“If I…” his words are broken by a familiar voice calling his name, and I looked behind him at the same time that Killian turned back to see Leah’s voluptuous figure walk up to us in her bright red dress.
I had never been this happy to see Leah. And that had to be something.
“Leah! Thank the goddess that you are saved!” I exclaim out of excitement and rush forward, planning to hug her, but I’m pushed back by Killian, who pulls her into a tight hug.
“My sweet mate. I was almost scared that something had happened to you,” he crooned, then ran his hands on her back in circles.
Memories of me being the girl in Killian’s arms flashed through my mind. But this time, they didn’t hurt.
I had my mate now.
“K...Killian… do... do you know how scary it was without you? I was all alone and got lost so many times,” Leah cried out, and I shot her a cynical look.
She looked every bit fine with not a crease on her dress. It was hard to imagine that she had really been lost.
Besides, she was right here by the hall; just how lost could one be?
“D…don’t… ever leave me, okay..”
Like a doting father, Killian agreed hurriedly while he turned to shoot me a glare.
As soon as they separated, Killian stormed towards me. “Zira, I have given you so many chances, but you keep giving me reasons to believe that you don’t want to be in my pack anymore...”
Before he could complete his words, Leah rushed towards us. “Killian... no, don’t do that! Father would be mad at me…”
Her words were the last thing I heard as I fell backward quickly.
I landed in the pool that we had been standing beside, and with a loud splash, instant fear gripped my heart.
I was not too fond of swimming. I had done basically everything I could to avoid training back when we were in growing classes. But now, I pushed back up, trying to remember if I was supposed to breathe under or above the water.
Strong arms wrapped tightly around me and pulled me up. With my head above water, I felt the familiar and sweet smell of Ronan. I leaned into him a little more, wanting more of his hands’ comfort.
“I’m so sorry,” Ronan whispered into my ears as he brought the both of us out from the pool, and I’ll never understand just how he was able to do that in a record-breaking time.
As soon as we were out of the pool, I could sense that quite a number of people had come up here, so I forced my eyes open to see so many pointed fingers and people closing in on us.
“Who is she? The King jumped in himself!” Someone exclaimed with a voice loud enough that I suspected she wanted Ronan to hear and give her a response.
But he paid no attention to her as he carried me up, in a bridal style, and then started to walk away from there.
The crowd parted, leaving enough space in the middle for him to pass, and I burrowed myself into his chest so I could hide my face.
“Who’s she? Can’t she tell the King to drop her?”
“Shhh! It might be the princess; I heard rumors of her return,” another person replied.
Princess? Growing up, all I had ever heard was how praised our King was for having so many sons, and not for once have I heard about a princess.
And if there was one, where did she go?
All of these questions swarm through my mind as Ronan brings us farther away from them.
Contrary to what I had expected, the coronation had gone smoothly. But that was just not enough for me to believe that there weren’t still some undercurrents waiting for the perfect time to strike.
I wanted nothing more than for this whole thing to end so I could meet her—my mate.
Her name is so unique and perfect. Like they were made for her.
“Cheers, brother, to being the new king of Eliza.” Richard’s voice interrupted my thought process, and he brought his wine cup forward.
We clinked glasses, but I felt a sudden, acute tug on my heart as if my wolf were pulling me.
Given the situation, I would have ignored it. But Kane, my wolf, was quick to pass the message.
Zira is in trouble!
I dash out of the hall, using my instincts and Kane’s direction, till I see her familiar head of almost blond hair with blue edges floating in the water.
I shoot a gaze at everyone standing there and looking at her, making a mental note to let them know they couldn’t abandon their queen and go scot-free.
Not caring about anything, I dive into the water and pull her out along with me. Relief flooded through my chest as I felt her hands wrap around me while her head burrowed into my embrace even more.
Even unconscious, my mate knew me.
Only when we were on the elevator to the living quarters did I realize how much water my regalia had taken in.
Zira lay in my arms, motionless, all the way to my quarters.
“Zira,” I called her while shaking her awake gently.
After doing that for the third time, her eyes fluttered open, and she tried to fix her brown eyes on mine.
“It’s me. Are you okay?”
Zira nodded and then stood up. Her eyes were still glued to me.
“I’m okay; I don’t know how I dozed off for some minutes in your embrace,” she said, then bent her head out of shyness.
“It means that you trust me enough to keep you safe at the moment when you were uncomfortable and out of sorts,”
“Let’s get you changed out of this dress,”
Although each of us was assigned more than twenty omega maidservants each, I kept them away from my quarters since I didn’t enjoy being among people. As a result, I had to complete tasks on my own.
I pull out a new towel and bathrobe from my closet and walk back to where Zira is seated, looking around my room.
“My room is never like this; I had to get dressed quickly,” I explained hurriedly as I saw my disorganized dressing table.
I remember what exactly had made me late; for a minute, I only wanted to relive the moment.
It gets even more difficult as soon as I wrap Zira’s full hair in a towel and then try to get her zipper off.
“It’s like a corset, you just have to help me with the rope, and I’ll do the rest myself,” she murmured softly. So low that without my wolf abilities, I would have missed it.
Her instructions worked like magic regardless as I pulled the part that held the others together loose.
The dress tumbled to the sides, leaving her bare back open in its full glory.
I gulp down because with her dress opened and soaked, she exudes a scent about five times more alluring to me. And just the outline of her body is enough to leave me entranced.
“Ronan? What’s going on?” Zira calls out and then turns back to look at me. Our eyes meet, but her movement allows her to shift her arm, which is the only thing holding her dress together.
In a split second, her dress, already heavy from being in the pool, falls down from her body in one quick tumble.
Her brown eyes open with shock and embarrassment while her hands rush to cover her bare chest that had nothing underneath the dress.
But her hands could only do so much. I could still see every damn curve of Zira’s body, and bless the goddess! She was beautiful to her very bone.
I grabbed the bathrobe and passed it to her while turning my back on her until I was sure I had heard the ruffling of the bathrobe coming together.
It also gave me some moments to bring my emotions all under check.
“I’m sorry, I had no idea the dress had no other support,” Zira says the moment I turn back to look at her.
“It’s okay, we are mates, and we will eventually get to it,” I assure her, pulling her back to sit on the bed with me.
She nods slowly, still shy. “You should change too; your outfit is soaked,” she points out after some seconds.
Somehow, I had forgotten about myself.
As soon as I stand up, Zira stands up too. “Let me help with the top button,” she says, referring to the button that was right under my chin.
The regalia was anything comfortable, and taking it off was what I would have done first on a normal day.
But this wasn’t a normal day.
Her aroma grew stronger as she reached up on her tiptoes to assist me with my button, and I had a clear glimpse of her cleavage at the same time.
Without any thought, I pull her into my embrace. “Do you have any idea what you are doing to me?”
Her brown eyes open wide with shock as she meets my gaze.
The sudden urge to tease her had me bending my head until I met her lips and pulled her even tighter into a drawing kiss.
“Coming so close, do you expect your mate not to react at all, little mate?”
She tries to talk but only gives me a perfect chance to slip my tongue into her mouth to taste her sweetness.
My mate tasted just like I remembered. Just like I had missed. And so I take as much of her sweetness as possible and only pull back when I feel her gasping for breath.
She falls limply to my chest as she calls my name out softly, “Ronan.”
Okayyy!! let's get into Ronan's head and see what's happening with this newly crowned King. Did you like reading from his pov?
Zira’s POV I had never been one to likebeing touchy or anything of that sort. Despite how much Killian had wanted usto go all the way in our relationship, I had constantly refused. But somehow,around Ronan, I always seemed to lose any bit of restraint. “You should change,” I told him as I tried to step back. Henods and then starts to loosen all his buttons carefully. A part of me still felt guiltythat I had allowed his coronation to end with him having to jump in a pool tosave me, but I was grateful that he haddone that. I watch, entranced, as he pulls off the regalia, leaving a black shirt that wasglued to his body from all the dampness and heat. Earlier, when we met, he had been a lot more casual,but seeing him now with all his body outlines, it was easy to see that he wasone of those men that would look a lot slimmer when dressed. It was hard to look away fromit. Like every part of me seemed to want to reach out to him, I eventually pulled my gaze away. There was a
Zira’s POVI gasped in surprise as I watched myselfin the floor-to-ceiling mirror in front of me.The Royal Palace stylist certainly hadmagical hands,as I felt like my whole person had undergone some surgeries that humansloved to do so much. My hair was rolled up into ahigh bun with some curled tendrils framing myface while my make-upwas delicately done to highlight all of my features. The only thing wrong with all ofthese, with the stunning blue dress and the teardrop pearl necklace seated on mychest, and Ronan gifted, was that today, I was going to watch my mate getbetrothed to another woman. “Your beauty certainly has norival even in the capital,” Ana, the head stylist, says with an adoring smile as she looks at me through the mirror. “Thank you,” I mumble, notwanting to seem impolite. “If you are ready, I’ll lead youto the hall. Weare already quite late.” Itturns out Ana was correct; the entire buildingwas alive withmusic and conversation as soon as we steppe
Zira’s POVAtfirst, it seems like I’m the only one that notices as heads are bowed inreverence to him. But hell breaks loose the moment Ronan sits down, and theeunuchs permit us to be seated.One ofthe girls beside me nudged me in the waist with her elbow.“Whatpack are you from? Your father must be daring to have allowed you to use thesame Arlen-silk that our king has used,” she says with scorn, deliberatelymaking her voice loud enough for others to talk.“Ialready felt there was something about her dress the moment she sat down,”someone added from behind. And I wished I could understand what they weresaying more than anything.Arlen-silk?Seeing thatthe color and patterns were the same, I was more than certain that I would bein trouble. Yet, it appeared to be some unusual substance at this point.Whywould Ronan put me in such a spotlight on a day like this?The queendowager raised her glass and, with cutlery, tapped on it twice to get theattention of everyone in the ha
Zira’s POVI hadall the skills that the ladies here had, but at this moment, no one cared. Allthey knew was I didn’t deserve to be here, and that was all.Foronce, I felt like I was nothing more than a lowly and weak omega with all thegazes of the people in the hall.Iwatched from the corners of my eyes as I stood alone in the middle of the halland their whisperings.The queendowager raised her wineglass, and the hall descended into empty silence.“Thisyoung girl, can you introduce yourself?” In the already quiet hall, her voicewas loud and clear, and as I met her gaze, I could feel some pressure pressingdown on me.Isquared my shoulders a little but still avoided Ronan’s gaze.“Yourhighness, I am Zira Clark, the second daughter of the Beta from the Blood Moonpack.” I gave a little head bow to her as soon as I was done talking and wentback to looking at the intricately designed floor of the ballroom.“Youare from a third-tier pack. Can you tell me how you came to be here
Zira’s POVI don’tthink I have been this scared in my entire life. Maybe something close when I lostmy mother, but it wasn’t this way.Thistime, I was desperate and scared. I was also desperate to be proven wrong.As soonas Ronan made signs to speak, the tension in the hall intensified with everygaze on him.Iallowed my eyes to focus on him for the first time since he had stepped intothe hall. Even without a crown, besides all the royal princes, Ronan’s bearingand appearance were too eye-catching. He sat there, back ramrod straight likehe was born to be a ruler.“Queenmother, I’m afraid you would have to ask my dear brothers to use today as anopportunity to pick their brides as the moon goddess has blessed me with a matewhom I intend to make my queen,” he announced, standing up from the Royal seatthat he was in.My bodystiffened, unable to believe that what I was hearing was the truth. Ronan justsaid he wanted to make his mate his queen, right?“Youhave a fated mate? Wh
Zira’s POVUntilwe got to Ronan’s Bailey, neither of us said a word. Ronan looked like he wasstruggling to understand his emotions while I had so many thoughts swirling inmy head.I hadno idea that Ronan would ever consider me for the role of queen until that verymoment. I wanted it. However, not the position, but if it was the only way Icould have my mate to myself, I could even handle such an arduous position.But Ialso understood that just because I wanted something, it didn't always mean Iwould get it. After Killian, I had been more than prepared to walk away fromhere the very moment I realized that I was some inconvenience.While seatedbeside all those girls, my mind had been running on so many scenarios. So manyreplies that I was prepared to give to the man that I was certain wanted me tobe his consort or maybe replace some omega concubine.Ronan’sguards rushed forward and pushed the door to his courtyard open. Theydisappeared almost immediately, and Ronan turned fo
Ronan’s POV Seeing the expression of disbelief on Zira’s face as I approached her to take her to the middle of the stage had me in conflicted emotions. While everyone thought the Queen Dowager to be my mother, I knew very well that she wasn't. Although her life had been taken from her early, my mother, who was my father’s fated mate, had always talked about how beautiful the mate bond was. The mate bond was so strong that she could willingly sacrifice all of her life for that one man that didn’t even give her his whole heart.And even on her deathbed, my mother had made me promise not to hate my father. Because of this, I had always had a longing for my own mate.That experience made me want the mate bond even more. Besides, I only had two choices, the Moon Goddess’s choice or the Queen dowager's choice, and from the moment I had laid my eyes on Zira, I had known it was going to be her. The moon goddess’s choice was just perfect, and god dammit that, I was going to let anyone separ
Zira’s POVIt wassweet having Ronan say all of those sweet words and reassurances. But I was waytoo smart to get deluded. So as soon as Ronan gave me my dad’s room number, Irushed away from him and went to dad’s room.“Wherethe hell have you been?” Dad yelled the moment he opened the door.“I…I...”Suddenly, I can’t think of anything to say. Was I supposed to tell them aboutRonan? Before I could find the best thing to say, dad’s hand descended on myface very quickly.“Why doyou always have to make me worry? You embarrass me and even allow some man totake you away for the night!”“Isthis how I raised you? To be a slut?” He yelled out in one go.Withhis every word, I feel my heart breaking even further. Slut?!“I fellinto the pool, and while Leah and Killian stood and did nothing, someone savedme. What are you talking about?” I was trying my best to be polite, but I couldswear on the goddess that one more curse word from my father’s mouth and hewould hear it from me.Mywor