His beloved witch

Chapter 9: In the mind of a King

-Andre-

Today is the big day. My coronation and the appointment of my ministers in the Kingdom.

“Your Highness, everything is ready,” Adela told me.

“Thank you, Adela,” I am standing in front of the mirror. I look serene but the beast is restless.

“Your father would like a few words with you, Your Highness.” Adela bowed deeply at me with a big smile on her face. Unfortunately, I cannot match hers with one of my own even on this special day.

I wanted to ascend to the throne mateless, and my wish was granted despite my change of heart. There are no traces of my witch. It is unbelievable. The only comfort my beast and I have is that she will be ours, sooner or later, she will.

“Let him in,” It is easier to talk to him, knowing what my father will tell me.

Adela bowed again, happy to comply with the order. She is the happiest, knowing I received a blessing from Moon Goddess, a fated mate.

“How are you, father?”

“Pretty well considering I am retiring today, while my mate will stay on duty.”

“Your mate will not remain in duty,” I stated, confident in myself. However, my beast was not pleased with the thought of our mate working. He prefers to busy our mate ourselves without interruptions of work.

I want my witch ready and waiting for me in our chambers…

“Do you have some good news to give me?” He pretended not to know.

"I consider them as good news,” I affirmed.

“Then, is it true that you found your fated mate?”

“Your spies should know it. I am looking for her.” She slipped thru my fingers, literally.

“Andre, the rumor is that your mate is not a child of the Moon. Is that true?”

“Yes.”

“And are you sure about taking such a mate? Do you not fear a rebellion?”

“Fated mates granted by Moon Goddess are precious, our Lycans value them above their own life. They will accept her and learn to love her as their Queen.” I think I already love her.

The beast played in my head the undulating movements of her hips at the rhythm of the music, and the memory of her scent waters my mouth, anticipating how she will taste once I kiss her, mate with her. It is hard to differentiate between the feelings of the beast from my own. I guess it does not matter, we are one after all.

“Andre, I am truly worried. I do not know what to think or what to do.”

“Just trust your son,” I patted the shoulders of the old Lycan. “I feel this is my destiny,” I had given a deep thought about this. “Moon Goddess blessed our Kingdom granting me a mate. And one very special. How many Kings have had this privilege ever before?”

“But it is a witch! Our next Queen will be a witch!”

I had to bite my tongue, the Lycan wanted to growl at my father. I am sure my eyes flickered red, and my aura changed because my father paled.

The King knows better than to mess with a Lycan blessed with a fated mate. He should be thankful I am so good at controlling my beast because my Lycan sensed despise in the voice of my father towards my witch.

“Be careful on how you address her. I will bring her here and I want her to feel welcomed and be happy.”

“Son…”

“I still do not know if she will feel the mating bond or not,” I am searching for information about witches, I want to learn everything I can about her species. “I must be careful on how to face her and earn her affection.” I am assuming my witch will act like a human. There are no precedents about this kind of mating. “Please, do not make things more difficult for me with her, or I will never forgive you, father.”

The old King grunted.

“Do you not worry about your children with her? What would they be? Lycan or children of Nature?”

Assuming she accepts me… the idea of her tiny figure growing with my pup inside of her made my beast excited. Yes, I want that… We want that very much.

I have never contemplated the idea of becoming a father one day. Not for real. I thought of it as an obligation to fulfill one day, so far away, that I would forget it. But now… I want it. I want it all with her. If she takes me, I am willing for everything she wants. A pup, a witch, or a dozen of them.

“I will take what Moon Goddess grants me, father. She is my gift. Mine.” I almost roared the last word. My beast side feels violent in everything related to the witch.

“Andre, this is a hard request to make… but what if you forget about the witch and try to bond with Marcela? The witch ran away while Marcela is the kind of female that can give you a strong heir and the support her family can….”

I interrupted him; my chest rumbled as the beast inside is losing patience.

“Father, I would never take Marcela. I would rather die single and alone than take her. I will find my witch. No one will take the place of my mate…And I must warn you, father,” He should know.

“I will cast anyone away if my mate is disrespected… " He better understand this threat is directed to his mate and his daughters. "I will not tolerate anyone mistreating my witch or trying to intimidate her.” Unlike what he did when he had the chance. “I will protect my mate, father. Be aware of my words.”

At this point, I do not care if he gives me or not the agrarian bonus.

I do not fear a rebellion from the commoners. I opened my office since young to help the Lycan population with their issues and intervened to bring justice to them.

I have eyes and ears everywhere, and I know my subjects. There is not rebellion coming from them. Yet, the nobles… We will have to see how they react to the new board of Ministers and the changes I have under my sleeve.

“Forget what this old man just said,” The voice of my father was deep and sad. “I know I should have done better. I was not the mate your mother deserved. She fended herself cause I was not there.” Was he already in the arms of his new Queen by then? I prefer not to know. I resent him, but I do not want to hate him.

“You can be for me, now. I will need your help, father.”

“Ambitious boy,” He patted my back this time with force and smiling. “I will support you. I am just worried. It might be dangerous for you… "

"Despite what you hear and what others do, trust your son." I insisted. "I cannot reveal my plans, but I can tell you, I am set on changing things for the better."

“But what would happen with your children?"

“Father, our population is reducing year after year. There are fewer and fewer Lycans. There are descendants from unions with werewolves and other species in few numbers, but the Magical Kingdom and neutral territories are taking those families and hybrids while our kind reduces." There are more factors around this, but it is true.

"Other Kingdoms could outnumber us one day, not far away. And the one I would be worried about is the Vampire Kingdom."

“We do not need big numbers; our kind compensates with strength!” His anger receded as his rational thinking kicked in. “Damn! It is concerning! We cannot look weak before other Kingdoms. Are you sure of this?”

"Yes, Vampires... they keep growing their numbers. They are working on programs to recruit more humans. The propaganda is astonishing. The human population reproduces like bunnies." Unlike our kind. "I do not fear their numbers cause they are weak, but they can feed Vampires and turn into more of them. Unlike Lycans…”

“We are born Lycans! We are children of the Moon Goddess, not someone with a blood disease!” My father hates the bloodsuckers; it is not like I love them either. But there are laws.

Despite the Interspecies peace agreement Lycans and werewolves are wary of other species but especially of vampires. And even of each other.

Children of the Moon try to keep peace with the Children of the Night, but just that. We are natural enemies, after all.

“Father, try to see it from this perspective… We have isolated ourselves from other Kingdoms; we do not give space for our Lycans to find their mates outside of our community."

"I believe we should bring those families here; they are precious for us, too." The Magical Kingdom protects them all when we should offer the same. "We must protect them and embrace the power they can bring to us. I think my mating means that Lycans can have mates in other species. This might be the wish of the Goddess to see something we have not over centuries."

My offspring with a witch will be powerful beings. Her power, her skills, her beauty mixed with my genes… I see a future Lycan King able to protect our population and guide them in the future. I want everything my witch is willing to give me.

My father contemplated it for a moment.

“I am still unsure… However, I trust you. I can only hope you are right, and this female makes you happy. A happy King is a good King for his people.” I am sure I will be because once I get a hold of her. I will never let go. My mate has become the source of a new obsession inside of me. My happiness depends on her.

My father handed me the carpet with the documents, the famous agrarian bonds.

How much blood did they cost to a whole generation of Lycans?

The fight of the commoners who rebelled against my great grandfather cause his wrath and the unfair death of thousands of commoners. He changed the system, but the nobles cheated in the end. The yoke of servitude is carved in the mind of many commoners still.

It is shameful what happened in our Kingdom. That terrible incident of our history defined us as beasts due to our brutality killing each other in rage. I have promised myself I will never be that kind of King.

The ceremony for my coronation was a success. I expected the crown in my head to be heavy, but it was not. Not like a feather, but bearable. Yet, the power invested in me was uncanny.

I enjoyed the face of the nobles attending my coronation when I appointed one commoner after another as Ministers of my Kingdom. Powerful, brave males without royal blood but capable and intelligent to help me lead our Lycan population to the next century.

I almost laughed when the noble families waited with hope on their faces for me to call Marcela my Queen. Delusional... The disappointment in those faces made my day, especially the family of my stepmother.

Moon Goddess acts in mysterious ways; things are going in the way I wanted them to be. Although I would have like to announce I have a fated mate, I kept the secret for now. I forced myself to wait until I find her, claim her, and show off my mate in front of everyone as my beautiful Queen of silver hair.

The board of Ministers was gladly accepted by the lower rank authorities invited to the event.

I found great pleasure noticing how appreciated Leonard Walls was by the generals of the Kingdom. Adela suggested him for the role... great suggestion, as always. Although, I expect Leonard to move into our territory for his job after helping me with something vital.

At the gala, I found our allies as well, who saluted and congratulated me officially.

The Fairy King attended with his Queen despite her advanced pregnancy. I wonder why he never sends his son to any event.

I received greetings from the fairies and a human on behalf of the ruling Vampire Elder for this century. He could not come because the event is during daylight. I have heard that he can walk during the day due to their age and power, but I have never seen him.

King Stefan sent my cousin Richard Duncan and his mate, Luna Margaret, representing him. I approached them as relatives and allies.

“Congratulations, King Andre,” Luna Margaret and Alpha Richard bowed to me like everyone else.

I thanked them politely, but I did not take the hand of Margaret to kiss it as I did with the Fairy Queen. No one touches a Luna. It makes sense by how I feel now. I do not want males around my mate, ever. The beast inside growled at that last thought... she is somewhere away far from our reach… and I trembled.

Despite the violence of my emotions, I still look calmed and collected in front of everyone. Years of training.

“In confidence, I can tell you. It was about time for my father to step down. I was growing old waiting,” I joked with them to help them relax a bit. Richard was tense, and his body language yelled out loud his stress. He was trying to shield his Luna from me.

I cannot blame him. After feeling the crown on my head, I felt the power vested on me as my connection with my Lycans grew stronger. I can tell how Moon Goddess approves my designation, and my beast feels this new surge of power granted by her. However, this can be overwhelming.

“We apologize on behalf of King Stefan. He is busy at home.” Richard excused his King for his absence.

I was already aware of the incidents in the Kingdom of Werewolves. Melina was not Luna Queen; she had a young gamma lover and led a terrorist organization named Fleur de Lis. Besides, Stefan has a daughter with another female, who turned out to be an omega, Silvia. She is missing, and everyone is crazy looking for her after the threat Stefan released publicly. In comparison, my problems at home are trifles.

My father did not like werewolves with their craziness about ranks in a complex society under the trifecta system. The Lycan life is simpler yet holds its own difficulties. And he disliked the Duncan family since his sister never came back for a visit. The cold melted when Joshua came, the old King remembered the golden hair of my aunt in the young Alpha, I see it in Richard, too.

I look more like my mother; I inherited her dark brown hair and green eyes.

"I understand. And I would like to congratulate you as well. I have heard that your daughter-in-law is pregnant. Joshua is very fortunate." I avoided mentioning that Joshua has not officially mated her yet.

"Thank you! We are so happy. Clara is a blessing granted by the Moon Goddess for our family." I can see the genuineness of Luna Margaret when talking about her daughter-in-law.

Cara Carvalho was a beautiful, kindhearted female, and she would have accepted and loved my fated mate as a daughter as well. Yes, my mother would have considered my witch as a blessing, too. I am sure.

Luna Margaret was an interesting character, outspoken and direct, fearless. Sometimes she overlooked the etiquette of the event laughing out loud. Richard was more serious but affable.

She kept talking excitedly about her plans for the mating ceremony of Josh and Clara and how Lycan traditions would be part of the ceremony as well. I doubt they would do it right without asking us about it, but I smiled politely. Maybe, later Adela can send them instructions about it.

I offered a toast for our Kingdoms, and they agreed before I had to move to the following group of guests.

It felt great to see how the mate bond works in live-action between Luna Margaret and Alpha Richard. One orbed around the other even if they separated to greet others they would found each other effortless. They threw at each other, knowing glances and flirty smiles even away.

The beast rejoiced thinking about the silver hair witch before the anxiety struck again. I need my witch.

Marcela was coming my way, but fortunately, Lydia crossed her path, stopping her. I dislike the tactics some females use against each other, but this time it saved me time. I sneaked out to meet Leonard in my office, helped by Adela.

“What can I do for you, your Highness?” My new Minister of Defense asked me.

"I know I should not ask you for this, your position is higher now, but you are familiar with Saint Isabella territory. It is important." The door shut in the faces of my guards. I am sure Leonard can do a better job.

"Please, ask me what you need, Your Highness."

“I need you to help me find a witch in Saint Isabella.”