Taming Her Beastly Mate
The Lycan Princess Chapter 20

“That was some crazy stuff… sorry for attacking you, Aiden.” Kurt grinned at him as he walked up to Diana’s beastly form. Her ear twitched to the side as she turned her head to look over at Aiden who had also shifted back to his human form.

“How are you both feeling? Are you doing okay with the change?” Aiden asked as he looked between Kurt and Jamie. They had lost their wolves, which were like another consciousness in their minds. Being a lycan was not like being a werewolf.

“I’m okay. My wolf told me that it was time and we got to say goodbye. It’s a bit sad, but I feel okay about it.” Kurt said and Jamie nodded his head.

“Ike! Did you see me? Hey… my lycan is bigger, do you think…?” Jamie trailed off and Lycaon belted out a loud laugh.

“That isn’t how it works, but nice try.” Lycaon grinned as he sadly thought about how much he was going to miss them. He wasn’t sure how long the hunt for Eris would take, but no matter what… his time being around them constantly was done. “I guess you just needed Aiden around to shift. You are just as beautiful as I remember, only stronger.”

Diana. You are a magnificent looking lycan. Diana felt a shiver run up her spine as she heard Aiden’s voice reverberate through her mind. She gazed upon him with admiration as he approached her, his emerald eyes unblinking, piercing into the depths of her soul. In that moment, an indescribable energy intertwined them together as if they had known one another since the dawn of time. The bond between them was undeniable and powerful, and Diana felt alive like never before. As if a spark ignited inside of her that was now a full flame. She inhaled slowly and then shifted back to her human form. The moment that she did, Aiden took her into his arms.

“We checked everyone over and didn’t replace any traces of them being controlled.” Jamie said, going back into officer mode.

“It looks like they have been naturally ranked again after submitting to us.” Diana said, looking over at Lycaon.

“Yes, the connection was still there, so nothing formally needed to be done. You guys are all set. A group of four lycans to lead the Diamond pack. It’s now time for me to hunt down Eris. The goddess Shiva will be watching from a distance. She won’t intervene with anything. She will only act if Eris shows up.”

“Will you come back after?” Diana asked, and he gave her a small sad smile.

“I’ll come back to check on you and how you are doing. I’ll pop in and out much like I did before…”

“But Ike—”

“Don’t go getting sentimental on me. I was just a temporary babysitter. Time for me to go and do deity stuff.”

“You are always welcome…” Diana whispered, feeling conflicted about him leaving.

“Yeah, anytime you want to be reminded you aren’t the best at everything, we have some video games with your name on them.” Jamie flashed him his teeth victoriously as Lycaon chuckled.

“See you later, Ike. Go hunt that b***h down and kick her a*s… deity style.” Kurt watched as Lycaon nodded his head with a soft smile on his lips.

“Take good care of her. Any tear you cause to fall, I’ll make sure to pay it back to you.” Lycaon’s serious green eyes locked onto Aiden’s. There was an unspoken acknowledgement between them at that moment. Words were not needed. Suddenly, the sky was ripped open with an icy blue streak—Shiva had arrived. “Well, Shiva is here…” Seeing Diana stand before him, Lycaon felt his heart being torn in two; her sweet silver eyes were something he’d never forget, no matter how far apart they were. His heart ached as he took one last look at her, knowing that the dream he had been cherishing was now lost forever. The dream of having her beside him, a life they could have shared together if only it were possible. He slammed the door shut on this secret desire once and for all, feeling his pain cut deeper than any blade ever could. Lycaon took one last look at Diana, his heart heavy with emotion. He couldn’t bring himself to say another word, instead he quietly vanished before their eyes.

Diana watched as Lycaon disappeared from view. She had grown to care for Lycaon deeply over the course of their time together, and the thought of him leaving filled her with a sense of emptiness. She had come to rely on him during their time together. He became family to her. Aiden sensed her sadness and placed a comforting arm around her, pulling her close to him. She leaned into him, feeling the warmth of his body against hers, and closed her eyes.

“I’m going to miss him…” Diana finally managed to say, her voice barely above a whisper.

“I know…” Aiden replied, his arm still wrapped around her. “I am grateful he was here to watch over you while I couldn’t be. You will see him again.” He kissed the top of her head and then smiled. “I’m back now, Diana, and I am never leaving you again. I’m here… you have me.”

Diana looked up into his eyes, and she saw a flicker of something that she couldn’t quite place. She gave him a faint smile and nodded her head. “I know.” She lifted up on her toes and kissed the tip of his nose. “You are never allowed to leave me again.”

A warm smile reached Aiden’s lips. Inwardly, he was jealous of Lycaon. He recognized the look of want, but luckily it seemed Diana was oblivious to it. However, he was glad that Lycaon seemed to push his feelings aside. He was someone important to Diana, and it seemed like he had a good relationship with his officers too.

“I promise you, Diana. I will never leave you again. I will always be by your side, no matter what.” He lowered his lips to hers, kissing her deeply, his tongue exploring the depths of her mouth. He didn’t care who was there to see him. Finally, he was able to show his affection publicly, and he was going to. The electric sparks of his mate made him dance with her tongue passionately. When a soft m**n elicited from her mouth, he pulled her body closer to his. As if he couldn’t stand any minor gap between them.

For a moment, they were lost in each other, their bodies pressed against one another. Then the faintest scent of something foreign snapped them back to reality. A low growl was heard from Jamie’s throat as they all focused their gaze into the dense forest on the edge of the clearing.

“I don’t recognize those scents…” Kurt knitted his brows together as he lifted his nose in the air.

“They are too close to our territory. Should we send out the patrol unit?” Jamie asked, turning to look at Aiden and Diana.

“I feel like I know this scent…” Diana muttered, deep in thought. She knew she had smelled it before, but she couldn’t place it. “Shh… Aiden, do you hear that?”

Aiden furrowed his brows as the faintest of sounds barely carried on the wind. The quiet, yet familiar cry of a baby followed by the sounds of fighting. “What in the—”

“Now is not the time for hesitation,” Diana declared to Aiden as her muscles contorted, pressing against her skin with a pain that would have stopped a mortal in their tracks. With a flurry of fur and cracking bones, she unleashed her lycan, fur the color of the moon, commanding them with her presence alone. Aiden shifted next, his silver lycan sprinting at Diana’s side, Kurt followed after with his ebony beast just inches away from them both and Jamie close behind with his fawn-colored lycan. They hurled themselves forward with an adrenaline-fueled abandon, their beasts’ faces set in a grimace of feral determination. Not a single doubt clouded their minds as they pursued the foreign scent and an infant’s cry.

The forest grew denser as they ran; the trees became thicker and the underbrush harder to navigate. The sounds of fighting grew louder as they approached, and Diana’s heart pounded in her chest. Her instincts were on high alert, and she knew that danger was just around the corner. They burst through a thick wall of foliage and found themselves in a clearing where a group of werewolves had cornered a werewolf and her infant child. The werewolf was fighting with everything it had as it protected the infant behind it.

The four didn’t hesitate and launched themselves at the other wolves. The werewolves, seeing the four lycans, instantly retreated with their tails between their legs. Jamie and Kurt pursued them as their high pitch whimpers of fear filled the night. Diana and Aiden stopped near the werewolf, who was soaked with b***d.

Diana and Aiden both shifted back to their human forms and stared at the wolf in front of them.

“Shift back.” Diana commanded softly as she did the werewolf transformed into a young woman with raven-black hair and light mint-green eyes. The woman collapsed to the ground as she turned her head to look at the baby crying.

Aiden knelt next to the woman as Diana walked over and brought the baby to her. On top of the woman’s injuries, she looked like she was exhausted.

“You have the same scent as the wolves who fled. Why don’t you explain the situation?” Diana’s voice was calm and rational.

“Is Sullivan okay?” The woman whimpered.

“Sullivan, that is a good name. Yes, he looks perfectly fine.” Diana knelt beside the woman so that she could take the baby in her arms.

“You’re her, aren’t you? The Lycan Princess?”

Diana nodded her head as the woman’s eyes filled with fear. “Please don’t kill my baby.” She sobbed.

“What? Why would I do such a thing?”

“You can tell… can’t you? That he isn’t pure. He isn’t a pureblood. I’m sorry… but please don’t punish my baby. Punish me.” The woman’s voice was a frantic wail. Diana looked up at Aiden in confusion.

“Why would I kill your baby because he is mixed? I don’t understand?” Diana watched as the woman’s bottom l*p quivered.

“My pack said you would come to life again. They said that the lycans were pure and only mated with other lycans. That you would side with them… that you would reward them for staying pure.”

The creases on Diana’s forehead wrinkled up as she shook her head at the woman. “We didn’t have a rule against taking other mates. During my time, we didn’t have the transportation that you have today. We stayed pure because that is who we saw the most. We rarely saw other species. Your pack is wrong. I disagree with them. Is that why they were chasing you? To kill your baby?” Diana gritted her teeth together.

“When they found out I had accepted my fairy mate in secret, they killed him. I was planning to run away with him…” Her voice trembled as a tear trickled down her face. “When I found out I was pregnant… I fled. I knew what they would do. They have hunted me for a year. I just wanted to replace a safe place to raise my baby.”

“You have. You will live with us in the Diamond pack.” Aiden said, and the woman’s lips parted.

“They will keep coming for me.”

Diana smiled and shook her head. “No… we are going to come for them.” She glanced up at Aiden, who nodded his head in agreement. “What is the name of your pack?”

“They call themselves… The Children of the Moon.” The woman said as her eyes fluttered with exhaustion.

“What is your name?” Diana asked as the woman stared at her baby.

“Colleen…”

“Colleen, rest. We will take care of your baby.” Diana took the baby back into her arms and the woman passed out. It was like she just needed permission to sleep.

Aiden whistled and Diana jumped, startled by the speedy creature that raced next to Aiden.

“Is that a messenger fairy?” Diana asked as Aiden smiled and nodded his head.

“When I marked you, I gave you the gift of fairy sight.” He pulled out some paper and scribbled on it quickly. He handed it to the fairy, and it blurred out of sight. “I sent a message to my father. The Children of the Moon have been a pack we have been meaning to touch base with. Now, it seems we can’t wait any longer.”

Twigs snapped and Jamie emerged with Kurt following him slowly.

“They jumped into the river and headed towards the shriek woods.” Jamie huffed as he walked closer. “Kurt almost had one of them, but he seemed a bit distracted. What is… Kurt?” Jamie asked as he noticed his fixated eyes.

“Kurt?” Aiden asked as he rose to his feet to walk over to him. “Are you okay?”

“Mate.” He whispered, and they all glanced in shock at the unconscious woman.

“She has a baby…” Jamie said and Diana nodded her head slowly.

“This child’s father was killed by the Children of the Moon because he was a fairy.” She whispered as the baby began to cry loudly.

Kurt walked up to Diana and reached his arms out. “May I?” He asked. Diana glanced at Aiden, who nodded his head. Slowly, she eased the baby into Kurt’s arms, who brought the baby up to his chest. Almost instantly, the baby stopped crying and just stared up at Kurt with eyes full of wonder.

“Don’t worry little one. You and your mother are safe now.”