Choosing Her Lycan Mate

Chapter 4

Amelia’s POV

I was sitting on one end of a couch, my mate Leo on the other end, with Izzy between us. Lucy and David had brought her to us, suggesting this matter was a private one and directing us all to this large parlor room, along with several Lycans who all claimed to be Izzy’s mate, and a few of their officers.

The lycan suitors were scattered about the room, still arguing over whose claim to Izzy was greatest, while my sister Izzy shivered next to me. From fright or from the cold, I had no idea. There were snowflakes in her hair, which were melting in the warmth of the room and dripping down her forehead. It was a sight that could not fail to inspire pity in my heart.

I saw there was a casual throw blanket artfully draped over the back of the couch, and I tossed that around Izzy’s grateful shoulders.

“So, what is this all about?” Leo asks, probably hoping for calm dialog. That is not even close to what he got though.

“Isabelle chose to dance with me before any of these others!” The Romanian Prince is declaring loudly. “So therefore she should be mine!”

“But you did not claim her while you two danced, I was the first to claim her!” Lycan king Douglas points out.

The Greek Prince joined in with his claims, and then everyone was loudly shouting over each other to the point where no one could be understood.

“ENOUGH!” Leo somehow managed to shout above them all. “Everyone sit down and be quiet!”

“Who are you to interfere?” Prince Theodor asks, feeling aggrieved. “I should be allowed to talk directly to my mate! I have no idea what the deal with these interlopers is about, but the princess is my mate!

“We,” Leo says, pointing from himself and then over to me. “Are Isabelle’s family and guardians. YOU can all keep your mouths shut until you are called on to speak!”

“Izzy, please tell us what’s going on,” I prompt her. She hesitates for only a moment before giving her version of the events of this evening. I can detect no lies or anything sinister in what happened during her recitation. I’m about to call forth her Lycan to hopefully explain matters, when something not entirely unexpected happens.

The door bursts open and in walks Lycan King Stephan of Montreal. I hear Izzy groan beside me. I can’t say I blame her, if he ends up being yet another potential mate of hers.

“Excuse me, this is a private meeting!” Leo calls out to Lycan King Stephan, who just ignored him. At first he heads towards Lucy, sniffing at the air around her while she growled menacingly at him. Then he spots Lucy’s mate mark, and realizes his error.

“What you’re looking for is probably sitting in the middle of that couch over there,” Lucy says somewhat helpfully, pointing towards Izzy. Then Lucy leaves, locking the parlor door behind her as she goes. Not that a locked door will do much to stop a determined Lycan from looking for his mate!

And no one is at all surprised to learn that King Stephan is also claiming Izzy as his mate. Leo attempts to explain the situation to the newcomer, while Izzy complains.

“Oh goddess, not another one!” Izzy huffs quietly beside me. “Why is this happening to me?”

Why indeed? I decide we need to get to the bottom of this, and I hope Ambrosia still has enough clout with Selene to get answers. I turn Izzy’s face towards mine.

“Let’s find out, shall we?” I say, looking into her eyes and bringing forth my Lycan Ambrosia.

“Hey there, Laurel!” Ambrosia calls out to Izzy’s Lycan. “What’s with all these here mates? Selene ain’t wanting Izzy to become no polygamist, does she?”

“Oh, honey, no!” Laurel claims as she comes forward as well. “Izzy had a fated mate all lined up and ready to go, but apparently he got tired of waiting and took a chosen mate this evening. So now to make up for that loss, Selene says I can help Izzy to select another mate. Only she didn’t seem to like the first one I suggested. So naturally I gave her more choices from among the assembled wolves here in similar circumstances. Izzy would be their second chance mate as well!”

“Didn’t ya explain any of this to Izzy?” Ambrosia asks, suspiciously. “She act like she got no idea!”

“Oh honey, I tried, but the music was so loud!” Laurel huffs. “And her head was so full of stuff, I don’t believe she paid me any notice.”

“Mhm,” Ambrosia says, thinking things through. “And what’s gonna happen to the disappointed gents that our girl Izzy rejects?”

“Oh, uh… I hadn’t considered that,” Laurel admits.

I decide to ask Ambrosia to discuss matters with the Moon Goddess Selene, to intervene on behalf of the disappointed suitors. I’m just some fancy pants messenger girl to the goddess for you, ain’t I?

“Alright, gentlemen,” I address the assembled Lycans. “I have sent my Lycan to discuss options with Selene. You obviously cannot all be my sister Isabelle’s mate, so hopefully Selene will have a plan for the three of you who will be disappointed once she has made her choice.”

“When will she make this choice?” Prince Theodor of Romania speaks up. The other lycans agree that is a very good question. Everyone turns to Izzy to await her response.

“I don’t really know any of these wolves!” She reminds us. “How am I supposed to decide between them without knowing anything about any of them? I’m not going to go eenie meenie minie moe to select a mate!”

“That’s a fair point,” Leo says, then he looks at me and reminds me of my own very similar situation. “When you were given several alphas to choose from, you spent time with each one at their pack before you chose me. Izzy ought to do something similar to that.”

The Lycan suitors all agree that sounds reasonable, but unfortunately they all want to be first.

It’s getting rather late, and the ball is nearly over. I propose that we adjourn for the evening while we wait to hear back from my Lycan Ambrosia. Izzy and I will come up with a plan once we know everything that Ambrosia finds out for us. Then we will have a meeting sometime tomorrow with everyone who is involved to discuss the plan going forward.

None of the Lycan kings and princes seem happy at the close of this impromptu meeting, having their hearts desire just out of reach for now. I can’t really blame them, as the pull of the mate bond can be very strong. Unfortunately for them, Izzy is too young to feel that mate bond for another year and a half. I am certain they will all expect a resolution much sooner than that.

Leo ushers all the suitors out of the room and watched to make sure they all leave.

“Are you going to be OK?” I ask Izzy, who still doesn’t seem all that happy.

“I thought I still had some time to enjoy my youth before I settle down and start cranking out pups for my mate,” she complains.

I sigh. I recall being excited to find my mate as soon as I turned eighteen, thinking it would be the beginning of endless happiness. Today’s youth seem to have different priorities, and young she wolves want more than a life of drudgery, taking care of their mate and their many pups.

“You’ll probably have a wonderful life, depending on who you choose to be your mate,” I tell her. “Having a mate doesn’t automatically mean you’ll be expected to become a domestic goddess.”

“No, but all of these Royal lycans are going to expect heirs,” Izzy reminds me. “And I’ll have other royal duties besides that, I’m sure.”

“If you decide that you don’t like any of these Lycans, moon goddess won’t force you to choose,” I tell her, taking her hand and leading her out of the parlor. Thankfully the hallway appeared to be clear of loiterers. “She gave me that option if I didn’t like any of the alphas I had to choose from. Turns out that I did like one, all I had to do was forgive him for being a jerk when he was younger!”

I lead Izzy to her room and told her to keep it locked just in case her suitors should come knocking on her door. She promised that she would. And hopefully by morning I might have some answers, as well as some ideas of how to deal with Izzy’s extra mates.