Her Royal Mate

Chapter Four

Hunter



My predatory instincts took over the second she slapped me in the face. Saige didn’t hold back, and I would be lying if I said I didn’t like it. From that moment she slapped me, I knew I would own her. Not only would I just own her, but I would also make her succumb to me. Being an heir had its privileges, but being a higher-ranked werewolf had more privileges.

Saige was nothing but an insolent little princess who obviously had no knowledge about my family or me. However, I’ll teach her. If she doesn’t listen, I’ll just have to make her time in this academy a living nightmare. It wouldn’t be as fun knowing the school she so desperately wanted to be a part of wasn’t so welcoming. Saige will learn that I can be an ally or quickly be the enemy. She will learn that I always get what I want.

Before I could escape too far from Saige, Lauren saunters over to me, offering her sexiest smile, which wasn’t impressive at all. If she knew what was good for her, she would stay far away from me.

“Hey, Hunter! So, I was thinking that since our time was cut short last night, maybe we could….”

“Let me stop you right there, Lauren. You’re beautiful, truly, but the only purpose of bringing you up those stairs was to get information from you. I used you, plain and simple. There isn’t enough wolfsbane in the world to make me want anything else from you.”

Tears rolled down her cheeks, strangely not having an effect on me at all. I didn’t even look at her as she ran away from me. I turned around only when I could feel eyes on the back of my head. Saige stared at me, spitting something under her breath, truly disgusted by me, then ran off after her friend.

I never said that I was the good guy. I’m an asshole, but the thing about a werewolf like me was that I was loyal to the right people. Sure, I f**k around with women, some at the same time, but once I find that one, I’m sure my loyalty will extend to her as well. Hopefully, that wouldn’t happen anytime soon. The idea of finding my mate anytime soon would be devastating more than bringing me joy. There was still a lot of fun I needed to have before settling down, and finding my mate would ruin all my fun, especially the fun I had planned with Saige.

My uncle had summoned me to his office, one that he made for himself here at the school when he visited. When I walked inside, I could already see how disappointed he was with me. What did I do wrong now?

“Sit, Hunter!” When I did, he shook his head at me. “You know you embarrassed us today in front of the entire academy by making those awful comments.”

“What comments?”

He snarled. “The comments about getting to know everyone here, some more closely than others. Everyone knew what you were implying by making that statement. I did not send you to this school so you could f**k half the female population. You were brought here to begin taking your duties seriously. How can I ever depend on you if you aren’t willing to try?”

I’ve told him a thousand times that I wasn’t ready to be king. “Why do I have to do this anyway? The law states that the heir will only take the position of the king once the current king passes. You seem to be in good health to me, uncle.”

“That would be your first mistake, son. I’m very old and very tired. My life is slowly coming to an end, which I have graciously accepted. By the time you are ready to graduate, these people will bow to you, looking to you for answers. By then, I won’t be around. I’m certain of that. We never know how long we have, but we can sense the end. You should know that better than most since you are so in synch with your werewolf abilities.”

Now he was mocking me. “Fine. What would you have me do? What could I possibly do to please you?”

“I’m glad you asked. There is a dance tonight taking place in the grand hall in commemoration of the beginning of the season. You are to lead this ball, so I expect you to find a nice young lady to accompany you. If you can pick a match that shows promise, even if you don’t plan to mate with her, it will at least show me how serious you are in all this.”

I knew I was holding a deep scowl, but I couldn’t help it. Dances or balls never really were my thing. I’m more of a go out to a bar and get s**t-faced drunk sort of guy. The idea of taking on a mate, even if it was pretending for one night, sickened me.

“Why do I have to do this? I don’t see your mate by your side.”

My uncle slapped me across the face, purposely sending his sharp claws into the side of my neck, leaving small tears on the top of my skin. “You would do well to watch that smart ass mouth of yours. My mate has long passed, a truth you know too well. If you decide to disrespect me that way again, even in private, I’ll be forced to pull you out of this and send you to live with your other uncle.”

I bowed my head and lowered my eyes. “I’m sorry for my disrespect, uncle. It won’t happen again.”

If there was one thing worse than staying here and accepting my role as king would be having to move across the world to be with my other uncle. He has embraced his werewolf side entirely. Uncle Brice practically lives in the woods, getting crazier each day he stays in his wolf form. I wouldn’t be caught dead running to that crazy nutjob. If I did, I was sure to lose an arm or a limb with him thinking I was prey. As much as I knew I could hold my own, I’m not sure I wanted to get mixed in with that guy. No one has seen him in years, and there is a reason for that.

Uncle Elijah hasn’t raised his hand to me like that in a long time, but I know that I deserved it. His mate passed away about five years ago now. It’s something inevitable for a werewolf to experience as we didn’t have eternal life like other species. We grew at a much slower rate than humans, that’s for sure, but we would meet our end one way or another. I would rather not go through what he went through when he lost his mate. Elijah nearly lost his mind, and for a time there, I thought I would have to take on the role much sooner than anticipated. Thankfully, he pulled himself out of it, but I know the loss of her still hurts him to this day. For me to say something like that was a low bow and highly disrespectful. Sometimes I forget who I’m speaking to, and my mouth causes me to get in trouble.

“So, do you have someone in mind?”

“No,” I answered truthfully. Saige was the only one going through my mind, but she was an ungrateful little thing right now. There is no way she would be prepared in time to have a one on with the king himself, which I knew would happen tonight. “I’ll find someone, though.”

Elijah smiled. “That’s the spirit. Now, let’s move on to more pressing matters. Someone has brought to my attention that a young female werewolf was caught slapping you earlier. Please tell me that you aren’t up to your shenanigans already. Men in our positions need to be more careful. We can have partners, many of them in fact, while we wait for our mate, but to do it in public is a disgrace. You know this well, so why would you allow something like this to happen? Do you have any idea how this not only looks on you but this family? No woman should ever be allowed to lay their hands on you. Make that very clear if you are to speak to her again. I’ll have her thrown out of this academy if it comes down to her being a problem.”

That was the last thing I wanted. I finally had a new toy to play with, and it wasn’t about to get taken away from me before I even got to play with it for the first time. “That isn’t necessary, uncle. I’ll take care of her.” I turned around to leave but decided to get in his good graces before leaving. “I will make sure to have a date tonight, one acceptable enough for your liking.”

“Happy to hear it. Now get to your dorm and prepare for your classes in an hour. The dance will begin in a few hours, giving you enough time to get some classes in beforehand.”

I wanted to challenge him but bit my tongue instead. The wolf inside me was begging to come out, anger feeding me from the inside out, but I kept my cool, smiled, and walked out of his office. I’ll make sure Saige pays for making me look bad in front of my uncle. It won’t take long before I have her begging at my feet. The thought excited me with everything I had in mind for her.

A few hours later, after letting some i***t dress me for this ridiculous dance, I went in search for the lucky woman to accompany me. My classes weren’t half bad, but they all were about the past, something I’ve known since I was five. Eventually, I tuned out, focusing more on who I would bring to this thing with me to try and impress my uncle. After that agonizing talk in his office, I needed a win under my belt.

Plenty of werewolves were walking through the halls, all batting their eyelashes at me. Any of them would do, but I was being extra picky. My mind kept returning to Saige, though I knew she would never agree to accompany me. We did have about an hour before the dance started. Maybe that was enough time to whip her into shape, at least enough to make her presentable to my uncle.

It didn’t take me long to find her dorm. However, she isn’t the one that answered. Lauren did. I rolled my eyes at her, sick of her presence already, but I put on a fake smile only to get what I really wanted, which was Saige.

“I need to see Saige. It’s urgent.”

Lauren put on an even bigger fake smile before smacking her lips. “She is quite busy at the moment. There is another man in her bedroom as we speak.”

“f*****g liar!”

I pushed myself inside and tore through a door that was closed. Sure enough, another male werewolf was sitting on the bed with her making her laugh. What the f**k was this?

Saige furrowed her eyebrows and crossed her arms as they both stood. “I assume that you are here for Lauren. She is right outside, so please, leave me alone.”

“Not a f*****g chance.” I stared down the guy, letting out a low dominating growl staking my claim on Saige. “Get out!”

He didn’t waste a second, f*****g coward, as he ran out of her room. I laughed at how scared he was, but that didn’t seem to impress Saige at all. She was pissed, highly pissed. I was gleaming. That guy would never speak to her again after that.

“Why did you do that?! He was about to ask me to the dance!”

I pushed her body against the wall, pinning her between my arms like I did earlier. I liked it this way because I could smell her faint breath on my lips. She smelt like a fresh meadow, which was impressive. Saige could say all she wanted, but her body called to me as mine called to her. However, I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of letting her know how into her I really was.

“You should be thanking me. That dude was a f*****g loser. You don’t want to waste your time with him.”

“Oh, I suppose I should be spending it on you instead.”

Her smart little mouth drove me crazy, but in a good way, a way I didn’t expect it to. “Yes, because you will accompany me to this dance. My uncle has requested that I bring a potential mate with me to show her off and to introduce her to him.”

Her lips trembled, which stirred something deep inside me. “Wh…why me?”

“Because I know you can pull it off, princess, but there are a few things to teach you before it starts. You are not my equal, which is something you constantly keep misunderstanding. We’ll have to fix that before we show up at the dance together, which is why I’m here. Are you ready for your lessons, princess?” Because I was. I definitely was.