The Gold Queen (Prequel)

May 1999

***Emilliano***

“Does this dress make me look fat?” Sofia asks as she comes out of the dressing room for the 10th time with a new dress on.

This particular dress was a red one that hugged her tiny waist and flared out at her h**s.

“You look beautiful, your Majesty,” I shrug. “You always do.”

She giggles, spinning around in her dress in front of the mirror. “Do you think he’ll like it?” She asks, fixing her hair.

I smile at the Queen. Today was her wedding anniversary with Mateo and she was excited to spend some quality time with him in Madero. As of late, both had been hard at work dealing with the Vampires still attacking the Kingdom. To make matters worse, we suspected the Vampires and Luna Mayor had teamed up against us, the number of attacks rising every month. I was required to stay by Sofia’s side at all times whenever she or Mateo went off on business or toured the packs.

Their royal duties were numerous but they acted with grace, never once complaining and doing what they could to protect their people. I was happy for them. After four years of being together, they were still madly in love with each other, sharing every moment that they could. Mateo was the laughter in her life, the joy she needed during these stressful times and she was the peace he needed to calm him down. They were polar opposites who balanced each other out. I could only hope to have a mate complete me as they did each other. My birthday wasn’t for another three months but I found myself anxious to have someone to love of my own.

As fate would have it, Valentina already beat me to the punch. Just last week, Danny sensed his mate in Valentina and the two immediately made plans to tie the knot once she turned 18. In our friend group, I was the only one left without a mate. Karina was the exception, though. She hadn’t found her mate either and she wouldn’t for several months, but at the rate this is going, she would probably find hers before I did.

I let out a heavy sigh as I mull over my pitiful loneliness.

“What’s wrong, Emi?” Sofia asks, slipping on her earrings and looking at me.

“Nothing,” I mumble, closing my eyes and resting back in my chair.

Sofia’s face grows concerned and she stops what she’s doing to look at me.

“Emi, what’s wrong?” she asks, worry swirling in her gold eyes.

I blush, a bit embarrassed to be having this discussion with the Queen and shake my head at her. She giggles excitedly and plops down in a chair, bouncing up and down eagerly as she waits.

“Tell me!” She squeals, nibbling on her nails nervously.

“Fine,” I g***n, staring at my hands. “It’s just… everyone has a mate and I don’t!”

She stares at me in silence before roaring in laughter. My cheeks burn even redder and I stick my tongue out at her.

“This is why I didn’t want to tell you!” I snap.

“No, I’m not laughing at you,” she wheezes, clutching her stomach as she gasps for air. “You’re just so precious! Such a little cutie,” she giggles, leaning forward to pinch my cheeks.

I roll my eyes at her. Everyone called me cute! When would people stop treating me like a kid? I have a mustache and at least ten chest hairs now! I was the damn Gamma of this Kingdom for crying out loud! I should be considered sexy! The sexiest eligible bachelor of Sol de Oro!

“I’m not cute,” I mutter, sulking in my seat and pushing her hands away.

“You’re right,” She says, her face growing serious. “You’re all grown up now, Emi. You’ve become an incredible wolf that any girl would be lucky to have,” She adds, cupping my cheeks and forcing me to look at her. “Just because everyone else has a mate now doesn’t mean you won’t be getting yours. It’s not a race, okay? Mates take time but they are most definitely worth the wait…”

“They sure are,” a familiar voice coming from the door behind us agrees.

I turn to see Mateo dressed in a smart black tux, his unruly hair combed back and gelled down, a bouquet of flowers in his hands. Sofia rushes towards him, jumping into his arms for a k**s as he spins her around. I rest my chin on the head of my chair as I watch them shamelessly demonstrate their love for each other with k****s and whispered words.

May 1999

***Emilliano***

“Does this dress make me look fat?” Sofia asks as she comes out of the dressing room for the 10th time with a new dress on.

I knew Sofia was right, but I was impatient. I wanted to love someone too…

———

The King and Queen take off on their trip, Mateo relieving me of my Gamma duties for the weekend while they are away and I decide to head for the training grounds where I could sulk in peace.

I take a nice jog to stretch out my wolf and head for the jungle. Lost in my thoughts, I start down the familiar path into the trees, letting the cool breeze rejuvenate my spirit. As I’m running however, I hear rustling in a pile of leaves near the path and freeze in my tracks.

An intruder? I wonder, raising my head to sniff the air.

Not willing to take any chances, I growl menacingly at the pile, ready to pounce on it just in case. The rustling turns into whimpering. Recognizing the scent, my wolf claws at the leaves to reveal a battered Karina lying still in the center. Her green eyes were wide open, but hazed over, almost as if she was watching something unfold in the distance; something I couldn’t see. She pulls her knees to her chest as she mutters something under her breath. Her naked body is covered in b***d, shivering against the coolness of the evening breeze.

I shift back into my human form, not caring that I was nude and crouching down beside her.

“Kari?” I whisper, reaching out to touch her.

She flinches when my skin makes contact with hers and I pull my hand back. Fresh tears roll down her cheeks as I venture forward once more to pluck a leaf out of her hair. Her head turns in my general direction, but it’s as though she doesn’t see me, her green eyes full of fear as they pierce right through me.

Oh goddess…

“Ssh, it’s okay. It’s okay. It’s just me,” I murmur, trying my best to keep my emotions in check as I caress her bruised cheek. “It’s okay, Kari. I’m here. I got you.”

She stares at me for a moment, as if trying to figure out who I was before she bursts into tears and sticks her hands out to me. Grateful she recognizes me, I lift her up into my arms and hold her tightly. She buries her head in the crook of my neck, her entire body trembling with every sob rippling through her. I don’t ask what’s wrong, choosing instead to heal her and allowing my soothing energy to calm her down a bit. One by one, the bruises on her body disappear and her wounds stitch back together on their own. She stops shaking, but she refuses to let go of me.

Whatever just happened to her would have to wait. I needed to get her somewhere safe so she could rest. Clutching her bare body, I make the trek back to the Hacienda, ignoring the looks of shock of the other wolves as I pass by. She was the only person I cared about right now.

Cassandra gasps when I walk into the house with Karina in my arms.

“What happened?” She cries, wiping her hands on her apron as I climb the stairs to my floor.

“Can you get her some clothes? Maybe Valentina has something she can borrow. And some food please?” I call out behind me, ignoring her questions. “We’ll be in my room,” I add as I disappear down the hallway, not waiting for a response.

Once in the safety of my room, I carry Karina into the bathroom to clean the b***d off of her. When I attempt to set her down into the tub, however, she clings onto my neck for dear life.

“It’s okay, Kari,” I coo, kissing her cheek. “I’m not going anywhere.”

I stroke her hair, setting her down gently as she automatically curls up and hugs her knees to her chest. I start a bath, making sure the water was just the right temperature to soothe her tense muscles before using my hand to pour water over her hair. She doesn’t say a word as I reach for the shampoo and massage it into her scalp, her hair becoming engulfed in lavender scented soap suds. I move slowly, knowing any sudden movement could trigger her anger or fear.

“Do you want to talk about it?” I whisper, hoping to get some insight on what happened

She shakes her head adamantly and I know better than to question her.

Lathering up a sponge, I take one of her arms and scrub away the b***d staining her skin, working hard to rid her of her pain. Her eyes watch me as I lean forward to reach for her other arm and she is silent as ever while I take her wrist in my hand. Her face was so close to my own, I could feel her breath tickling my ears as I work. Her bare breasts rise with every breath she takes and for a moment, I don’t move an inch, keeping my hand and the sponge just above the canyon of her breasts.

A small whimper ripples through her chest and I decide to work fast.

Averting my eyes, I move the sponge over her mounds, careful not to linger on them for fear of disrespecting her. I work quietly on the rest of her body and rinse her off before lifting her out of the tub. On my bed, I find some pajamas laid out and the tray of food I had requested.

I towel her off and shimmy the top and shorts onto her quite easily. Armed with a wide tooth comb, I settle down on the bed and pull her between my legs, once again grateful she doesn’t push me away. I slide the comb down the length of her hair, taking extra care not to pull too hard. Her shoulders rise and fall to the rhythm of the lullaby I hum.

“De tu casa a la mia, {from your house to mine}

Cielito lindo, no mas que un paso {there is no more than one step} “

I was not a gifted singer, but my breathy whispers don’t seem to offend her as I comb her hair. When I finish my task, I try to coax her to eat, but she refuses too no matter how hard I try. I ultimately give up on feeding her and help her settle down on my bed. As I tuck her in, she wraps her fingers around my wrist, holding me in place.

“T-thank you,” She murmurs, her green eyes glazing with tears.

My curiosity eats away at my thoughts but if she refused to share, I would not pressure her to tell me. She gasps as I cup her cheeks in my hands, feeling the electric jolt of my powers slowly relax her every muscle. A tiny sigh escapes her parted lips as she nestles her head into my pillow. She dozes off instantly and I grab a pillow and a blanket, tossing them on the floor for me to sleep beside her.

My mind reels as I entertain several possibilities of what could have happened to Karina, each thought fueling an anger inside me I didn’t know I was capable of feeling.

A tiny tap on my shoulder startles me and I look up to see Karina staring at me.

“You were growling…” she whispers, pulling the covers up to her chin.

“Oh,” I blush. “Sorry.”

An awkward silence engulfs us and I hear her roll over onto her back to stare at the ceiling. While I could not see her face, I could tell she was holding back tears as she sucked in a big breath of air. I reach out my hand and search for hers, finding it tucked beneath the sea of covers. Before I can wrap my fingers around hers, she grabs hold of my hand and pulls on it.

“Please hold me,” she whimpers.

I’m on my bed in an instant, pulling her body against mine as she buries her face in my chest. She grabs fists full of my shirt, her tears soaking through the fabric. Kissing her forehead, I rest my chin on her head, feeling her body tremble with her sobs.

“You’re okay, Kari,” I murmur, giving her a tiny squeeze. “You’re okay.”

—

I g***n as I come to, attempting to stretch out my muscles but feeling a force on me keeping me locked in place. Forcing my eyes open, I blink several times and find Karina’s arms wrapped around my waist, her head resting on my chest. Her breaths go in and out slowly to the rhythm of my heart beat.

The sunlight peeking through my window casts a golden hue on the brown tendrils of hair framing her face. Her pale skin was a sea of porcelain, glistening against my own darker tones. Her long lashes cast a small shadow on her cheekbones and her pretty lips were slightly upturned into a tiny smile. I find myself admiring the perfection of her features in the silence of the morning.

Has she always been this beautiful?