Chapter Four

Kavan 

  I sat at the round table with the other Lycan Kings, trying my best to appear interested as they babbled on and on about their packs and their latest conquests. The six of them haven't stopped trying to talk over each other and saying I was bored out of my mind would be an understatement. 

Everything they were talking about was things that I had heard quite several times and even though their repetitive stories didn't surprise me all that much, I was still very irritated by their pathetic attempts to outshine each other and brag about their mediocre achievements. 

  

Speaking right now was Lycan King Mario, with his obnoxious demeanor and his obsession with bragging about his collection of pets like it was some kind of respectable achievement.

 He hadn't stopped talking about how his pack was expanding, and how he was adding to his harem of branded women, making him the Lycan King with the most pets.  

I honestly could never understand how forcefully branding women and keeping them for sexual pleasure was a thing of pride to any other of these men. 

The mere thought of doing such made me feel sick to my stomach and because of my disinterest in their tradition, the older kings never failed to remind me that I was young and immature, hence why I was refusing to own a pet. 

I glared at Mario and the rest of his cohorts from across the table, my hands clenching into fists beneath the surface. I wanted nothing more than to call him out on his disgusting behavior, but I already had a reputation for being stubborn and I knew that calling him out or having any reaction at all would only cause an unnecessary scene.

 Instead, I tried to tune him out, focusing my attention on the goblet of wine in front of me. 

As I sipped my drink, my gaze wandered around the room, taking in the various faces of the other Lycans, their Betas, and their pets. 

I was casually just looking around to while away time but as soon as my eyes met with hers, that moment, everything else faded away. 

The noise of the room, and the chatter of the other Lycans, all fell silent as I took in her beauty and how I was instantly captivated by her.

Her dark hair fell in waves around her face, her eyes sparkled like emeralds and I felt a jolt of electricity run through me as my wolf immediately sensed who she was; my mate.

She sat at the edge of the room, looking almost lost in the sea of Lycans around her and I could also tell that she was quite nervous. 

I still couldn't believe that out of all the places I could have met her, it just had to be at the Lycan King's meeting. 

It was most certainly the last thing I expected, and I couldn't deny the instant connection I felt with her even though I knew this wasn't the right place or time to be feeling this way.

I desperately wanted to approach her, to confirm whether or not she felt the same way. I could tell that she had reacted when our eyes met earlier but because of how quickly she looked away, I couldn't be too sure if she had because she senses the mate bond or if it was because she was uncomfortable keeping eye contact. 

I wanted to talk to her and introduce myself but when I noticed that she was seated beside Murad, who happened to be my number one enemy, I knew I had to stay back and resist the urge I had. 

My heart sank when I realized that she was his branded pet and therefore belonged to him, which meant that talking to her was going to be almost impossible. 

I watched as he whispered into her ears and then a faint and forced smile appeared on her face, almost like she was programmed to keep it on to avoid displeasing her master. 

I sat calmly, still unable to shake off the feeling that I needed to be closer to her as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, there was no way for me to openly approach her because it was forbidden for pets to speak to anyone without their master's permission, and since Murad and I aren't exactly best of friends, there was no way he'd let me glance at his pet, much less look at her. 

My mind was in complete disarray as I traced the outline of the table with my finger, barely focusing on anything that was going on. 

It felt like all the eyes in the room were focused on me as my nerves got the better of me. I had met my mate, a moment I had been longing for forever but it wasn't a straightforward meeting like I had imagined it would be. 

She was one of Murad's pets and that realization alone had dampened my spirits, making it almost impossible for me to focus on anything else or even care for anything else. 

I tried to direct my focus back to what was happening but it was almost impossible for me to do that. I couldn't focus on anything that was being said during the meeting and at a point, I didn't even know what was going on or what was being said. 

Every time I tried to concentrate on whoever was giving a speech, my mind would wander back to Murad's side of the table and the beautiful woman that was seated next to him.

I couldn't help but steal glances at her, even when I told myself not to make it too obvious, and every time I did, I would see Murad's possessive grip on her, and it made me feel all the more restless and distracted.

My beta, Jason, who was seated next to me, noticed my uneasiness and he casually turned to look at me with a confused expression on his face.

 "Is it just me or are you being a little too uncomfortable and shaky?" he asked and I furrows my brows in confusion, pretending not to understand what he was going on about. 

"What do you mean by that?" I asked.

 He sighed. "You're being weird, Kavan. You haven't stopped shaking your legs for a few minutes now and you keep turning back and forth like someone that's on the run. What's going on with you, buddy? Is everything okay?" he whispered calmly, leaning in to avoid being heard by anyone else. 

I tried to brush off his concern, "Nothing's wrong, Jace. I'm just fine," I responded casually but Jason wasn't convinced.

"Don't lie to me, man," he persisted, "You're acting like you have ants in your pants. Something's definitely up and I want you to tell me the truth," he demanded, staring at me with a displeased look on his face. 

I took a quick look at Jason, deliberating whether or not to express what was bothering me. The frustration and restlessness were almost too much to bear and I needed to talk to someone about it before I ended up losing my mind. 

"Jason, let's talk outside. There's something on my mind but I can't start explaining with this many people in the room," I said, tilting my head slightly to show that some people's attention where on us. 

Understanding immediately, Jason nodded.

The room seemed to grow quieter as we stood up, and I could hear whispers being exchanged almost as soon as we got up from our seats. 

For a second, I had thought one of the other kings would question where I was headed but thankfully, they were too engrossed in their bragging session to care about the fact that I was exiting the meeting. 

As we walked outside the hall, the cold air and serenity on the outside immediately soothe my nerves but the thoughts of my mate still plagued me, making it almost impossible for me to relax.

"What's going on, Kavan?" Jason asked, his eyes scanning my face for clues.

Sighing deeply, I composed myself before blurting it all out, "I saw her today, Jason. The lady I've been waiting for all these years, my mate, I finally saw her," I informed him and almost immediately his expression switched from confused to shocked and then to excitement. 

 "Wait, what? You met your mate? Here?" he asked and I nodded my head in confirmation.

 "Holy mother of the moon! That's great news, buddy. Why do you have that gloomy look on your face when it's such great news?" Jason asked, his expression switching to confusion again. 

"Well, I'm supposed to be happy that I finally met her but I can't be because as it turns out, she is one of Murad's pets," I explained. 

Every hint of excitement on Jason's face disappeared almost immediately, replaced immediately with a scowl. 

 "Are you being serious right now? She's that idiot's pet?" he asked. 

"Unfortunately," I replied. 

"Son of a bitch!" he cussed angrily. 

 "That is one tough situation, brother. You know the rules already," he said, and the remainder was the last thing I wanted to hear. 

I couldn't help but feel the pangs of disappointment and worry that had engulfed my being. It almost felt like fate was playing a cruel joke on me, teasing me with my soulmate, only to make it nearly impossible for me to pursue her.

"It just doesn't feel fair, Jace," I said, running a hand over my face in frustration.

 "I've waited so long for her, and now that I've found her, she's completely out of reach. What sort of sick fate is that?" I hissed, unable to mask my frustrations. 

 Jason and I stayed quiet for a while. I was engrossed in my frustrated thoughts while Jason seemed to be thinking of something that I couldn't exactly comprehend. 

"You know what, buddy? Let's do something," he suddenly mentioned, bringing my attention back to him. 

"Do what?" I asked. 

"Don't you want to talk to her? At least once to know what she's like?" he asked.

I scoffed. "You think I didn't already imagine that? The reason I was so restless was because I was fighting the urge to get up, drag her away from that idiot, and take her home with me but you and I know I'd be ruining a lot of things if I did that," I reminded him and he sighed. 

 "How about we do this instead? You can't talk to her directly but, we can get someone else to talk to her on our behave. All we need to go keep Murad distracted for a few minutes, get her alone somewhere and you two can introduce yourselves for a few minutes and figure things out a bit," he suggested. 

 "Who are we going to get to talk to her?" I asked.

"You're the antisocial one, Kavan. Not me. I'll get someone, a female specifically to find a way to approach her and ask her to excuse herself for a bathroom break and while she's on that break, I'll keep Murad and some other kings distracted for about ten minutes. That should be enough to start a conversation with her and know where her head is at. Sound good?" Jason asked with a determined gaze on his face. 

A small light of hope shone in my chest as Jason explained his idea further and I let out a sigh of relief that he was willing to help me. 

 "Sounds great. Thank you," I replied and smiled a little, gently patting my shoulder. 

"Don't worry too much, brother. You are going to talk to that woman and you had better not waste the chance when you get it. I'm off," he said, immediately disappearing back into the hall, while I remained outside, nervous at the thought of speaking to my mate for the first time.