Unwanted

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 find, he'll find it.

"Sure, I'll be right there." He replies. I need a shower, but I don't have time, and besides, I'd rather shower with Teegan, so I throw on clean clothes and walk down the hall to my office. Marcus arrives at the same time as I do.

"I hear congratulations are in order." He pats my back, and I can't help smiling.

"Yeah, I finally found my mate. She's amazing." I sit behind my desk, and my thoughts are on Teegan. I wonder if she will have had enough sleep when I get back. Maybe I can get a little more before we go to dinner.

"I can't wait to meet her. So, what did you want to talk about?" Marcus asks, sitting across from me.

"Teegan is a werewolf but was adopted by humans as a pup. She thinks she was abandoned, but I'm not so sure. Can you look into this for me and see if you can find her birth parents? I want to find out the truth so she knows where she comes from, at least." Marcus smiles and nods.

"Let me see what I can do. What's her full name and date of birth. Let's start with that and what are the names of her adoptive parents. Maybe I can find something from where she was adopted and talk to some of the packs around that area." I give Marcus everything he asks for, and he leaves.

Standing, I look out the window down to the gardens in the back. Why is Wendy here? My dad told her not to step foot back on the grounds. I get ready to mindlink the guards when she looks up at me and smirks. She turns on her heel and walks out the back gate. I don't know what she's up to, but if she does anything to hurt Teegan, she's dead.

"Guards, be on the lookout for Wendy. She's not to step foot on palace grounds under any circumstances. If she does, throw her in the dungeons." I get responses back from the men as I reach our bedroom. I panic when I see Teegan isn't where I left her until I hear the shower water running. Perfect. I strip my clothes off and open the shower door. She has her back to me, and I move behind her, wrapping my arms around her.

"You startled me." She says, turning in my arms. I lean down and kiss her.

"I thought you had run away, and when I heard you in here, I couldn't resist." The feel of her body against mine causes an automatic response. She looks down and smirks.

"Haven't you had enough, little guy?" Little? She thinks I'm little?

"How dare you disrespect him in such a manner? I think this calls for a serious punishment." Teegan tries to hide her giggle as she feigns innocence.

"Please forgive me, your highness. What can I do to make it up to you?" That should not make me painfully hard when she talks like that, but it does.

"Well, for starters, you can turn around and bend over. I think you need a lesson on size." Teegan does as I say, and I show her just how big I am. Needless to say, our shower was, once again, not quick. Just as we walk out of the bathroom to get dressed for dinner, there's a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" I ask.

"It's Kiana. I have something for Teegan." I walk over and open the door, letting my sister in. She's carrying a blue dress in her arms.

"I thought you might like to wear this for dinner. I bought it a while ago, but I've never worn it. The blue matches your eyes, so I think it will be perfect for you." Teegan takes the dress and looks at it with her mouth open.

"Wow, this is gorgeous." She says as she steps into the closet and shuts the door. When she walks out, I'm blown away. The dress looks magnificent on her. It's tight, showing off her gorgeous body, and goes all the way to the floor. It has a slightly plunging neckline and a slit showing more thigh than I'd like, but I'll just make sure I stay next to her all night.

"You look beautiful," I say before kissing her.

"It was made for you. You're going to knock them dead at your welcome dinner." Teegan freezes. Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell her.

"What?" She looks from me to Kiana.

"You didn't tell her?" Kiana hits me in the arm.

"They're having a welcome dinner for you and announcing that you'll be crowned tomorrow after we mark each other. Sorry, Dad mindlinked when we were otherwise occupied." Kiana hits me again.

"Way too much information. Go get ready. I'm taking Teegan with me so we can do her hair and makeup." Kiana grabs Teegan and pulls her out of the room. I'm glad they're friends, but I don't know how I feel about sharing my mate.

I quickly put on a black suit with a white button-up shirt and a blue tie. After combing my hair, I'm ready to go. I step into the hall just as Kiana, Leslie, and Alisia walk out of a room down the hall.

"Where's Teegan?" I ask anxiously. Kiana rolls her eyes.

"We're waiting for the big reveal. Are you ready to see your mate?" Leslie asks. Seeing Wendy sneaking around really got to me, and I keep expecting something to happen. I don't feel comfortable with Teegan being away from me, even for a few minutes.

"Yes," I answer impatiently.

"Teegan, come on out," Kiana says. I thought she looked beautiful before, but now she looks like a queen. The makeup they put on her is subtle, but it makes her blue eyes more defined. They twisted her long blonde hair up, leaving just a few long curls to frame her gorgeous face. When I look down at her feet, she's wearing thin silver heels. She looks like Cinderella. Why do I keep referencing children's books and movies? Am I that anxious to have pups?

"Well?" Alisia says with a smirk. Why do my sisters have to be here? The things I'm thinking I can't exactly say in front of them, so instead, I just stare at her with my mouth open.

"Clean up on aisle five; Joel has a drooling problem." Kiana, please stop making everyone laugh. I still wipe my mouth just to make sure I'm not actually drooling.

"Uh, you look incredible," I say in almost a whisper. My sisters start giggling as they walk away. Teegan walks over to me with a smile.

"Your sisters do amazing work." I shake my head as I put my arms around her.

"No, sweetheart, it's your natural beauty shining through. I want to kiss you but don't want to mess anything up." I kiss her forehead, and she slips her arm into mine as we walk down the stairs. I probably should have warned Teegan about this as well. There are dozens of people waiting for us as we're announced, coming down the steps.

"Introducing Prince Joel with his mate Teegan, who will be crowned at tomorrow's festival." Teegan hesitates when she sees all the people staring at us, but she keeps her head held high. I look around for anyone looking at her in a way they shouldn't. So far, everyone is smiling and clapping. I relax slightly.

"Joel, I found something I think you're going to want to see." Marcus mindlinks me.

"We just arrived at the welcome dinner. What is it?" I ask as we join my parents.

"I found Teegan's birth parents."