Mate I never wanted

Not leaving your side

Vivian

Walking into my first class of the semester was quite interesting. Everyone was still staring at me, while whispering about the scene that happened last evening in the cafeteria.

After returning to my room, I looked through a few of the posts on social media and most of the school was split into two camps. One camp said that it was my fault that James left me, and the other said that he got what was coming for him, because he was a cheating asshole. Sure, most of the first group were guys and the other one was mainly girls, but it didn't really bother me. Campus gossip did not really concern me.

What did concern me was that Lucien was standing in the middle of the classroom in the academy's uniform?

Shit, I was sure his family would keep him home until his heat ended.

"Vivian!"

He spotted me and now was running across the room in my direction. Before I could stop him, he had his arms around me as he pulled me in for a very audible kiss.

"Lucien, what... what are you doing here? I thought you had gone home."

"I did and I returned. My family has no objections to us mating, and so I have returned to you, my darling."

"But... but..."

"Oh, I want you to meet someone. Follow me."

Without waiting for my answer, he dragged me in the direction of the teacher's room that was attached to the classroom.

"Wait, we can't go there..."

But my attempts to stop him were ignored. A moment later, I was dragged inside, and the doors were closed after me. In the room there stood three men that looked like guards and a cloaked figure that was standing in the middle of them.

"Lucien, darling, where have you gone off to?"

"Mother, I would like you to meet my mate, Vivian."

Wait... mother?

As in the emperor's wife?

I stood frozen with my mouth open as I sank to my knees before the woman.

"Oh, there is no need for that, we are practically family."

The light tone of her voice forced me to look. Generally, I was not sure what was the proper way to act right now, so slowly I rose to my feet and bowed my head.

"Lady Anna... it's an honor to be in your presence..."

I mumbled, still not sure what to say.

"Oh, she is as beautiful as you told me, Lucien."

"Yes, mother... she is the most beautiful hybrid I have seen in this galaxy... and she is my mate. I'm a lucky man."

When I heard him call me his mate again, a part of my brain cleared up. Oh, no... not this again...

"Lucien, we talked about this... we agreed to wait until your heat is over."

"But you said that I first needed my parents' approval, and so I brought my mother to give you one face to face."

He said with a smug look on his face. It was clear that he knew if he came back without hard proof, I would not have believed him.

"You have my blessing to mate."

"Are you sure, my lady? I have nothing to my name. No family, no riches, and I am a wolf hybrid. I know that I am not a model mate that the future emperor needs."

The older woman smiled at me.

"I do not care about any of those things. Lucien is a miracle baby and I just want him to be happy. Growing up, he was so weak and sick, there were so many times that I was sure that I would lose him. So now the only thing I care about is that he will be happy."

My eyes shot back to the lady in the middle of the room.

"But he is not in his right mind right now, we cannot mate, not until his heat ends."

The lady smiled at me softly.

"I agree with that, there is no rush. But what I want to know is if you like my son?"

Heat rushed to my cheeks as I turned my gaze to the floor.

"Umm... I do. I like his scent. If I did not like him, I would not have spent... time with him during the peak of his heat."

Talking about this with his mother was so embarrassing.

"So why do you fight this so much?"

Her cold question shocked me and I had to blink a few times to fully process it.

"Umm... I do not want to regret mating with him... Truth to be told, I did not sign up to be matched... and I don't want to take advantage of his vulnerability."

My eyes found their way to her face and I saw a beautiful smile bloom on her face.

"Well, then, why don't we wait until his heat ends? It will last for one more day and then we can talk about it again."

She smiled at me and then at her son.

"Ummm so does this mean he is staying here?"

"Well, he is an adult and I can't keep him home. He refused to stay. He wanted to be with you."

"But.. but I have school... wait why do you have a uniform on? Don't you already have the general rank?"

"Yes, I do. I actually have an honorary degree from this academy. They gave it to me when I passed all the tests without attending any of the classes."

I stared at him, amazed by his talent. To pass all the exams at the academy like that... it was way beyond impressive.

"So you want to go to class with me?"

"I want to be with you. I do not care where we are as long as I'm with you. So if you are going to class, then I am attending those classes with you."

His adorable smile and little sparkles in his eyes sent little tingles to my chest.

"Umm... okay, I guess..."

I said, and he suddenly pulled me in for a hug.

"I missed you so much, my darling..."

His sweet pheromone scent filled my lungs.

"Lucien, calm down, we are in public."

I tried to pull back from him to stop the scent from filling the room and seeping into the classroom. We do not need the chaos his scent would create.

"Richard."

The queen called to one of the guards, and a man built like a boulder stepped towards Lucien and placed something on his neck.

"It's scent stabilizers. This will hide his pheromones while you are in public. "

I nodded and after a few moments his scent was not so strong or sweet anymore.

"It works. This would have come in handy on the first day we met."

"The prince refused to let anyone join him to meet his mate. When he left, he did not show any signs of getting into heat. We would not have let him go alone or at all if we had known that he would go into heat..."

The man seemed really guilt-ridden over what happened to Lucien.

"Richard, it's fine. You know that no one blames you. You may be his personal guard, but my son is very stubborn and is great at hiding things. You could not have predicted that it would happen. Only he could feel the signs, and he choose to go to the meeting alone. We can not change what happened, so it is better to move on."

The older woman walked over to the guard and laid a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Now take care of my son and his mate. We have to return to the palace."

The older woman smiled at the guard and then turned to us.

"It was great meeting you, Vivian. I would be very happy to call you my daughter. Please take care of my son."

She said with a kind smile as she reached for her son, and the silver-haired man went to hug her lovingly.

"Be careful, my son, and call me when your heat is over."

She kissed his forehead and walked out of the room, leaving me, Lucien and the guard Richard alone in the teachers' room.