Mated to the Alpha King (A Royal’s Tale Book 1)

The sound of a distant owl’s hoot, then a familiar tower bell’s chime alerted me that we were nearing the castle.

I could do nothing but sigh in his arms as Bryce held me closer, leaping onto a tree while at it. How many times had we been here—him taking inhuman leaps, me over his shoulders? Clearly I was not in the mood to do a recount, but it felt like one too many!

I gritted my teeth and shut my eyes tightly as the cold wind blew, and the violent shivers began. Everything just seemed like a never-ending large cycle of tiffs, abductions, and apologies.

The quick click of a door opening alerted me that we had finally reached the castle, but the still-present shivers kept me frozen in my current condition.

“We’re here.”

I was mad at Bryce—very, very mad. But as he dropped me onto the all too familiar black silk bedcovers, I couldn’t help but let a small smile show at how appreciative he looked as he stood at the foot of the bed, watching me.

“I like how you look in my bed.”

What an enigma . . . I thought as I mentally rolled my eyes.

“Well, great, because that’s all you’ll be doing for a while—looking. Now tell me, why the abduction?”

Bryce let out a bitter chuckle, shaking his head slowly, as he started making his way to where I was, on the edge of the bed.

“You know . . . when I climbed through your window tonight, I had thought I’d see my mate in her bed alone, asleep . . . Turns out she was asleep. But alone?” He shook his head again. “That, she was not.”

His chuckle died, and his lips spread in a thin line, the coldness in the room suddenly matching the coldness of his gaze. “What I climbed through the window to see was my mate sleeping—not alone but with her overly bubbly best friend and a man who happens to have the strangest of obsessions over her.”

“Bryce, it’s no—”

“Not what I think?” Bryce let out another stiff chuckle, his cold eyes giving off a strange gleam. He leaned over me, resting a knee on the bed, before going lower with me as I tried to move back out of reflex.

“Then why were his arms around your waist, under your shirt? And why was one of his legs over yours? Clearly, it’s obviously not what I think, Theia; it’s obviously not the fact that you’re letting a man who harbors affection for you entertain himself as he wishes!”

I knew at that moment that I kept slowly opening, then closing my mouth like a fish out of water. But really, what was I to explain here?

Bryce, however, seemed like he didn’t care for a reply because he immediately continued, “I have never tried to forcefully dominate you; I have never tried to go against what you wish for intentionally. But God forbid I become too selfish when it comes to you being mine. I want you, Theia. Your soul, your body, your heart, you—I want you.” He leaned in low enough for his warm breath to touch the back of my ear; I could almost feel his lips on that particular part of my skin. “And if I have to kill someone for it—for you—I will feel no remorse at all.”

“Y-you’re t-trying to scare me into sending b-back Cass and Angelo,” I could do nothing but stutter back, my wide eyes peering into his, occasionally drifting towards the thin smirk he was pulling off quite well.

Bryce only leaned in further, his lips brushing against my cheeks. “Am I, love?”

“Y-yes, bu—” I wasn’t able to complete the sentence because his angry lips slammed into mine. Quickly, my retort turned into a breathy moan.

What were we fighting over anyway?

The room seemed to fill with electrical sparks. Even the open window was unable to diffuse the heavy warmth that hung over the air. I couldn’t help but grasp Bryce’s shoulders and pull him roughly against me, his denim-clad hips rubbing against my thighs. I let out another breathy moan at the sparks that shot through my body when he pulled back his hips and pushed it against my lower stomach again.

“You’re mine, Theia; don’t you ever fucking forget it,” Bryce growled as he pressed his lips against my neck before working his way down my satin tank top, his tongue tracing the contours of my breast.

A gasp left my lips as his fingers traced the hem of my tank top before slipping under it, slowly running his palm across my taut belly.

Quickly finding its destination, his palm cupped my breast and gave it a slow squeeze.

“Bryce,” I breathed shakily, unconsciously arching my back to give him better access.

Everything felt like it was sending a hundred volts of electricity down my body. It seemed so sudden, but before I knew it, Bryce had pulled my tank top over my head, and his shirt was nowhere to be seen.

The chilly night breeze drifted into the room, and I watched as Bryce’s gaze turned dark, his eyes frozen on my hardening nipples. As if unable to contain himself, he let out a strangled growl before pulling one of the hard buds into his mouth. He sucked on it with his teeth before softly flicking his tongue over it, almost as if massaging it.

“You’re so beautiful,” he groaned, pulling back.

I could let out a whimper at losing the feel of his tongue on me when he suddenly pulled away, his eyes blazing with some deep emotion. He had moved back to sit on his legs beside the bed before he suddenly grasped mine and pulled me towards him, quickly resting them on either of his shoulders.

I watched with jaded eyes as he closed his own and inhaled, smiling slightly. His hands reached up to caress the flat of my stomach, then he looked up to gaze at me and smirked triumphantly. “You’re mine.”

Oh God, that was sexy . . . the tiny voice inside me screamed, but despite my racing heart and the gush of something wet that had probably soiled my panties, I managed to uphold a frown, if only long enough to ask him, “Says who?”

“I suppose you need some convincing, love,” Bryce whispered as he chuckled, leaning forward and cheekily grazing my aching nipples with his taunting teeth. He moved back suddenly, and in a heartbeat, we resumed our earlier positions, only this time he had already pulled away my bottoms.

I had shuddered with a new sense of shyness and was just about to cover myself when Bryce grabbed hold of my hand, a warning growl emitting itself from deep within his chest.

“Never hide yourself from me,” he snarled before slowly running his tongue along a tiny silver scar on my pelvic bone, which I had obtained by slamming into a table’s quite-sharp edge back in ninth grade. I had been quite a klutz then.

“Your scars are beautiful—each and every one of them.”

I felt tears brimming my eyes at his soft-spoken admission, and before I could contain myself, I slipped my legs off his shoulders, sank my fingers into his hair, and pulled him forward while also leaning towards him, then caught his lips with mine.

I gave my all into that kiss—all my love and adoration—silently praying that I was able to convey my feelings with it.

Finally fighting for our breaths, Bryce pulled away and chuckled, shaking his head as if in disbelief. “You blow my mind, Theia. I think I’m going to end up neglecting my duties once you move in. I can see it: you and me in bed, naked, day after day, making mad love.”

A giggle left my lips as I retorted mockingly, “What if I want to make sweet love?”

Bryce’s eyes gleamed, and he moved back, getting in the same position for the third time tonight. His gaze met mine, and he smirked again. “I don’t do sweet, love.”

My voice hitched in my throat as he planted a slow, open-mouthed kiss on the inside of my left thigh before pulling its skin with his teeth and repeating the heart-stopping act with my other thigh, his hands holding mine down, our fingers intertwined.

I knew that he was teasing me, but the need for friction between my legs made me want to cry out in frustration as I wasn’t able to press my thighs together to give it some relief.

“B-Bryce, please.” The breathy plea sounded alien to my ears, and my eyes automatically widened when I figured it was I who had so wantonly begged Bryce to do some of the particularly naughty things that were running through my mind.

Bryce chuckled as he planted another open-mouthed kiss closer to my swollen, aching bundle of nerves.

I moaned quite loudly, my hips rubbing against him unconsciously.

“Please what, babe?”

“I— Ah! Oh God, Bryce!” I couldn’t help but let out a scream as I felt his tongue touch the opening of my pussy and slowly lick its way up to apply pressure on my throbbing clit.

I gasped as my hips shot towards his face, my fingers in his hair, pressing him against me.

It felt new—this feeling, this pressure, this pleasure—and heck, I wanted it; I seemed to crave it, so much so that somehow holding Bryce’s face against me didn’t make me feel uncomfortable at all, even when he growled against me before continuing his sweet torture over and over again, sending shivers down my spine.

Another loud moan left my lips, and I almost shot up in bed as Bryce suddenly plunged a thick, long finger into me. The sudden invasion had me clamping him as I continued to shudder with the new sparks that were coursing through me. His hand pressed against my waist as he pushed me into the mattress so that he could continue doing what he wanted.

I could do nothing but release a string of moans, finally giving myself to all my sensual desires, my toes curling, as he nipped at, then sucked on my clit, all the while slowly pumping his finger into me, almost at an agonizing pace.

I gasped as I felt tension build inside of me. Bryce tightened his grip even further and pulled me towards him. I realized I had writhed away from him amid the hazy clouds of passion.

“Stay put,” he mumbled against my lower lip before lazily pulling and nibbling one and returning to the tiny bundle of nerves to slowly suckle it, his finger now pumping quite roughly into me.

The knot inside me was beginning to tighten, almost painfully, but there was still something missing as I twisted and turned, and clutched Bryce, moaning his name loudly again and again. He brought his hand against my stomach and, at an almost-lazy pace, finally reached my breast, tweaking and pulling my nipple. He then sucked on my clit a little harder, and that was all it took for the knot in me to explode, leaving me screaming, shaking against Bryce’s neck once he moved back over me.

“Fuck, I need a cold shower.”

My legs wrapped themselves around Bryce’s hips as he moved out of bed. I pulled him back.

“I-I could help,” I breathed against him, still recovering from the earth-shattering orgasm, my hand reaching for his jeans’ waistband before slipping underneath it.

Bryce let out a groan as he quickly grasped my roaming hand, stopping me just in time as my fingers slipped onto the monster. His cock throbbed at my touch, and Bryce let out another strangled groan.

He pulled my hand away as he continued to lay on top of me, his face hidden in the crook of my neck.

“No. This was about you. I’ll just . . . take a cold shower, okay?”

Again—we were back to square one again, but unlike the other times, I was just going to let this go. The last couple of days had, had Bryce and me quite strained, and I really didn’t want that anymore. If I had to let him have his way for a while, I suppose I would; I would respect his wishes and not push myself on him. I was not going to do that anymore.

“Alright.” I nodded. “I’m next.”

Bryce chuckled as he moved towards the edge of the bed. Turning quickly, he gave me a breathtaking long kiss before slipping out of bed and into the bathroom.

I could only blush as memories of what had just happened floated around my brain, a warm smile etching itself on my lips.

I suppose they really weren’t such a bad thing, these constant abductions.

***

A sleepy groan left my lips as the last few traces of sleep started to fade. Feeling something uncomfortable pressing against my back, I tried to move but found myself unable to. Now feeling disoriented, I opened an eye as I tried to wiggle away from the thing holding me still, but I froze as soon as my eyes had finally adjusted to my environment and landed on sparkling blue ones staring back at me.

“You should really stop doing that,” Bryce groaned as he hid his face in the crook of my neck and planted a chaste kiss there. I ran my fingers through his hair lovingly as we laid there in each other’s arms.

Last night had been wonderful, in the sense that Bryce opened up to me and actually stayed after we’d both had a shower. We spent the rest of the night talking, and I ended up telling him about how Angelo had transitioned and about my life back in California. I was more than a little surprised when Bryce in turn told me about his life back in Britain, although he did skillfully manage to keep any mention of his mother out of the discussion. I didn’t push him, though; I suppose all would come to be known in time. And we had that; we had time.

“I love when you do that,” Bryce mumbled softly as he pulled me closer to him, tightening his arms around my stomach possessively.

“Do what?” I asked, a tiny smile splayed across my lips at how relaxed we were right now. There was no tension, no running away.

He moved his hand towards mine as I continued to play with his hair, softly running my fingers through the thickness of his brown waves. He slowly grasped it. “This.”

I tilted my head so that I could kiss his hair. “I love us not standing on thin ice.”

Both Bryce and I continued to lay there, just fiddling with each other’s hair and clothes, but then suddenly, the double door of Bryce’s room shot open and slammed against the strong walls with a loud bang!

“Aleeex, I’m b— Who the hell is that?”

I immediately shot out of Bryce’s grip and turned to the screaming woman, only to stop dead in my tracks. There in front of me stood a five foot nine blonde bombshell, her shocked, glaring green eyes quite apparent even with the distance we had between us.

My first thoughts were awful—something I immediately cringed thinking about. I suppose Bryce sensed where my thoughts were trailing, and he quickly pulled the covers over us, and when I tried to move away, he pulled me back against him almost lazily.

“Theia, meet Amber; we went to primary school and college together. Amber, meet my mate, my girlfriend, and eventually my fiancé and wife, Theia. Now that the introductions are done, Amber, could you get your ass out of my room with the knowledge to never make an entry into my room in such a manner ever again.”

I knew I was blushing beet red by then. Embarrassment and raw anger were also quite apparent on the girl’s face as she stood in the same position, staring at us.

“B-but, Alex, I thought you didn’t— I mean, you didn’t want a mate!”

He didn’t want a mate?

“I was scared that I would never find one, Amber. You know how rare it is for the men in my family to find their mates. It was a defense mechanism I had up. I just didn’t want to feel disappointed if I didn’t find my mate.”

Oh . . .

The girl still stood there, an ugly expression quickly taking over her face. “B-but I thought you didn’t— I thought you wanted me—to marry me!”

“We were eleven, for God’s sake, Amber! We were kids—barely even wolves! I don’t see you as anything but my friend!”

“I-I left him for you! I t-thought we would eventually end up married! I left him for you!”

Left who, Linguini?

Bryce moved to sit on the bed now. Apparently, lying down was not good enough for having a serious conversation. He pulled me up with him and pulled me closer, halfway onto his lap, and we leaned against the headboard. I turned to look at him, then my eyes widened. His golden eyes were furiously glaring at Amber.

Knowing the only thing that could calm him down, I looked down at his lap before quietly climbing fully on it, grasping the bedcovers so that we both stayed covered. I didn’t appreciate her ogling; Bryce was mine to ogle.

I immediately felt his eyes on me as he relaxed. He wrapped his arms around my waist, pressing me harder against him. He had then let out a shaky breath before he looked back at Amber.

“We both know that was only for your own selfish reasons. I have never and will never entertain the idea of being with you. He loved you, and you just left him. And for me? We all three were best friends, Amber! You just don’t do that! I tried to make you go back to him, but you wouldn’t budge. If you remember correctly, that is the reason why I told you to stay the fuck out of my life. Please remove yourself from our room.”

“She’s a little girl, for fuck’s sake, Alex! She isn’t woman enough for you! She’s human!”

Bryce chuckled, while I gaped at the woman. “Well, she’s my human . . . and the queen, so show some respect!”

“Also, I’m eighteen, and mind you, that does not put me anywhere near being a “little girl.” And well, you being “woman enough” clearly didn’t teach you not to throw yourself at someone who doesn’t want you,” I blurted out when Bryce had barely finished.

Amber jerked forward as if to attack me but froze when a deadly growl sounded from behind me.

“Take one more step, and I will finish you, Amber,” Bryce growled viciously, and even though the anger he was suddenly feeling wasn’t directed at me, I could feel it vibrating off of him.

Amber stood staring at Bryce for a split second before turning around and rushing out of the room. I sat, muted, on the angry, heaving Bryce’s lap. The morning had been ruined.

“Say something,” Bryce snapped as his hold on me tightened.

I sighed before tilting my head towards him. “Who is her mate?”

Bryce shook his head. “That is not my story to tell.”

“Then whose is it?” I retorted almost immediately.

“D—” Bryce stopped and turned to me, his frown now gone and replaced with a grin. “Ah, you had me there for a second! Must admit, that was pretty smart of you.”

“That was not fair, but hey, at least I made you smile.” I also smiled at him softly and snuggled back into his chest.

Just then, the door, which had been slammed shut by the fuming Amber when she was leaving, shot open once more. Both Bryce and I snapped our attention onto it. This time, a very worried Meryl marched in.

“Get ou— Oh!” She blushed once her eyes landed on us. “Sorry—I thought that stupid girl, Amber, was back to dig her paws into my little Alex. I’m glad I found you here instead. That must have gotten rid of her! Good riddance, I say!”

Meryl smiled brightly as she spoke. She had sent a secret wink my way and a look of motherly love to Bryce before she turned around and made her way out but not without stopping once she was at the door. “You two better come downstairs, you know. It’s almost noon.”

“Almost noon”? Oh shit, Casey and Angelo!

“I have to go home! What the hell would they think when they wake up to find me missing? Oh God, what a disas— Bryce, let go!” I pleaded desperately as I tried to get out of bed.

Bryce, on the other hand, had other plans.

Pulling me back against him, he tucked his free hand underneath my shorts, then hooked his fingers around the lacy panties I had put on after bathing last night. Bryce had been quick to get me one from my room “across the castle.”

My breath hitched as he tugged at it, his own breathing becoming heavy as he leaned closer to plant a kiss on the base of my neck.

“Is it a sin that I just can’t get enough of you?” Bryce groaned against my neck, his bold fingers moving further down towards my now-throbbing nub, his other hand gliding slowly across my stomach and quickly cupping my breast.

“You’re so wet,” Bryce growled, stroking me almost in a torturous pattern, his other fingers pretty occupied with teasing my hard nipples.

A soft scream left my lips suddenly as Bryce plunged a finger in me. My hips began moving on the same rhythm as his fingers, all the while pushing against his hard length at my back.

I leaned into Bryce’s shoulders as I arched my back to get some release when his lips touched mine.

“Master A— Oh, Jesus!”

Both Bryce and I stilled, his lips frozen on mine. However, he was quicker to collect himself, removing his lips from mine and looking towards the outburst. I, on the other hand, only did as much as to hide my heated face against his chest.

“Yes, Mrs. Dracous?”

“M-M-Master Mya apologizes for b-bursting in! B-but Madam M-Meryl s-said to j-just enter, and-P-Prince Romanov has brought the v-visitors! I-I’m s-sorry, Luna!”

“It’s alright, Mrs. Dracous; no harm done! We will be down in a few. Thank you.”

I silently smiled at how soft and comforting Bryce’s voice sounded while he talked to Mrs. Dracous. The sound of the doors closing softly had helped me relax a bit around Bryce’s finger before he plopped it out of me and quickly plopped it into his mouth, humming as he cleaned it of all the juices. I couldn’t help but blush more.

“I suppose we should go down,” Bryce asked, chuckling, planting a kiss on my temple.

I sighed as I stayed leaning against him.

“Yes, I suppose we should.”