CHAPTER Four: Wolf Kingdom Part One

Jayden's POV:

I could see Kayden was worried about something; his stiff shoulders and ridge walk gave it away despite how much he tried hiding it. Plus, we were twins; I unconsciously knew what my brother was feeling and thinking; it was a twin thing, a connection we shared with no other than amongst us. He always felt guilty after sleeping with that she-wolf; I knew he wanted to go back in time and erase that day from existence. Even though I had chosen to move on didn't mean the guilt didn't linger. It was mine and Kayden's promise to our future mate that we would remain loyal to ger till we met her but that all went to shit.

What was worse, all the high and mighty talk about remaining faithful went down the drain; we didn't stop once he had slept with those she-wolves. As hypocritical as it was, sex became an outlet to let out our frustration one way or another. It wasn't like we ever forced a she-wolf or were rough to the point where they were left handicapped. No, it was just sex, a method to release, with no strings attached.

Kayden was better in that department than me; he had never had sex with anyone other than Christan, the same she-wolf he slept with five years ago on our twenty-fourth birthday. However, that she-wolf was cracked in the head. She had been convinced that Kayden was in love with her because she was the only she-wolf he ever slept with but wasn't admitting it in fear of his mate showing up. Little did she know that she was his whore, well concubine, to put it respectfully. On the other hand, I slept with an array of she-wolves, but the goal was the same, just to let out frustration, never once anything more than that. However, that didn't deter the she-wolves from trying. But Kayden used to get a more significant share of the ambitious ones since he was the eldest among us by a few minutes.

Just like Kayden, I longed for our Luna queen. Tomorrow we were ascending the throne; we should have been rejoicing, celebrating. We had trained all our lives for this moment, but it still felt like something was missing. It didn't take a genius to know it was due to the lack of our mate. Over the years, we had been advised to a take chosen mate, but we denied it; even if we had to rule alone, we would do so but wouldn't take a chosen. The luna queen crown belonged to our mate and her alone. If it were up to us, we wouldn't even ascend until our beautiful luna was by our side, but mum and dad, we're getting old; they've been ruling for over a hundred years now: they wanted to retire. Maybe even have more kids, which was weird, but hey, whatever floats their boats, I guess, not like we aged or anything after twenty-one.

Looking towards Kayden again, I see he's still lost in thought; clearing my throat, gaining his attention, I said.

"So bro, what do you think about tomorrow's perp? I asked in a feeble attempt to divert his mind.

He stared at me for a few seconds with judgy eyes and said.

"You know you suck at small talk, right." He said, laughing at the end.

I couldn't help but chuckle.

"Dude, you gotta cheer up. You look like someone killed your pet turtle or something." I said.

He laughed, shaking his head. Once we reached the throne room, a wolf announced our presence; father and mother dismissed the court members around them, leaving just us and them in the throne room.

In front of everyone, we always remained emotionless, keeping physical contact at a minimum as well. Being royalty was ass-kicking hard, but these protocols were needed. If we used to give someone an inch, they would take a whole fucking step. We weren't ruthless leaders but firm, which was needed to maintain order in the realm.

Mum immediately had both of us in a death grip of a hug, with her small petite arms around our neck as we crouched down to her level. Queen Diana, our mother, was a tiny she-wolf, but she raged hell when needed; there was a time when even us and dad were scared of her. Her word was the law for dad and us, and to some extent, even now, it was.

"Honey let them breath; we need them for the coronation tomorrow," Dad said from behind her, grabbing his mate by the arms and snuggling her into his chest as he nuzzled into her neck, taking in her scent.

I had always envied our parent's relationship; they were fated, mates. A match made in wolf heaven for sure. They had dated from the age of fifteen despite knowing they might not be mates. At the time, from the stories, we heard that both of them were madly in love, which was insane. Mom was grandpa's beta's elder daughter, so dad and she had particular grown-up together. But, from what we heard, even though being madly in love, they still had a mutual understanding to let the other go if they were to find their mate, and there would be no animosity between them. But when dad turned eighteen a year before mom, his wolf confirmed mom as his fated mate. To say they were happy would be an understatement. The celebration was tremendous, from the pictures in the archive Kayden and I have seen. When looking at love like that, how could we take a chosen mate? And, deep down, we know our parents didn't want us to take a chosen mate either. On numerous occasions, Mom said that she wanted us to experience what she and dad felt because nothing can compare to it, even if they were harsh as monarchs, that never had shadowed their love for us. They had stood up for us in front of the court, bending the rules from time to time and even putting up with us; we owed them everything, and that was why we were taking the throne despite being reluctant to ascend without our mate by our side, we were still going to tomorrow. To give our parents a chance to live for themselves and not have the weight of the entire wolf and human realm on their shoulders. We were born for this, and it was time to stand up and take responsibility. Hopefully, soon, our mate can join us too.