Chapter 249

Aurora’s POV

As the oldest of my mother’s twelve children, everyone expects me to be responsible. And as the first lycan born to my father, everyone looks to me to continue the lycan race.

That’s a lot of pressure to put on an eighteen-year-old. Don’t get me wrong, as the future luna and heir to my father’s throne. I get where the pressure is coming from. Not that I particularly enjoy it.

At the moment, I was hiding in the garden. I had many happy memories of this space, and on many days when I needed to think for myself or to get away from my many siblings, particularly my twin brother, I snuck out here and hid. Luke was way too over-protective of me, and it got annoying.

When I was small, I used to make forts in the hedges surrounding the rose garden. I’d carved my hiding spot out into a hidden alcove that nestled inside the hedge behind a veil of ivy. Sunlight could dapple through the vines and illuminate the inside.

And as long as I kept it free of cobwebs, it was a nice space to just be. I pulled in a few paving tiles that I found lying around the groundskeeper’s shed, put a little floor in here, and then stole away with some outdoor pillows to furnish it and make it a retreat for myself.

“Aurora?”

The vines rustled, and Jay poked his head in. He grinned at me.

“I knew you’d be here.”

I waved him in and pointed him to a pillow across from me. He took a seat, crossed his legs, and stared at me.

“You look annoyed, and you’re hiding in your spot,” he pointed out.

Jay was the son of one of my father’s gammas, a year older than me, very good-looking, and my boy du jour. He knew he was one of many boyfriends that I’d had, but at twenty and since I was nearly nineteen, he had that hopeful look as if maybe our being together might turn into something more adult and lasting. However, such a relationship was a big leap up for a gamma son to snag the lycan princess heir.

“Well? What’s got you so irritated?”

I rubbed my face and flopped down on the pillow, stretching out as best I could in the space. “It’s my father.”

“Do tell,” he urged, settling in next to me, his head turned toward me so that if I turned toward him, our noses would just be brushing.

“He pulled me into his office today,” I complained. “Since my nineteenth birthday is in just a couple of months, and I graduated, he wants to nail me down with some jobs around the palace so that I can get used to the idea of being in government,” I explained.

“I wanted to take a year off and travel first,” I said. “It’s not like we don’t have the means. I want to see Europe, Asia, and the South Pacific. My parents had their honeymoon there, you know?”

“You’ve told me numerous times,” he said with a grin. “The pictures of their bungalow over the water are some of your favorites. You’re always showing them to me.”

He scooted, so his shoulder was touching mine. “Maybe you’ll get to go there on your honeymoon.”

He leaned, whispering in my ear. “Maybe that could be with me.”

This time I did turn my head, but my expression wasn’t welcoming. “You know you have to get my father’s permission before you’d be allowed to be with a princess, and that’s assuming that I even choose to take a mate.”

“What do you mean assuming?” he asked, pulling back, looking confused. “Isn’t that kind of up to your wolf?”

“Just because my wolf chooses a mate doesn’t mean that I have to get married to that person or mate with them in any way. Remember, I’m a tricolor. My wolf has different wants and needs.”

“But there are plenty of multi-colored wolves who take regular mates? Why would you not?”

I bit my lower lip and tucked my hands underneath my head. “That’s actually what my father and I got into an argument about. That’s why I’m annoyed. He wants me to pick a mate. He wants me to get settled down so that I can focus on starting a family and getting that under my belt.”

“Wow. He wants you to have kids early. I’d think you’d want to wait at least another five or six years.”

“I would,” I said. “Dad thinks that I should get mated and take care of family right now. That way, when he needs to retire or when he gets too old to rule, my kids will be old enough that I can focus on taking care of the True Mates pack and our expanding Kingdom rather than trying to take a mate and have babies then.”

“He’s kind of got a point,” I conceded. “Babies would be distracting. But I don’t feel like I’m ready to just pop out a bunch of kids, especially not for one man.”

I dropped that bomb, making Jay sit up. “What do you mean?”

“Well, look what Russo did with his kids. They’re trying to rebuild the species, and so are we. Yeah, my mom had twelve kids, but we all have the exact same parents. That’s not a whole lot of genetic diversity. Dad was stuck being mated into just one person who could carry his lycan pups.”

“But my siblings and I all have multi-colored coats. We have the luxury of drawing strength from and taking as many partners as possible. I’ve decided that’s exactly what I want to do.”

“No wonder your dad was pissed.”

“Yeah, he wasn’t real happy about that. I told him that I wanted to sleep with as many men as I could, and I wanted to have babies with as many of them as I could. I want to be as powerful as possible by the time I take over as ruler.”

“Makes sense.”

“I want to be able to protect our pack and our way of life. Mom and Dad had to struggle, and the last thing I wanted to do was let everything they created fall apart. To guard it as best I can, I need to get as strong as I can.”

“And the fastest way to do that is to take as many lovers as you can,” he finished for me.

Jay reached over, running his fingers between mine. “So where does that leave us? And I’ve never asked. I know you’ve dated other guys before. Have you slept with any of them?”

“It’s not really your business,” I pointed out.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

“If you insist on knowing, no. I came close a couple of times, but I wanted to be sure of the direction of my life before I just started pulling power from random sources. Mom had a lycan partner and a half-demon to draw power from. I’ll probably have to take a lot more lovers to get anywhere near as powerful as she is.”

“Did you see her at the last wolven Expo?” I asked. “There isn’t a wolf out there who can hold a candle to Joy, male or female, aside from Dad’s lycan, but he won’t let Beowulf compete. And the crazy part is mom’s not all that young anymore. And she’s had twelve kids!”

Jay leaned over so that I could feel his breath across my face. “Who gets the honor of being your first in your quest for power?” he asked, his voice husky. “Now that you’ve decided that’s the route you’re going to go and all.”

As an answer, I darted up, pressing my lips to his. Jay and I had done plenty of kissing. We’d also let our hands wander frequently before, though I always stopped him before we touched anything inside each other’s clothing. But this time, when he slipped his hand inside my pants, I let him.

My first instinct was to shy away when he used his fingers to part the lips between my legs and run his fingers across those sensitive spots. I went exploring there myself, but this was the first time anyone’s hands but my own had been there.

I wasn’t fully prepared for the rush of heat that I got at his touch. I reached up, ran my fingers through the hair at the back of his head, and pulled him down to kiss me. On instinct, his body followed, his hips pressing against the outside of my hip.

Jay’s erection dug into my flesh. Again, a little zip of shock ran through me. I’d had no idea that a hard-on was actually so hard.

Curiosity overwhelmed me, and my hands wandered inside the waistband of his athletic pants. The warm, firm shaft of flesh throbbed when I gripped it, leaping around as if it wanted to be free. Inside my body, the heat was growing.

Jay had pushed the tips of his fingers inside my entrance, rubbing from that spot to my clit and back again, spreading my own wetness around.

“Have you ever slept with anyone before?” I asked him between kisses.

“No. My last girlfriend gave me a blowjob, but I haven’t actually done the deed itself. We’ll have our first time together.”

I let him slide my pants down, and he wiggled around, doing the same. He nudged my knees open and positioned himself between my legs. Then he propped himself on his elbows, putting his hands on my breasts and squeezing just a little too hard in his excitement.

His cock bounced against the skin of my thighs as he ground his hips against mine in clumsy movements. Finally, he gave a little huff of frustration and reached between his legs, grabbing himself and pressing his tip to my entrance.

“You’re sure you want this?” he asked one last time.

In answer, I twisted my hips, finishing his thrust and taking him inside me. I winced as the length and girth of him stretched and tore a little at my insides. But Jay didn’t seem to notice as he started into eager thrusts.

Wrapping my legs around him and gripping his hips, I looked him dead in the face. “Slow down,” I said. “I’m not there yet.”

He paused his thrusting, the look on his face one of great effort. “Do you want me to go down on you first?”

I shook my head. “No. Just stop treating this like a race.”

He ran his fingers across my face, caressing me. “Anything you want,” he promised. “I’ll make sure that this is as good for you as it is for me.”