The Lycan Prince's Mate

OLIVIA

The air in the room was thick with tension.

Luna Claire glared at me. Her features tightened in a frown and her eyes gleamed with disgust as they swept over me. I lowered my eyes to the ground, shifting uncomfortably.

From the corner of my eyes I could see Lisa narrowing her eyes at me in annoyance alongside her friend, Bella, who was right beside her shooting me an icy glare.

My eyes fell on Rowan, he was slouched on the couch next to his mother like he had not a care in the world.

The news that I tried to seduce Rowan had reached the ears of the Luna. I knew that Bella or Lisa would report the matter to her but I really did not prepare to face her wrath.

Luna Claire sent for Rowan immediately. She, of course, wanted to hear from the horse's mouth.

Her face widened in shock as Rowan answered in the affirmative at the subject of me being his fated mate.

Luna Claire laid back on the couch and propped herself on one elbow. Her eyes narrowed at me for a brief moment and then closed tightly as she pondered on the situation. She knew I was faultless in this case. If I had a choice, I would rather not be fated to any member of this pack at all.

I've had my own share of the mistreatments of unranked members by the ranked members of the pack.

I wasn't born an omega. Some years back, I was the beta's cherished daughter, safe and protected.

Life was good, until that dreaded day when our pack was attacked and father was killed. I was devastated, I remember running about wildly, looking for mom, but she was nowhere to be found. Eventually, she was declared missing.

Since my parents were gone, I was catered for by the alpha who thought it necessary to repay my father's sacrifice for the pack. That was until the Alpha also died in another brutal attack a few months ago.

Then I had gone very fast from being an average wolf under the alpha's care to an omega with no family at all.

I wasn't expected to scrub and clean after the ranked members just like the other omegas but I've had to endure beatings and spiteful words often hurled at me. Unfortunately for me, I am being treated worse than some omegas as Luna Claire's dislike for me was glaring. Whatever the feud was between us, I was yet to understand.

She didn't hide the fact that she hated me for some unknown reason nor did she leave any stone unturned when it came to meting out punishments to me.

Luna Claire slowly straightened herself back up, and heaved a deep sigh. She had probably figured how best to go about the situation or even the worst punishment fit for me.

I busied my mind, counting each passing second until Luna Claire began to speak.

"Olivia," she called, drawing my attention back to herself. My heart raced in panic. I dreaded what she was about to say even before she spoke. Whatever it was, I was sure it was no good.

She hesitated for a brief moment before spilling her decision.

"You will be kept aside as his mistress." She dropped the bombshell.

"What!" Lisa was shocked. Her eyes had grown wide as saucers. Lisa was not only the present beta's older daughter, but she was Rowan's chosen mate, specially picked and favored by Luna Claire. In a couple of days, she would be mated to him and would officially become the Luna of the Cold Moon pack.

"Lisa, as much as I do not want this, I need not remind you that Rowan needs his mate for his wolf to become stronger. Do I?" Luna Claire asked in an uptight frown, making Lisa swallow.

Lisa shook her head severally, "Not at all, Luna." she admitted. She could not afford to offend the Luna afterall.

"This is solely for the benefit of the pack, Lisa. It would be better if you don't think too much about it." She scolded.

"You will be claimed and marked as his Luna." She pointed at Lisa, pausing for a brief second to let her words sink in. Her eyes swept over everyone in the room finally settling on me.

I tried to steady my breathing. Everyone in the room had their eyes on me now. I was able to handle their stares before now, but at the moment, I desperately wanted the ground to open up and swallow me. Maybe it would if I prayed hard enough.

"Lisa here will attend to the pack duties as the Luna while you will be reserved to specially take care of his wolf." She declared, completely ignoring the fact that I could have a different opinion about this.

It did not matter to her that she was practically enforcing her decision on me not caring how I felt about this whole thing.

My eyes met with Rowan's. He shrugged lazily, a silent cue that he was unable to do anything about it.

Just great.

I am expected to watch my fated mate claim and mark another wolf, while being kept aside as his mistress because as an alpha, his wolf 'needs' his mate to become stronger.

Was I really a terrible person in my past life to be presented with such a horrible fate in this present one? I wondered in my heart.

"Are we clear on this?" Luna Claire asked, her gaze alternating between Lisa and I.

A lump formed in my throat, making me swallow. "Yes, Luna." I answered. I wasn't even given a choice in the first place. All I could do was hope that some magic would occur or some supernatural being would appear and rescue me from this horrible fate.

"Yes please," Lisa responded, her eyes gleaming with hatred at me. She was obviously displeased with Luna Claire's decision.

I barely managed to make my way out of her office, with my knees almost giving way underneath me as I walked.

I managed to get to my room without aid, and as soon as I laid on my bed, the events of my last birthday, a day I was supposed to cherish but had turned into a nightmare, flashed through my mind.

Flashback

I had just turned eighteen. Although I had no family to celebrate with, I was hoping to make the best out of it. The excitement of meeting my mate as soon as possible overwhelmed me. He was the only hope I was holding unto.

I sang as I tried on new outfits given to me by Lily, my only friend in the pack, for my birthday. I was checking out myself in the mirror and gushing over a beautiful red dress when I caught a whiff of this scrumptious scent of cinnamon and coconut. It appealed to me, growing stronger as it advanced towards me.

Rowan had walked in on me while I changed my dress. My breath hitched in surprise, then it slowly dawned on me that he was the owner of the delicious scent clouding my senses.

"Mate!" He muttered almost in a whisper, confirming my suspicions. I froze to the spot for a moment in utter dismay.

Was this some sort of a joke or something?

How could I be fated to a man who was already taken? Fated to no other than the future alpha for crying out loud. What wrong had I done to the moon goddess? I thought bitterly.

His sudden charge toward me brought me back to the present. He grabbed me and pinned me to the wall. The feel of his breath on my neck emitted sparks that coursed through my whole body. My cheeks flushed as my body shuddered in delight at the contact.

"You smell so delicious." He growled in a husky voice. His head hung for a split second before it lowered, bringing his mouth to meet mine.

"Rowan.." I called in fear for my life. I couldn't risk anyone seeing us in this position.

"Please stop." I begged.

The creak of the door sent me into a fit of panic with Bella peering into my room just at the time.

"Rowan!" Bella gasped, Her gaze shifted to me in disdain.

"Dammit!" He cursed as he dashed out after Bella who marched straight out of the room.

"I'm done for." was all I could mutter as I sank down on my bed.

End of flashback

I let the tears freely run down my cheeks, I needed the release, I could no longer bottle up the pain I felt as Luna Claire's pronouncement had weakened me to my bones. My heart broke the more I thought about it.

Everything I ever owned was always in one way or the other taken away from me.

My parents were snatched from me by death.

My position as the beta's daughter was stripped off me.

Now my fated mate was being mated to another.

No parents.

No rank.

No mate.

LISA

It would be an understatement to say I am displeased. I am as furious as hell about how this whole mate issue was playing out. Rowan doesn't seem bothered, if anything, he seemed to be very much pleased with his mother's decision.

Everyone in the pack knew that Rowan liked Olivia. He had liked her for years now, even though his relationship with her had only been that of mere friends.

Although he grew distant from her shortly after the loss of his father, our alpha. Their friendship went totally sour when Luna Claire picked me as her son's chosen mate so he could take over the pack.

I never expected that this same Olivia would be fated to Rowan as he had been in search of his mate for over four years with no success.

I suddenly feel a bit of guilt, wondering if I didn't do too much by hitting Olivia the previous day.

Flashback

Smack! My hands landed on the face of the girl I disliked the most in this pack.

"How dare you attempt to seduce Rowan?" I spat in rage.

She looked up at me in shock, her cheek swollen with red marks from the prints of my fingers.

"You...you've misunderstood the whole thing, Lisa." she stuttered. Smack! Another slap rang through the air, not allowing her say any more than that.

She opened her mouth again to offer an explanation but I do not care for one. I did not need it. I only wanted to vent my anger.

"Shut it!" I blared. She bit her lower lip, biting back her words. Her eyes were filled with unshed tears.

"Easy there, Lisa." I heard Bessie's voice reach out to me from behind.

"You really don't have to soil your hands with dirt." Bella, my best friend, was here to support me.

"Olivia...or whatever it is you are called, it's a shame that you don't know your place in this pack." Bella said to Olivia with indignation. "You must think too highly of yourself to dare seduce the future alpha of Cold Moon pack." she shot as she stared her down in a cold gaze.

Bella's words incited a fresh rage inside of me and I raised my hand to give her another slap but my hand was abruptly stopped mid-air.

"Rowan!" I yelled when I turned to see him holding my raised hand. "You're standing up for her?" I demanded, my anger replaced with disbelief.

"KEEP YOUR DAMN HANDS TO YOURSELF, LISA!" He growled, shooting me a stern look.

I was shocked.

"Uhm, Rowan," Bella tried to talk some sense into her brother. "You don't have to make it look like Lisa's overreacting. Olivia here went overboard by trying to seduce...

"SHUT IT!" Rowan bellowed, cutting her short too. "And don't tell me what I should or shouldn't do!" He snarled at her.

Bella's face flushed with embarrassment.

"Are you okay?" He asked her with a gentle tone. His eyes softened immediately he faced her to examine her face.

"How could you do this to a fellow girl?" He turned his head, asking me irritably.

"And how could you bear to defend this wench?" I fired back. My face had tightened in anger. I couldn't bear to watch him show concern for another she-wolf over me.

"You've misunderstood the whole thing, Lisa." He huffed.

"Really? So everyone now thinks I'm crazy? I accused.

His jaw clenched. Then he closed his eyes for a brief moment and took a deep breath. "Lisa, Olivia is my mate!" He spat through gritted teeth.

"What! I'm not standing here to watch this." I seethed as I stormed out of Olivia's room with mixed feelings of surprise, uncertainty and then fear. Fear gradually turned into anger.

End of flashback

I had some kind of doubt that she would dare to seduce my mate though because Rowan would actually be the one to do anything to have her in his bed.

Rowan standing up for his mate was all I needed to know that this was going to be a tough one. There were only a few men who could handle such complicated mate issues. Rowan wasn't one of them. He would rather sit back and watch his mother handle it.

I made up my mind to report to Luna Claire first since she would preside over the matter. She usually favoured me amongst other girls in the pack. As the beta's older daughter, not only was I beautiful, I was also the strongest girl of my age in the pack. I took training sessions seriously and became so good at fighting that Luna Claire took note of me.

When she chose me to be her son's mate, I literally became a part of the alpha family save for the coronation that would officially make me Luna. I was sure she was going to take my word over Olivia's. What I did not expect however, was that she would ask her son to keep both women. Her pronouncement in her office stung me fiercely.

When Luna Claire made the pronouncement of having me mated to Rowan as the official Luna with Olivia on the side as his mistress, I expected Rowan to say something, anything to protect my interest at least.

But no, he would never go against his mom and this was the problem with him. He never had his own say as a man. He listened to his mother way too much, not caring if she was wrong or not.

He appeared to have no problem with it, he seemed pleased to have two women to himself. Not that I would let that happen anyway.

I was sure of one thing, which was that I would not sit and watch my mate keep a mistress right under my nose, not even if she was his mate. I made up my mind as my legs wobbled to his room, I needed to have this talk with him.

____

"What do you mean by your hands are tied?" My whole body trembled with rage as I screamed at him.

Rowan looked up at me half-heartedly. "Lisa, that's my mate we're talking about here."

A bitter taste formed in my throat causing me to swallow. I put my thoughts together as I really do not want my emotions to get the better of me.

"Really? So we.." I point at him with my index finger, bringing it back to myself. "We are not mates?" I said, more of a question than a statement.

"Don't be like this, Lisa." Rowan said, as he stepped closer, drawing me to himself.

I wiggled my way out of his arms. I wanted him to be clear with me on this.

"Who the h*ll am I to you, Rowan?" I yelled in frustration. He took a step back, startled at my outburst.

"We're chosen mates, Lisa. Olivia is my fated mate." He responded, his lips twitching slightly. "I mean, I'm not the moon goddess that fates wolves." He hissed irritably, his hands pulled through his hair in frustration.

Rowan had been a good partner these few months we've been together, getting to know each other. His affection for me had grown relatively stronger up until his mate saga with Olivia on her turning eighteen.

I moved closer to him, cupping his chin with my palms. I gently lowered his head to meet my gaze. "You can reject her." I let out what had been on my mind for a while now.

"We all know that she is not qualified to be the Luna of this pack, so it's okay to reject her, Rowan." I said softly, trying to convince him.

He brushed my hand away from himself. "Come on, Lisa. The poor girl is just for my wolf, rejecting her would weaken my wolf." He looked pained as he uttered those words. Was rejecting a fated mate so hard that he couldn't even think of it? I wondered.

"I'll find a way to keep you both happy Lisa. You will lack nothing and I'll keep her out of your way." The resolute look in his eyes was enough to let me know his stance. He apparently had made up his mind.

I looked away in disappointment, "so you are not going to reject her?" I asked, my voice laced with resignation. Rowan did not say another word to me. He looked at me as if I was unbelievable. I expected this was going to end this way but I chose to still test the waters.

"It's already a lost cause, Lisa." Bella chimed in. She had been on the bed all the while watching us argue.

I glanced at her for a brief second, trying to keep my temper in check. They call the shots in this pack, so I had to be in their good books if I really wanted to be one of them. Offending them would be disastrous, even though I already felt trapped.

"Your coronation is in a few days. You should focus on becoming Luna." She added, placing her arm on my shoulder in assurance.

I comforted myself with the thought of being with Rowan as his Luna. At least, I was not a mistress. It would be the most exhilarating moment of my life. Who wouldn't want to be the Luna of a pack anyway?

OLIVIA

I walked into the large hall with Lily. She had insisted that she wasn't going to leave me all by myself in my room. She wasn't hearing any of the excuses I made to not attend the party.

Lily is Lisa's younger sister, they are the present beta's daughters. While Lily was calm and feisty, Lisa's the opposite of her sister, loud and rude.

"If you really want to go ahead with your rejection, then you should watch him mark Lisa. You would see yourself hating him for real."Those were her words to me all through the day. Her idea of motivation marvelled me at times. She was always blunt at it with no hidden feelings.

Lily had rejected her mate a few months back, on the very day she met him as she had stumbled on him plunging ferociously into another she-wolf. I often wondered how she was able to cope.

I had let her know that I would be rejecting Rowan. His regular sexual episodes with Lisa were getting to the height of it since the Luna's order. My chest burned and tightened with pain each time he was at it. Ava, my wolf was in a more sorry state, she rolled and whimpered in intense pain while her mate pleasured himself in the arms of another. At the rate he was going at it, we would be destroyed sooner than later.

I wasn't about to live my life in such intense pain. It was my life and I had the right to make a choice on what to do with it after all. I wouldn't be a freaking mistress to anyone and I wouldn't accept to be mated to that weakling of a man who wouldn't stand up to his mother to save his life.

Lily insisted on sitting with me at the round table meant for the regular members of the pack. There were so many people gathered in the hall that served as the venue for Rowan's coronation. The hall was beautifully decorated that it looked so much in contrast to the plain hall we used to know.

Rowan walked in with his arm wrapped around his would-be Luna. They moved past the row of tables up to the long table specially reserved for the ranked members.

Lisa's gaze met mine, with a small smile of victory playing on her lip.

She looked irritatingly pleased with herself as she reached for a glass of champagne, bringing it to her lip with a sneer.

Then she leaned her head against Rowan's shoulder, whispering something to him affectionately.

Rowan's face brightened at her words, his free hand tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

My chest felt like it was on fire. Ava winced at her mate's public display of affection for another she-wolf.

"Put yourself together, Ava. We would be free from him in no time." I begged.

Suddenly everyone bared their necks in submission to a very powerful aura. It was intimidating but for an unknown reason, I didn't feel the need to bare my neck.

I instead looked up to see a drop dead gorgeous man take the largest seat reserved at the high table. He had walked into the hall through the VIP entrance.

Lily pinched my arm, snapping me back to reality "What is wrong with you?" She mouthed in fear for me. I quickly bared my neck, submitting to his aura.

"What the h*ll were you thinking?" Lily questioned, raising her eyebrow as everyone lifted up their heads.

"I was momentarily lost in thought," I sighed. "I mean no one would be excited seeing their mate mark someone else as his Luna." I shrugged even though my heart ached at the mere thought of it.

With her free arm, she grabbed my shoulders playfully, "You'll be alright," she muttered.

I nodded with a blank expression, my eyes wandering every now and then to the attractive man each passing minute.

Who was this man? I wondered.

As if reading my thoughts, Lily whispered sweetly, "The Prince is such a fine breed of a Lycan." Her eyes held so much admiration for him.

I rolled my eyes at her, "You're drooling, Lily." I chided her, also mentally berating myself for scolding another person for the same sin I was guilty of.

Rowan's swearing in process was almost completed. Soon enough, the crowd erupted in cheers as everyone stood up to honour their alpha.

"I PRESENT TO YOU, ALPHA ROWAN BLACKTHORN, THE ALPHA OF THE COLD MOON PACK." An Elder of the council bellowed.

With pain in my eyes, I stared in horror as he made her his Luna.

The moment he sank his fangs into her not-so pretty neck (rolling my eyes), I felt my bond with him snap. My heart twisted in agony. The screaming pain in my chest made me gasp for air.

Ava trembled as she wriggled in sorrow. She was getting weaker, but for some reason, my mind kept going back to the charming hot prince.

I looked up to steal another glance and I met his eyes staring dead into mine.

My cheeks burned with embarrassment alongside my heart pounding wildly in my chest. I quickly averted my eyes to Lily who handed me a drink. "Thanks." I mumbled, gulping the liquid down my throat.

Today's obviously not a good day for me. Firstly, I watched my mate, mark and mate with another and then this drop-dead gorgeous man had caught me red-faced stealing glances at him.

I was sure I wouldn't stay till the end of this ceremony. The swearing in had been completed already. Sooner or later, the important guests would begin to take their leave. Maybe I could use a good excuse too.

"Lily, I have to go, I don't feel too well at the moment." I whispered impatiently.

She tilted her head, looking at me briefly and gave a slight nod. "It's okay." She mouthed.

I surreptitiously left the hall and walked out into the open air. I felt much better as the cool night breeze settled on my skin. I stumbled aimlessly around the pack house. My patience was growing thin and I wanted to quickly put an end to this sad fate that was about to befall me.

Suddenly, there were goosebumps all over my body. I had this strange feeling of being watched. In fright, I quickly made a u-turn to head back into the pack house and almost fell as I bumped into a thick wall that suddenly blocked my path. This wall was made of flesh. I could feel the tautness of it under my palms.

"Careful," the wall of flesh said gently, his fingers brushing my skin as he helped me from falling. Sharp tingles shot through my arm making me impulsively retrieve my arm from his chest.

I looked up in a daze to see that this wall was no other person than the Prince.

Was I in trouble? How bad was this day going to get? I thought groggily.

Now that we were in a very close range, he was unbelievably handsome and far more irresistible than he was from afar.

He smirked. He probably knew the effect he had on me and was pleased with himself. My face turned crimson red as it heated up in embarrassment. He wasn't going to punish me at least.

"Watch out! You wretched blind hag." A familiar voice screeched from behind.