's P.O.V. I have too many questions. What the hell is a lycan? What kind of prince is he? Does he think he's the prince of pop? He doesn't look like Michael Jackson to me. "Please don't embarrass me by asking him if he's Michael Jackson. Besides, Michael was the king of pop." Mia groans. "Can you explain what that means?" I ask as calmly as I can. "A lycan is a werewolf, only bigger and stronger. My father is the lycan king. My brother and his mate will take the throne when my mom and dad step down." He studies my face. So he's bigger than most werewolves, which I guess explains why he's so big, even as a human. I don't have a problem with that. However, he's a prince? Don't princes and princesses have to marry other royals? "Oh, good grief. You've watched too much TV." Mia needs to stop laughing in my head. "Can I be with you if I'm not a lycan or from a royal family?" I ask hesitantly. I haven't agreed to be
Joel's P.O.V. Making love to Teegan was better than I could have ever imagined. I didn't want our first time to be rushed and out in the open, but she wasn't having it any other way. We ended up going three rounds before we decided to leave. She was so resistant to the whole mate situation at first. I didn't think she was going to accept me so quickly, but I'm really glad she did. I can't wait to take her to the palace. We're going to her apartment now. We decided to spend the night there and go to the palace in the morning. Teegan isn't saying anything, and I can feel how tense she is by the way she keeps squeezing my hand. "What's wrong? You're not having any regrets, are you?" She turns to me and looks down at our conjoined hands. "No regrets about what we just did or accepting you. I'm just hesitant about this whole princess thing. I'm not really princess material. I'm more of a work until I pass out type of person. I don't know how to
Teegan's P.O.V. When we pull up to the palace, I'm so blown away by its massive size that I don't see the people standing out front at first. I'm shocked to hear my name when I get out of the car. I never thought I'd see Kiana again. "What are you doing here?" Kiana asks me. I look over at Joel, who is staring at us in shock. "Apparently, I'm his mate." Kiana looks at Joel and then back at me with her mouth open. "You're mated to my brother?" She starts squealing with excitement and hugging us both. "Your brother? You never told me you had a brother. If he's your brother, you're a lycan; you didn't tell me that either." I stare at her and feel like I'm looking at her for the first time. I feel somewhat hurt that I didn't know she was a wolf like me. Although I didn't tell her, I was one, either. "Can you two explain how you know each other?" Joel asks. Kiana and I start laughing. "Do you remember when I left
Joel's P.O.V. Teegan and I made love all morning and afternoon, even skipping lunch. You could say I'm making up for lost time. It does upset me that Kiana knew her years ago, and if I had gone to get my sister myself, I could have had Teegan for years. I look over at her passed out on the bed. I finally let her sleep so she could get some rest before dinner. I was so angry about the way Wendy disrespected her at breakfast, but I couldn't have been prouder at how Teegan handled it. My dad mindlinked me afterward, telling me I had an impressive mate. My mom, just like I thought, was ready to claim her as another daughter. I get out of bed, trying not to disturb Teegan. I want to find out what happened to her parents. It just won't stop bugging me. I don't believe that they abandoned her as she thinks. "Marcus, can you meet me in my office in ten minutes? I have something I'd like to discuss." I mindlink my lead investigator. If there's anything to f
Teegan's P.O.V. I was taken aback by the number of people waiting for us at the bottom of the stairs. However, I didn't see any of them looking at me with revulsion like that wench, Wendy. Joel leads me to his parents, but I can tell he's distracted. As people approach us, we shake hands and greet them, but Joel barely speaks. "Is everything alright?" I ask as we get a break between people. "We need to do something, but we can't leave yet. I'm trying to find a way to get out of here for a little bit." He looks around as another couple comes over to introduce themselves. Everyone seems kind so far. I was worried after the episode with Wendy, there'd be more opposition towards me. "Where do we need to go?" I whisper before smiling at the next couple. I feel like my face will break if I keep smiling like this. "Don't worry. I think they have enough money to pick up the pieces and make you look better than ever." I must be dreamin
Teegan's P.O.V. I look around to see who Kiana is looking at. At first, I thought it was the man standing next to my birth parents who looks like me, but his expression hasn't changed. However, the man standing slightly behind him is staring at Kiana with wide eyes. He practically shoves the others out of the way as he runs toward her. "You're my mate?" The man asks her. I don't know who to look at, the new couple or my parents. Kiana smiles at him excitedly. "Yes." She replies as I glance up to the porch and notice my parents staring at me. Taking Joel's hand, I walk toward them. My eyes sting with tears as I try to speak. "I'm Teegan," I say softly, but it's loud enough for them to hear. My mom drops to her knees crying, and my dad stands frozen with tears running down his face. I can't hold back anymore as I start crying, too. The man next to them looks from me to Joel, who is holding me as I cry. "You're mated to Prince Joel?" He asks in disbelief. I nod as I step forward
Warning: The content of this chapter may be hard for some readers. The Snake's P.O.V. Why are the royals at the Silver Moon pack? I have been taking cubs for over twenty-five years. What makes them think calling in royals will stop me? All the investigations they've done so far haven't come close to suspecting me. I watch as they're all shown into the packhouse. It appears the alpha's daughter has returned. She disappeared right before I could get my hands on her. I wonder where she was and how she made her way back. She's beautiful, and I don't like seeing the prince with her. She may be too old for me to take for the original purpose I wanted her. However, she's not too old for me to use in other ways. I walk into the packhouse once I'm sure everyone is tucked in for the night. I'm not supposed to be back yet. Everyone thinks I'm interviewing the other packs to see if their cubs have been kidnapped like the ones in our pack. Of course, they don't have cubs missing. Why would th
Simon's P.O.V. I have been the alpha of Silver Moon for over thirty years. Having to give up my daughter to keep her safe was the hardest thing I ever had to do. After we took her away, I cried on my best friend's shoulder for days. I'm thankful that we never told Brock what we did with Teegan. When the royals came with our daughter last night, it was the best day of my life. Once again, my family is together. However, it was quickly overshadowed when, just after going to sleep, there was a knock on our bedroom door. A royal guard apologized for disturbing us and showed me pictures of a man sneaking out of the packhouse. I instantly recognized my beta, Brock. He wasn't supposed to be here yet. Why was he sneaking around? They had followed him to one of the smaller empty houses. Mirela and I got up to go check on his mate Sally to make sure everything was okay. When we knocked on their bedroom door, there was no answer. Mirela opened it and covered her mouth so she wouldn't scre