the queen rushed over to him and took his arm, drawing him back toward the council table. "why don't you sit down, alpha lucas, and have refreshment? kai, darling, come and sit next to your future husband."

kai came forward slowly, as lucas carefully watched every step she took, clenching his fists to keep from going to her. when she reached them, he couldn't stop himself from taking her arm possessively. another jolt ran through him when he touched her, not nearly so strong this time, but strong enough to make him hiss in a breath. he gave a little cough to try hiding it, and pulled her close by his side. only when he had her close to him like this did his wolf subside a little, calming back down because its mate was close and under his control. they followed the queen back to the long table where the council members were seated, but instead of joining them at the far end of the table, he sat down among his family members, with kai at his side. only then did he begin to feel more comfortable.

for his mate's part, she was wide-eyed and looked a bit frightened-not surprising, considering she was surrounded by the six huge lycan alphas. she was tall herself, like all the scythians, but she lacked the bulk of the lycans. she was far more delicate, though from what he could see of it through the robes she wore, her body was beautiful. lucas looked around at his brother and cousins and saw them giving kai surreptitious looks of admiration and even lust. so they felt it too, though the expressions of wanting on the faces of his unmated cousins caused him to feel even more aggressive. he stretched an arm around the back of kai's chair and gave each of them a menacing look. konnor laughed and shoved an elbow into kyle's side. kyle had the good grace to look guilty and stare down at his plate.

servants brought out food that lucas was unfamiliar with, but he sampled each of the dishes they held out to him. "i do hope you enjoy the wild gallion, alpha. our hunters are quite skilled. kai herself killed this one in preparation for this feast."

"is that so, kai?" he asked her quietly. "do you enjoy hunting then?"

"yes," kai answered softly. her voice had an odd pitch-not unpleasing, but husky and soft.

when she didn't elaborate, he tried again. "crossbow? or do you use other weapons?"

"we use bows, your majesty."

nikolai laughed shortly. "we don't use the fancy titles on lycanus, princess kai. just call him lucas."

kai flushed and nodded. lucas found her icy cold hand under the table and squeezed her fingers. she looked up at him in surprise and gave him the first genuine smile he'd seen from her. it was breathtaking. the smile twisted up her bow-shaped lips and lit up her golden brown eyes. the half-hard erection that remained from their first encounter became rigid again.

lucas hardly knew what he was eating, but it all tasted delicious, and he wondered if kai would like the lycan food as much. things would be so different for her on lycanus 3. he spent a great deal of time at the mines, overseeing the operation, and he wondered what she might do to fill her days. now that he knew she liked hunting, he could arrange an occasional excursion for her to the mountains, not far from balenescu city. the forests there were teeming with game. he thought he might put up some targets on his property too, so she could practice with her bow. his mind was so filled with possibilities, larssen had to say his name twice to get his attention.

"lucas. did you hear me? the queen said there'll be dancing after supper. what are you going to do?" it had long been a running joke how badly lucas danced. a large man, he still managed to move gracefully, except when it came to dancing. on the dance floor, he definitely had two left feet.

"don't worry about me, larssen. i'll sit here and talk to my fiancee."

"and miss out on a chance to hold kai in your arms?" larssen shook his head. "lucas is getting old-definitely getting old."

"i'll show you who's old, boy..." lucas said leaning over in front of kai to snarl playfully at his cousin. when he did, kai's strong scent assailed his nostrils. there was something-not quite right about it. underneath the oils and perfumes he could detect kai's own delicious, clean odor, but it didn't strike him as female. he leaned back and gazed thoughtfully at kai again. her hands were small, even delicate compared to lucas's own, but her jawline was firm and strong. despite the beauty of her lips and eyes, she had an androgynous vibe that disturbed lucas.

he wondered fleetingly if that could be the answer to this mystery of why he was so attracted to a female. some planets he'd been to in his travels had three sexes, male, female and intersex, who were some combination of male and female. he dismissed the idea almost at once, though. he'd never heard of it on scythia before, and their laws and customs were known to be conservative and very narrow-minded. certainly word would have gotten back to the alliance if one of the royal daughters had been intersex. the queen might have even asked for alliance protection for her child. no, that couldn't be it, yet there was something different about his mate, and he was determined to find out what it was.

it would make absolutely no difference in the possessiveness he felt for kai. he would be leaving here with her, no matter what. but lucas hated a mystery, and vowed to get to the bottom of this one.

the queen stood up to announce the musicians and lucas applauded politely along with everyone else. he was surprised to feel kai's soft breath along his cheek. leaning close to him, she whispered. "i really don't mind about the dancing. i don't like it much either. " her delectable scent wafted over lucas again, making him feel a little light-headed.

he turned his head and found those soft, bow-shaped lips just there, only inches away. all he had to do was lean slightly forward and...

"alpha lucas?" queen ashlan said. "would you and kai lead out the first dance for us, please?"

ignoring the muffled laughter coming from his end of the table, lucas arose and held out a hand to kai. he noticed right away that she was trembling, and he thought she must be shy. "come kai, let's get it over with, and then we can find a quiet nook to talk and get to know one another."

kai nodded and lucas led her to the floor. the top of her head came just past his chin, and their bodies fit together perfectly. she slid her arms around his neck and he pulled her close to him. kai's body felt wonderful against him, both leaner and harder than he would have thought. he knew she was active and athletic, as all the scythians were, but he had no idea she'd be so muscular, without the soft, feminine curves of most females. she felt perfect to him, yet when he lowered his head to her neck, he was overcome again by her unique scent. there was something else in the scent that he thought he might recognize, a slight smell of arousal that reminded him of something. hells, it smelled like-pre-cum. that was impossible-or was it?

seized by suspicion, he decided he'd get to the bottom of this mystery one way or the other. he pressed his body to hers, but felt no tell-tale bulging. when she felt him pressing against her, she tried to angle her body away. was that because of modesty, or some elaborate subterfuge?

the two of them didn't do a lot of dancing-mostly they stood in one place and swayed to the music, but it seemed to satisfy the onlookers, and soon other female couples of scythia joined them on the dance floor.

as soon as he finished one dance, lucas led kai from the floor, whispering to her. "let's see if we can find somewhere quiet to talk."

kai indicated a balcony on the side of the large reception room. "we could go there, if you like," she said in her soft, almost whispery voice.

lucas took her hand firmly in his and moved through the dancers toward the door. he caught blayde's eye. a nod and a silent message passed between them, and blayde stood up to station himself by the door to make sure they weren't interrupted.

lucas led kai outside to the balcony railings. they were on a top floor of the castle, so a large courtyard sprawled out almost four stories below them. above, scythia's moon hung in the sky like a golden lantern, not as big as the moon of lycanus 3, but still exerting its arousing influence on lucas's wolf. he could feel its restlessness inside him. lucas looked down at kai, and then nervously away. he didn't quite know how to broach his suspicions with her. he had no wish to insult her, but something was very wrong, and he needed to understand what it was.

she was shifting nervously from foot to foot beside him, so he turned to her and took her hand in his. "princess kai, i don't wish to seem insulting, but something is-not right. please, princess, tell me what it is. "he softly repeated his earlier question. "what exactly are you, kai?"

a sudden intake of breath was the only indication that she'd even heard him. a long moment passed and lucas began to think she wasn't going to answer him. her shoulders slumped and she turned slowly toward him. she looked deep into his eyes and there was an expression of bleak sadness in her own. speaking in a deeper, much more masculine voice, she heaved a sigh and said, "i think you must already know what i am."

fury swept over lucas so rapidly and overwhelmingly that his hand shook with it. this was a male in front of him. it was so obvious now that he was amazed-and furious-that he'd been fooled for even a moment. kai's eyes were pleading with him, but all lucas could focus on was the deception. these people had taken the lycans for fools, and tried to trick them. he was so completely angry, his hands shook, and his wolf leaped forward, uneasy and restless.

"you son of a bitch," he said, keeping his voice soft, but the look on his face must have been menacing. kai took what looked like an involuntary step backward. almost immediately, he seemed to gather himself. his entire facade changed as if someone had flipped a switch inside him. his body tensed, becoming harder and more aggressive. his golden brown eyes turned dark and hard.

"it wasn't meant to harm you."

"fuck that," lucas snarled, taking a step toward him, stalking him. "what the fuck does that mean? you and your mother and your council set out to trap me-to trick me and make a fool of me. how could that not harm me? they were going to foist you off as a female-and you..." lucas paused, his voice trembling with rage, "you went along with it, pretending to be a woman." he let his gaze travel up and down him. "what's wrong with you?"