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

My eyes swept across the trees as they continued to tremble in the drizzling rain. The scent of wet soil slammed against me in an onslaught as another strong gust of wind passed me, almost rattling my bones.

I felt a shiver run down my spine as I watched myself rush from the back of my house into the rain, a black umbrella shielding me from the harsh weather.

I felt like screaming—like fainting—because, clearly, I could not be here and a couple of feet away at the same time!

But I was.

I had been standing here in broad daylight and watching myself run out the back door of my house only seconds ago. It was like I was watching a movie about me, and instead of the screen being just in one place, it was all around me.

The other me, however, didn’t take any notice of the actual me standing here in plain sight.

That got me thinking, Am I dreaming right now?

A movement, which I had caught out of the corner of my eye, broke me out of my reverie, and I quickly refocused on the other me as she quickly walked towards a man sitting on the swing in my backyard. How had I not noticed him earlier?

She stopped in front of him, and I watched, stunned, as he looked up, and the tension in his bright blue eyes faded immediately into joy.

“Hi.”

The hum . . .

I felt my breath hitch as darkness began spreading around the scene in front of my eyes. I found myself standing still as I watched the other me and the man melting into the darkness before a whole new scene painted itself.

“Let’s go.”

My eyes shot towards the large door that stood on my left. A second later, the strong, elegant door opened, and the same man with the bright blues stormed out of the room, his hand clutching . . . me. He was pulling me out of the room!

“Leave me!” the other me hissed as she tried to pull herself away. The man, on the other hand, only turned to her at a speed I couldn’t fathom being possible and slowly brushed his nose against he—mi—he—mi— Oh, never mind!

I felt slightly less sad when the darkness began spreading onto this scene. It felt like the man and I were seriously up for some face punching and such, and honestly, I did not want to witness that.

It wasn’t even surprising anymore when another scene began molding around me. This time I knew my surroundings; I was back in my bedroom, and from the beads of light shining through the slightly open large window, it was obvious that it was early in the morning.

“What the fuck!” I almost screamed when a slow moan sounded from behind me. Instantly, I jumped to face the sound and froze.

The man laid on my bed, quite obviously shirtless, but what shocked me wasn’t the man with the hum; instead, it was the girl who was cuddling him—the other me.

I watched as she slowly reached out to put her fingers on the corners of the man’s mouth and pull his lips up into a smile.

The scene began to fade again.

My mind reeled, but I stood still, thinking, digesting, evaluating.

So what, are we dating? This really isn’t a dream. Does that mean . . . ? My thought broke as I turned my head to look around at the darkness that was greedily surrounding me.

I was now standing all alone in a black room.

What now?

Suddenly, the scene around me changed, and I almost fell on my face as a beast with yellow eyes threw me over its shoulder.

It pulled me and touched me this time, not the other me. This time, I was her.

Everything went black again.

There appeared to be an intense silence.

“Let me go.”

I turned in my place with a gasp, almost cringing, when I realized that the venomous words had come from my lips.

The scenery had melted all around me, and now I seemed to be in someone else’s bedroom.

My breath hitched as my eyes found what I’d been looking for.

The beast was still here. In fact, this time, he was directly in front of me, his golden eyes staring straight into mine.

I could actually feel his claws stabbing my arm as I stood in front of him. Somehow, though . . . I didn’t feel afraid. Rather, he felt like home.

Home . . .

“And what if I say no?” the wolf-man muttered back. As he said that, the jet-black fur all over his body pulled back into his skin, and his claws retrieved into his nail beds. It only seemed like a minute, then he was a fully grown man—the man with the hum and the tinge of brown.

Darkness swept into the space once more.

I felt myself turn around, trying to distinguish my surroundings in the dark.

Where’s my beast?

Where’s . . . Bryce?

His name came like a loud wave, crashing into me, before pulling me with it into the depths of the sea of blue.

And I floated in the dreamy, stormy blue, unable to move or do anything.

The recollection of my preexisting knowledge of this feeling began easing in when I’d finally determined that I couldn’t make out anything.

It felt like I was in a coma again. It felt like I was stuck in my head again.

The silence was eerie, but I hung in, trying to channel the calm I’d always had when I was in my coma.

“No one has the right to keep you from me, not even you, Theia. You can forget everything, but always remember that.”

I kept floating.

Those serious words floated into my mind like a promise, an eternal torch—one that I knew would never go away.

“I love you, Bryce.”

I so desperately wanted to bring my fingers to my lips. My own lips had moved; I felt it. But how was I not in control of things?

The softly spoken statement resonated around the dark room, but I kept floating. It felt like a while until I finally felt the tingles settling into my skin. I had reached shore.

A low groan ripped out of my throat as the darkness slowly began parting. Blurry lights began to shine in through the door that swung ajar.

I turned against something soft, then turned again.

I felt my hand brush against someone else’s and immediately shuddered at the feel of a thousand volts of electricity coursing through my skin. It felt like each and every nerve in my body had suddenly come alive.

Another groan left my lips when I had twisted and turned but couldn’t find the touch again.

The touch—it felt like I needed that touch. I almost craved that touch.

If it were possible to fall so quickly into addiction, then heck, I was addicted.

Fuck!

Agitated—it had only taken me a minute to grow agitated. I needed that. I needed it, damn it!

What’s wrong with me!

I was fed up. My eyes ripped open of their own accord, and as if out of instinct, I turned my head to the man kneeling on the floor beside my bed.

His bright blue drops of Caelum met my brown pools, and I froze.

Bryce!

The swings, the fights, the portrait, the castle, the room, the kisses , the pain, the smiles, every phone call, every conversation, those golden eyes—they all came rushing back.

My eyes refocused on Bryce, and only at that moment did I notice how completely broken he looked.

His hair seemed like it hadn’t seen a comb for weeks, his beard showing about a fortnight’s worth of neglect. The shades under his eyes spoke at length of just how little sleep he had been able to give himself. But what was the most saddening—what broke my heart—were his guarded eyes. Since when did he guard himself against me?

I edged closer to him but stopped when he stiffened. His unreadable expression only made my heart drop further into the pit of my stomach.

Releasing a soft sigh, I reached out to him. Soon enough, my fingers touched the corners of his lips and slowly but surely pulled them up into a smile.

“Guess what?”

A confused frown marred Bryce’s face. He glanced at the window for a second, then he looked back at me. “What?”

I ignored the slight break in his voice as I put on a small smile myself.

“I love you,” I croaked, not caring about the tears, as I grasped a handful of his shirt before pulling him over me.

“I love you. I love you so so much. I love you.”

“T-Theia?” Bryce looked down at me with glazed wide eyes as I laid underneath him. A wet drop fell on my cheek, and I nodded in response, giggling despite my own tears.

“I remember! I remember, Bryce! Why didn’t . . . ? Why didn’t you come? It’s been days.”

My curiosity grew when Bryce looked away. The sudden drumming of the heavy rain swept into the room with a cool breeze.

I ignored the goose bumps as they emerged on my skin, and I held his chin with my thumb and index finger before gently turning him to me again.

Bryce visibly shivered under my touch.

“Y-your condition was fragile . . . so Mr. and Mrs. Anderson decided . . . that you needed some time alone to recover.”

What! My parents ordered him away?

“So Mom and Dad actually told you to stay away from me?”

Bryce’s chin tightened as I watched him direct his gaze at me.

He had dipped lower not long before his nose grazed my neck soothingly. I nearly jolted forward when it touched a particular spot, and my whole body was set on fire.

What the hell was that?

Immediately, Bryce’s arms wrapped around me and pushed me back against the bed. A slow smile began to carve itself on his face.

“Well, I’m here now, aren’t I?” Bryce murmured softly as he dipped his face in the crook of my neck again.

My mind, however, was still reeling from what had just happened to my whole freaking body a few seconds ago.

“W-what the hell just happened to me when you touched my neck?”

Bryce’s smile suddenly turned into a nervous grin as he shifted off of me and took a seat beside me.

“I marked you.”

Holy mother of fried egg, what the fuck did he just say?

***

“I still can’t believe marking is possible without mating!”

Bryce’s grip on my back tightened as he snuggled deeper into the bed.

An owl hooted somewhere in the distance. A good few hours had passed since Bryce jumped through the window. Glancing at the digital clock that nestled beside my bed alerted me that it was nearly 2 in the morning. Somehow we had ended up spending a good three hours just talking—and cuddling.

“It is possible, just not appreciated among the royals because it’s excruciatingly painful when done without . . . mating.”

I sighed as I leaned into him, nuzzling my face against his chest. Lying here with Bryce—snuggling him, being close to him—felt like the most calming thing ever.

It made me wonder about all the other changes that would occur now that Bryce and I were intimately connected.

“I was wondering, love . . .”

Lifting my head up, I looked at Bryce. “Hmm?”

“Do you remember w-who pushed you?”

I felt my feelings dampen. I had hoped he wouldn’t ask me that, because I couldn’t remember a single thing from that afternoon—still.

The only thing that shone through my hazy memory of that afternoon was the bright green eyes.

“N-no . . . All I remember is green eyes.”

Bryce’s slightly nervous demeanor changed into that of a man completely alert. I could practically hear the cogs in his brain whirring.

As if sensing my eyes on him, he quickly got up and walked towards the window before pulling it wide open.

I frowned.

Did he need air?

“What’s happening? Are you okay?”

It was only after a minute of looking out the window that he turned to the room and got into bed again.

“Everything is fine. Let’s wait for the boys to get here, okay? Then I’ll tell you everything.”

What’s happening?

I was still confused. The serious expression on Bryce’s face was enough for me to know that whatever he was thinking about was extremely important.

The question here was: What was cooking in that mind of his?

My head shot towards the window when a soft thud alerted me of someone’s arrival.

Matthew smiled at me proudly as he walked further into the room. Then his gaze found Bryce’s and immediately hardened. He grabbed a chair and, after placing it in front of Bryce, dropped down on it.

“I suggest we keep it a secret, Alpha—for now”

“A secret”? What secret? Keep what a secret?

Bryce glanced at me before nodding.

Just then, another, lighter thud sounded around the room, and I smiled slowly, knowing who it was already.

Then I stilled.

Now that I remembered much of what had happened since I arrived in Piedmont, I finally understood why Roman refused to talk as much to me after I’d woken up from my coma, and if he did speak, it would be deeper than usual.

My mind settled on when I’d had visits from him in the hospital, particularly . . . the night he cried. My heart broke a little.

After mustering a little more courage in that situation, I finally turned to look at Roman. He, however, still stood by the window, looking guarded.

Our gazes met, and I launched out of bed.

Instantly, his arms wrapped around me, and I began shaking in guilt. How could I not remember him?

“It’s good to have you back, Thi,” Roman mumbled as he patted my back as warmly as he could.

A warning growl erupted behind us, and I instantly let go. Pulling Roman with me, I walked back up to the bed and got in, immediately being pulled and engulfed by Bryce.

I was sure he was drilling holes into the wall with his glare right now.

“You might not want to do that right now. My wolf is still unstable,” Bryce whispered into my neck, and I nodded slowly, looking over at Roman in apology.

I always seemed to put him on the hot seat.

“Considering Theia has her memories back”—Matthew looked at Bryce—“or most of them, I suggest we keep this on the down low for a while.”

Roman nodded in agreement. “I think so, too, Alpha.” I suppose he knew better than to test Bryce’s wolf right now. “The attackers might feel threatened if they thought she had regained her memory or was to regain it soon; they might try to complete their unfinished business.”

“And we can’t let that happen. Theia doesn’t even know who to identify at the moment,” Bryce muttered stiffly, nodding as if thinking a theory up in his own head.

I turned to Bryce, twisting slightly on his lap to get a good look. “So you’re all telling me to hide my improvement from my parents and everyone else? Can I at least tell Marley?”

“No.”

I almost moved back against Bryce’s chest when three distinct noes shot out of the men’s mouths, strong and synchronized.

I frowned, clearly as confused as ever. “And why?”

“Just no, okay?” Matthew muttered through gritted teeth.

My eyebrows automatically lifted in question. “What’s gotten your panties in a twist?”

Matthew heaved a frustrated breath and leaned into his chair further.

“She won’t be able to hide it from Keith, and Keith can’t keep his mouth shut,” Roman murmured tiredly, himself leaning further into the bed.

Any more leaning and he would be asleep on this thing.

Still not content with their reasoning, I turned to Bryce again. The feel of his thumb drawing circles on my hip was incredibly distracting, and to top everything off, my nerves seemed to be on fire!

As if he was sensing my trepidation, he presented a small smirk on his lips, and he leaned in to plant a slow kiss on my temple, then another on my cheekbone and yet another on my jawline.

As quickly as I could, I moved away slightly and turned to the now-reddish Roman and Matthew. I felt myself redden as well.

Quickly thinking of a way to save this situation, I cleared my throat and ignored Bryce, who was now slipping his palm under my T-shirt to lay it against my bare abdomen.

I cleared my throat again and this time spoke something that I thought seemed reasonable: “So, what’s the plan now?”

“You go to school; come home with Matthew, either in the same vehicle or in a different one in front of him; try to act like you don’t know much; and try to be normal with everyone, but don’t be too trusting. One of the boys will always be with you in case you need them.”

Hesitantly, I nodded . . . then frowned.

“And how will I meet you?”

The two boys almost scoffed out loud as soon they heard the question.

Bryce, however, planted a kiss on my cheek as he began caressing my abdomen again. I twitched in his arms. “I’ll always be here, love.”

Roman cleared his throat loudly before he suddenly stood up and glanced at Bryce as if to make a silent request to leave. Matthew followed his lead. I felt Bryce nod to both boys, and they both glanced at me.

“Good night, Thi!”

“See you tomorrow, Theia.”

I giggled at the contrast between their goodbyes. “Night, guys. See you soon.”

I watched with immense interest as both boys leaped out of the window, gracefully but not as gracefully as Bryce.

It was then that I noticed Bryce’s warm breath on the back of my neck, his fingers lazily grazing my bare hips as I now nestled between his legs.

“I’m a beast starved, Theia. You can’t condemn me for not being able to keep my hands off of you, not—” He stopped, then took a shaky breath. “Not after being away from you for so long.”

There was a minute of silence in the room, and I thought about the week after I had woken up from my coma—the searching, the unexplainable need, the gutting feeling of not being complete.

“Do you know what death feels like, Bryce?”

Bryce stiffened. “No.”

“It feels like not having you in my life.”

***

“Theia, dear, breakfast is ready!” Agnus’ sweet voice called out loudly from the hallway.

“Coming, Agy!”

I sighed as I picked up my books and shoved them into my backpack.

Glancing back at my bed, I smiled as I saw Bryce still asleep, soundly.

I put on my cream crop top before doing the same with the black ankle-length high-waisted skirt.

Bryce groaned in his sleep, and I turned just in time to see him moving his arms about as if searching for something. Rushing in, I moved closer to him, and instantly, he settled down.

I frowned.

Was he looking for me?

He groaned again and leaned forward, while I sat on the bed hugging him. Immediately, his arms wrapped around me, and he let out a content sigh.

My vision turned blurry.

He really did seem starved.

After the boys had left last night, Bryce and I just went back to talking, about anything and everything. That was until Bryce fell asleep. It took me some time, but his warmth and the comfort of just having him close had me welcoming my share of sleep too.

Needless to say, waking up in the morning and getting out of bed and into the bathroom seemed like a very difficult task. Our limbs were tangled together beyond what I would normally call “complicated.”

But I managed—and gracefully too, because by the time I was out of bed and in the bathroom, Bryce was still asleep.

My eyes wandered onto Bryce’s lips, and I smiled upon seeing them slightly pouted.

No matter how strong a king or how dangerous a man he might be, asleep, he was outside what he was inside: just Bryce, my soul mate.

With a finger, I touched his temple and slowly brought it down in a gentle caress as I also leaned down to plant a kiss on his chin.

Immediately, his eyes opened, and the pout was gone. His features settled into that of what he was outside: regal.

His eyes met mine, and his gaze softened. “I thought it was all a dream. For a second I was so fucking pissed.”

I smiled. “Well, it’s not. I’m here, aren’t I?”

He pulled me closer to him.

“You’re turning me into a softie.”

A laugh escaped my lips, and I placed a kiss on his.

“Oh, don’t you worry—you’re still my big, bad beast.”