Chapter 1
A King Without a Queen
(Roan)
Every year, I attended the summit, held in a different location each time. This year, it was somewhere in the middle of nowhere, near the human borders, a place I had never been before.
I was a successful businessman as well as a leader, just as my father had been before me.
I knew what to expect from these meetings. They were pretty much the same every year.
The same subjects always came up: pack borders, business, what to sell and buy, where we had lost or gained money, how many pups had been born that year, who had found their mate and who had died. But this year, the council had brought up a rather different subject.
Me.
They dared because they knew I wasn’t going to kick off in front of everyone. That’s why they did it.
I knew it was going to happen one day, but I hadn’t expected them to raise it during this meeting, with the entire council gathered around the table, me sitting at its head and pack leaders from other countries present. They all turned their attention to me as they introduced the subject.
The King was still unmated, and the kingdom of wolves needed heirs. Otherwise, I could be challenged by younger male wolves and lose everything I had built, along with what my father and his father before him had worked so hard to establish.
They said it as though I wasn’t even there.
I nearly spat out my black coffee, which I took without sugar, as the elder made the announcement. I was on a strict, high-protein diet to fuel my muscles, avoiding sugar and carbs, and I trained every day. Coffee was one of the things I enjoyed while listening to the meetings, but not today.
Yes, I was thirty-eight years old, with a few grey hairs appearing at my temples. I’d had my fair share of lovers when I was younger, but I’d never really settled down. None of them had been the one.
I’d always hoped to find my mate.
I was a single werewolf male with an impressive list of past lovers. I had everything a man could want, and that was precisely the problem. They wanted what I owned, not me.
Perhaps that was why I’d never bothered settling down. It was difficult to find someone who wanted the man rather than the crown.
And now, apparently, the council had decided that my love life was a matter of kingdom security.
So there I sat, thoroughly pissed off, sipping my coffee and grinding my teeth while the elders discussed my potential mates as though they were selecting a suitable broodmare.
They went through their list of candidates, considering lineage, education, height and all sorts of other things.
They seemed particularly interested in finding a female with good childbearing hips. Not once did they bother to look at me while discussing their requirements.
Apparently, a suitable pair of hips was more important than whether I could actually stand the woman wearing them.
I kept my expression neutral, doing my best to look as though I couldn’t care less.
I cared, just not about their opinions.
I didn’t like any of them. I didn’t care about their land or how educated they were.
They even suggested organising a ball, as though we were living in the Dark Ages.
It pissed me off, but I let them carry on. They could enjoy themselves for now because, at tomorrow’s meeting, I was going to refuse every single one of them, one by one.
After the meeting, I retreated to my room to cool off. It didn’t help. Neither did the hole I’d put in the wall.
Perhaps I should have thought twice before taking my frustration out on the wall, but I couldn’t care less.
From the window, I’d spotted a stretch of woodland beyond an open field. It looked peaceful enough, and more importantly, there would be nobody around to lecture me about heirs, potential mates or the size of anyone’s hips.
I needed to get out of the room that was suffocating me.
I’d snuck out many times when I was in my teens, and today was no different. I needed to run. Just for a while. I wanted to put some distance between myself and the council and, preferably, forget the entire conversation, just for a little while.
I took my clothes off by the back gates while the security guards weren’t looking, then shifted into my wolf form and ran.
I followed the woodland paths and crossed the fields towards a small village. I avoided dog walkers and runners as much as I could, but my head was still full of thoughts about the meeting. I was so distracted that I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.
And that was my mistake.
I didn’t see the rock or the protruding root just beyond it. My back leg caught against it, and I yelped as I stumbled and fell.
I cursed as I landed heavily on my side with a thud.
I was quite far from the place I was staying. I tried to get back on all fours, but pain shot through my back leg. I tried again, only to collapse with a growl.
My leg wasn’t going to support my weight, and that was a problem. I wasn’t used to being helpless, and I certainly wasn’t used to needing anyone.
Just then, I heard footsteps.
Someone was running nearby.
I wanted to shout, “Help!” but hesitated. I wasn’t in my own home. This was a place full of people who didn’t have a clue about my species; only a few people in the government knew about us.
We were practically taboo in the human world, nothing more than creatures from the pages of old books and forgotten tales. Besides, I was still in my wolf form, and if I changed back, I would be completely naked.
So I did the next best thing.
I wailed like a dog.
A moment later, this little thing came running towards me. She had long brown hair tied in a ponytail, a pink vest and running shorts that were barely there.
She stopped her watch, as though it was the most important thing in the world, before giving me her attention.
“Oh,” she said to herself. “Whoa, I’ve done my best 10K in just under an hour. Whoop-whoop!”
Then she crouched beside me.
“Oh, you poor thing. Did you hurt your leg? Is your mum or dad around here?”
She stood up and looked around before shouting, “Hello! Hello! Is anybody here?”
No one answered, and I was quite glad.
She turned back to me.
“Okay, do you have a collar?”
She reached towards my neck hesitantly.
“Don’t bite me. I’m nice. I just want to have a look. I promise.”
She gently ran her hand through my fur, feeling around my neck. Strangely, I liked her touch. I leaned into it.
It had been a long time since anyone had touched me without expecting something in return. I found myself closing my eyes for a moment, enjoying it more than I cared to admit.
“Oh!” she cooed. “You are a cute big softie, aren’t you?” she added, running her fingers through my fur.
I wanted to growl and protest at her statement, but I let her have the illusion that I was a cute dog because I needed her help. Then I would disappear and become the stray dog she thought she had found.
“Oh, you don’t have a collar.”
She said this in a surprised tone as she glanced around again before looking back at me.
“So, it’s just us! You will have to come with me, but first, can I look at your leg?”
I stared at her as she examined it.
“Ooh, you’ve cut your paw—paw! Poor you! I have nothing with me here,” she said, checking the pockets of her tiny running shorts. I was quite surprised those tiny things had pockets.
I couldn’t remember the last time someone had spoken to me without wanting something in return. Or simply spoken to me because they wanted to, without feeling as though they had to. And here she was, out of nowhere, worrying about whether I had a collar with a name and phone number on it.
I found it rather nice.
I didn’t know what to make of this because I didn’t do nice.
No one had ever fussed over me the way she had in those few seconds, and I could get used to it, just for a bit.
She even tried to carry me, but I was far too heavy. I almost laughed. The little thing was determined, though. She even gave it another go, as if sheer determination would somehow make me lighter.
In my human form, I was almost seven feet tall, and she was barely half my size. There was no way she was going to lift me. So, I used my good legs, and I managed to get myself upright, hoping I could follow her home.
She told me it wasn’t far, although we had to stop a few times to rest, and she kept checking my leg.
She kept talking as we walked, occasionally looking down at me to make sure I was keeping up.
I had no idea what she was talking about half the time. Something about dog food, the corner shop and the vet. But I listened anyway because it didn’t involve me. It was oddly pleasant having someone talk to me without expecting an answer.
My leg bled a little, but that didn’t bother me much. It was more likely a sprain, and I knew it would take more than a day to heal.
I huffed in pain as we came closer to the house.
I couldn’t afford to stay here for more than a day. Everyone would be looking for me, and I wasn’t sure why, but I wanted to stay beside her for a little bit longer, even though I didn’t know why.
The house stood at the end of the lane, beside an open field, with a few other houses dotted around.
It was a pink cottage with flowers in the front garden, green windows and doors, and a red car in the driveway. I assumed it was hers.
It was nothing like the places I was used to staying in when I was a kid. No guards, no grand entrance, no enormous gates. Just a little cottage at the end of a lane.
She dug the front door key out of her tiny shorts while I stood behind her, admiring her bare legs.
She had nice legs.
She opened the green door and stepped aside.
“Come in. It’s not perfect, but it’s my home. Mind those boxes in the hall; they’re my ex’s.”
I followed her inside, noticing the pain in her voice as she mentioned her ex. The hurt was still fresh. The boxes in the hall were a reminder that she hadn’t quite got over him yet.
She should get rid of them. I would if I were her, but something told me she had a big heart and didn’t get over things as easily as I did.
I wondered what sort of idiot would leave someone like her. Then again, I knew nothing about her, so perhaps I was being unfair. It wasn’t my business anyway, because in a day or two, I’d be gone.
The whole place was tiny. In fact, my office was bigger than this entire house.
As I slowly approached her living room, I noticed it was tidy, with potted plants everywhere. Then she suddenly yelled at me, making me jump. No one had ever yelled at me like that before.
“Paws! I forgot to wipe your paws!”
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✍︎ Author’s note:
Thank you for adding my story to your reading list! I’d love to hear what you think, so don’t forget to leave a like or comment!
Ama ♡
