The Lycan's Queen

They say that there is no creature in the world more fearsome than a lycan who has lost his mate—because when a lycan loses his mate, he loses himself, too.

His soul drowns in a well of despair, and what swims back to the surface is a monster—a monster who will kill anyone in his path, who will destroy cities and overthrow empires.

Armies will try to stop him, but the lycan’s terror is greater than the force of a thousand werewolves.

They are no match for him—they do not understand his pain. How could they? If a werewolf loses their mate, they can mark another. But a lycan only has one…

One mate.

One chance at eternal happiness.

So if he loses her, he will not rest until he has inflicted as much agony as he has endured.

But what they don’t tell you is what happens when he finds her…

Oh, Goddess, when he finds her…

In the span of a single glance, the lycan’s universe rearranges. And there she stands, at the center of it. His sun. His moon. His right. His wrong. The person he’ll live for, and the person he’ll die for too.

No passion is greater.

No connection is stronger.

No ecstasy is more all-consuming.

How do I know, you ask?

Because, against all odds, a lycan found me.

And he made me his queen.

***

“He kissed me deeply, and I knew in that moment that we would be all right.”

I sighed and snapped the now-finished book shut.

Normally, I wasn’t the type of girl who obsessed over romance novels, but recently all I’d been doing was reading these unrealistic stories and imagining myself as the female lead.

I laid the book—The Secret Mate—down next to my bed and flopped over dreamily.

Who did I imagine was the male lead, you might be wondering? The same guy who stole my heart four years ago: Hunter Hall.

“Aarya, do you want to come grocery shopping with me?” my mom’s voice shouted up the stairs.

“No, Mom,” I replied.

Aarya Bedi—that’s my name. I’m nineteen years old, and if you can’t already tell from my name, I am Indian. I am also a werewolf.

Currently, I live with my parents, Sid and Tara. They’ve been mated for twenty-seven years. My older brother, Sai, is twenty-four, and so is his mate, Zoya.

Our pack is called Black Moon. I love our community. Everyone knows everyone, and growing up here was amazing.

At that moment, I was training to be a pack doctor. It was something I’d always wanted to do.

Because of my skin color and the stereotypes, I used to get teased when I said I wanted to become a pack doctor.

Everyone thought it was the perfect career for me since I’m Indian. Apparently, we’re all doctors, lawyers, or accountants. It used to bother me, but now I embrace it.

Even so, I could hardly focus on my studies in those days. My mind was constantly racing with thoughts about Hunter Hall. He was our beta. He and our alpha, Carter Ward, had been sent away for training four years ago.

And they’re coming back today, I thought.

I still remember the day before they left. Hunter’s gorgeous blue eyes had pierced mine and he’d told me to wait for him. I was only fifteen at the time, but I knew I would.

After all, I was utterly in love with Hunter. He was my first kiss; I could still remember the feeling of his lips against mine.

Most wolves find their mates at eighteen, and since Hunter hadn’t been here when I’d turned eighteen, I hadn’t mated yet. I felt excited for his return. I wanted to finally feel that spark, that connection.

A familiar ringtone started playing, pulling me out of my fantasies.

I rolled over to grab my phone, which was charging on the bedside table. When I saw the name on the screen, I smiled and quickly answered.

“Sophia Butler, long time no speak,” I teased. Sophia was my best friend.

“Aarya, stop teasing me. You know I’ve been busy,” Sophia whined.

“Have you really been busy? Or has Luke been keeping you trapped?”

She laughed. “You’re horrible! You know how it’s been. After all, the lycan ball is coming up! Aren’t you excited?”

Ah, yes, the lycan ball—I was dreading it.

I’ve always hated dances—school dances, wedding receptions, anything. I don’t know why—I love dressing up. But for some reason, I really didn’t want to go to the ball, even though I had never been. I was a little intimidated by the lycans.

This would be our pack’s second time going to the lycan ball, but it would be my first.

The first time we’d been picked, I’d gotten an awful case of the flu. My grandparents had flown in from their home in Canada to look after me while the rest of my pack went.

The ball is where my best friend, Sophia, met her lycan mate, Luke Martin. Since then, she’d changed a lot. Like everyone who gets mated to a lycan, she was slowly becoming one herself.

Don’t get me wrong, I was very happy when she told me—but a part of me knew I would lose my best friend.

She had been a werewolf like me, but it was possible to mate with a lycan and transform.

After all, now that she was a lycan, she had very important roles and responsibilities. Luke was head of the warriors, so Sophia stayed busy all the time.

Since she loved organizing so much, she was in charge of planning important events, and the lycan ball was the most important one.

“Come on,” Sophia urged again, pulling me from my thoughts. “Aren’t you excited?”

“Oh, yes. I am so looking forward to it,” I replied sarcastically.

“Well, the good thing is you’ll get to see me.”

“That’s true. We haven’t seen each other in a year. Not since you came back home to see your little nephew.” I sighed.

“I miss you. I wish I could come back more often.” Sophia also sighed.

“You’re busy, I get it. Thank the Goddess for technology, though. We can always talk even if we aren’t together,” I said.

“That’s so true. Oh, Aarya! I just can’t wait to see you! You leave tomorrow, right?”

“Yep, tomorrow. Bright and early.” I released another breath.

“Stop sighing! At least try and be a little excited,” Sophia scolded.

“Okay, sorry. I’ll try.” I laughed.

“Well, I have to go now. Duty calls, but I can’t wait for tomorrow,” Sophia replied.

“See you tomorrow,” I said, hanging up.

I tossed my phone aside and tried to relax my tense shoulders. I really didn’t want to go to the ball.

The lycan ball was the kingdom’s way to ensure that all packs got to see the palace and meet the king. I hated it.

Our previous king had ruled for five hundred years before handing the reins to his son.

Local legend had it that our old king went traveling with his mate, and no one had heard from them since. That’s how we ended up with this new guy in power—Adonis Dimitri Grey.

Apparently, everyone called him Dimitri, and only those close to him were allowed to call him Adonis.

I was not excited to meet him.

He seemed totally strange. He’d taken over the throne with no mate by his side, which was unheard of. Every lycan king before him had found his mate before becoming king.

I’d heard rumors that King Dimitri often went into terrible rages and needed to be detained by his own guards.

Another rumor said that he hated pictures. There were only three of him that I’d ever seen—one from when he was born, another from when his siblings were born, and the last one from when he took over the throne.

I was only a child when he’d become king. It had been ten years since then.

While lycans stop aging at twenty, they go on to live for hundreds of years. No one knows the king’s real age, and I suspect that he probably doesn’t tell anyone either.

A knock on the door pulled me from my thoughts. Before I could even say come in, my mom barged into my room with Zoya, my brother Sai’s mate. Mom was carrying a bag. I knew what was in there: my dress for the ball.

“Aarya, you need to pack. We’re leaving early tomorrow,” Mom said, shaking her head at me.

Zoya laughed and said, “I’ll help her.”

Mom nodded and left. Zoya dragged me out of bed and we started pulling things out of my dresser drawers. It was a distraction from thinking about Hunter and the ball.

Once we were done, I asked Zoya, “So, any news on when Hunter and Carter will be back?” I tried to play it cool.

“Why? Impatient, are we?” Zoya chuckled.

“No, I’m just curious, that’s all.” I rolled my eyes.

Zoya was the only one in my pack who knew that Hunter had kissed me and that I loved him. Everyone else just thought it was a juvenile crush.

I didn’t want my parents to know, and especially not my brother—he wouldn’t take the news very well. But I knew I could trust Zoya.

“Well, they should be here soon. Are you nervous?” Zoya asked.

“A little. I just can’t wait to see him,” I admitted.

I loved the fact that I could open up to Zoya. She was basically my sister.

Sai had said that he loved seeing his sister and mate had such an amazing relationship. I was just lucky Zoya was so cool! After Sophia left, I’d felt lonely, but Zoya had always been there for me.

Before long, my werewolf hearing picked up the sounds of cars coming down the drive. I jumped up, my heart beating fast as my nerves fired up.

It was finally time. I was going to see Hunter after four years.

Zoya held my hand as we walked downstairs together. Did I look okay? I ran my hands through my hair. Zoya nodded with an amused look on her face.

Deep breaths, Aarya, I thought to myself.~ You’ve got this. It’s okay.~

Luckily, our house was near the pack house, where the alpha and beta lived with their families.

Sai was waiting for us downstairs. He reached for Zoya’s other hand when we arrived. “Let’s go and see our alpha and beta,” Sai said.

Zoya never let go of my hand as we walked the short distance to the cars. My heart was beating so fast—I just wanted to see Hunter.

My wolf was restless.

Was that the sign I had been looking for? Was my mate here?

My dreams were coming true. Hunter would step out of that car, and he would know we were mates. When I heard the car door open, all my senses became heightened.

First, our alpha, Carter Ward, got out. He hadn’t changed a bit—well, except he had gotten more muscular.

His green eyes twinkled with mischief and happiness.

Yep, the same old Carter.

He brushed some of his blond hair out of his face before hugging his parents and younger brother. I watched as he said hello to everyone before stopping by me.

I was lucky that our new alpha wanted to be my friend. Throughout school, Carter had always been there for me.

I considered him one of my best friends, along with Sophia.

A contagious smile took over his face, and I found myself smiling too. The next thing I knew, Carter had picked me up and spun me around. The adults laughed.

“Aarya! Oh, how I have missed you! You’ve changed quite a bit. Puberty, hey?” Carter teased.

I rolled my eyes and hugged him. “It’s good to see you too, Carter. You haven’t changed at all. Don’t worry, sometimes people are late bloomers,” I joked, earning another laugh from Carter’s parents.

Carter smiled and hugged me again. “I really did miss you, Smiley.”

“I missed you too.” I grinned at Carter’s nickname for me. He hadn’t forgotten.

Hearing the other car door open, I glanced over Carter’s shoulders to see a familiar figure emerge. His back was facing me, so he didn’t know I was standing behind him.

I wanted to see his blue eyes full of love and adoration for me.

Carter moved out of the way and stood by my side, which I thought was a little weird.

Surely Carter should have moved on to greet everyone else?

Maybe he wanted to see the moment Hunter and I acknowledged each other as mates.

Yes, that must be it.

My wolf continued to pace, fueling my thoughts that Hunter was indeed my mate.

I watched as Hunter’s light-brown hair blew in the wind. His back was still turned to me. I just wanted him to turn around.

Please turn around. What is he waiting for?

Just as I thought Hunter was about to turn around for that magical moment I had dreamed about, he turned back to the car and held his hand out.

My heart stopped as I saw a manicured hand reach for Hunter’s. The smile fell off my face, and I’m sure I didn’t hide a look of disgust and betrayal.

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