The Lonely Lycan Alpha Queen

Chapter Ten

MALIKA’S POV

When we arrived at the King’s door I halted, took a few deep breaths and braced myself for a fight should I need to.

Zane knocked and opened the door before stepping aside to let us go in. He then nodded and closed the door behind us.

I walked towards the desk but refused to sit. Haidar looked up at me and my warriors and his eyes expanded in shock.

“What the hell happened to you guys?” He asked, looking specifically at my guys who were not healing quite as quickly as me. They all had cuts and bruises on their faces and Ajax’s left eye was closed and puffy.

“I happened. We were doing some training in your boxing ring”, I said,

“You took on each one of them and beat them?” Haidar asked, looking slightly scared.

“Well, I took on all four at once, but yes, as per usual, I beat them all. I wouldn’t be much of an Alpha or Queen if I couldn’t hold my own against my warriors now, would I?”

He swallowed loudly before clearing his throat. “Um so anyway, I have considered your proposal…” I bit back a laugh; it wasn’t a proposal so much as an ultimatum. Let me take my mate peacefully or I will fight for him.

“I will allow you to take the Baihu, but I want to come with you and make sure he does recognise you. I will supply you with the correct amount of sedative and a large trailer crate to carry him in for the trip back.” Haidar said, not sounding quite so confident since finding out I kicked my warrior’s asses.

I found his terms rather ridiculous but had no choice but to agree if I wanted to take my mate with me without having to literally and figuratively fight for him.

“Fine, I agree with your terms and thank you for your cooperation,” I said curtly.

“I would also ask, once he has been rehabilitated, if he is indeed rehabilitated, that he be given a choice to return to his home kingdom should he choose to.” Haidar had the gall to say.

I growled slightly at him, unable to push it down in time. “Fine” I grunted out.

“When will you be able to get things together so that we can travel back to the mountains? I would like to get going as soon as I am able, as I need to get back to my own kingdom.” I stated.

“I will have everything organised for the morning, after breakfast,” he responded.

“OK good. Thanks.” I said curtly.

“Have a good night, Alpha Queen Malika” Haidar said, and it didn’t slip past me that he was once again using my title.

“Good evening, King Haidar”, I responded with a slight nod before turning and leaving the office. I released a long breath once I was out the door, before turning and heading back to our suite.

Once inside, Ward came over with Ramon by his side. “I have a bad feeling about this Mali, I think Haidar is planning something,” Ward said.

I nodded and stared out the dark window for a minute before responding. “Yes, I feel it too. I’m not sure what he is up to, but we will all need to be on our guard tomorrow.” I stared out the window again, thoughts racing around my mind.

“Get some sleep guys, all of you, as we will need our wits about us tomorrow. That’s an order” I said, turning to face all four men. They wanted to argue but they would not go against a direct order from me.

“I’ll be fine, I can kick all your asses, so I think I can handle anyone who might pop in unexpectedly,” I said with a humourless laugh.

The thought had crossed my mind that King Haidar might send someone to try and scare me into changing my mind.

The guys nodded and all went to their rooms. I sat in the communal area for a while longer, just thinking as I stared out into the darkness.

I finally went to bed but was too restless to sleep. I got back out of bed and wandered over to the large window seat. I sat down with my feet up on the chair and wrapped my arms around my knees.

So many thoughts swirled around my mind, but mostly I kept going back to those eyes. The bright blue glowing eyes.

A movement in the darkness grabbed my attention. I was looking down towards the edge of the forest. Suddenly a flash of those bright blue eyes came into view.

I gasped. Had he followed me all the way here? I stood and placed my hands and forehead against the cool glass window.

Those blue eyes were staring right into my soul, and they began flashing between blue and purple again before returning to bright blue. He then turned and disappeared into the darkness.

His beast had to be feeling the mate bond for him to track me all the way to the castle in the dead of night. Judging by the flashing eyes, he was still unable to fully reconnect with his human counterpart and I prayed to the goddess that I was able to reach him.

I suddenly felt relaxed and tired. I made my way back to bed and was out within minutes of lying down.

The next morning, I awoke feeling much more at ease than I had the day before. If Haidar wanted proof that the Baihu was my mate, I had it. Though whether he believed me remained to be seen.

I packed my things after showering and dressing. Ward had sent a message with a staff member to ask the King if he and Ramon could stay for a late honeymoon since they never got one when they first married.

Marriage wasn’t something all wolves did, but some liked to bind themselves in all the ways they could.

Once we were ready, we made our way down to breakfast. We were greeted at the dining room door by Zane and, surprisingly, he led us to a table in the far back corner of the room.

“What’s going on Zane?” I asked the weretiger.

He grimaced slightly. “My apologies your majesty, but King Haidar asked me to seat you somewhere else this morning. He did, however, grant your men an extension of their stay here but asked that they be moved to a guest cottage.”

I laughed. Clearly, King Haidar was not happy with me and possibly even afraid after seeing what I did to my warriors.

He may think he is punishing my warriors by moving them out of the castle, but it actually would work in their favour as it would be easier for them to come and go whilst they looked into the disappearance of Frank’s wife.

I took my seat and turned to look at Haidar. He was watching me, so I waved my fingers at him and grinned. He frowned and looked away.

The staff started bringing out food and it was all meat. I frowned. He was really pissed at me for declining his offer of being his chosen mate and for taking the only existing Baihu away.

I nibbled at a little of the meat before deciding to just go without breakfast. I sat and waited while my guys ate. They could tolerate an all-meat diet better than I could.

Haidar stood abruptly and left without even a sideways glance. Once he was gone, one of the kitchen ladies we had befriended snuck over to me and handed me a plate with eggs and roasted vegetables along with some bacon and toast.

“You shouldn’t have done this, if anyone tells the King you could be punished” I whispered to her.

“I don’t care, he is acting like a spoilt child and not a King by mistreating guests, especially Royal guests such as yourself, your Highness,” she said, before turning and scurrying back to the kitchen.

I ate everything on my plate, so thankful to the kitchen ladies as I really did need the energy a decent meal would provide me.

Once our plates were clear, we headed to the kitchen to thank the staff before leaving. We exited the dining room not too long later and Zane was once again standing there.

“Your highness, I’m sorry for the mucking around but King Haidar asked me to escort you to his office once you had completed breakfast,” he said.

I could tell he was also frustrated with his king’s behaviour. I gave him a quick smile. “Lead the way, Zane,” I said. He nodded slightly and led us once again to Haidar's office.

I was becoming very irritated by his behaviour and was ready to put him in his place if he pushed me any further. When we arrived, Zane showed us in.

“Good morning, Alpha Queen Malika. The arrangements have been made and we are just waiting for you. We have the sedative and a large stretcher to carry the Baihu from the forest. We have also arranged a large, covered trailer for transportation.” Haidar stated, no emotion showing on his face.

“We are ready, whenever you are,” I replied.

“Very well, let us go. Remember what I said, I want to see evidence that the Baihu recognises you as his mate” he said sternly.

“Shouldn’t be a problem since he followed me all the way here. I saw him at the edge of the forest during the night.” I said matter of factly. I hadn’t even told my guards about it, so they looked as shocked as Haidar did.