Lycan King's Royal Mate

A FULL MOON NIGHT

Aeris’s pov

The icy breezes were flowing like molten metal, it was chilling to the bones. Winter has arrived and so was my chance to prove my worthiness to the kingdom. As I ran back to my chamber to get a little piece of rest, soon there was a knock on the door which sent a rage of frustration inside of me. Other royals of the kingdom had their personal maids or servants to take care of such things in their room but as proud as I was, I wanted to do things by myself. I got up from the edge of the bed and walked to open the door. My gaze narrowed and my head tilted to the side.

“What do you want?” I asked with a serious tone.

Lady Marian and her children stood at my doorstep. I won’t let them inside my chamber, but I do let them stand a little away from me. Judging from their expressions, they were guilty, but someone who had been but a burnt child dreads fire.

“We came here to apologize, your highness! The way our mother behaved and disrespected you earlier. We are ashamed of it. She is even guilty of her actions.” Earnest, Lady Marian’s eldest son, spoke.

I wanted to laugh out loud at their faces but the truth was, they were saving their asses from detention. Now that I had the throne and crown, they had to give me respect. It was a tiring day for me and I had strength to deal with them.

“Can we discuss this tomorrow? I need to take a rest.” I snapped at them and shut the door before responding. I got a terrible headache from the discussion held in the hall and Arabella challenging the queen’s position. I must take a rest and begin with the preparations.

Soon, I fell into a deep slumber because I didn’t sleep the entire night and my eyes were swollen from the tears I shed at the funeral ceremony. When I woke up, the stars were twinkling in the sky but it wasn’t midnight. Taking a long deep breath, I walked out on the balcony and felt the slapping breezes all over my face. When I gazed in the sky, I noticed the coming storm, heading towards the kingdom. My eyes landed on the bright moon shining above my head and, suddenly, the realization dawned upon me. It was a full moon night.

I gasped loudly and rushed to the library. Somewhere, I knew I saw a book that would interest me. Running into the corridors and bumping into the maids, I managed to reach the noble library. I went to the top shelf and kept looking for the book. Remembering how my father used to narrate stories of mythological creatures, he had his books placed on the respective shelf. It took a few minutes to find what I was looking for. Then, I grabbed the book and turned the pages like a maniac.

“That's it! I found it! Now I have to execute my plan. If proving my loyalty to the kingdom will define my worth, then I will begin with you first, King Caspian.” I took deep breaths and read the article written in an old book. After finishing reading, I closed the book and placed it back securely. I left the library in search of Caspian. If he was the mythological creature I thought about, then I needed to see it by myself. On the full moon night, Lycan’s shift into their pure form by the effect of mana.

“Have you seen King Capsian?” I asked one of the maids.

She shook her head and kept her head low. “Alright!” I smiled at her and went ahead. I walked into the royal garden and found Caspian sitting on the bench, however, he didn’t seem normal to me. Approaching lightly behind him, I put my hands on his shoulder and he turned his head to meet my eyes. His eyes were red as he had cried for hours.

“Are you okay, Caspian? Your eyes are swollen.” I showed my concern to him, wondering what had bothered him.

“Yeah! I am fine, just tired.” he complained and kept his head low. Something was bothering him but he chose not to speak. Although I don’t like him, seeing him under stress made me worried. However, this man could be a danger to my kingdom. I won’t let him harm anyone under my rule.

“Look, I know you don’t like me, but if you want to talk about something, you always have my back. At least, I am not a bad person.” I smiled widely at him.

“Are you talking about having them back when you put knives in them, My star! I saw the pain in your sister’s eyes and I am sure you were a part of her while growing up. She had a reason to be mad at you,” Caspian stated, and my jaw hung open. Did he take Arabella’s favor?

“I am not against my sister. She stole my childhood sweetheart. They were both making love prior to our wedding and it was the most shocking and unfortunate day for me. All my dreams of having a wonderful marriage were shattered.” I gave my explanation.

“How can you call it an unfortunate day? I think it was the most amazing and the best day of your life. You got saved by entering into a toxic marriage and I loved how you took a stand against it. Moreover, it was the day I asked for your hand in marriage.” His gaze was glued to me the entire time.

“I am not sure about that. We got married the next day but our conditions were different. There was no love between us.” I jabbed at him with a serious tone.

He gave a sidewalk and said, “Aeris, the brightest star in the sky. I don’t really care if you like me or not but I can assure you that one day, you will crave me. And that day, your feelings were better than a feeling called love.”

“Why do you show that you don’t care but actually you do? Stop being pretentious, Caspian. I am well aware you have a hidden motive for this marriage and I will never fall in love with a man who betrays not only the world but himself.” I was furious at his words. How dare he think he owns the world because he holds a certain power.

“Aren’t you betraying yourself by doubting this marriage to the extent that you think I am a threat to your kingdom?” He snapped back at me and I narrowed my gaze at him. Maybe the love wasn’t between us, but there was a certain feeling we had for each other, mutual hate.

“Well, I can explain my doubts…” I wanted to give him a reason but suddenly, he put his hands on his heart and screamed.

“Caspian? Are you okay? Did something hurt you?” My heart came to my mouth when he fell on the ground.

“Someone! Come help!!” I shouted for help and tried to shake his body vigorously to wake him up.

Caspian opened his eyes and the golden in his eyes was simmering, illuminating the darkness around us. For a second, his eyes darted at me but the next moment, he pushed me away and ran to the brick wall. With no effort, he climbed the wall like a monkey and jumped to the other side of the palace.

“No! He can’t run away! It must be the mana calling for his shift!” I gasped and ran to get my sword.

Without wasting more time, I ran behind him while my warriors followed me. I gestured to them to divide and find the animal terrorizing the people of our kingdom. Otis led the team into the deepest part of the front while I looked for the trail of a Lycan I read in the old manuscript. When they ran farther from me, I stepped back and rushed to the different path I suspected Caspian had taken. The muddy path appeared colder and shaddier than the other part of the forest and my guts warned me to travel on it. The trees stood tall and the awkward sound of heavy breaths echoed in the air. My legs were shaking from fear and cold sweat but I kept walking ahead in the dark.

I kept my pace slow and was vigilant under the trees. My heart was beating like a drum when I heard a growl from a direction and the rustling of the bushes. My sane mind told me to run away and not look back, but my curiosity wanted me to explore and take a risk on my fear. It was too dark to see now and I felt like I was being bumped into something hard. I gasped loudly while covering my mouth with my hand when I saw an animal standing on his legs and glaring at me with his golden eyes.

“You came looking for me, my star?” There was a broad toothy grin on his face and he said, “Now, it's my turn to look for you…”