The King's Wife Is The Alpha's Mate

Tonight was Princess Karenina's birthday, but the one who got a lot of surprises was Nicholas.

The arrival of Noel and several of his men at the villa made Nicholas feel a little surprised and confused.

The villa guard who escorted Noel in towards the king's room was baffled to see him. He wondered when did the king come and how could the king be inside without him knowing about it?

"Y-your Majesty…" he muttered in confusion. Then he awkwardly pointed at Noel. "They are here to see you."

The guard was slightly tense as Noel gave him a sharp glance. Shit! Noel must have thought he was lying and was trying to hide the king because he said the king wasn't here when the head of the Royal Lycan Hunter arrived just now.

"What's the matter, Noel?" Nicholas asked, which made Noel turn his attention away from the villa guard. "Why are you looking for me?"

"I was ordered by the queen to bring Your Majesty the King back to the palace," explained Noel.

"Tell my mother I'll be back after a few days. I've been very busy lately, and I want to freshen up and stay here for a few days," Nicholas said while rubbing the bridge of his nose.

Nicholas wasn't lying. He really needed a rest.

The work of dealing with crises at the border as well as various royal problems did give him a headache, but what bothered him the most right now was the fact that he was a lycan and currently he was standing before the leader of the royal lycan hunters.

Nicholas didn't know whether to cry or laugh at his current situation. His family had been waging war with werewolves for decades and now it turned out… he was one?

When Noel heard the king's words and watched his expressions while speaking, Noel arched an eyebrow in confusion.

The king acted normally as if nothing had happened. Noel wondered in his mind if the king was currently pretending not to know what happened to avoid accusations and was trying to run away from his responsibilities.

It didn't seem like it. As far as Noel knew, the king wasn't such a coward.

There were far more things more dire than Princess Karenina's accusations, but for now, Noel acted as the messenger. He was only here to follow orders from the queen.

"Your Majesty, your mother is currently very angry because of what you have done. She even asked me to drag you if Your Majesty doesn't want to come back with me," Noel said.

Nicholas' eyes slightly widened in surprise. "What?"

Nicholas, who had no recollection of anything before waking up in the field and meeting the two lycan children, was confused and wondered what had he done to make his mother so angry with him?

"Mother ordered you to drag me?"

Noel nodded.

"What have I done?" Nicholas frowned.

Noel furrowed his brows. "Your Majesty,  you really don't know?"

Nicholas shook his head.

***

After meeting with Nicholas, Jan and Luciel rushed back to the manor. They reported to the Beta that they had just met another Alpha in the field.

Lucas, Duncan, Max, and several other lycans who heard the words of the two children were very surprised.

Could it be an intruder?

As the Beta, Lucas immediately dashed out of the manor, and a few seconds later, he had arrived at the field.

His nose quickly caught the scent of a lycan. A very strange smell.

Lucas could tell that the scent wasn't that of a member of the Blood River Pack.

He looked around, to every side, and to every corner of the place. He saw nothing but stunted stalks of weeds, the trees, and a few rats that came out looking for food. It looked like the lycan was gone.

Lucas took a deep breath and tried to inhale the lycan scent more deeply and more clearly.

Similar to a dog that looked for a trail, Lucas walked in the direction of the scent he was inhaling. Until he stood right in the middle of the field where Nicholas had previously fallen asleep. It was where the scent remained the strongest before it disappeared into the night.

The scent of the lycan was not the usual lycan scent but the scent of an Alpha. Exactly as said by Luciel and Jan.

After Lucas confirmed that the information provided by Luciel and Jan was correct, he dashed back towards the manor. It was more important to report than figure out where the other Alpha went.

***

In the royal villa, Nicholas was very shocked. He just heard Noel telling the reason why the queen was so angry. The head of royal lycan hunters told everyone to leave them and he explained to the king what he heard happened in the royal palace.

Noel explained that Princess Karenina admitted that she had been raped by the king.  Nicholas was silent for a moment and didn't know what to say.

He tried to remember what happened before he found himself awake in the field but he didn't remember anything. Trying to remember all that only made his head hurt again. Fortunately, the pain didn't last long.

"Are you all right, Your Majesty?" Noel looked worried when he saw the king hold his head and growl softly.

For a moment, Nicholas hissed and said, "Actually, I'm sick right now, and I came here to rest for a few days. Tell my mother I'll come home and explain when I feel better."

"But Your Majesty, the queen will definitely not accept that excuse. She and everyone else will only assume that Your Majesty is deliberately making excuses to run away from responsibilities."

"Do you think I am that kind of person, Noel?" asked Nicholas as he looked straight at Noel. His expression looked annoyed.

Noel shook his head and said that he never thought of the king like that either.

"Noel, I really can't go back with you to the palace now. You don't have to worry, I won't run away. I just want to rest. Go back and tell my mother I'll be home once I'm feeling better. Let's just say I'm asking you this favor as a friend, I am not ordering you."

For a moment, Noel seemed unmoving and simply looked at the king in silence. A dozen thoughts flitted through his mind as he assessed Nicholas from head to toe. The king's face did not look healthy. He looked really sick.

Even more, the fact that Nicholas wasn't giving orders at all made Noel feel bad about forcing the king to come back to the royal palace with him.

Since Nicholas said he was asking as a friend, Noel couldn't refuse.

The royal lycan hunter nodded in agreement. "Very well, Your Majesty, I will return and tell the queen that Your Majesty is ill and will return when you feel better. Take care of yourself.  I will take my leave now."

Noel bowed respectfully and then left.

After Noel and his men were gone, Nicholas let out a long sigh. His mind was in a mess and confused.

What was going on with me? He asked himself over and over again.

Nicholas threw himself on the bed. He stared at the ceiling of his room as he massaged his dizzy temples.

There were so many unanswered questions that ran  through his head right now, and he didn't know where to look for the answers to all of them.

His biggest problem was the fact that he turned out to be a lycan. How could that be? What happened to him and why? Weren't both of his parents human? Why was he a lycan?

What would happen if his mother and everyone in the kingdom found out that he was a lycan?

What would their response be when they found out that their king was a lycan, a creature that was hated and despised by the kingdom?

Then the second problem was about Karenina.

Had Nicholas really done that immoral thing to Karenina, or was he currently being framed?

Aish… why couldn't he remember anything?

As he grew more dizzy lying down, Nicholas got out of bed and walked over to the window. He hoped the scenery outside would make him feel better.

Suddenly, he knitted his eyebrows at the sight of the manor building far away to the west.

"Isn't that… Duke Romanov's manor?" Nicholas muttered. A moment later, he realized and remembered that the villa he was currently in was the royal villa near the manor of Duke Romanov.

It seemed that he had really been so infatuated with Sophia Romanov. When his mind malfunctioned, his heart must have taken control of his body movements and made him run towards the place adjacent to the residence of Sophia Romanov.

A smile appeared on Nicholas' face, as he imagined the beautiful Sophia Romanov. Somehow, just imagining the woman's face, Nicholas felt better.

"Sophia Hannenbergh." Nicholas chuckled. He was amused by the thoughts. He felt like a boy having a crush for the first time and imagined giving his last name to the girl he liked. That sounded so cute and childish.

He was a king. He was now 27 years. Too old for stuff like that.

However, to be honest, though, Sophia Hannenbergh sounded a hundred times better than Sophia Romanov.

No, ten thousand times better.

Speaking of Romanov, Nicholas suddenly remembered the reputation of Duke Romanov who was rumored to be involved in lycans trafficking, including lycan children.

Nicholas' smile had now disappeared, replaced with a serious face. He remembered the two lycan cubs he met in the meadow. Were they... Duke Romanov's prisoners?