Chapter 30 MATE

His body thrummed like plucked strings of a guitar. His heart accelerated like a wild horse. His wolf growled inside, rising from its slumber, wanting to force its way out. All he wanted at that very moment was to pin her down, claim her and mark her. The men standing in front of him were potential threats to his claim. He wanted to kill them all. His wolf wanted to huff and puff and burn the whole world down to get to his mate.

Marcus could feel his fangs descending and his venom pooling in his mouth. A rumble left his chest as his entire body was drawn to her like a magnet. Sweat lined his skin and it took every bit of his energy not to lunge at her, grab her and drag her off to some place safe, away from the eyes of other men.

As Menkar walked in, she too walked after him and bowed to him and glanced at him once before lowering her head again and trying to fade into shadows, except she didn't know that she had become the highlight of the life of the most powerful werewolf of Araniea.

His instincts flared. This was the same girl who had left him while he was asleep. Without a mask covering her face, he could see that she was beautiful beyond words. Her pale blond, almost white hair was neatly tied in a bun, exposing her slender neck where he wanted to sink his fangs. Her blue-green eyes reached into his soul.

His eyes traveled to the bruises on her forearm and a cut on her forehead and fury swelled in his chest. He wanted to rip apart the man, shred him to pieces, who did this to her . And why wasn't she able to identify him as her mate? Why hadn't he identified her as his mate a few nights back? Had she just turned eighteen? Too many questions swirled around in his mind all at once. What about her wolf?

"Marcus?" Rigel called him.

He jerked his head towards Rigel as a growl rumbled in his chest considering him a threat to his unclaimed mate. His eyes flickered silver.

"Are you okay?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

He ignored Rigel and looked back at her. She lifted her face to see him. Marcus's world stopped, tilted on its axis and then started spinning so fast that he felt dizzy while gazing into her intense, almond-shaped eyes. The girl flinched under his possessive stare. She withdrew behind Menkar and lowered her head, her panic apparent in the way she seized her gown in her fists, bunching it. He could hear her heartbeat which had accelerated to a maddening level out of fear. And that fear manifested on her face.

He then realized he must have inadvertently spilled out his aura, making everyone in the room wince.

Marcus pushed himself off the table and controlled his beast with every kernel of energy he had. And he had oodles of energy. There was no way he was going to let on to anyone in the room that she was his mate. What if they harmed her? Especially Menkar. He couldn't take that chance. Even though he was a powerful alpha, his control over his wolf in the girl's presence was slipping.

"Nothing," he said in a hoarse voice to Rigel. "I am fine." He retracted his aura. Breathing raggedly, his shoulders tense, he said, "You are welcome, Menkar." There was a hint of aversion in his voice and a little bit of contempt. He waved towards the chair opposite of him. He sat down on his chair, every part of his body still hummed and was pulled in her direction. 

Menkar and Rigel sat down while the girl continued to stand, frozen in place. He felt like plucking her from there and caressing her until she was comforted in his presence. She was so… delicate, like a rose petal in the hands of beasts.

"Do you know the purpose of your visit?" asked Marcus, somehow drawing his gaze to Menkar.

Menkar nodded. "Yes, Your Highness." He pointed at the girl behind him and said, "I have brought the scribe as requested by Prince Rigel. She also serves as a slave at Cetus Monastery." He lowered the glass from his eye and added, "But why do you need a scribe?"

A muscle feathered in his jaw when Menkar introduced his slave as a scribe. The girl was badly beaten.

"It is not Marcus who requires the scribe," Rigel intervened. "It is I who needs the use of her services."

Menkar gave a thin smile, his derisive gaze raking over Rigel. "I see, Your Highness. Then will you be taking her to the Orion Kingdom?"

A low growl escaped from Marcus's chest. He felt his fury rising and his shoulder muscles bulging at the thought of his mate leaving.

"No," Rigel replied, shaking his head. "This is a confidential mission that cannot be carried out in my kingdom." He lied easily. "The scribe will be staying here for as long as you can spare her to complete the task."

"And how long will it take to finish this task?" asked Menkar, his eyes and expression cold.

"At least a month," Rigel replied. Then he looked at Marcus and almost saw a flicker of silver in his eyes behind his façade of silence. "Or possibly longer…" he added, his eyes narrowing, wondering about his friend's behavior.

"I can spare her for five months, Your Highness," said Menkar. After that, we have a rite that she has to attend. I hope Your Highness will be able to complete his work by then."

"Absolutely!" Rigel clasped his hands. Then he turned his head to the girl who looked like a deer running for her life. Upon his gaze, she recoiled further.

Marcus knew the reason why Menkar was here. It was not difficult to comprehend, he had accompanied the scribe when he could have sent a lowly clerk of the monastery for the job. But Menkar had hidden agendas. Marcus wondered what importance would a small meeting between them hold.

A soft knock on the door disturbed them. A servant entered with tea and pastries. He bowed to everyone that was sitting down and then after giving a flirtatious glance to the scribe, he left. It took all his power to not rip the servant's head off and toss it in the hearth. He made a mental note of punishing him soon.

Silence had followed as Menkar drank the tea while Marcus drank the girl's features once again. The attraction was so strong, so raw that it was painful. So, this was what the moon goddess had chosen for him? She was so dainty and far too young to be a scribe. She kept her gaze on the rug, briefly glancing over at the pastries. Her stomach growled in a low rumble and it took everything in him to not shift, leap into the forest and hunt a bunny to offer at her feet. "Please," he said with so much difficulty that it was as if his tongue had swollen. His eyelashes fluttered as he stuttered, "Please… sit."

r waist, and more bruises became visible.

Marcus realized that she was terrified of him when she took a step back. But now that he had found his mate, he wasn't letting her go. "You haven't answered my question."

Marcus held her bruised hands in his and a bolt of electricity rocked through him. He swore he saw stars exploding in his mind. He inhaled a shaky breath as his lips quivered. He had never felt this anxious, wonderful and randy in his entire life. And he had lived a long time and had seen many things. He was such a masochistic lion and she…  a lamb. His lamb. His gaze roamed over her face and hands, his stare so potent that her lips parted when her eyes met his. When his eyes went back to her injuries, his chest filled with raw rage causing his aura to spill out again. "Fuck!" he rasped when she winced in fear. He controlled himself by sheer will. "Tell me who beat you!."

But Lara didn't speak a word. And Marcus knew that she behaved like the true slave that she was. The girl was in a plain dress. Even though she looked drab and had faded into the background, she was observing things. He had noticed how her gaze would flit to different parts in the library, would rake her gaze over Rigel or even him, and then she would again fade into the background. Typical of a slave and of an amateur spy. It was very obvious by the way Menkar met him. The High Priest had brought forward his most innocent scribe who would willingly work as a spy. However, considering her age, he knew that she had to be inexperienced. So, why had she come to the palace that night? And how did she enter? He needed answers, but now wasn't the time.

"Alpha Marcus," she pleaded. "Can I please go to see my master?" She was desperate to leave and never be seen again. "I will ask a servant to show me my quarters." She thought this would be the last meeting between him and her and that someone else would handle the arcana books from Prince Rigel's side.

Hearing her melodious voice was so refined and sensuous like a physical caress and he fought control for not drooping his eyelids, for not pinning her to the ground with her hands above her head and then taking her in as many ways as he could. He was never going to allow her to leave again. "This is a secret mission. Didn't  you know?" he said, actually trying to scare her so that she didn't leave him. "You can't just stay anywhere in the palace."

"So, can I not go and see him?" she asked, her doe-like eyes going wide as she stared at him, blinking.

"You have to stay hidden. And only I can know of your whereabouts." The cunning wolf was using every possible way to stop her from leaving.

Lara went stiff and nodded. King's words felt like a permanent seal of her fate.

"Come here," he gestured with his index finger to come closer. She took a timid step towards him as if he was about to whisper to her, but what came next wasn't something she had anticipated at all. King Marcus immediately wrapped his large, muscular, arms around her shoulders. He placed his large hand at the back of her head and pulled it against him, her cheek pressing his chest. 

Marcus had been dying for some kind of contact with her and he used the first opportunity to hold her, savor her. And now with her in his embrace, Marcus's whole body thrummed with pleasure so intense that he thought his heart would explode.

Lara stilled, her eyes going wide at the physical contact. This couldn't be part of the secret mission that she was supposed to carry out for Prince Rigel? And she was shivering like a terrified lamb heading to the slaughter. She had never been embraced like this before, never  felt the warmth of human touch. She found herself slightly lost in his brine and mist scent that was surrounding her and flooding her senses. She couldn't remember her life she had with her parents—only sporadic dreams and nightmares that she thought were something she imagined.

Standing afoot shorter than him, she was the loveliest, frailest, and most submissive wolf he had ever seen. Over the past few days, he hadn't had a wink of sleep. And now with her in his arms, he felt at peace. Even his wolf agreed, and that was rare in cases of women. He tucked her head beneath his chin as his wolf cartwheeled inside him.

Ours!

Lara tried to pull away from him, but the man's grip was strong like a bull. She wriggled a little in his grip and felt like it was a futile effort. "Your Highness," she squeaked. "Can I please go see my master before he leaves?"

Her words snapped him out of his out of body experience. He stared down at her with his onyx eyes and said, "I will accompany you. You do not know your way around." Now that he had found her, he was not going to let her out of his sight. Impossible. His mind was conjuring up all sorts of ways in which to keep her close to him.

"I can find my own way out," she replied, her voice accompanied by the sound of her stomach growling. Embarrassed that the sound  was so loud, she flushed.

Gods. She was starving? How could he forget that? "No, like I said, you can't roam around the premises on your own because you are actually going to work for Prince Rigel in my palace. Can you imagine the importance of how secretive you have to be? You have to stay hidden from my people. So, it is of utmost importance that it'll be me who will take care of all your needs from now on!" Turning to the table, he grabbed two pastries and gave them to her. "Eat."

"But I have to go see him!" she argued, feeling utterly helpless and desperate now.

"Eat and then we both will go," he commanded in that mulish way.

Lara gritted her teeth and gobbled up the two pastries, crumbles dusted all around her lips, chin and cheeks. Marcus took his thumb there to wipe them off. Lara jerked her head back feeling utterly awkward, but the king couldn't stop himself. He wiped them off her cheeks and chin softly with the pad of his thumb.

"Your Highness?" Lara mumbled, her eyes going wide like an owl.