The next morning, he wore a grey shirt and a black tuxedo. At breakfast, he beamed at his subjects when he saw that Lucianne’s head remained up when the rest of them were bowing. After greeting the attendees, he made his way to her, and kissed her on her forehead as he said, “Thank you, for not bowing.”
“It felt very awkward.” She complained with blushing cheeks.
He chuckled. “You’ll get used to it.” He took in her stunning figure hugged by a dark purple ruffled top and black skirt before he said, “You look beautiful.”
She smirked and said, “You look great too, Xandar. Are you going to say that every morning?”
“Mmm. Maybe.” He was looking at her flirtatiously, and started closing the distance between them.
Let’s get real here. Will Xandar really NOT control Lucianne’s circle? He’s the fiercest and most powerful creature in the Kingdom! But does ferocity and power have anything to do with possessiveness?
After showering and cleaning up, everyone made their way to the dining hall for lunch. Lucianne wore the same purple top and black skirt she wore in the morning. For once, she entered the dining hall after Xandar. When she saw him speaking to someone she didn’t know, she decided against interrupting and went up to Christian,who was speaking to Juan and Hale. “Ah! My Queen.” Christian beamed and bowed. “Please, don’t do that.” Lucianne said as she covered her eyes, embarrassed. “It’s just etiquette, my Queen. You don’t have to be so shy about it.” Christian chuckled. Juan then uttered to himself, “Queen Lucianne Freesia Paw does sound nice. Very regal.”
To Xandar’s and Christian’s relief, Greg didn’t show up for tea or dinner. Lucianne continued to introduce pack members to the King and his second-in-command as they both took note of what each pack was asking for. The wolves were surprised and grateful for the chance to be heard. Whenever Lucianne stood to take some food or drink alone, pack members she had never met would walk up to her with a problem that their pack is facing. They felt more at ease to meet her alone first before being introduced to the King himself. She felt honored to bridge the packs with their King. The part she minded was having to risk meeting conceited pack leaders. In these situations, she will ask them a simple ‘so, can you tell me the kind of aid that your pack requires?’ before deciding whether she wanted to continue the conversation. Some Alphas and Gammas whom she had never met introduced themselves simply b
‘Lucy!’ Luna Hale’s mind-link woke Lucianne from deep sleep. ‘What? What happened, Luna? What?’ Lucianne mind-linked back in a daze as she reached for her phone to check the time. 2:32 a.m. ‘You’ve got to be kidding me. What the he*l is happening at this hour?!’, Lucianne thought to herself. ‘Lucy, sorry to wake you but we need you to come over now!’ ‘What happened? Where’s Juan? Is he okay?’ Lucianne bolted out of bed before putting a tank top over the sports bra she was sleeping in. Her shorts will have to do. Hale’s mind-links sounded urgent.
On the plane, Lucianne sat with Tobias like she always did when they traveled by plane. And he was always nice enough to offer her the window seat. “How is he to you?” “Hm? What?” Lucianne asked. Toby chuckled and asked, “Your mate. Does he treat you well?” She smiled shyly and said, “Yeah, he does. He tries really hard.” “That’s good.” Toby said with a smile. “You know Raden almost committed suicide when he told the King not to hurt you? And on the very first night, I might add.” Lucianne couldn’t believe what she had just heard. “He did WHAT?”
‘CUZ! WAKE UP, NOW!’ Christian’s mind-link woke Xandar in an instant. He checked the time on his alarm clock. It was only 2:58 a.m. ‘This better be good, Christian.’ He groaned. ‘Get your ass out of bed and get to the Jewel Pack RIGHT THIS SECOND! I’ll meet you there. I’ve just told Annie. And where the f*ck was your phone?!’ ‘What do you mean?’ He searched for his phone, and realized that it wasn’t in his room. ‘Our Queen and some wolves have gone to the Jewel Pack. She told the guard at the hotel that there was go
‘Hang in there, Lucy! They’re coming!’ Juan's panicked link was evident. He himself tried to speed up his slaughter to get to Lucianne. At the riverbank, Lucianne finally realized that this was a trap set up for her. The rogue she knocked into the river wasn’t retreating, he was leading her to the river far away from the Alphas and the other warriors. The Lycans surrounded her, eyes glazing over as they linked each other. Lucianne put a brave front but she knew the position she was in. Her chances of survival were slim. She may be able to handle one Lycan but not three at a time. She waited for them to make a move while praying for Raden and Tate to come soon. One Lycan stood close to the riverbank, too close. And he was the first to charge towards Lucianne. Lucianne pounced just low enough to dodge his claws and held on
Xandar and Christian both appeared bare-chest, only in shorts. They only took a microsecond to take in the scene before them, and without shifting, Christian went after the Lycan attacking the Alphas, and Xandar charged at the one near Raden and Lucianne before knocking him further away from his mate. Raden stood in front of Lucianne’s lying body, shielding her from any possible attack. With the rogue Lycan gone, Lucianne gathered the little strength she had left and pulled the knife out of her body with her canines, and threw it on the ground next to her. Her eyes started tearing from the pain but the dizziness subsided. ‘Good’, she thought. There wasn’t enough silver in her body to kill her. Xandar and Christian made breaking the rogue Lycans’ limbs look so easy. For the next few moments, the rogues’ whimpering and the sound of
“Bad air traffic, ministers?” Christian asked sarcastically. Alfred spoke nonchalantly, “Apologies for our tardiness, your Grace. The order did come on very short notice.” “Lucy! What happened to you? Are you okay?” Sebastian cried out in concern as he took a step forward but stopped abruptly when Xandar growled at him and took Lucianne protectively by her shoulders. Lucianne looked at Sebastian indifferently as she spat weakly, “Fine.” Xandar’s worried voice then rang through her ears as he cupped her cheeks and stared deep into her eyes, practically begging her, “Baby, please don’t speak. Save your strength. Use the mind-link if you need to say something, okay?” Disregarding whatever