The Lycan King's Human Queen

Claire wiped her wet hands on the front of her apron and picked up the bread knife to slice the loaf of bread, cooling on the countertop. The kettle whistled loudly on the stove and she walked towards it and turned it off as Nathan walked into the kitchen. Blue eyes took in his frowning expression and stiff shoulders with carefully hidden wariness and the blonde woman turned fully to her husband and mate with a gentle smile "Good morning, my love," she greeted in her musical voice as she walked towards the man standing by the kitchen door. Claire placed a gentle kiss on his unresponsive lips and pulled away with a strained smile. "Is something wrong, my darling? You seem upset." His warm brown eyes narrowed at the observation and she held back a tired sigh. "I seem upset?" He repeated with an innocent look on his face. "Now, why would I be upset?" He asked curiously, sounding very much upset to her. "I don't know, dear," she responded with pinched eyebrows as the smile on her face dimmed. "How shocking," he muttered while rolling his eyes and walking away from her, leaving Claire to stand by the kitchen entrance and stare into empty air with pursed lips. Taking his seat in one of the two chairs placed on either side of the small round table, he looked at her expectantly with a raised eyebrow. Claire let out a quiet sigh and began setting the table for their meal, having learned at the beginning of their relationship to ignore these things. Nathan eyed the bread she set in front of him with a disgusted look on his face. She turned around immediately and walked towards the stove to fetch the kettle, not wanting to look at him when he started with his usual complaining. "I hate bread," he muttered, acting like a whiny child instead of the strong, full-grown werewolf he was. "You love bread, Nathan," she reminded him with clenched teeth as she poured the hot water into the teapot, "you asked me yesterday to bake it for you and I got up at three in the morning to make it,," she informed him, feeling helpless and tired from rising so early in the morning. Claire has been mated to Nathan for two years and while she loved and adored him like a wife and mate should, he got on her nerves and drove her up the wall with his complaining, whining, attention-seeking, and constant need to be pampered and taken care of like a toddler. He had his good days when he was a saint and Claire felt loved but he also has his bad days, like today, when he is mean, insulting, judgemental and unapologetically nasty. She could never really tell which side of him she would be greeted with so she always had to be alert and ready for the worst. "I want coffee, instead," he informed her as he buttered the bread he hated, a few seconds after he watched her drop the teabags into the hot water. She nodded with a bright smile and began preparing his coffee, idly wondering how much tea she would have to drink to avoid it going to waste. "I love how casual you are about wasting my hard-earned money," he commented as she placed the mug in his waiting hand and took a slow sip of the brown liquid while staring into her eyes. Claire saw the amusement twinkling in the brown pools and realised that he was in one of the moods that made him enjoy tormenting and annoying her. "I hardly doubt two teabags will put a dent in our finances and leave us penniless, Professor Till," she spat as she took her seat, tired of playing his games and deciding that she would not. Claire could not understand how he had the strength and time to frustrate his mate, first thing in the morning before he went to work. "Assistant Professor!" He argued like it made up for his lack of maturity and her lips twitched in amusement at how whiny he sounded. "You'll be late to work if you don't leave in fifteen minutes," she commented with a bored expression, her index finger, pointing at the clock hanging on the wall. He started when he saw the time and began shovelling his food into his mouth in the organised and mechanical way he did everything. "Why didn't you wake me up earlier?" He complained as he gulped the boiling hot liquid in his mug, unaffected by the sting because of his supernatural healing abilities. "You didn't ask me to," she said with a small shrug as she ate her breakfast at a relaxed pace. "I shouldn't have to," he spat through clenched teeth with a small glare that went ignored. He finished his meal and got up from his seat, hurriedly making his way out of the kitchen. "Have you seen my briefcase?!" He yelled while running around their small home, his footsteps sounding loudly as his shoes repeatedly slapped against the floorboards. "It's in your study," she said in a normal voice, knowing he would hear her. "I'll be home late tonight so don't wait up," he called out and hurried out of their home, the door slamming behind him with a resounding thud, leaving the blonde to her thoughts and quiet peace. The morning sun was lazy in the sky because it rained last night and Claire saw it as the perfect day to visit her very good friend; Candy. Claire strolled down the street at a leisurely pace, waving at her neighbours and enjoying the welcome air that hovered over their small town. She was originally from the town Shallow Creek in the region Eana but moved to Kine in the region Minae when she got mated to Nathan. Claire had missed her hometown, dearly but knew that mateship came with sacrifices so she had happily moved here with him, despite her parents and sister's protests. Twenty-year-old Claire had been a little displeased with the situation but was surprised when she had immediately fallen in love with the peaceful and sleepy town of Kine. Now, three years later, she could not imagine calling anywhere else her home and she loved her townspeople, fiercely. "Knock knock," she said as she knocked on the wooden door of her best friend's home and waited patiently for the woman to respond. The door was flung open by a bushy-haired woman with wide purple eyes wearing tiny brown shorts and a large grey wrinkled shirt that engulfed her. Claire smiled, fondly at the woman's disorderly appearance. "Hello, Can..." The she-wolf yanked her into the house, cutting her sentence short and began pulling her towards the beanbag placed far too close to the television to be healthy for human eyes. "What did I say about sitting so close to the screen, Candy?" She asked the woman as she tried to pull the offending furniture further away but was stopped by the brunette woman crashing into it and holding it down with her weight. Candy tapped the space beside her for Claire to take a seat with her eyes fixed, unblinkingly on the screen. Claire pouted and settled next to the woman, choosing to give up because it was the least stressful option. Candy was a werewolf who had an unhealthy obsession with the entertainment device. An earthquake could rip the town apart and Candy's attention would still be fixed on the screen, watching one show or the other. It was as worrying to Claire as it was cute. "You won't believe what's happening," gushed Candy as she surfed through the channels and slapped her feet, rhythmically on the floor, too excited to stay still. "What's happening?" Claire asked, curiously as various shows and movies breezed by, a glimpse of a football team she was familiar with, catching her attention. "The most wonderful thing in the world, Claire," she said with a giddy and painfully wide smile, and finally landed on the station she was searching for. Claire turned to the screen and eyed what appeared to be a gossip and entertainment show. "Who would believe that our very own king would take a queen so soon," commented one of the presenters to her co-presenter with a polite smile on her face. "I never thought I would be alive to see our great kingdom of Lumen get a queen but it is happening and it is the talk of the town!" "It is, Debbie," agreed the man with a cheerful laugh, "the great King Octavius is currently eight hundred and two years old, and has shown no signs of finding his mate for the last few centuries.." "This is it!" Candy squealed while slapping her friend's forearm with giddy excitement, her supernatural strength restrained to avoid hurting the fragile human. Claire smiled at her friend's antics and turned back to the screen. "King Octavius himself announced that he felt his mate come into the world two decades ago and the lucky woman is finally of age for him to claim and make his queen..." "YES!" Screamed Candy as she leapt up from the beanbag with her hands raised to the sky and tears of joy bubbling in her eyes. "My love is coming for me!" She said to the seated Claire as she wrapped her in a tight hug, forcing the blonde to get up and celebrate with her. "I can not believe you still have a crush on King Octavius," she said with a small laugh when the she-wolf set her down. "How can I forget my knight in shining armour, my prince charming, my..." "He picked you up from the ground when you tripped over a rock at age six," she reminded the woman as she settled into the beanbag, "it was a carnival he hosted for children, I'm sure he picked thousands of kids that day..." "Mine was different!" Candy protested, passionately as she crashed into the beanbag, "when he helped me up, I saw love in his eyes, I saw an undying passion hidden in those beautiful silver orbs." "Look at that," the brunette pointed at the screen that displayed a picture of their Lunae Umbra, "he is a god amongst men," she whispered, breathlessly and Claire had to agree. King Octavius was an enchanting man who was blessed with strength, wisdom and above all, beauty that made everyone want him. He had been the crush and ideal partner for every girl that could see and hear in the kingdom of Lumen and beyond. A crush that followed most of them (Candy) into adulthood and ruined whatever relationship they (Candy) went into. Claire could not deny that she found him attractive and once upon a time, had dreamt of being his mate and queen like so many others. From his silver eyes boring into her soul even through the screen, to his sharp yet subtle jawline that complemented his cheekbones, perfectly and the beautiful yet small smile on his perfectly pink lips. Everything about him was created to please the eyes and as she stared at the file photo on the screen, Claire realised that her girlhood crush was still with her in adulthood. "I can smell the arousal on you," Candy whispered into her ear and Claire squeaked in embarrassment. "It's not like that," she protested, her face bright red, "I have Nathan..." "Who is a sack of boring potatoes with mummy issues," Candy said while rolling her eyes, "that man couldn't excite a woman if he tried." Claire did not respond as she turned back to the screen. She knew that her dear friend disliked her mate and was always suspicious around him so she tried to avoid talking about Nathan with the other woman. "...he is visiting the town of Kine in the region Minae, where he says his mate currently lives..." Claire gasped in surprise. He was coming here? To their quaint little town? She turned to the woman seated beside her and watched as her face slowly morphed from one of a wide-eyed shock to an excited one. "He's coming for me!" She screeched as she hugged the equally excited blonde. "He is," Claire agreed with a wide smile, "he has to be. You're his number one admirer, you met him when you were a child so he must have sensed that you were his mate and you live in Kine in the region Minae! It has to be you!" Both women squealed in excitement and fell to the floor in a tangled, giggling heap then sat up and turned back to the television with wide eyes. "...and he will be arriving in the little town in a week, so all you lucky ladies of Kine better prepare yourselves for the meeting that will change your lives..." Candy switched off the device and lay down on her back, prompting Claire to do the same. They stared at the ceiling in silent excitement, their thoughts racing through the possibilities of what would happen when the King arrived. "Hey Candy?" "Yeah?" "Shouldn't you be at the restaurant?" Claire asked, curiously as she glanced at the ticking clock. "Why would I be at the restaurant?" Candy questioned, distractedly with a giddy smile on her face. "Because you're a Chef, Candy," Claire pointed out in an obvious tone. "I'm a Chef," the brunette repeated with a small laugh and suddenly grew still. "I'M A CHEF!" She sprung up from the ground and raced to her room to get ready for work Claire lay on the floor, smiling at her friend's antics. The other woman was very good at her job, from what people said which was why the restaurant she worked at still put up with her. But she was a clumsy person, which was an anomaly seeing as she was a werewolf, who sometimes lost track of time and drifts through the day. "Mr Sylvernose is going to have my head," she declared as she raced past the living room and into the kitchen to grab some fruits and stuff them into her pockets. "My shift starts at 10:15 am, what time is it?" Claire glanced at the goofy cat clock on the wall and grimaced, "it's 10:11 am," she informed her. Candy shuddered like she had been doused in ice water and stared at the clock like it had grown teeth and was going to attack her. "I'm dead!" She declared as she raced out of the house, her superhuman speed helping her move faster. Claire lay on the ground sometime after her friend's departure, her mind on their royal visitor. Exciting things rarely happened in this town so the King's visit would be the talk of the town by evening and she was sure all the single women, over the age of twenty, would be overcome with joy. The blonde woman got up from the ground and dusted herself clean then looked around the messy and disorganised home. "What am I going to do with you?" She said to herself, with fond exasperation as she turned on the cooking channel and began cleaning.