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

The afternoon sun sank lower behind the vast concrete jungle that laid out in front of me.

A sigh left my lips as I brought up the steaming cup of tea to them before leaning against the medium-sized window.

The smell of bleach and soap hung around the hospital room, probably because it had just been cleaned and I had bathed only minutes ago.

Lowering the cup from my lips, I broke my gaze away from the view of the city and slowly turned to the comatose girl lying on the bed only a few steps away.

I flinched.

There it was, the familiar burning in my chest—the burning that reminded me that the love of my life was hanging by a thread, that every second I lost, I wasted if I was not any closer to who had done this to Theia.

Theia—I don’t even know when it was that I reached her, but I found myself caressing her cheeks softly, just like I’d been finding myself doing so often lately.

It had been a week since I came to the brink of losing her—since she fell and I broke.

The warmth in her cheeks were returning, the blue in her lips slightly dimmer. My eyes touched the bandage covering her head, and I stifled a growl.

It had been a week, and I wasn’t any closer to catching the scum who had done this to her than I had been on the day she was pushed.

But that had not stopped me from doing everything in my power to hunt the scum down.

I took another sip of my hot tea before turning and placing the cup back on its saucer.

“It’s Tuesday today, Thi. Aunt Meryl and the lads will be here in the afternoon, after class. Your mum and dad will be too. I’ll have to leave for a while, okay? Going to the castle to have a meeting, love . . . I . . . I’m doing everything I can to catch the person who did this to you. You’ll be fine, love. I won’t lose you. I won’t let you go. I love you, Theia,” I whispered as I leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her petal-like lips.

I smiled as I felt my Theia’s heartbeats increase in intensity for a minute, already used to the same reaction every time I touched her or kissed her. She was in a coma, I knew, but I also knew she was there; she could hear me—feel me. I knew it.

“Mr. Wilhem . . .”

Damn it!

A frown already forming on my face, I turned, thin-lipped, to the unnecessarily inquisitive doctor who’d had the misfortune of being assigned Theia’s case. He was the brightest and most talented specialist in the whole state, yes, but he was just too inquisitive and curious for his own good.

A grimace made its way onto my face as I watched him ready himself mentally for the new question he was about to pop on me.

It really was his misfortune—“misfortune” because I was very well on the verge of ripping his vocal chords out. It could be any day now.

If only he weren’t the best at his job.

“Yes, Doctor Lucian, how may I assist you today? Should I assume you are progressing with my ma—hmm, girlfriend? Are there any new reports?”

Doctor Lucian’s eyebrows quirked with intense curiosity at my near-slipup, and I almost began readying myself for his death, my claws already protracting from my fingers.

The fool of a doctor should use his curiosity for a good cause, really, or he’d find out how quick I was to lose myself lately. My beast was lost without Theia, and every day that passed, it moved closer to self-destruction or complete annihilation of everything around it. The thread was thinning further.

I was losing myself to my beast.

I glanced at my anchor lying in the bed, her soft brown curls tucked in bandages that hid multiple sutures needed for her wounds.

Whoever had hit her with the vase had a great amount of strength. The impact, based on her wounds, was too much for it to be the doing of a human.

It was clear that the scum who’d tried to kill her was not human.

That left only one thing: a werewolf.

But who?

“Mr. Whilhem, is it true that you are titled ‘Duke’?”

My back straightened automatically as I tensed up. Reaching down to grab onto Theia’s hand, I shot the specialist a chilly stare before answering, “Yes.”

The doctor reeled backwards as if stuck—in what sense, I didn’t know. But damn everything, I’d smash him myself if he didn’t stop with his interrogations.

“Do you have any more questions, Doctor?”

I couldn’t help but smirk when the very starstruck-looking Dr. Lucian shook his head abruptly before he did a bow of sorts and nearly ran out the door.

Fucking specialist! Who would have thought!

“The UK’s royal beta and the delta have just arrived, Alpha.”

My senses were piqued as I heard Roman’s voice through the link. The boy was a wreck, and somehow, during this past week, I had come to pity him more than hate him for what happened. Roman hated pity. I suppose that was why our relationship had been strained into engaging in such formalities.

The worst part was, I didn’t see it getting fixed any time soon.

“When are you, Matthew, and Aunt Meryl reaching here?”

“Matthew and Aunty Meryl are just about to get there—probably in five.”

That was another thing: Roman refused to visit Theia—refused to see her.

But I knew he visited her when he thought no one was there. His scent lingered around her bedside way too many times a night.

At first I was livid. His mere presence around my mate, which I could sometimes sense on her cheeks and hands, made me see red.

But then, one night . . . it stopped.

It had been one of the rougher nights. My beast seemed entangled in fury, demanding Theia—so much so that I found myself standing outside of her hospital room’s door only fifteen minutes after I had supposedly left for the castle.

I was well on my way into opening the door and marching in, but Roman’s silhouette bent over Theia’s bed froze me.

My initial reaction almost forced me to rip him away from my mate—to rip his hands off of my mate—but then his shaking form cleared to me.

Roman was holding Theia . . . and crying.

“Alpha?”

My eyes shot back into focus, and I shook my head in agitation.

“Okay. I will be there as soon as they get here. Until then, let the beta know who’s in charge. I dislike his attitude extremely.”

“Okay, on it.”

A sigh left my lips as I felt the mind link fading away.

The image of a crying Roman flashed before my eyes every time I wanted to be mad at him for letting this happen to my Theia.

I turned to face her again and slowly—almost too slowly—leaned in to place my warm lips on her slightly cold forehead. Her heartbeats increased in intensity again, and I almost smiled at that.

“I love you, Theia. You’re my everything,” I mumbled, planting another soft kiss but on her lips.

“Alexander, dear . . .”

I shot up immediately and turned around, landing my eyes anywhere but on my auntie’s or Matthew’s.

I avoided their gazes because I knew what they held. They were waiting for me to break down and have this room under lockdown, to stick beside Theia and not let anyone near her. They were waiting for me to break down and refuse to eat, bathe, and sleep; and dammit, there had been times when I was on the brink of all that, but I wouldn’t.

I refused to make myself weak when I could be searching for the scum who had done this to her. I couldn’t lose myself and expect her to find herself. How could I break down and hope that she fixed herself?

I had to be strong, and I was. There was no way in fucking hell that I was going to let that scum go or let my mate wither away.

She was mine, and as long as my heart continued to beat, everyone could be damn sure hers would too!

“I will be back as soon as the meeting is over.” I turned to Matthew. “Have you figured out who the human scent in her room belongs to? It’s clear that the actual criminal masked their scent, but the human scent was left unmasked. We must find the human, Delta!”

“The scent matches no one in our territory, Alpha.”

I stilled.

“That means—”

“It’s someone else—an outsider.” I finished his sentence while moving to glance at my unconscious, beautiful, damaged mate.

“Yes,” Matthew muttered, his stance now alert and business-like.

“Contact all the kings. We need to find that scent. Each of the best tracker weres in our territory will travel around a different territory looking for the scent. Hand them a piece of the bedsheet and sweater the scent is most prominent on. We must find the them.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

Aunt Meryl walked past Matthew cautiously. She gave me fleeting glances as she neared Theia and settled herself on the chair beside her bed. I watched as she wiped away a stray tear and began softly humming a slow tune to her.

“I must get going,” I murmured before turning and making a swift exit. The earlier I left, the faster I would be done with the meeting and return.

Just as I made it out the door, I collided head-on with Mr. Anderson.

I stilled.

Mr. Anderson looked away awkwardly as he tried to hide the misery on his face.

“H-how are you, son?”

“Not an inch better than I was yesterday.”

My head turned to my shoes. I, too, avoided his gaze.

I was a coward. I could not bring myself to look into the eyes of my mate’s dad and see the disappointment there—the soul-ripping hurt. I couldn’t bring myself to look at him after I’d failed to protect his daughter—after his daughter had gotten injured possibly because of me.

I’d let him down. I’d let myself down.

My head lifted, eyes slightly wide, when a hand thumped me in my shoulder.

“I don’t blame you, son. Just . . . don’t let this go unavenged.”

I nodded, lowering my head again, when I noticed the slight crack in his voice.

What’s worse than watching a mother cry for her child? It’s watching a father cry for his child—his daughter.

“I won’t, sir.”

Mr. Anderson gave me another shoulder pat before he silently walked past me and into the room.

I stood still in my place. Turning to the closed door slowly, I then shook my head free of the pain and disappointment I’d been feeling before walking towards the elevator.

***

“The best of our trackers will start on the job as soon as tomorrow, Your Majesty.”

I nodded briskly at the royal beta of the UK. The good thing about this man was that he was talented and honest about what he did. The bad thing? For a beta, he was not truly royal.

I suppose that was what made the man want to prove himself so much—want to prove his worth to us royals. Maybe Matthew did too.

“Very well, beta. I suppose this conclud—”

“Alexander!”

***

Have you ever had the feeling where everything around you seems to spin in slow motion while you stand still, unable to move?

I felt it.

When Aunt Meryl’s panicked voice spilled loud and clear into the mind link, I felt everything around me slow down, the thumps of my heart deafening.

I knew in an instant something was wrong with Theia.

Do you remember the part where you stand still, unable to move?

I ran.

That was how that current moment found me—blurring through the forest, my tie and jacket already discarded miles back.

As seconds passed and trees stretched out behind me, I let myself go to my beast more and more. It was hopeless; there was no stopping it.

A growl ripped out of my throat as I sighted the Piedmont hospital and sped towards the door before accidentally bumping into someone.

“Sor—”

Fuck . . .

I turned, searching for the person I’d bumped into.

The scent . . . So familiar . . .

I couldn’t help but cuss out loud when the only thing I found behind me was a dozen heads among many other people in the crowd.

The person was gone.

“Mr. Wilhem, this way, please!”

Regarding the young male nurse with narrowed eyes, I took my time before nodding, then proceeded to follow him.

My wolf was not keen on anyone at that moment.

Maybe it was a mistake, I thought about the scent as I followed the slow man.

The feeling of my claws protracting out of my nail beds made me need to just get into the damn room even more.

Fucking hell, this will take an year! I need my mate!

“It’s safe to speed, Alpha.”

My eyes narrowed a notch further.

Is this man saying what I think he is saying?

“I’m in your pack. Well . . . I was. I mean . . . I’m hoping to j-join again.”

Need . . . mate . . . fucking . . . now!

“We will discuss it later, pup! Just take me to my mate without being detected—now!” I hissed back, my eyes bolted shut, fighting off the beast that was overpowering me more and more by the second.

The seconds that passed between this moment and the moment when the man and I reached Theia’s room undetected were a blur.

The slight smell of burning rubber assaulted my nostrils as I stood in front of the closed door for a hesitation-filled second.

My Theia was inside, fighting to breathe . . .

I threw the nurse’s white shoes a final glare before I stormed through the door, unable to hold my beast in anymore.

Everyone instantly moved against the wall as I entered, their heads down. My beast snarled at their submission, pleased that they understood the delicacy of my emotional state.

My eyes zeroed in on my mate. The heart monitor told a very dangerous tale—dangerous for everyone present and responsible.

The fool of a doctor still stood fussing over my mate, pressing the defibrillator against her chest, yelling orders to the rattled nurses.

An aged nurse turned to the heart monitor and shuddered.

“We’re losing her.”

Those three words, as softly spoken as they had been, managed to elicit an equal amount of reaction from everyone present in the room.

I heard Aunt Meryl and Mrs. Anderson begin to sob, while the men in the room tried to be as strong as they could for the women.

I . . . I saw red.

The last remnants of control left my body, and I let my senses go to my beast.

A growl rumbled out from the depths of my chest as I began to stalk over to her side, my eyes not once leaving her beautiful but now-pale skin. How had it come to this?

Out of the periphery of my gaze, I noticed the female nurses had retreated towards the wall, while the specialist still stood beside my mate, frozen on his feet yet shaking like a leaf, staring at me with terrified wide eyes.

Foolish human!

I snarled at the fool of a doctor before grabbing him by the collar and pulling him away.

Fucking mortal!

I knew what I had to do.

I watched as her heart rate slowed on the monitor even further. I leaned over her, my nose grazing her cool neck.

“I’m so sorry, baby,” I whispered, a broken smile slowly spreading itself across my face.

I knew my hands were shaking as I brought my fingers to slowly peel the hospital gown off of her left shoulder. I pressed a single fleeting kiss on her soft, cool skin, as if in apology for all the additional hurt she would have to go through because of this. But I had to do it; I had to save her.

And so, with a final, whispered declaration of how much I loved her and that she was going to be fine now . . . I bit into her skin.

***

Romanov Naight

There comes a time in your life when you realize that death will always be a constant—that no matter how much you try to avoid it or how much you try to prepare yourself, death will always surprise you.

First it was my mom, and as if that hadn’t been hell enough, now it was Theia, my best friend, the one and only person who’d taken her time to figure me out, to know me.

I don’t think I could ever forget the first time I laid eyes on her—her warm porcelain skin, her wavy long brown hair, and those big brown doe eyes. She was beautiful—beautiful enough to be crushed.

I had hated her. The innocence, the bravery—she was a perfect little rat.

Then it all changed . . .

No matter how hard I tried to be mean to her, to be brisk and nasty, even if it was in her own house, she always walked through it all.

And now there she laid . . . slipping away . . . and it was my fault.

They say that one day you’ll be that loved one who’s snatched away—taken.

I had always thought about dying. I had always imagined dying of old age, having finally lived through it all.

But somehow, seeing Theia laying there, dying . . . I realized fading in place of her wouldn’t be a problem at all.

If only I had guarded her. If only I had stayed.

A long puff of breath left my lips as I moved out of the hospital room and sank onto the seat provided just outside. It had only been a minute since Alexander stormed into the room. I had rushed out.

I was not a coward; I was just ashamed. He was losing the thing that came first in his life, the only one that anchored his soul . . . and it was all my fault.

Closing my eyes, I hoped everyone in the room would sit still. One wrong move and there would be a bloodbath.

“Dammit,” I muttered tiredly as I pinched the bridge of my nose.

“He’s marked her.”

Matthew’s shocked whisper echoed around my mind’s walls.

He had marked her.

He had marked her before the mating process—before . . . Fuck.

I understood why Alexander had done it.

“I thought that wasn’t the way.”

“It’s going to hurt her tenfold more.”

“So why?”

“It’ll link his soul with hers.”

There had been a minute of complete silence before Matthew finally understood.

“It will heal her.”