Maddoc
I stood still and stiff, while Aimee adjusted buttons, sashes, and the layers of formalwear that made up my ceremonial attire. The teal silk of my shirt, edged with black and embroidered with the phases of the moon, shimmered in the soft light. It set off my blue eyes, at least, that's what the stylists always told me. The silk pants clung just enough to hint at the physique beneath, and the vest hugged my frame with precision. Over it all, I wore a sweeping black cloak fastened at the neck with an intricately knotted infinity clasp.
"Looking like a king," quipped Alexander, my Beta and closest friend. He gave the edge of my cloak a tug. "This silk is criminally soft."
"Keep your grubby hands off," Aimee snapped, not even turning to look at him. "You already tracked in mud. Don't add 'ruining royal attire' to your résumé."
Alexander raised both hands in mock surrender, grinning. "Guilty. I forgot it rained this morning and I took the dogs out for a run."
He turned on his heel and made his way toward the stairs. He was clearly still trailing damp footprints prints down the corridor. "Guess I'd better go clean up before I'm banished."
Aimee muttered something about "puppies who can't wipe their paws."
She stepped down from the stool she'd used to reach my shoulders. Only slightly over five feet tall, Aimee was small in stature, but she carried herself with the authority of a general. She once silenced a reporter mid-question with a single glare and had managed on more than one occasion to fend off attackers simply by being underestimated until it was too late. She moved like a ninja, silent and deadly.
Her only weakness? Puppies. Show her even a picture of one, and she melted like butter in the sun.
I owned a sanctuary on the palace grounds for abused and abandoned canines. Staff did their best to rehome them, but the dogs usually wound up staying. For them, it was paradise! Open fields and woods to run in, endless treats, and a dedicated team of workers who loved them.
Many years ago, I met Aimee when she was working at an overcrowded shelter in a human city not far from Moon Shadow. She'd managed to escape from Crimson Fang, a notoriously vicious pack, and was hiding out in the human world.
I'd gone in to adopt a puppy to surprise Alexander on his birthday, leaving him waiting in the limo outside. He had fallen in love with his gift from the moment I handed him an adorable, sassy faced puppy.
That puppy, a yellow Lab mix named Flappers, was now three years old. He earned his name on the limo ride home by sticking his head out of the sunroof, his little lips flapping in the wind while Alexander laughed so hard he nearly cried.
Flappers lived like royalty. He had his own special room in the palace but usually wound up in Alexander's bed, buried under the covers. During the day he watched over the sanctuary dogs, sitting regally on his bench. Alexander loved that dog. We all did! His silly antics kept us entertained.
Alexander and I had been inseparable since before we could walk. My father, King Xavier, ruled the Lycans and our cousin species, the werewolves, for centuries before retiring to a private island with my mother, Queen Lorraine. I visited when I could. Ruling left little time to relax, and the island offered rare peace.
Keeping harmony between humans and shifters, and even among shifters wasn't easy. All could be volatile, stubborn, too quick to fight. As our populations grew, secrecy became harder to maintain. Most humans didn't know we existed, but we weren't exactly hiding anymore. I was constantly in the news, sometimes due to my wealth and charitable contributions, though these got less attention than gossip about my love life.
Humans might not be as physically strong as shifters, but their inventions were incredible. Cell phones, clothing, amusement parks, even their cuisine was impressive. Their ingenuity seemed limitless.
"I hope Alexander was right, that I look like a King," I said with a smirk, knowing full well how I looked.
I was a king. An eligible one at that. But no crown, no silk, no string of admirers could fill the space inside me. I was still waiting. For her.
My mate. Two centuries I had searched. I'd given in to urges, sure. But I'd never given my heart. Only the one the Moon Goddess created for me would be my Queen. I'd known many beautiful women, but none were her. I faced constant pressure to produce an heir to the throne, largely from the Lycan council of elders, my most powerful group of advisors. They often reminded me that no King had ruled as long as I had without a Queen by his side. They also expressed disapproval of my presence in the human tabloids. I once told them, as a joke, that I had accepted an offer to star as a single guy looking for love on a human reality show. The looks on their faces had Alexander and I chuckling for days.
Truly, for Lycans, finding your mate wasn't easy. If humans knew how rare we were, they'd classify us as endangered. Lycans and werewolves could be fated to each other, our species were biologically compatible, but Lycans held a third form, beyond human and wolf. A powerful hybrid that was more dangerous, more divine. That alone set us apart. Some believed it made us superior. I didn't. I'd met fools and visionaries in every species.
I believed in unity. That belief defined my reign. We weren't so different from humans. We had different traditions, sure, but the same capacity for kindness, and for cruelty. History proved that.
"What are you thinking about?" Aimee asked, gathering her things.
"Oh, the usual," I said with a sigh. "Politics, peacekeeping… pups running through the palace halls."
Her voice softened. "You'll find her."
I hoped so. I needed to.
After she left, I retreated to my office, turning my chair to face the window. Outside, the grounds burst with spring. Half a mile away, white-capped waves danced across the lake. Sanctuary dogs splashed and played, chasing floating toys and geese. It made me smile.
I saw little Laurie sitting by the lake feeding the geese, and my heart clenched. Flappers sat by her side, trying his best to ignore the angry goose that was less than pleased with his presence. Laurie had seen such horrors, and I hoped with all my heart that we could help the poor orphaned pup.
Tonight, I traveled to Blue Moon. Higher elevation. Cooler air. And maybe… destiny.
I had my doubts. These events had always ended in disappointment. If my mate was among these packs, she'd be far younger than me. But age meant little when it came to fate, as long as she had reached adulthood. Our souls knew each other already.
Koda, my inner wolf-lycan, stirred with anticipation.
She'll be there. Tonight is the night.
You say that every time.
Because it's true, he insisted.
He'd said it before, but something about his certainty stirred hope.
As I stepped into the black limousine, Alexander and Aimee already waiting inside. Aimee mentioned a young she-wolf named Tara.
"She'll be shifting tonight on her birthday, under the full moon. A rare alignment."
I nodded. "Haven't seen that in decades."
I remembered Tara. A pup with curious eyes and a quiet soul. I'd heard music, years ago, and followed the sound to a piano room in the Pack House. She'd played with such raw emotion that it stilled me. When she realized I was there, she'd startled, adorably shy.
Koda had growled protectively that night. He wanted to guard her. I'd kept tabs on the Blue Moon Pack ever since. Her father, Beta William, was a good man, and her mother was a successful businesswoman, with special abilities. His daughter Talia was a Lunar wolf as well, gifted with magic stronger than anyone understood.
Lunar werewolves, touched by the Moon Goddess herself, were blessed with magic. Their power ran in bloodlines, rare and dangerous, mainly to those who carried it. Not so much to anyone else, as long as you stayed on the right side of the line between good and evil.
"James," I said to the driver, "play something."
"Of course, Your Majesty. Which playlist?"
"Let's start with some good old rock and roll," Aimee suggested.
"Pantera," I said with a grin.
As the music roared to life, we eased into the night, followed by a convoy of black vans. My entourage consisted of guards, warriors, assistants, the ever-present shadow of security. And somewhere ahead, in the cool forests of Blue Moon, a she-wolf was preparing to shift for the first time.
And Koda was convinced she would change everything.