Chapter 6: Meeting his Majesty

Lucien's POV

Lucien paced nearby as the healer worked her magic. He'd smelled her. He'd held her. He knew.

My fated mate. Finally.

"How is she?" he asked the healer for the fifth time in as many minutes.

"The same, your majesty," she answered. Her voice was patient and soothing but he knew she must be tired of his incessant questioning.

He couldn't help it. It had been pure luck-or fate that he'd stumbled upon her at the cliff's edge. He'd been out with his prime beta inspecting some territory when they'd scented an injured rogue wolf.

His beta had stopped him and inquired about the injury. He hadn't wanted to respond, but nobody refused the Alpha King's request.

He'd told them about the battle. He'd explained about the death of one of his rogue pals and seemed more than a little ashamed that he'd been beaten by a female, but he'd sensed that she was from a strong blood line.

Lucien had sent him back to the pack with his beta and he'd gone to check on the wolf. The last thing he needed before the Blood Moon Alpha Council was wolf on wolf deaths.

When he'd come upon her scent just a few miles off, he'd known immediately.

She was his.

He'd been searching for his fated mate all of his life. Refusing to take a chosen mate despite the necessity of breeding an heir to his throne. Nothing but the real thing would do.

Now, he'd found her and she was hurt-hurt badly.

Her leg was mangled. She had bites and cuts all over her body. But she was alive and she was his.

He'd carried her in his arms to the nearest village and called for the healer. She had been working on her for hours.

She'd been naked and he'd seen that she was marked by another already. It made him furious. He'd searched for her for years, over territory after territory, but she had found another.

And because she'd been marked by another, she'd lost the ability to sense that she was his. He'd heard her mumble something under her breath right before she passed out, but he knew that she hadn't been able to smell or feel what he was feeling.

He wanted to yell at her almost as much as he wanted to kiss her. He raked his hand through his hair feeling more and more frustrated by the second. Right now, he just wanted her healed and conscious.

He could have taken her back to the royal pack, but it was too far and he didn't know if she'd make it.

What foolish woman would mate with a man who couldn't even protect her. What a weak wolf, her mate must be. He growled as his wolf roared inside him. He spoke to his wolf trying to calm him. The desire to claim her and protect her was almost too much to tame.

He wanted to shift into wolf form, hunt down her so-called mate and rip him from limb to limb. This was not the type of woman you failed to protect. This woman was strong, beautiful, and very powerful. He could smell her ancestral alpha blood and she was fierce.

Despite his rage, he smiled to himself. Of course his fated mate would be a woman like this. A woman that could take down four rogue wolves all by herself.

"How is she, your majesty?" the voice of his Beta sounded behind him and he turned towards him.

Lucien grunted in response. His Prime Beta seemed to understand the non-answer and left it at that.

"I've imprisoned the injured rogue and I've sent our guard out to capture the other two who attacked her. I've also sent a team to dispose of the dead wolf."

Lucien gave a small nod.

"Is there anything I can do, your highness?"

Lucien stopped his pacing and turned to eye his friend and beta. "You can go find the bastard who marked my fated mate."

Hannah's POV

I awoke to a throbbing pain in my leg.

For a moment, I forgot what had happened and sat bolt upright-terror flashing through my mind.

But when I looked down to see myself wearing a clean, white dress and my leg bandaged properly I took some deep breaths and slowed my heartrate.

I didn't know where I was, but I felt a sense of calm and safety.

I looked around the cabin and noticed some medicine bottles and a bin of bloody water nearby. I shivered when I realized that was my blood. I examined my arms and saw some cuts and bite marks but they were already starting to heal.

I knew that someone with a lot of healing skill had worked on me while I'd been unconscious.

Someone had rescued me and brought me to a village. I didn't know who saved me and who had started healing me, but I knew it wasn't my pack.

I was disappointed that my son had led others away from me when I was lying there at death's door. If not for the kindness of this stranger, I knew I would have bled to death in the woods.

I took another couple of deep breaths and swung my sore leg over the edge of the bed, testing its strength. It was definitely going to take more time to heal, but I thought I could walk.

As I headed for the door, it swiftly opened and a tall, breathtakingly handsome man strolled in. My mouth opened in surprise right about the time my sore leg gave out underneath me and I almost fell.

He stepped forward and caught me in his strong, muscular arms.

"Easy, now," he said as he led me back to the bed.

He was strong and smelled wonderful.

I knew immediately that he was the man who had saved me, but he had a certain intenseness about him that made me wary.

He led me back to the bed and pushed me gently down onto the mattress that I'd just vacated moments earlier. He was a leader with a lot of authority and there was no doubt that he was in control here.

His gaze bore into me as he examined me with a heated look in his eye. Something dark and deep flickered in his eyes. Something I couldn't identify and I broke away eye contact-feeling more than uncomfortable.

As I looked down, I noticed that my dress had slipped off one shoulder and he was staring at the top of my exposed breast. I yanked it back up, pulling it close to my skin, a blush creeping across my face.

"Are you the one...the one who saved me?" I managed to ask, my voice unsteady and almost unrecognizable.

He nodded and swallowed visibly.

I got the sense that he wanted to say something, but was holding himself back.

"Well, thank you," I said, daring to make eye contact with him again.

A moment later, an elderly woman entered the cabin with a tray of food. She positioned it on my lap and then turned and left as quickly and quietly as she'd entered.

I picked up a piece of bread and nibbled at the corner. I wanted to ask where I was and ask for a ride home, but I had the feeling that I needed to tread carefully. After all, I didn't want to seem disrespectful.

I felt unsettled by the power emanating from the man, but it was a sort of push and pull that I couldn't explain.

"What's your name?" he asked, his voice deep and authoritative.

"Hannah," I answered. Placing the bread back on the tray and lifting a glass of water to my lips. I was absolutely parched. I realized that I probably was dehydrated from the blood loss and wondered if I should ask to be taken to the hospital.

"And you are?" I prompted, expecting my rescuer to introduce himself in kind.

He ignored my question.

"And your husband's name? Your pack?" he asked, continuing to glare at me.

I hesitated. There was something going on here that I couldn't quite decipher. It felt like more than a simple "getting to know you" moment.

"My husband is the Alpha of our pack," I answered. Hoping that the mention of my husband being an alpha would perhaps strike some fear in this arrogant man.

Instead, he turned his head and I followed his gaze to another man at the door. I hadn't seen him come in and watched as they nodded at each other and the man in the door turned and left as quickly and quietly as he'd come.

I didn't know why I was having this fearful reaction, but something didn't seem right here and I was reluctant to give him more information. I wanted to find a way out of here and get home.

"I feel sick. I need to rest," I said. Pushing the tray away and lying back on the pillow. I closed my eyes and turned away from him.

A noise outside seemed to get his attention and he stepped outside the door to investigate.

As soon as he was out of sight, I hobbled out of bed and put my head near the door to listen. He was speaking with someone now and gave instructions for him to guard my door until he could speak with me further.

Why would he need to guard my door?

The idea that I needed to be guarded didn't sit right with me. I wasn't a prisoner. I could leave anytime.

Sure, I didn't know where I was exactly, but I could find my way home. And I knew I needed to get out of here.

What if they meant to do my pack harm? Hold me for ransom or something?

I wasn't sure how I was going from thankful to fearful so fully, but something instinctually told me to get out of here.

I turned and noticed a back door to the cabin. I crept towards it and peered out. It was quiet and empty. A small village. I looked around the cabin and saw a black shawl over the back of a nearby chair. Probably belonged to the elderly woman who had brought me the food.

I wrapped it around me and eased out the back door.