The 5-time Rejected Gamma & the Lycan King
Chapter 1

Chapter 1

“Would you like to do it, your Highness, or should I?” She looked at theLycan King indifferently, whose lilac eyes of affection were suddenlyintruded by confusion.

“Wh-what do you mean?” He asked as he tried to concentrate on thebeautiful voice of the woman in front of him, his mate. He was here fora meet-and-greet session that he dreaded. The worst thing was thatthis session among Alphas, Lunas and their Gammas from every pack inexistence was to last for the entire night! “Why couldn't they just skipthis night and officially start the one-month collaboration tomorrow?’the King thought to himself every year.

She raised her eyebrows as she studied his expression, “Huh. You dolook genuinely confused.”

His eyebrows furrowed, confused and irritated now, “Again, what doyou mean? And what is your name?”

The Alphas, Lunas and the best warrior of each pack, called Gammas,just arrived and he, as their benevolent King, was here to greet themAlthough, if he were given a choice, this King would have rather beengoing through the reports of rogue attacks that were steadily piling upon his desk. He couldn't wait to get the night over with. If he made hisrounds quickly enough, he would still reach home on time to getthrough three or four files before bed. But when he walked through thedoors of the gathering hall, his impatience, reluctance and pure hate forthe meet-and-greet vaporized in an instant.

“My name is Lucianne Freesia Paw, your Highness. I take it that you'regoing to do it, then?” She said simply. To the King, her name felt likethe first spring breeze after many long months of harsh winter, the softlight penetrating through the grey clouds, the breath of life in a cold,dark world.

"Do what?" His confusion couldn't be masked even if he tried. He feltlike his mate was already ten feet away when he had only taken the firststep.

When he entered the hall, every wolf and Lycan present looked in hisdirection and they either nodded or bowed but he merely glanced overthem. The animal in him was following a scent that has never graced hisnostrils. Butterfly pea and jasmine. “What a unique combination’, hethought to himself. His footsteps gained speed as the scent gotstronger.

Then, he stopped right behind a five-foot-one brunette. Her back wassmall, half of it covered with dark, luscious curls falling effortlessly fromher head. There was only one word in his mind — mate. The figurestarted turning around to face him, and his heart stopped. She wassurprised by his sudden presence and took a step back. The animal inhis head growled, “Mine’.

Lucianne turned around because she noticed the stunned faces of herAlpha and Luna, who both bowed in her direction. Upon turning, shecame face-to-face with a white suit covered with a black tuxedo, and astrong scent of acacia wood and forest trees graced her nostrils.Shocked at the proximity, she took a step back to see who it was.Realizing that the dark-haired man with slightly tanned skin and lilaceyes was the King himself, she understood her pack leaders’ action.She, too, bent her knees and lowered her head as a form of respect tothe highest ruler of all werewolves and Lycans.

A warm feeling crept up her shoulders before she felt the sparks wherehis hands made contact with her skin. To her dread, she realised thatthe man in front of her was her mate who spoke in his clear, deep voice,“You don't have to do that. Please stand. Don’t bow to me.” He saidwith visible pain and disapproval in his eyes.

Although surprised by the King's response, Lucianne couldn't escapeher reality of how the bond was going to end. “Here we go again’, shethought, before proceeding to ask whether he wanted her to do it, orthat he wanted to do it himself - to reject her.

“Do what, Lucianne? Talk to me.” His voice was soft but demanding. Hiseyes were desperate and lost.

She explained calmly, “Reject me, your Highness. Do you prefer it if Idid it or would you like to do it yourself?” The hope and life she gavehim earlier seemed like it was about to be snatched away from himalmost as soon as he found them.

The King's lilac eyes turned onyx as he growled thunderously, scaringeveryone who was there. The room fell into dead silence. After heexploded in anger at what he had just heard, the King asked in a low,frightening tone, “Why the f*ck would either one of us reject theother?”

Lucianne was surprised again but she remained calm. She shruggedand said, “I don’t know. Maybe it's because I'm not your type, not goodenough for you, not pretty enough, you may already have a chosenmate to be engaged to...” before she could finish, her Luna hissed,“Stop it, Lucy!”

The King's eyes met the Luna's as he growled, “I didn't ask you tospeak.”

The Luna and her Alpha mate lowered their heads in unison as a sign ofapology. No right-minded wolf would challenge a Lycan, let alone theKing of Lycans.

The King faced his mate again. His eyes softened a little by how daintyand beautiful she looked. Why did she want to take herself away fromhim? He asked in a murderous tone, “Who told you those things?”Lucianne’s eyes turned wide abruptly, “Oh no, your Highness. That's notwhat I meant. It's just... that's what my previous mates told me beforeor after they rejected me so I was just giving you an idea on what I'mtalking about.”

His angered eyes bore into her unperturbed ones as he asked in adangerously low tone, “Do you want to reject me?”

She took a moment to think. No one had ever asked her this question."That's a very difficult question to answer, your Highness. I don't evenknow you. I admit that there is the mate bond for now, and I doacknowledge that I feel the sparks but whether I want the rejection...hm, I honestly don’t know. But then again, what I wanted never reallymattered. My previous mates pretty much decided it for me. That, orthey made my decision easy. I do prefer an earlier rejection when thereare no memories made as of yet because it would hurt much less. Doesthat make sense, your Highness?"

Xandar responded firmly, “No. And stop calling me “your Highness". Youare my mate and I am yours. The mate bond is there for now andforever. The sparks will get stronger. And neither of us are rejecting theother.” There was fury in his voice but also desperation. Desperation tonot lose his mate when he had just found her. Desperation for her toaccept him and stay with him forever.

She nodded grudgingly once and bit her bottom lip as she dove intoher own thoughts.

He sighed. His eyes were gaining back their lilac shades as his fingersreached for her chin and lifted it up gently for their eyes to lock, “Whatare you thinking about, Lucianne?” His voice no longer held anger, onlygentleness and guilt.

She opened her mouth to say something but closed it after a secondthought. She smiled meekly and shook her head slightly before shesaid, “I was just thinking about the ceremony tomorrow. That's all.”“Lucianne,” he reached for her cheek this time as he said, “I'm sorry Iyelled at you. But don't lie to me, please. Tell me. What were youthinking about?”

Her eyes dimmed as she looked at the ground, and Xandar felt hisheart clenching by her saddened look. She composed herself andmuttered, “I can't understand why you won't reject me.”

“Because you're my mate!” He whisper-yelled, not that it helped. In aroom filled with Lycans and werewolves known for their sharp hearing,it was without a doubt that everyone heard their King.

“Okay.” She said meekly and forced a smile. No one had to tell him thatshe was unconvinced by how he felt about her. But why would shedoubt him? The mate bond was supposed to automatically signify loveand commitment. Why didn’t she believe him? His hand suddenly had amind of its own as it began tracing her right arm in hopes of soothingher and chasing away her doubts. When he felt the unevenness of herskin, he wasted no time taking a step to her side to examine the cause.There was a 5-inch scar. Injuries and wounds could heal but for somebrutal attacks and accidents, a scar would remain. The King's eyesdarkened again, and he growled so loudly that the werewolves aroundthem took a step back as they held their heads low.

“What? What is it?” Lucianne frantically asked, equally alarmed. She feltthe scar on her arm with her left hand but she wasn't sure what the fusswas about so she looked at the King in confusion, whose onyx eyeswere still glued there.

He pushed her left hand away gently and started tracing the scar withhis fingers. Lucianne fought through the pleasurable sparks eruptingfrom that area. With his eyes still fixed there, he asked in a low,homicidal tone, “Who did this?”

Lucianne shrugged, “It was just the rogues. Five, maybe six years ago.It's just a dried-up part of the skin, isn't it?”

His dark eyes never left the part of her flesh that was once torn so badlythat its appearance never healed. He then locked eyes with Lucianne ashe asked in dismay, “How are you okay with this?”

“Your Highness, I'm..."

"Xandar.”

"What?"

“Don't call me by my title or my full name. It's just Xandar to you,Lucianne.” He insisted.

She hesitated, “Xandar,” she began, clearly not used with this manner ofaddressing the King, “A scar is normal among warriors, more so amongGammas. If you check the bodies of the other Gammas here today,you'll replace that many of them have scars as well. Some may be worsethan mine. I know a few Alphas and a handful of Lunas who have suchscars from fighting alongside their pack. This really isn't a big deal.”

He listened to her words, and his eyes softened at how she shoved herown ordeal aside to put other warriors and pack leaders under thespotlight of bravery. No one knew that, at that time, whatever Luciannesaid only made their King more certain that there was no one morequalified to lead alongside him as his Queen.

His heart ached when his gaze returned to the scar on his beautifulmate. When he bent down and was close to kissing it, Lucianneabruptly retracted her arm as she uttered, “Perhaps that is not the mostappropriate thing to do, given this setting.”

He had completely forgotten about the people around them. He onlysaw her. With those words, he was pulled back into reality. He smiled,making the Lycans in the room stunned. The King never smiled. Never.He then said, “You're right. I would like to meet your pack leaders,Lucianne. Introduce us?”

"Of course.” She smiled, and waved her Alpha and Luna over. Theywalked towards the King and bowed, their heads still facing the groundas Lucianne said, “These are Alpha Juan and Luna Hale of the BlueCrescent Pack, your High—- Xandar.” She abruptly decided againstaddressing Xandar by his title when she saw, from the corner of hereye, that he was about to make a fuss.

“Heads up, leaders of the Blue Crescent Pack.” Xandar said with a smile.When their heads were raised, Xandar thrusted out his hand in AlphaJuan's direction, “I want to personally thank you for leading the rogueattack up North last year. The rogues would've continued to wreakhavoc if it weren't for your pack’s leadership and contribution.”

The King remembered reading a report on the successful annihilationof one of the strongest rogue packs in the previous year, and had longknown the Blue Crescent Pack was at the forefront of the victory. It wassaid that this pack held the trust of the other packs, and was respectedfor the leadership displayed. There were many testimonials from otherpack warriors who thanked the Blue Crescent Pack, saying that they“had learnt a lot" in terms of strategy and combat.

Alpha Juan and Luna Hale were both stunned by the King'sgraciousness. It was no secret that one should just be grateful to notget killed. It was not customary for the King to hand out praises.

Juan took the King's hand and shook it once before he admittedsheepishly, “As your subjects, we are more than grateful to assist inyour endeavors, your Highness. But my Luna and I cannot take creditfor the success last year. We may be the largest in size in our pack, butour Gamma, Lucy,” Juan motioned in Lucianne’s direction, beforecontinuing, “was the strategist, the best trainer and warrior, be it on thebattlefield last year or within our own pack. I'm her subordinate when itcomes to training. She was the one who led us to victory.”

Lucianne was biting her bottom lip. When she knew what Juan wasgoing to say, she tried to stop him through their mind-link but hedidn't bother listening to her. Her eyes were fixed on the ground as sheprayed for the moment to be over. She couldn't see it but Xandar's eyesbeamed with admiration for her. When he noticed that her eyes werepinned to the ground, he frowned and asked in concern, “Lucianne,what's wrong?”

She shook her head slightly and responded meekly, “Nothing. Justtired.”

He nodded in understanding. Most wolves had to travel a long way toLycan territory so it was a given that they would be drained when theyarrived. He turned to face everyone as he announced, “My fellowsubjects, I thank you for making the trip here. Let this night be thebeginning of a worthwhile collaboration between packs and species.Please have some food if you haven't already. I would like to meetevery one of you. Give me a few minutes. I will be right back to thankevery pack who has assisted me these past few years. Enjoy theevening.”

The speech left everyone surprised. The King was never this welcoming.It was no secret that he hated this night every year. But now he was notonly welcoming them with open arms, he promised to thank the helpfulpacks personally!

Disregarding the stares, he turned to Lucianne and said, “Lucianne, youshould get some rest. Let me walk you back.”

She looked at her pack leaders in panic but Juan said, “We'll be fine,Lucy. Go. You hardly slept last night.”

Xandar's heart clenched again with Juan's words but he chose to saynothing. When his hand fell on Lucianne’s small waist, she gasped andstiffened but made no move to push it away. So, he left his hand thereas he led her out of the hall.