The Kings Mate

Groaning I try to ignore the head rush that I just received. Ryder chuckles as I fall against his bare chest, he had suddenly taken my shoulder and spun me around catching me off guard. The heat is erupting off his naked tanned chest as I make sense of what just happened.

“Always be prepared for the unexpected.” He whispers forcing me to tilt my head back with his nose as he brushes it up against mine gently.

Once the smirk creeps into my face I feel the dimples indent into my cheeks and the way that his heart seems to speed up beneath my hand just by the simple action that he’s caused so many times before.

“Jesus Christ, put a shirt on before she jumps you.” Cole says from behind me.

When I try to pull myself back from Ryder at Cole’s voice as I suddenly remember what we were supposed to be doing but his arms tighten around me stopping me from creating any distance. He growls over my shoulder before he meets his eyes with mine again he quickly presses a small kiss to my lips before I’m turned back out of the warm embrace of his arms.

Cole is watching Ryder carefully with his arms crossed over his chest. When I look between the two I’m confused with how they’re eyeing each other off. The friendship that I had heard about them having seems non-existent between them now.

For me to gain the both of their attention I have to clear my throat and when I do Cole relaxes his arms dropping down to his sides as he stretches out his muscles. Ryder however just watches him as Cole moves in closer to me.

“I’m not going to be able to train her, if you don’t allow me Ryder.” Cole says as he gets in front of me his tall frame towering over my petite one just like Ryder’s does but Cole gives off a different aurora then what my mate does.

“I’m allowing it,” Ryder says tensely as he shifts closer to me. “Doesn’t mean I have to like it,”

In the last twenty four hours the possessiveness that I had heard mates take has shown clearly in the actions that Ryder presents in the way that he carefully eyes the slightest of movements of the opposite sex and the tightening grips he takes on whatever body part he can take to hold me to him.

It’s the opposite of taking it slow. With the way that the heat of his naked chest radiates through to me past the thin material that covers my upper body I’m back lost in the thought of how much I want and how I want him in general.

He’s right. I want him. I want to be mated to him and I want to be the one to carry his pups. He’s mine, it’s my duty to do that for him and his country and when I think of another woman doing that for him my heart clenches in an unbearable pain. I am frightened of how it will affect me.

What would I be like as a mother?

I had no one to look up to and learn from all I could see in my mind was doing something wrong. I had never even had an experience with children. Whenever there was a child bought into Carlett, it scared me. I couldn’t explain how they had the affect over me but my chest tightened at the sight of the young girls that could possibly live the same life that I had and there was nothing I could do about it.

“Charlotte,” Ryder’s voice is soft. A high contrast to what it was moments ago. “Like I said before this is not something you need to worry about now.”

Gulping I shift in the hold he still has on me. I’m still trying to get to grips with the mindlink but I realise that with his words that I had just let him in. He Loosens his hold on me now allowing me to step back away from him and face back towards Cole who is watching our interaction with soft features on his face.

“Are you ready?” Cole asks me now his voice matching the look he is giving me.

I feel Ryder’s hand slide up beneath my shirt at my guards question towards me. His fingers are warm and send tingles up my spine as he caresses it softly, almost telling me that it’s all going to be alright to start the training with Cole.

Nodding I take a deep breathe trying to keep calm as I see the muscles of Cole’s arm flex as he stretches his arms out. He takes a step towards me giving a look of surrender to my lingering mate over my shoulder.

“Now all I’m going to do is teach you are some defensive moves.” His voice is lacking the confidence that I have heard him exude the tiny number of times that I’ve heard him speak before. He sounds as if he’s stepping on egg shells almost waiting for an outburst.

“You’re small which makes you an easy target. Because of your guards if any one was to come at you it will most likely be experienced fighters and they tend to be tall males nearly double your size.” Cole is in front of me forcing me to look up at him almost proving a point to me.

His arm comes up and it comes down quickly aiming towards my neck. I had been so distracted by how close that Cole had gotten to me that I hadn’t noticed the tingles that were surging through my veins as Ryder’s hands had slid down my arms to grip them just above my elbow and whip my arm up to block the hit that Cole was going to give me.

My forearm throbs from the impact. My chest is shaking and I’ve fallen back into Ryder’s chest, sinking into his warmth as I allow it to comfort me. Ryder notices the reaction coursing through me and squeezes my arm to reassure me.

“They are going to use they’re height to come down at you, so you need to move up and put all the power you have in your forearm to take the hit.” Cole says moving to take my free arm but I tense up and try to redraw myself back into the warmth of Ryder’s comfort.

Cole relaxes and gives me a look almost asking to take my arm again but I look away from him trying to pull my other arm out of the grip Ryder has to help me defend myself.

“Lottie?” Ryder says softly into my ear.

My chest is tightening and I feel like I can’t breathe.

“Charlotte,” He lets go of my arm and pulls me in closer to his chest which almost seems like an impossible task since I’m already so close to him. His arms wrap around my waist and I wince lightly as the pressure pushes against my stomach where I was given the needles, once he notices the pain he inflicted he moves to gently rub his hands over the area.

“Can we stop this please.” I whisper turning myself in his hold to bury my face deep into his chest.

“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?” he whispers to me but I’m shaking my head before he even has time to finish. “We’re alone. Cole isn’t here anymore. Come on I want you to feel comfortable and I can’t get that for you if you don’t tell me what’s going on.”

I can’t even begin to explain what possessed me to shut up within myself. Something about the way that his arms came down towards me scared me. Like something like that had been used on me before.

Henri had only ever really held me down and other than the slap I got across the face when he finally got me to where he wanted me to be and as far as I could remember nobody else had ever laid a hand on me despite coming close to it a number of times when I was on the street but I always somehow managed to get myself out the freighting predicament.

I had moved past all that though as much as the memories still haunted me from the worst times in my life I know Ryder would always be by my side making sure I would never have to experience what I went through again. He doesn’t want me to hurt even though I haven’t yet managed to hear his thoughts the way he is allowing me to I can still feel the distress that both he and his wolf have over my reaction to something that he believed might help and keep me safe of either he or my guards weren’t around.

“Lottie, we can stop if you don’t like this. I want you to be safe but also want you to be happy.” Ryder’s hand is running through my ponytail, twisting it lightly around his fingers as whispers the words against the top of my head and I can feel as the loose strands of my hair move with his warm breath.

“I don’t know what the problem is Ryder.” I say to him my voice muffled against his chest.

“I know baby, I heard.”

Shaking my head at him I lift my head up to rest my chin against his chest to look up into his eyes. “There’s something familiar in it. Maybe it’s- I don’t know something that’s happened to me before but I just can’t remember it.”

“You think it has something to with your biological parents.” His eyebrows are furrowed at the thought that I was too afraid to admit aloud to him.

Being a couple of weeks old there was no denying that I wouldn’t be able to remember what the people who created me were like or what promoted them to leave me in that park to nearly freeze to death. Even with the little knowledge that I had of them I don’t believe that they would have treated me like that or left me in a positon like that.

Ryder had his hands on my birth certificate and every single document that had my name on it since that one. I don’t know if he actually looked into who my parents were but I know he knows there names but with his reaction it almost assured me that he doesn’t believe that they wouldn’t have put me in that position either.

When I come out of my own thoughts and lock my eyes back on Ryder I notice that he himself is zoned out obviously thinking about something himself. I try to get myself into his mind the way that he wants to and when I think I’ve finally achieved it I run into a wall. I can almost feel my mind rebounding off of it.

“Sorry,” he says my impact calling his attention back down to my small height encased tightly in his arms. “I was thinking about your parents. I can tell you about them if you like?”

“Do you know about them?” My voice is a whisper that is lower than then the audible gulp I give.

I don’t want to know who they are. They gave me up for a reason and I’m going to keep my distance to make sure I don’t ever inconvenience them again. But I wanted to know what he was thinking about them. I think I wanted to know what they were like to see if I could add up any similarities between them and me. I could see the traits between Ryder’s parents and him which made me more inclined to know.

“They wouldn’t have hit you Lottie. I’ll tell you that, they would never even think about it.” He whispers as he leans down to softly press a kiss against my lips. “Come on,”

His hand is locked tightly around mine as he almost drags me out the door. I question him that I’m leaving my clothes but he tells me not to worry about them, that Ellie will collect them and return them to our room.

“Ryder!” I exclaim as he seems to forget that I can’t move as fast as what he can. He turns around to look at me and I can see the concern in his eyes.

“What are we doing?” I ask with a small laugh as I end up back in his arms.

We’re in the middle of a hallway on the second floor and I’m surprised I didn’t fall on the way down the stairs. His arms come around me tightly in the hallway and despite the guards that are passing us on their rotations that bow even though we aren’t even concentrated on them he kisses me again with one hand caressing my cheek.

“I just want you to be happy.” Once again his brow furrows and when my hand raise to rub against the skin trying to even out the lines I feel the warm tangling sensation of the sparks move through me. If I didn’t have the sparks I don’t think I would be able to be as close to him as what I am.

“I’m ok,”

He shakes his head and I feel like I need to pull back away from him with how easily he could read that actually wasn’t ok with the way that I had suddenly closed up over something I couldn’t get my finger on.

“Come on,” he says again tugging my hand but not actually moving me from my spot. Sighing I allow him to walk us out to the open lawn of the back garden with a brisk pace that I can actually keep up with.

Once on the lawn Ryder disappears into the barn and I can hear the horse neighing. I don’t know what he’s doing but I turn admiring the castle that is now my home from the distance down the lawn.

The thick and sturdy walls that are made of sand stone are tall and reach up taller than what I thought they would have. And the blue tiled spires contrast perfectly with gold the golden window frames and points of the spires that are of the shape of a wolf up on its hind legs and its mouth open in a growl.

When I feel the small wet pressure against my lower back I jump slightly and turn to whatever had pocked me. I hadn’t prepared myself to turn and look up into the hazel eyes of my mate that was surrounded by a short but still smooth looking fur.

Moving my hand up I lace my hand through the fur of his muzzle. The fur is shorter around his face but lengthens out from his neck down but it’s still smooth and tickles my skin. When I let out a small laugh all the thoughts and worries are gone before I can see the happiness that’s in his eyes and I’m even surprised when his tongue extends out slightly to give a small yet slobbery kiss to the tip of my nose.

Like he did when I first saw him in the form of his wolf his front legs stretch out in front of him his head tilting downwards as he nudges at the side of my thigh telling me silently to get on. Running my hand through the thick fluff of the salt and peppered fur, the soft fur tickles against my skin and even it causes sparks to run through me. These fell stronger though, it’s almost a direct contact with his wolf.

Sighing I do as his requests and manage to throw my leg over his back despite the towering height of him. Unlike before when I first had the chance to do this I actually have time to admire the comforting feel that it gives me. That something so dangerous could be so protective of me.

‘Wrap your arms around my neck and lean forward,’ I hear his voice echo through my mind and I do as he says. ‘Close your eyes and leave your mind open, I want to show you something.’

When I press my chest against his neck and lock my hands into the fur to hold myself to him. The second I close my eyes and I let out a deep exhale of breathe his fur moving with it, Ryder starts to run and he runs fast. I can feel the wind whipping though my hair and I’m glad he told me to leave these clothes on because there protecting me from the splintering air.

With my eyes closed Ryder is allowing me to see through his eyes and I’m surprised by the clarity of the tress that should be blurring around us but I can still every single little detail of the bark and I can even hear the impacts of the animals around us and it seems that they’re running close beside us even though I can’t see another fleck of fur around us.

He’s beginning to slow now and when he stops I lift my head and let the crisp blue of the lake he had stopped in front of be seen through my own eyes. Ryder lowers himself again and I slowly slide off him with a hand still locked into the fur of his neck. He’s taller than a horse and built nearly double the size of one.

My hand slips from his neck and he turns away from me heading behind a tree. I take a step forward my feet climbing up the roots of the tree that stretch over the water and carefully sit down on it my now bare feet just dangling over the edge hanging barley an inch over the crystal clear still water.

The bond I have with Ryder is strong and I don’t jump like I would have when comes up to sit behind me with me positioned between his legs as he wraps a thick wool blanket around me. The shirt I have on doesn’t cover my shoulder blades and I can feel the warm skin of his chest pressed against me as he holds the blanket around the both of us primarily to keep me warm other than him.

Ryder was right. I had worked myself up in that room and I allow myself to breathe in the open arm and lean back into the warm tingles of my mate as I watch as he allows his long legs to disturb the previously stilled water.

“Is this on the castle’s land?” I ask after a while, turning my head to look up at him.

“It’s not, but it is a piece of land I own.” He wraps his arms tighter around me when a small shiver goes through me. “It’s my getaway, I’ve never bought anyone here before and the guards practice fighting in there wolf form in the forest back there so no tourists can see it.”

“Why did you bring me here than if you’ve never bought anyone else before.”

“It’s not my getaway anymore.” He says quietly above my ear causing a different involuntary shiver to run through me. “I have someone else to calm my mind now and I thought that someone one should see this since they haven’t yet grown comfortable enough to have me as there escape.”

Looking down I see that the water has stilled around his legs. He’s stilled and I can feel the block he has put up but I don’t need to see into his mind to know that he doubts himself and our bond.

“Ryder,” I say quietly but he doesn’t flinch a muscle, “Ryder, sweetheart,” his eyes slide down to mine now and the corner of his mouth twitches up slightly.

“You’re not my escape Ryder. You’re my saviour. You saved me from myself and that’s all I need. As much as I love this,” I tilt my head towards the scenery around us, “It’s nothing compared to what I feel for you.”

“I love you.” he tells me as he leans forward to bury his head into my neck.

“I love you,” I repeat to him my hand locked in his hair as I hold him close towards me.

He lets out a sigh and he kisses my mark. “I don’t know what to do. They keep pushing me to finish our mating. To marry you, have your coronation and,” He pauses taking the blanket into one hand and his other slides down to rest on my bare stomach beneath my shirt, “and to have you carrying my pups, our pups. I don’t know how long I can hold this out.”

“Ryd-,” I try to begin but he cuts me off, “My duty to you is much stronger than my duty to my country Lottie.”

Shaking my head I turn in his hold and wrapping my legs around his hips trying not to fall from the tree as I do. “I’m not ready for pups and I don’t know if I ever will be but I want to give them to you. I will marry you and I will have a coronation if it will get them to leave you alone.”

He smiles up at me his hands massaging my hips. He leans back to lie down on one of the arms of the tree pulling me with him. “Only when you are ready will we be married and you will be crowned as queen not a second earlier. I am the most powerful king they have ever seen and if they betray my word and order they will do a lot more than leave me alone.”

We lie together on the arm of the tree for what seems hours but it only had been a few minutes before Ryder had turned to me and captured my lips with his as he wraps his arms and the blanket around us tighter allowing me to pull my legs up into the warmth as well. He’s only wearing a pair of shorts so I know most of the warmth I feel is from having him pressed so closely to me.

His hand doesn’t move from its spot on the small of my back keeping me steady so I don’t make the short fall into the water. His lips move slowly and softly against mine and I’ve gotten used to feeling of it. It’s a stark comparison to the first kiss he gave me and he hasn’t given me a similar one since. His first kiss with me was desperate and rough and in that moment it was what he needed and what I needed. Not yet am I ready for that again.

Ryder pulls back lightly and presses his forehead against mine. “I can’t wait to have all of you.”

Smiling I give a quick peck to his lips. “Not yet,”

“Not yet,” he repeats pulling me back down for a kiss. He pulls back away from me and the look on his face is soft. “Your birthday is just over a month away, do you know what that means.”

Freezing against his hold I try to sit up but he holds me against his chest preventing me from pulling away from him. I nod my head leaning back down against him when I realise the main reason he holds me close is stop the cold air that is begging to cage us together more.

“Lottie it scares you, I know that, but your heat is moving at a great progression. When a human is mated to a wolf even one ranked as high as me it should take months for your body to start to change to that of one that can carry a pup let alone have the heat actually take her. When yo- when you collapsed after the first week of being here Riley had already noticed the changes of your body, your hips have already completed re-aligned and even your blood has changed and that is something that only happens when you’re already pregnant, and at the point I was still yet to mark you. Riley can’t explain why but your birthday, at the latest will be when your heat hits and I’m telling you this because I want you to be prepared if it were to come next week.” His chest is rising and falling rapidly as he finishes just like mine is.

“Will it come in a weeks’ time?” I ask my voice shaking.

“It’s uncommon and a heat before eighteen has never been recorded but with what’s been presented it seems possible.”

“Why not just get it over with then.” My voice is hard and when I try to move away again his arms wrap tighter around me then they ever have before and I fear the words I just let go.

“Don’t,” he growls, “Don’t let this control you. Sometimes I struggle to control my wolf but he’s a part of me, sometimes I can’t change what he feels or does but I can control him just like you can control this.” Swallowing I allow him to pick me up and walk me down to the ground, gently placing me on the ground and giving the blanket solely over to me. He walks over and pulls a knife from a tree but I’m distracted by his nearly naked body. “You let whatever happened before control you. You can’t change what happened to you in the past Lottie, don’t let it change your future.”

He’s stood back in front of me the knife in his hand. His eyes are soft when he drops to my height his free hand softly stroking down my cheek. “You’ve seen things, lived through things that no other queen has. Use it.”

He moves behind me sliding the knife into my hand before he does. Dropping the blanket he gets me step forward into it so my bare feet aren’t buried amongst the wet leaves, pressing his body back against mine to replace the warmth. One of his arm slides to wrap around my waist the other sliding do my right arm slowly increasing my heart rate as he does. I feel his smile against my neck and the slight rumble of his chest as he lets out a chuckle when his arm wraps around the hand that he slid the knife into just like he had done earlier in the training room with Cole.

“Even when you were half starved when I first caught your scent and I ran after you I still had to put a lot of effort into going after you. You have strength. You just need to be taught how to use it. This blade is titanium. If it were silver I wouldn’t dare touch it that will be your advantage. I would rather you know how to defend yourself but I can’t deny you have much more strength than that.”

I turn my head to look at it him but he’s concentrated on the knife in my hand. Turning to watch where he’s eyes is I concentrate on that. His hand tightens around mine and the same moment that his arm twists my waist is the same moment that he throws both of our arms forward with considerable force, the knife or as he had called it a blade flies from my hand and lands in the centre of a small burned circle of the trees bark.

“If you were to get a shot like that in on a rebel it would be useless, they would just pull it from themselves and they would heal. However if it were a blade of silver they would fall.” Out of the corner of my eye I can see him looking down at me but my eyes are staring at the blade that’s been buried in the tree.

“Riley and your guards are the only ones to know about your heat Lottie.” He whispers drawing my attention back to him about our earlier topic. “If it comes and you are still not ready we are prepared to keep the mating from happening. The war is coming though and this is something you need to control now.” My eyes finally lock with his as he questions me. “Are you ready?”

“Will you be the one to teach me?” I ask turning further into the warmth of his touch.

He smiles for the first time since the conversation took a bad turn. I don’t know what fear it is that is controlling me from getting closer. One moment I want it then the next I don’t. He told me because he wanted me to be ready if my heat were to come earlier than what they had originally thought.

“If I go into heat next week and I want it, will you give it to me?” I ask him quietly not brave enough to meet his eyes.

“I- I don’t know.” He stutters. When I turn to him I see him looking vulnerable. His hand is shaking lightly but he’s quick to clench his fist to stop it. “I would want to, I want to now but I will be loyal to you when I say that I will not mate you till you are of age.”

Smiling at him I step forward and gently run my hand down his cheek. It calms him and I can see the stress visibly fall from him as he rolls his shoulders back. “You are way too good for me.”

He scoffs but doesn’t break eye contact, “You deserve way more than what I can give you.”

Wrapping my hand around his neck I force him to bend down closer to me. “Shut up, you idiot. You’re perfect and I love you.”

Smiling he comes back down to kiss me quickly as his arms move back around me. “When you do go into heat I promise you that you’ll love it.”

“Well aren’t you cocky.” I smirk at him and he smirks back at me.

We spend the rest of the afternoon together curled up on the blanket. It was after an hour that he told me that he was going to go somewhere and he’ll be back soon. Not even ten minutes later his wolf comes prancing back into my sight with a basket in his mouth and an extra blanket thrown over his back. He drops the basket down near my feet and shakes the blanket down on top of my head. When I scold him for doing so he lets out a throaty bark that I pass it off as a chuckle.

When he comes back he lies down he pulls the other blanket around me since he was lying on the cold ground just because he was worried about me being cold. The basket has food in it and we lie together talking with him passing food to me as he tells me stories about his childhood. A lot of them were about his mother and only once had he mentioned his father and even then I could hear the difference in the tone his voice took.

He quickly drops the subject and that’s when I realise that it’s gotten dark and that I had snuggled in closer to his side to keep warm in the cold weather that Jordena seems to take during night hours.

“Can we stay out here for the night instead of going back?” I ask him trying to pull his attention away from whatever bad thoughts he’s having.

“When you have your weight back up but not now it’s too cold but trust me when we do I’ll have other ways of keeping you warm.”

I give him a short burst of laughter that I have to cover my mouth to prevent the horrid sound from continuing. “You really are cocky aren’t you?”

We stay out for a little while longer before we go back to the castle at a slower pace with both of the blankets securely wrapped around me. I feel relaxed with him but when we get back to the castle that quickly disappears when Alexander storms over to us. Ryder had changed back at the barn and when he sees that his father is angry he pushes me behind him and my guards seem to appear out of nowhere to flank him.

“Where have you been?” He’s angry but he doesn’t wait for a reply from his son. “Get her somewhere safe now and follow me there’s an attack in the city and they’re getting close to the castle.”

Ryder tenses and gives Reynolds a nod. When Reynolds places a hand down onto my lower back I turn out of his hold and grab onto Ryder around the neck pulling myself to his chest.

“Lottie, it’s ok. I’ll be ok. Go with Reynolds and I’ll see you soon.” He says quietly and I can almost sense Alexander’s frustration at our interaction and my guards’ nervousness.

“I love you.” He sighs holding me to his kiss and once again I get a desperate and rough kiss from him and just like before he needs it and so do it and unlike I thought I was actually ready to receive it from him. In it is a promise that he will be back for me and it’s also a goodbye. I’ve just grown the courage to get close to him and now the rebels are going to take him away from me.

“I love you and if you don’t come back I’ll kill them myself.” I say as I press another kiss to his lips before he nods at Reynolds.

“You’ll make a perfect queen.” He says mostly to his father with a smirk.

I can’t react to his words as I allow Reynold’s to pull me away and up to the safety of the room as I watch him and father shift without a moment’s hesitation or to worry about their clothes as they run to protect their kingdom.

The moment I see him leave I feel an ache in my chest.