RISE OF THE LYCANS - Mates and Bonds

Lukas

“I’m what?” I was sure I misheard what he just said.

“You’re having a pup,” Balthazar repeated.

Mateo looked from me to his daughter standing beside me. He looked just as confused as I felt. “With who?” He asked. “Lukas couldn’t…”

“Ayo! I must have water in my ears,” Flaym shook his head. “Is someone knocked up?”

Aunt Demeter pushed her chair back and stood up. “Are you sure?”

“Come have a closer sniff,” Balthazar waved her over. “Werewolves won’t pick up the scent for another week, but a lycan will.”

Selena looked at me, and the uncertainty was written on her face. I dipped my head to take a sniff, but I couldn’t really smell anything different. I wasn’t even sure what lycan pregnancy should smell like. She definitely smelled like me because of our mating, but if Balthazar was scenting it, then there was something different in her scent.

My father stepped closer, and my beast surged. A low rumble rippled in my chest, and my father stopped in his tracks. I wrapped my arm around my mate and tucked her closer into me.

He held his hands up in surrender. “I just wanted to see if I could smell it,” he said.

“It’s true,” Aunt Demeter declared. “I can scent it.”

“Hole in one!” Grandma Dori whooped.

“If she’s pregnant, then who’s the father?” My dad questioned, and it earned an open growl from me.

“Will you calm down,” Balthazar turned to me. “He’s not going to hurt your mate or his grandpup.”

“A pup? Are… are you sure?” Selena asked, her sweet voice shaking.

“He has over two thousand years of experience,” Grandma smiled. “I think Balthazar knows what he’s sniffing.”

Aunt Demeter laughed and nodded her head. “He’s scented every pregnancy in the pack before anyone else.”

“That was quick!” Rex replied.

“The question we should be asking is how this is possible,” Mateo spoke in disbelief. “Balthazar, are you sure lycans can only reproduce with their destined mates?”

“Hello?” Grandma replied. “Two thousand years of experience, of course, he’s sure. What do you think caused lycans to go extinct,” she reminded us.

Balthazar lived when lycans ruled and had even been pack Alpha. If anyone knew for sure, it was him. My lycan was beside himself with joy, pride, and a fierce need to protect her from everyone.

“I’m sure,” Balthazar nodded. “They’re the proud parents and destined mates. But I’m wondering why they can’t feel the typical mate bond sensations?”

“Could it be some kind of magic or curse?” My mother asked.

“I don’t know,” Balthazar replied.

“My wolf has always wanted Sol,” Ranger declared.

“Don’t you start, too!” Mateo snapped.

“I know Cynder is my other half,” Zane insisted. “I don’t need the zings. Something is wrong with the bonds.”

“I can hear Selena’s thoughts,” I told them. “After I marked her. Just as a true mate should.”

“Me too,” Ranger admitted.

Mateo suppressed a growl, and his fists clenched. “You marked my little girl?”

“She’s my mate!” Ranger replied. “I swear to you, I would never do anything to hurt Sol.”

“I told you,” Storm said. “Something is wrong here.”

“It still doesn’t explain why three females all went into heat at the same time if they had been given heat suppressants,” my mother said.

“They had already met their mates,” Storm told her. “The reason they needed heat suppressants in the first place was because they had met their mates, but they just didn’t know it.”

I turned to look at Selena. “You’ve been my destined soulmate this entire time. I’m so sorry it took me so long to figure it out.” My lycan was angry at the lost years. The hurt she must have suffered when she ran away to Paris. I should have never let her leave. I should have demanded her as my chosen mate, and we’d already have had a few pups to prove something was wrong with the bonds. Letting her go was hard on me, but I knew my Selena had a tender heart.

My Selena.

My mate.

My Queen.

The mother of my pup. I felt the breath leave my lungs as the magnitude of that last thought hit me. Our baby. A pup that would be one-half me and one-half her. I was going to be a father.

“So, the mate bonds are defective?” Caspian asked.

“If the mate bonds are defective… I might still have a chance with Valaria!” Flaym smiled.

“Don’t hold your breath,” Rex chuckled.

“How do we fix the problem with the bond?” Caspian asked. “It could be anything or anyone.”

“Maybe we should just ask the Moon Goddess?” Grandma replied.

“Looks like we might have to throw Flaym off the Eiffel Tower after all,” Caspian laughed.

“Selena,” Paola reached for her daughter. “My sweet girl, I’m so sorry we didn’t realize sooner.” She hugged my mate, who was crying.

“I’m going to be a grandmother!” My mom rushed over to hug me with tears in her eyes.

“This means that my sister and Zane…” Flaym said with a pause.

“Mates,” Storm replied. “Try to keep up here.”

“Lukas,” Selena turned to me. She was still crying, and my beast didn’t like it. I needed to get her alone, to hold her and breathe her in.

“You’ll have to excuse us,” I said, scooping her up in my arms. She needs to rest.”

“You haven’t had breakfast yet!” Grandma Dori called out behind us as I raced off with my mate.

“Send an order to my room.” I rushed through the door and down the stairs, returning to the suite we had just left moments earlier.

Her arms wrapped around my neck, and she quickly buried her face in my shoulder. She was on the verge of hysterical sobs, and I kissed the top of her head to try to calm her. I took a seat in the deep armchair and held her in my lap.

“Shhhh,” I whispered softly as I stroked her back.

She looked up at me with those beautiful, wet brown eyes and met my gaze. I didn’t need to read her thoughts to understand what was happening. My sweet girl was mixed with relief and confusion. I kissed her lips softly and tasted her salty tears.

“It’s okay,” I whispered again and continued to kiss away the tears until I was kissing her closed eyelids.

“It all just happened… so… so fast,” she stammered.

“I love you, Selena. I have my entire life, and now you’re really mine.”

“I’m afraid I’m going to wake up and find out this has all been a dream,” she said hesitantly.

“Kas can bite your ass again to prove it’s not a dream,” I offered, and she let out a soft giggle.

We sat in silence for a while, trying to get past the shock. She was mine—my true destined mate. Not only was she finally mine, but she was having my pup. By the time my parents were my age, they already had me and my siblings. My father and his wolf, Apollo, were the best, and I silently prayed I could measure up to him.

“I wonder why the bond has been mute to us?” She asked.

“I’m going to kill whoever is responsible.”

Selena’s eyes went wide. “What if it was the Moon Goddess?”

“I don’t think it was her.” Even as I said it, I couldn’t help but doubt myself. The Moon Goddess hadn’t given elemental gifts to anyone after Rex and Storm. I tried to remember when the mate bonds went mute and why.

“I can’t believe it happened so fast,” she said, looking down at her still flat stomach.

“Magic dick,” I grinned just as a knock came from the door. I could sense who was on the other side. “Storm and Rex,” I told her.

She wiped her eyes and tried to slide off my lap, but my beast was having none of it. She was carrying our pup, and she needed to eat.

“Come in,” I called out, knowing Storm already had a key. She had been delivering food to us during the mating haze because my lycan would have killed any male, human or not, that the kitchen staff may have sent up to deliver food.

“Okay, something strange is definitely happening here,” Storm said as she set the tray down.

“I should have listened to you sooner.”

“Is it okay if I come closer, or will you attack me?” Rex asked with a smile.

My arm instinctively tightened around my mate, and I had to remind myself that my brother was not here to steal her from me. “Come have a seat.”

“Congratulations,” he beamed at both of us. “I can’t tell you how happy and relieved I am for both of you.”

“Thank you,” Selena uttered. “I… I think I might be in shock.”

“I think everyone is!” Rex grinned as he took a seat. Storm paced back and forth, and I knew she had more to say.

I reached for the honey-topped yogurt and dumped the small bowl of berries on it. Then, I lifted the spoon to Selena’s mouth and was pleased when she ate it.

“Who would have ever thought Zane and Cynder,” I said with a chuckle. “They always argued over everything when we visited Crescent Moon.”

“I still remember that summer in Greece when she put the sea urchins in Zane’s shoes,” Storm laughed.

“What about my sister and Ranger?” Selena questioned with genuine shock.

“Oh, come on! That was no surprise,” Storm said. “It’s no secret there was something there, even if Ranger tried hard to deny it. The last thing he wanted to do was break your father’s trust.”

She was right. We all had a deep level of respect for Mateo. My father may have been the Alpha King, but even he regarded Mateo as a big brother. It was the only thing that kept me from pouncing on Selena when she turned eighteen.

“Did anyone else find their mate at the ball?” Selena asked and ate another spoonful of yogurt from me.

“No,” Storm replied. “From what I hear, all hell broke loose when the three of you went into heat at the same time.”

I recalled hearing screaming and some kind of commotion in the distance when Selena went into heat. With so many Alphas salivating at a chance with my mate, I made a quick exit with her.

“Ranger nearly killed one of the Crow Alphas from Australia trying to leave with Sol, and Zane barely made it out alive,” Rex told us.

“What happened to Zane?” Selena asked and reached for the chocolate croissant on the platter. I smiled, knowing I’d have to stock up on chocolate for my pregnant mate.

“He was attacked by three Alphas trying to take Cynder from him,” Storm replied. “Cynder had to fight off Alpha Volkov, who tore her gown. From what I hear, it was a fucking mess!”

“Grandma beat Alpha Pierre Darc with a macaron tree when he tried to take Persephone,” Rex said. “Flaym told me Darc looked like a pok-a-dot circus clown by the time she was done with him.”

“Alpha Darc tried to take Persephone?” Selena shrieked. “I’m in so much trouble! Demeter and Balthazar will never let her spend time with me again.”

“Are you sure he was trying to take Persephone?”

“Yes!” Rex replied. “Darc’s Beta tried to run off with Persephone when everyone was distracted after you two ran off. Constantine managed to reach them before the helicopter took off. The Beta submitted to him and said he was only following his Alpha’s orders to take Persephone.”

“I don’t understand. Did she go into heat?” Selena asked.

“Persephone is a lycan who has yet to reach maturity,” Storm shook her head. “Heat isn’t possible until after twenty-five, even with stimulants.”

“But if she was at the ball, then someone might suspect she had reached maturity.”

“She was wearing a full face mask and had no scent,” Selena said. “No one would have recognized her. She may as well have been a human walking around.”

“Unless it was someone who knew Persephone was with you?” I questioned my mate. Alpha Darc knew who Selena was, and I wondered if he knew Persephone was with her.

“You think someone slipped us something on purpose?” Selena asked.

“Dad had a meeting with the other Alphas the next day,” Rex hesitated. “They think you three may have taken Estrosine... on purpose.”

“What kind of stupid nonsense is that?” I growled. “Do you know how dangerous it would have been for a female to take that and walk into an event with hundreds of unmated male wolves?”

“Unlike lycans, werewolves are capable of conceiving with someone other than their destined mate,” Rex replied. “It’s not very common, but it has happened.”

“They think we took Estrosine to trap an Alpha mate?” Selena questioned with open-mouthed horror.

“Well, it’s a good thing it did happen,” Storm replied. “Thanks to my future niece or nephew, we know something is wrong with the mate bonds.”

“Yes, but Dad was worried the other Alphas would revolt,” Rex replied.

Females started randomly going into heat years ago after reaching maturity. Because Alphas could easily beat out other males to rut a female in heat, a decree was passed by my father to allow females heat suppressants until she found her true mate. But it wasn’t random. It had been happening because they had found their mates and didn’t know it.

“Why would they revolt?” Selena asked, shaking her head. “We didn’t take anything to bring on heat.”

“Not that you know of,” Rex added.

I hesitated to ask, knowing this couldn’t be good. “How’d the meeting go?”

“Storm and I flew in with Xena and Killian to attend the meeting,” Rex said.

“Xena and Killian?” My father’s cousins from different sides of the family had also been turned into lycans. They had joined us in Paris to attend a meeting with all the Alphas that had traveled here for the ball.

My father was a golden wolf and a demigod to boot, with control over all four elements. He was a force no Alpha could beat. If he had attended the meeting with Storm, Rex, Aunt Demeter, Balthazar, Xena, and Killian, it would have been because he wanted to show strength. Six lycans at your back, most of which were also elemental, would have been enough to keep an army of angry Alphas in check.

“Was he worried about an attack?” Selena asked.

“It was enough to remind them why we’re the royal family and squash any thoughts of doubt,” Storm replied with a smirk. “It was like a silent but lethal threat.”

“Where’s Persephone?”

“She’s in Italy with her brothers,” Storm told us.

She had been sent to Nightshade Pack with the triplets. “Dad’s hiding them with Cyrus?” I asked, and Rex nodded.

Balthazar had long ago turned Cyrus and his mate into lycans to save Esme’s life. Cyrus was the Alpha of the largest pack in Europe, and his earth element made him a dangerous enemy to anyone who challenged him. He was fiercely protective of his offspring, Valaria and Atlas, and I had no doubt he would give up his life to protect Balthazar’s family.

“Killian and Xena also sent Kario to stay with Cyrus,” Rex said.

Storm continued pacing. Her eyes kept shifting from human to lycan, and occasionally, they turned white. I was just ready to ask Rex if he noticed her eyes turning white when she stopped walking.

“It’s brewing,” she whispered as if she was in a trance.

I wasn’t sure if she was talking to us. “What is?”

“The storm.”

*****

I have to say, I'm just so excited reading all of your comments and guesses! Some of you have gotten somewhat close, but I'm grinning from ear to ear because of the plot twist that's coming—the one that you never suspected. Muahahaha!

It's so much fun because I know you can't skip ahead and cheat. You have to ride on the roller coaster to get to the end, and let me tell you... I can't wait for your reactions.

For those who have asked, I will be posting my inspiration board on my wall in a few days. I have a character I haven't introduced yet, so I need to wait a few more chapters before I share it.