The Lycan King's Mysterious Mate

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~Asher's POV~

"This is wrong Asher..."

My mother gave me a stern look and looked at my father who was shaking his head in denial.

Along with the looks of dis approvement, their worry for me and my future as a king is not going unnoticed by me. The feeling that I am getting while looking at them makes me feel like a dumb person who doesn't know what he wants to do with his life.

It's been twenty minutes since I am trying to convince my parents to let me go back to the city after the crowning but we are not coming to a mutual decision. Where they think I need to focus and spend more time in my world, my kingdom, I think I can manage both by staying in the city as well.

"Dad did it from here, I can do the same from the city," I tried to convince them.

"Our pack will be fighting rogues or vampires and you will be getting the information after the fight will die down. And if you got the information on time, you would be reaching here after the enemy is killed or we are killed," My mother said with gritted teeth.

I placed my arm around her shoulder and pecked her head to calm her down, "You know blood moon clan is not easy to take down."

"This is not funny! You can take care of your company and work the same way your father did. Your pack and people need your attention more than anyone because this is a world where uncertainties can happen anytime. You need to be with the people to solve their problem at the earliest not to run back to your place first to hear them and then look for the solution."

"She is right..." Kai said.

I know she is. But...

Sometimes I don't understand why things can't happen the way I want them to happen even for once. Yes, I want to be known for my name and work but there is also another truth which I didn't tell anyone till now.

Along with my parents and lycan, my mind says that I have to be here for the people I care about and who look up to me but my heart... It is always giving me reasons to run away and find my mate anyhow.

I have been living between wolves for years, meeting different she-wolves for seven years in the hope to find the one who is born for me but every time I come back with an empty heart and the thing that my heart says after every empty attempt is, she is not here... She is somewhere far from me.

My gut tells me to take my ass out in the world, to meet new people every day so I can one day finally bump into my mate. I'm trying and trying daily to look for her everywhere and hoping if I kept looking, I will find her soon. But if I came back to my pack where there is no sign of her then how will I find her?

I wish I could talk loud about this. I want to, I really want to but I know once my thoughts will be out to my parents they will just worry for me more. They think I am staying there to build a strong social profile and brand image but little did they know that there is another reason behind the stay. I don't want them to know this, they know what plans I have with my mate and her not showing up herself in my life is just putting a lot of speed breakers in my life.

I closed my eyes while releasing a heavy and then looked at my father who was looking at me intently, he is not a mind reader like Mom but his green orbs are looking so intently at me that I feel like he knows everything that is flowing in my mind.

"Babe, tell Ian and Taylor to arrange a virtual meeting with every alpha and start making the arrangements for the crowning. Ash and I will be joining you soon," Dad smiled at Mom and she left us alone while mumbling something under her breath making us chuckle.

"I am glad she didn't try to read your mind or see what I saw in your eyes," Dad said while taking his seat on the couch and patting the space beside him.

"I am glad you told her not to invade someone's privacy years ago otherwise she would be suffering today with everyone's problems going inside her head," I chuckled while taking my seat beside him.

"You know, you don't come in the category of everyone or anyone. You are our Son and we have the right to know what's troubling you."

"I generally don't like sharing my problems. And this is not even a problem, it is just a feeling with which I am dealing."

He took his phone from the desk and scrolled through it for a while leaving me confused. I was waiting for him to say something but instead of scrolling and looking at his phone, he didn't do or say anything.

I was ready to leave after sitting for 10 minutes in this awkward silence but then he said, "Finally, I found it."

He gave his phone to me and told me to look at the two pictures closely which were combined in a grid. I did as he said and found Dad looking opposite in both of the pictures. Though he was dressed in the same black shirt and grey trousers, still his face and eyes said so many things.

In one picture he was radiating darkness, looking lost in his own world. His facial expressions and eyes are hard as stone and anyone who will have a look at him will be able to tell that this man doesn't know how to even turn his straight-lined lips into a smile. His face, eyes, posture, and everything clearly tell that he is lonely and broken from the inside and there is nothing in his life which can make him smile. He just looks... Alone and broken.

On the other hand, in the other picture, his eyes are shining under the moonlight and even though he is smiling very little, his smile tells how happy he is. He looks more muscular in this picture but still, his strong body frame doesn't show any sign similar to the previous picture. He looks smiley, happy and most important, calm. Like he has everything that he ever wanted in life.

Looking at both pictures, I got flashbacks of the time when Mom and Dad used to tell Ann and me bedtime stories. They never told us the stories which never happend in reality instead they always told us their life stories and lessons that they learnt so far. It reminds me of how broken my mother and father were until they met each other.

"Why this? You know I don't like reminiscing your and mom's past. It was horrible," I said while giving his phone back to him.

"And I love reminiscing our past. We were already strong and brave enough before we met each other but after meeting each other, we became unstoppable," He smiled while looking at the picture.

"Your mom edited this picture when she was pregnant with you and Ann. When she saw me wearing the same attire as this picture," he pointed at the picture where he was looking dark and lost and continued, "She saw the change in me. The change that she brought into my life. She said that I am the same person but with a different personality which she loves the most. Anyway... That's not the reason why I showed you this picture. There was a time in my life when I was way too excited to turn eighteen and find my mate. I was not even a teenager at that time but still, I was very excited. My excitement died when my mother left us but the one percent hope which was there died after I turned eighteen. Unlike you, I started running away from my mate. Even when she came into my life, I was running away from her."

He took a deep breath and continued, "You know sometimes people come into our life when we least expect their presence around us. Serena just wanted to be free and live and unknowingly she found me. The thought of finding her mate was nowhere near in her mind but see the moon goddess's plan, she landed nowhere else but at the blood clan. Even if your personality is different than mine, you don't know but you are reflecting the Noah that I was before meeting Serena."

"I don't think so..."

Am I?

No.

My dad lost everything when he was eighteen, he was broken and lost in darkness whereas I am nowhere like this. I have everything and every person who I love obviously except my mate but that doesn't mean I am like that Noah.

"You do..." he said and started scrolling through his phone again.

He showed me a picture and my eyes widened, what the...

"Huh?" I said not able to form a word.

"I know I know, grey and black are too common for men," He laughed.

"Dad..."

I took the phone from him and sighed, he was right. Even though my eyes are not hard as stone, I reflect my dad a lot from his early life. Same posture, expression and straight-lined lips. I am glad that my eyes are blue colour instead of green otherwise people would have made a lot of mistakes in identifying us.

Just like him, I am also standing against a tree with one hand in my pocket and looking at the front with a lost expression. I don't know I was so lost in thoughts that I don't even know when the picture was clicked.

"Listen, Ash, you are not lost in darkness like me but in finding your mate. I don't want you to be lost while looking for your mate. For the moon goddess's sake, you are only 21! I found mine when I was 23. Stop stressing about it and have faith and let the moon goddess do her work. She knows what is better for you and will give you what you deserve at the right time. Maybe you think the time is right but this time is not right for your mate. Look at your sister and cousins, their mates came into their life when they least expected it. I think for some time you need to put this aside and work on things which are in your hand and actually need your attention. Maybe do things that you have never done before and who knows when one of the those things will turn out to be a blessing for you. You never know."

An unknown weight lifted off my body and I slumped back on the couch, why the f**k didn't I talk to Dad before? I feel so f*****g amazing and light in my heart and mind both.

"I know seeing everyone around you with mates and kids pushes you to think like that but son, you have more responsibilities over your head. Maybe this time is for you to be a twenty one year old werewolf king instead of twenty one year old mate," He laughed.

"I wish I would have talked to you earlier. I never thought this way," I smiled.

"So...?" he trailed in wanting to hear the right answer.

"I will leave for the city after crowing but once this event will be done, I will be coming back home and fulfilling both of my duties from here only," I said to which he proudly grinned and patted my shoulder.

He stood and started walking to the door, "Come let's tell your decision to your mother otherwise she will be biting your ears the whole day."

"She needs to know what you just said," I smirked.

"Don't you dare," he gave me a warning while shaking his head.

"I won't."

I laughed and walked out of Dad's office without feeling lonely and alone for the first time.