Chapter 2
That night, I officially move into Blackthorne Estate.
My room is on the second floor, close to Noah’s. Ronan lives on the third.
When Gideon gives me the key, he points toward the stairs. “The third floor is His Majesty’s private space. No wolf may enter without his permission.”
“One applicant once slipped upstairs in the middle of the night and tried to leave her scent there. She was expelled from Blackthorne territory before sunrise.”
I nod immediately. “I won’t go up there.”
After being abandoned by my fated mate, I have no desire to get close to another male—not even the Lycan King.
At six the next morning, Ronan comes downstairs wearing a thunderous expression. By then, I have already spent half an hour howling outside the estate with Noah and several warriors.
I raise Storm over my head. “Next round. Go!”
Noah throws back his head. “Awoooo!”
The warriors answer with a painfully weak chorus. I lift Storm again and announce, “Noah wins!”
Then I place a piece of roasted meat on his plate. “Only the loudest wolf earns breakfast.”
Noah devours it and immediately raises his chin for another try. “Awoo! Awoooo!”
“Elara!”
Ronan’s icy voice cracks behind me, making my whole body jerk. He strides over, anger burning beneath his dark-gold eyes.
“It is six in the morning. What exactly are you making Noah do?”
The force of his Lycan aura draws my back tight, but Noah immediately steps between us. “Dad, we’re having a howling contest!”
He proudly lifts his nearly empty plate. “I’ve won six times. I earned all this breakfast!”
Gideon clears his throat, looking conflicted. “Your Majesty, Elara’s methods are certainly unusual. However, Prince Noah normally refuses breakfast entirely, and he has already eaten more than half of it today.”
Ronan looks at the Royal Guards who have been howling with his son. A muscle jumps in his forehead.
“Does breakfast require my Royal Guard to howl with him?”
Holding Storm aloft, I answer with complete seriousness, “Storm says a contest is more exciting with more wolves.”
Ronan stares wordlessly at the stuffed wolf for several seconds. Then his gaze drops to Noah’s round, breakfast-filled belly.
At last, he closes his eyes. “Come to my study.”
I do not dare delay. After asking Gideon to take Noah inside for water, I go to the study alone.
Ronan is seated behind his desk with several documents laid out before him. He looks up as I enter.
“You’re good with pups. Have you ever had one?”
“No. I used to work at Holloway Pack School, and later I spent two years caring for Grant’s sister’s children.”
Once I became Luna, Grant’s family would not allow me to continue working. Yet whenever they needed someone to watch their pups, they still came to me.
Ronan gives a slight nod. “Grant Holloway was your fated mate?”
“He was.”
“Why did he reject you?”
“He needed a Luna from a ranked bloodline.” I lower my eyes. “And I’m only an Omega.”
Ronan watches me in silence before pushing two documents across the desk.
“You’ve seen the notice. Noah has no sense of security. He refuses to leave the estate, won’t eat on schedule, and will not attend Pack School.”
His fingers tap the papers. “I cannot always stay beside him, so I need a patient she-wolf to become his mother. We will sign a Royal Contract Mate Agreement and register a Mating Decree with the High Council.”
“You will have no say in my private life and no real authority as Lycan Queen. We will also sign a property agreement. Blackthorne’s royal assets and inheritance rights will have nothing to do with you.”
I nod. “I understand.”