Chapter 117

Ethan

The wide-eyed expression gracing my mate’s face, and her reaction to my revelation that I’m in the running for Lycan King, is refreshing and amusing. I laugh again, and she scowls at me.

“I said, it’s not funny! Why would you want to be a King? That’s… that’s crazy,” she exclaims, falling back on her butt as she stares at me.

“I was raised with this goal in mind. Lycan Kings are chosen every fifty years, and the last King is growing old and looking for his replacement,” I tell her, thinking about the time when the King’s stewards released the information. “All Alphas are invited to register for the election, and when the invitations went out five years ago, my father signed me up. He’d been training me since I was ten to take over.”

“TEN?!”

I nod, realizing her shock has changed. The spicy scent of anger flares around her as she huffs, “Isn’t that too young? Did they even let you have a childhood?”

“It’s not that I didn’t have a childhood. Mine was just different to other children,” I answer, squeezing her waist gently to calm her irritation. “I still got to play with other kids and went to school like everyone else, but a lot of my time was spent in training.”

“Were you happy, though? Is that what you wanted?”

No one had ever asked me that, and to realize that is a bit sad. Everything was in line before I was born, and when I came of age, all I had to do was follow the line. It’s the way every Alpha child is raised, so I never thought much of it.

Did I wish they’d given me more choices?

I’m not sure. I don’t think I would be where I am today if they hadn’t pushed me the way they did. Sure, I didn’t like some of the training and would’ve rather been out playing football or baseball with some of the other kids, but at the same time, I was raised as an Alpha.

Alphas made sacrifices for the good of their pack, and that’s what they drilled into me as a child.

Every lesson from my father and the elders is etched into my heart, and I wouldn’t get rid of them for anything.

“Our mate cares about us,” my wolf says on a soft hum. “She’s worried for us.”

I agree with him, staring down at her while she leans into me and waits for an answer.

“I wasn’t unhappy, but my parents never asked me what I wanted,” I tell her. The sharp, sour smell of anxiety and the heavy, wet scent of sadness mix within the air, and I squeeze her hips again, continuing to explain, “Until now, I didn’t think I wanted anything else. For the longest time, I wanted what they wanted; to be the greatest Alpha and to become the Lycan King. Other than that, I wanted to do well for my pack. It’s in my DNA, as their Alpha, to want to do the most and be the best I can be for my members…”

“But what?”

Her anticipation of my next words, the way she leans in to focus solely on me, makes me smile. I’ve had a lot of attention on me as an Alpha and as the CEO of a company, but her attention, the attention of my mate is different.

“I want to make my parents, my pack, and the council proud, but I don’t want to lose you in the process,” I answer honestly. Losing her would mean losing myself and my wolf at this point. Without her, I don’t see myself having much of a future, and the thought is scary since when we started this, I wanted nothing more than a physical relationship.

Now, she’s it.

She’s my mate and no one can stop me from being with her. Not my father, not the council, and not even the King.

Silently, I drag both of our bodies down to the blanket and stretch out, laying on my back with Fiona laying half on my chest and half on the blanket. I keep my arms banded around her, not letting her move much because having her pressed against me is the best feeling. Warm and soft and all mine.

“Lose me?” She whispers, sitting up a bit to look me in the eyes.

“No Lycan King has ever been mated to a human; actually, I don’t know if I’ve ever heard of an Alpha mated to a human, so this is new for a lot of people and will be frowned upon,” I tell her and hope to the Goddess that it won’t deter her from staying with me.

I believe there’s a reason the Goddess paired us together, and every moment I spend with her, I fall more. I don’t want the stress of running a pack to put Fiona off being with me. It’s a lot of responsibility without the Kingship, as she called it, added to my name, but I believe the Goddess wouldn’t have chosen a mate for me that couldn’t handle my life.

Fiona lays back, curling into my side as she asks, “So how do you become King? Do you have to fight or something to show off your wolfy strength?”

I chuckle at the term ‘wolfy’, remembering she’s used it before. I would love to take a peek into her mind to see what goes on in there, but until she’s got my mate mark on her, I’ll have to settle for asking or talking until she reveals her inner thoughts.

“There are duels between Alphas, but there are also other aspects of the election. Alphas are tested on their character, physical strength, intellect, and ability to lead,” I tell her, repeating what my father has told me many times. “There are four tests, one for each category, and each test results in Alphas being disqualified or cut until it finally ends with the one Alpha who passes every test. If more than one passes all four tests, they look at the Alphas’ records and choose the best candidate from there.”

“Do- do you think you can win?” Fiona asks hesitantly.

“I don’t presume to know how the election will go, but I have confidence in myself and my abilities,” I answer, not wanting to lie. I truly don’t know what the tests will be like or if there is a better Alpha out there. It would be stupid of me to believe that I’m the best, no matter what my parents seem to think.

Fiona hums in response, laying her hand on my chest. I feel her relaxing into my side even though she doesn’t say anything else, her soft scent no longer smelling like anxiety and sadness like it did earlier. Instead, a new scent wafts around us, one I can’t quite place, but it’s almost a mixture of happiness and pride.

She finally fully leans on me like she did the other night with my wolf. With Zev.

He perks up at the name she gave him, and I chuckle, pushing him back down. She doesn’t need him right now, so he’s content to let me keep the reins even as Fiona’s whispered words break the silence.

“I want you to be happy, Ethan.”

“And I want you to be happy, too.”

Just like that, we quietly watch the stars together.