Page 19 of Rejected and Pregnant by the Lycan King

10

Maximus

The sun shone through the slits of the curtains, filling the room with its orange and yellow light. The warmth of the room and the delicate feel of Kylie’s body wrapped around me made it hard to want to open my eyes. I felt her arm on my chest and a leg around mine as her body pressed against me. There was a wetness on my shoulder, and her mouth was open as soft snores filled my ears.

My mate. The person who completed me and was the other half of my soul. People said sex with your mate was mind-blowing, and I had to agree. Everything was perfect. Kylie might not have known how to do certain things, but it was as if her body did. I loved everything about last night. Once we thought we were finished, a simple touch from her made me hard again, and I needed her before I exploded. It wasn’t until we noticed the sky changing to a softer color, signaling that morning was approaching, that we collapsed and fell asleep.

While she touched me and remained asleep on my chest, I wanted nothing more than to roll her over and mark her as mine. My lycan urged me to mark her throughout the night. Despite his pleas, I succumbed to my needs to sink myself into her tight, wet pussy over and over until I was too exhausted to do anything else.

There was a lot to get done before the bonding ceremony. Increased security was one thing since there was a chance someone would try to take Kylie from me to stop me from becoming more powerful than I was right now. It happened to Talon, and he damn near didn’t come back from that. His lycan stood on the edge of becoming completely feral, and then someone would have needed to be sent in to kill him before he took his kingdom down with him. Then, there was the task of inviting everyone and managing everything else that went into the bonding ceremony on top of it. If I didn’t untangle myself from my mate’s arms, I’d have to mark her and then present her to the kingdom instead. It was rude to do that, and my father raised me better.

It was hard to move without waking her, but I managed to get out of bed and head to the shower without disturbing her. I turned on the hot water and waited for it to get steaming hot before stepping in. The warmth of the water felt good on my muscles and skin. Tension uncoiled from my body that I hadn’t even known was there.

Why did that keep happening? Since Kylie entered my life, things had descended into chaos. I still needed to deal with Alexander for his mistreatment of his pack, and now, there was everything with this bonding ceremony. Kylie hadn’t even begunher training on how to create the schedules for the omegas or anything else she could help me with in running this pack.

Last night, the bond pulsed within me, urging me to mark her, but I was too focused on covering every inch of her with my scent and bringing her to new levels of desire to hear her scream my name. Moments of wanting to mark her would come to mind, but I kept pushing them down. Still, something kept telling me not to. It was as if a voice in my head convinced me I shouldn’t mark her. The kingdom knew I’d brought my mate home, and I commanded the unmated males in the pack to avoid her, which helped prevent my need to kill them.

Yet, as I stood in the shower, contemplating the work I needed to do today, I couldn’t figure out why I should care so much about who talked to Kylie. The thought of her speaking to another male annoyed me, but it didn’t create the rage it should have inside me.

Though I knew Kylie wouldn’t go anywhere, that could be why. Her lack of confidence kept her from believing another man would be interested, and she was probably too afraid to talk to anyone except her friend, who was now married to Eli. It was great for them both to become part of this pack. Kylie had someone to lean on while I wasn’t around, yet yesterday she seemed to venture out far enough to overhear the things Nova said.

Kylie’s lycan not being strong enough to shift when needed would be a problem. Then, I witnessed Kylie being terrified to be around the pack, which presented me with a challenge I didn’t know how to face. How could I help her through all of her issues when I had never experienced anything like this in my life?

The temperature of the water turned cold as I finished washing myself. It didn’t take me long to put on my clothes and check on Kylie. Once again, she was in a deep sleep—probably wouldn’t have stirred if I’d blasted a blowhorn. After last night, she likely needed the rest, so I let her sleep.

As I walked to my office, I pulled up images from last night and felt my lips curl into a smile. Since the moment Kylie walked into my life, she had been too weak to stand for long periods. Over the last four days, she’d been in the hospital to heal and was still too weak to meet the pack. Yet last night, it was as if the wildness inside her had unleashed, and whatever had afflicted her and her lycan disappeared.

Only when we touched her,my lycan pointed out,did her strength grow.

That is stillan issue. We cannot be in constant contact with her.

We do not have to be.

If the only time she is strong enough to be on her own is when we’re touching her, then yes—we do.

My lycan stopped arguing. He must have agreed with me for him to stop, which meant he saw the same problem I did. Kylie needing our touch to be strong enough to do day-to-day activities was not a sign of a strong mate. The Moon Goddess truly misunderstood the assignment when making her my mate.

Natural light spilled throughout the pack house because every curtain was open. Every pack member I saw bowed their head and tilted their neck in submission as they passed me. The one thing I could say about bringing Kylie home was that the packcould sense my happiness, and it trickled down into the rest of the pack. They all seemed equally happy since I returned home with Kylie, and it made my job easier knowing they were all so content. The alpha and luna of packs were the strength and heart. If they weren’t happy, neither was the pack. Another reason I needed to make sure I mated the right person. We would need to do a pack run soon, and I hoped by then Kylie would be strong enough to run with us, too.

When I stepped into my office, I groaned immediately when I noticed Nova—her blonde hair framing her face, and her clothes once again too small to fit her figure properly. The short skirt left little to the imagination, and her breasts were one sneeze away from breaking free of the dress’s tight confines. I would never be with this woman, regardless of whether I had a mate or not.

“What are you doing here, Nova? Aren’t you supposed to be… anywhere else?” I grumbled as I walked around her to sit in my chair.

The best way to deal with her would be to ignore her and possibly command her to leave me be. If I wanted to be a good alpha and king, though, I needed to listen to my pack and allow them to come to me with their needs. Nova may only want to discuss something related to pack business, so I needed to hear her out.

“Well, for someone who smells like their mate—like they had sex all night—you seem awfully wound up.”

Interesting. Normally, the bonding of both parties was required for the scent to linger like that on someone. If it was still strong enough to allow others to scent it on me, it could mean the bond was further along with being completed than I thought.

“I have much to do with very little time to do it. If there is anything you wish to discuss with me, you’d best get on with it so I can tend to my duties.”

Nova hopped off my desk and pulled the chair closer. When she rested both elbows on it, I already knew what was coming. She puffed out her chest and lay her chin in her hands. An onlooker might take this as her intently listening to anything I had to say, but I knew that look. I’d seen it before. Nova planned on trying to win me over.

“You know, you’ve been on this throne for five years now. You’ve ruled this kingdom all by yourself for all those years. It’s time for you to settle down and choose your queen.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “Did you forget the part about me bringing my mate home and the ceremony for her to become my bonded mate and queen?”

She smiled, exposing her white teeth that glistened in the light. I could see why she was considered attractive by many members of the pack. She had high cheekbones, perfect teeth, a magnificent smile, and the allure of a perfect hourglass figure. I had entertained thoughts of bedding her before, but I knew it would be a dangerous thing to do, especially if I ever wanted to bring a true mate home someday.

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