Chapter Four

Celina

Still slightly embarrassed that I had to stop my dad from losing control of his wolf, I reluctantly go to the infirmary. Neither of us is going to acknowledge that his wolf submitted to mine. That would require a massive change that I’m not going to accept. Worldlessly, he walks beside me with his head bowed. I can feel his shame, and I know it’s because he lost his temper in the presence of the Lycan King. I didn’t catch what the topic was about, but I did feel his aura and heard the word bitch; which is why I made my way to the meeting room. I thought it best to intercede before an accidental war was started.

When I opened the door, my wolf was going insane. I knew that tensions were high, but not high enough that I had to use my aura. I’m glad I got there when I did, or it could have been bad.

My dad stops when we reach the stairs. “Cel, I know what you were trying to do in there. I know you’re not hurt enough to require my help. Please, do me this one favor, and return to your room. Your mother and I have things to discuss.”

“Dad,” I say hesitantly, locking eyes with Xander.

“Cel, now,” my father growls, taking me off guard.

Xander grabs my arm. “Cel, we should go get ready for the ball.” Numbly, I allow Xander to pull me away. I’ve never had my father treat me like that.

Xander takes me to my room and forces me to sit on my bed. I give him a curious look while I run my hand over the grey and light pink comforter. He immediately shuts the door, then goes and shuts my blinds.

“What are you doing?” I ask him when he begins sniffing my walk-in closet.

“Cel, you know that the attack you were in earlier?”

I hold up my arm, “No, I had completely forgotten about it.”

He gives me a hard look before resuming his search. “It was targeted. The creep followed you around the ruins; waiting for the perfect opportunity to attack you.”

“I already figured that out,” I tell him, making him stop his search.

Xander looks at me to see if I’m lying. “How?”

I give him a confused look. “Didn’t the Lycan King tell you…” I trail off and shake my head. Maybe he didn’t think to mention what I had told him. Dad was pretty unstable when I reached them.

I look at Xander and speak carefully. “When you see a crazed rogue, lycan or wolf, they do not wait. They attack. They go straight for the kill. They do not use Wolfsbane, they use their goddess-given weapons. This wolf had waited for me to be out of the line of sight. He ambushed me the moment he had his chance, already shifted, and Wolfsbane on his claws. The only reason I can think that he was already shifted was for a quick getaway. A werewolf has no shot to catch up with a lycan; even if they’re carrying something.”

He looks me over, sitting down on one of my white armchairs. He looks at me, “You do know you caught him on film, right?”

I snort, “No I didn’t.”

“Cel, yes you did.” He gets up and grabs my phone off my desk. He pulls up the pictures of the scene.

“There,” he says, pointing to the one I had taken before I was attacked.

Still unsure what he’s talking about, I take the phone. Chills run up my spine at what I see. A man looking at me as if I am fresh meat. There is no doubt in my mind that he is stalking me. His eyes are locked on me, ignoring any of the other dozen or so people that were with me. His eyes are gold, confirming that he was the lycan that assaulted me.

“What the hell?” I demand, dropping the phone as if it bit me. “Who the hell is he?”

“You don’t recognize him?”

“Should I?” I demand, feeling violated and deeply disturbed. How long has this man been following me? “Why is he even following me?”

Xandar hesitates before answering. “Exzecial has a theory, and it’s what sent dad over the edge. He thinks the rogues are trying to claim you for a strong…Luna.”

“What?” I screech. “Wh-why? Why? Why?”

“You know why,” Xander says softly. “This is going to hurt my ego Cel, but your power makes me look weak as fuck. It’s already stronger than dad’s. With you as a mate, they could easily overpower the Lycan King and Alpha King.”

I open my mouth to argue, then close it, then open it. “So, to save us all a lot of trouble, I have to be mated?”

Xander blushes. “Sort of. I mean, I don’t want you to mate someone for the hell of it, but I’m only telling you what I’ve been told.”

I groan and plop back on the ground. “I hate being a girl.”

“There is something else,” Xander says almost unwillingly.

“What now,” I groan; closing my eyes and rubbing my face.

“Dad got a letter from the Council yesterday after you had left. They wanted to inform him that if you had remained unmated after the Claiming, they were going to assign you a mate.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I screech; my eyes snapping open as I get to my feet. “Please tell me you’re lying,” I beg Xander.

“They feel like someone of your status should be mated to continue a strong line,” Xander says, giving me a comforting look. “It’ll be okay Cel.”

“That stupid rule only applies to lycan royals,” I say, fully whining now.

“I think that rule applied to you after you killed your lycan mate,” Xander says, giving me a sheepish look.

“Xander,” I growl, throwing a pillow at him.

“Come on Cel, it’s not that bad.” Xander teases; in an attempt to cheer me up.

“You’re such a dick,” I tell him, going for another pillow.

Xander laughs and skips back, narrowly dodging the pillow. He goes to open the door in an attempt to make an escape; but quickly swings it up to use as a shield when I had thrown my pillow. The pillow misses the door and ends up smacking Prince Ruben in the face.

I bite my lip to contain my laugh as I get to my feet. “Prince Ruben, is there something you need?” I ask; nearly irrupting into laughter when I see a feather from my pillow land on his head.

“Oh nice try Cel,” Xander says, closing the door. “You can do better than that.”

I open my mouth to respond, but a knock on the door interrupts me. Xander’s eyes widen as he slowly opens the door, revealing a tightlipped prince.

“I am so sorry,” Xander says immediately, shooting me a hard glare. “I did not intend to be so rude.”

Ruben clears his throat. “That’s quite all right. Accidents do happen I suppose.” He picks at a feather that is resting on his breast. “I wanted to ask if Celina would be opposed to being escorted to the dance by me.”

Xander turns his head to hide his laugh while I keep my face composed. Goddess, he’s a lycan prince. How do I get out of this one, without putting tension between our families? I’m sure Father got a head start with that today.

Xander is the one to save me, “I’m afraid Celina has to decline your offer, Prince Ruben. It is customary that unmated she-wolves attend the dance unescorted. This gives them some anonymity and allows them the opportunity to speak to potential mates before the Claiming.”

Ruben’s face falls. “Oh, well I hope to see you at the ball tonight. Perhaps, you’ll save me a dance?”

I mentally kick myself to keep my face bright and hopeful. “I’d love that.”

“What will you be wearing, so I can find you?”

“Let’s keep some mystery tonight,” I say with a small seductive edge in my voice while Xander silently laughs. I’m going to need something harder than a pillow next time.

His smile softens. “I’ll be sure to look for you, Princess Celina.” He nods as he backs away while Xander closes the door.

“What the hell was that?” I demand from Xander.

Xander smirks. “I’ll put it this way. It’s a good thing the Lycan Prince has refrained from entering the Claiming this year.”

“Do you think that if I stabbed my own mark, I could die an old maid?” I ask, sitting on my bed once more.

Xander chuckles, “Not if the council has anything to do with it.” He pulls the loveseat so he’s sitting next to me. “Listen, Cel, one of these days you are going to have to accept a mate. The council will not allow you to go through life without a mate. You are the Alpha King’s daughter. You’re also stronger that the Alpha King. Werewolves strive to keep strong bloodlines. That is one thing they hold close, just behind the mate bond. Since your moon-given mate isn’t an option, they are going to give you a chosen mate.”

I scoff, “More like forced mate.” I stand. “They can try, but I will not submit to someone who is weaker than me.”

Xander shakes his head, “Great, so no one.”

“Exactly,” I tell him with a smirk.

“You know the Council is not going to accept this,” Xander slowly gets to his feet. “You might want to get ready. You have an admirer waiting for you.”

I grimace, “I’ll give you ten bucks to help me avoid him.”

Xander chuckles. “Not even for ten grand. This is going to be too much fun to watch. I’ll bet you ten bucks that you can’t avoid him.”

I glare at him, “You’re on, but you better not tell him what I’m wearing, or help him.”

He gives me an innocent smile. “What me? Never.”

I throw my last pillow at him while he laughs, leaving my room before I can find something else to throw at him.

I flop on my bed after he has left and groan. I hate this. I killed my mate, so following karmic logic, I should die alone. It’s a curse that I know I was given. Ever since that night, any man that I have even gone on a date with meets some horrible fate. The last one I had agreed to go on a date with and he ended up in the ICU after he lost control of his vehicle. The man was a lycan. How does that even happen?