Deceiving My Mate

***Nova*** The sunlight had managed to get past my curtains and shine directly onto my face. I groaned in annoyance as it ruined the comfort of my bed. The softness of the bed made me not want to wake up. I went to bed late last night because I stayed up with my father. My father was ill. He had been like that for almost a month now. His illness had caused him to be on bed rest instead of tending to his duties. My father was the Lycan king of all werewolf kind, so I assumed that he had his plate full. Our pack was the only pack of Lycans, and since Lycans are so rare and much stronger than werewolves, we have been the rulers of this Kingdom for a very long time. My father had only two children. I’m the youngest, and my brother Axel is the eldest. Axel has been tending to our father’s duties since he became ill. My brother is next in line to be king if anything happens to our father, which I hope isn’t the case. I love my father so much and don’t know what I would do if the only parent I had left were to leave my brother and me. However, I was happy that I wasn’t the firstborn heir. I don’t think I would be able to handle the burdens that come with being a king or queen. I liked being the second-born. That meant I could do whatever I wanted. Well, except for leaving the palace walls. I mostly spent my time training, as I hoped that one day I would be the best female warrior within our lands. It's what I hoped for since I wasn't the firstborn to the king. I was great with my combat skills. At least that is what my brother, Chase, and Dante said. Chase is my brother's future beta, and Dante is his future gamma. They are the only ones I know who know my identity. It isn’t a secret that our family has many enemies. We are quite popular in the assassin department, even though none have successfully succeeded. That being said, our father, just like his father before him, keeps his children hidden. No one knows how many kids the king has, and for good reason. My father only trusts his beta and gamma with our identity. Hence, how I only know Chase and Dante; they are the only friends I have. Sometimes it’s like I have two more big brothers. I began to stretch myself out on my bed as I yawned. I sat up, slowly got out of bed, and made my way to the bathroom to do my morning routine. Once I had done that, I quickly slipped on an all-black sportswear T-shirt and shorts. No one was ever going to see me, so there was no need to walk around looking like a princess. Even though I had many dresses, I never wore any of them. Besides, I always wore this in the morning as I had training to attend. On the rare occasions that I did wear my princess dresses, it was always just with my family. That was only for dinner celebrations such as birthdays, Christmas, New Year’s, and sometimes when my father returned from one of his missions. We would celebrate his success, no matter how big or small. A knock on the door caught my attention. "Princess Nova, breakfast is ready,” I heard Dante’s voice call from the other side of my room. I quickly slipped on my shoes before opening my room door. Dante was holding a tray filled with bacon, eggs, toast, and a glass of juice. I looked at my brother's best friend and future gamma. “I thought breakfast was going to be on the table,” I said, confused. “Yeah, it was supposed to be, but Axel changed it. He told me to bring you breakfast in bed. He had to attend to something,” Dante said with an apologetic look. I sighed. “Will we ever have breakfast together again? As a family?" I asked as Dante walked in and placed the tray on my bed. "One day. It's just for now; he is getting into the role of being the new king." Dante sat beside the tray and patted the bed for me to also sit. "It's been a whole month since we have all sat at the table to have anything to eat together," I retorted. Shutting the door, I walked over to the bed and sat on the other side of the tray. There were a few seconds of silence. I knew Dante was only quiet because he was waiting for me to speak first. I kept my eyes on the tray as I spoke. "Did he have to leave the palace again?" I finally asked. "Axel had a matter to attend to that required the king. However, we all know your father isn't well," Dante replied, causing me to look him in the eye. "What if someone finds out he is to be the next king?" I shrieked. I was now panicking for my brother's safety. "Nova, calm down. No one will find out. He may be doing the king's duties, but no one knows his real identity. Everyone believes he is the new young general. All anyone could tell by looking at him is that he is leading a troop to check on packs that are being attacked. That is what will make them believe he is the new general. Besides, he is the strongest warrior in the palace, if not the kingdom; he can protect himself," he explained. "A troop? Dante, what’s wrong? Is he going to fight? Is a war starting?” Concern was clear in my tone, but what made it worse was that Dante's expression of realization showed. I don’t think he was even meant to tell me that detail. "He told you not to tell me?" I yelled. "Look, Nova, your brother loves you, and he only wants to protect you. If anything was to happen to him, then you're next in line," he held his hands up in surrender. "Are you insane? The Alphas of the packs we rule would never accept a female to rule them." I heard him sigh at my words; we all knew that to be true. "You're a strong female Lycan. I bet you are even stronger than all the Alphas your father rules over," Dante reassured me with a smile. "Now, eat. You and I have training in the next thirty minutes." He pushed the tray towards me before he left. . . . I walked into the training room that only the gamma, beta, and I used. I saw Dante punching a bag with his full focus on it. "You ready for the warm-ups?" A familiar voice called from behind me. "Good morning, Chase, and I'm as ready as I will ever be," I replied to my brother's beta. "Good, let's do some stretching, then we can work on your footwork," Chase said as Dante came over to join us. "What's wrong with my footwork?" I frowned as I mirrored the boys' stretches. "No offense, but it's like you have two left feet," Chase responded honestly. I scoffed. "Last session you both said I'm great with my combat skills." Dante smirked but didn't say anything. "You're the Lycan princess. Your combat skills are great, but your footwork seems to be your weakness. And I'm only telling you this because it's my job to help you improve your combat skills," Chase answered with ease. Before I could open my mouth again to defend my pride, a warrior came running in. "Beta Chase, there are a few messengers here on behalf of some Alphas," he said. Since no one was to see my face, not even the guards, I always had to have my back turned to the entrance of the door. I had to have my back facing the door in case someone came barging in. At first, it was hard to remember, but now it’s a habit. I felt his eyes on me, but I knew not to turn around; it would expose my identity. “I’ll be there in a minute; have them wait in the conference room,” Chase ordered. "Well, now I can have my snack," Dante winked at me after using a flirtatious tone. I immediately frowned at him as he stared at me with a smirk. You would think I would be used to it by now, but I wasn't. It was what he did when he or Chase had to make the guards believe that I was no one. Except as one of their bed warmers, and it always worked. That was how they kept my identity a secret when they assumed someone saw me, even if it was just my back. "Have fun," Chase replied, and I rolled my eyes at Dante's growing smirk. "They are gone," Dante told me, and I immediately lunged at him and attacked him. "Chill, girl! You know we only do that to protect you; it's our job," he said in self-defense. "I don’t like it. You make it sound so real! Like we are going to actually do things.." I growled at him, which only made him chuckle. "We have to make it believable. And besides, you’re the princess, and I see you as a little sister. Even more so, we aren't each other's mates," he raised his brows as I gave a frustrated growl. An hour passed, and I had finally cooled down from attacking Dante. Well, I did continue to attack him, but he used it as part of the training, as he kept telling me that my anger is what would cause me to lose a fight. "You did very well, despite the anger," he told me as my lungs burned for air. "I mean, you’ve always had an anger issue." I arched my brows at him. "But we can work on that, and sometimes it’s a big plus. That is if you use it right," he added, not paying attention to the new anger that was growing in me now. "I... need... water," I said in between breaths, and he chucked me a water bottle. Dante chuckled as I sipped my water before his eyes glossed over, indicating he had received a mind link. "Your brother is back," he told me, and my mood changed. "Axel!" I managed to yell in excitement. "Nope, you can't go," Dante grabbed me just as I was about to run out of the training room to meet my brother. "Someone might see you," he reminded me. I frowned, remembering that even though I'm the princess, I was not allowed to leave the west wing of the palace. Most days I felt like a prisoner in my own home, despite knowing that it's all for my own protection. As if my mood couldn’t get any worse than this, Chase came running in. His face was pale as he looked from Dante to me. "Chase, is everything okay?" Dante asked in a serious tone. An unsettling feeling began to rise in my stomach with the way he looked at me. "The king... He is dead." His words shattered my heart into a million pieces. A loud cry of pain filled the room, and that’s when I realized... It was my cry.