Chapter 2 Lycan Prince Marco

I reached for the light switch when I suddenly froze. I wasn''t alone in the room, and a low, wolfish growl confirmed it.

"Mate," he murmured.

**Tanya''s POV**

Despite my heartbreak, I let Alina dress me however she wanted. I stared at myself in the mirror, hardly believing what I saw. I looked like a freaking princess. The emerald dress Alina picked out hugged my curves perfectly and made me look... well, stunning. I knew I was pretty, but I never thought I looked *this* good.

"And for the final touch," she announced, "perfume."

"I''ve got some," I said, pulling out the bottle I''d made recently from my purse. This perfume was inspired by a scent that always lingered in my mind. Malik, my boss at the perfume shop, must have known how much it meant to me because he gave it to me as a birthday gift.

"Smells amazing," Alina said, spraying it all over me before handing it back. "Come on, we''re gonna have so much fun," she said, dragging me out onto the street.

Alina strutted down the sidewalk like she owned the place. While she was used to pretty, slightly revealing clothes, I definitely wasn''t—and it made me super nervous. My anxiety spiked even more when I noticed way more people than usual crowding the streets.

"What''s going on?" I asked Alina. "Why are there so many people out?"

"It''s Eric''s engagement party," she replied like I should obviously know who that was.

"Eric?" I asked.

"Eric is the first prince of the Mador Kingdom," Alina explained. "And he''s getting engaged to Lily, the daughter of the most powerful Wolf family tonight."

"Oh!" I said.

That totally explained why the streets were packed with people celebrating. In the Mador Kingdom, all packs were ruled by the Lycan King, who had two sons—the first prince and the second prince. Only the King and his two sons were Lycans; the rest of us were just Wolves.

Our pack, the Blackhide Pack, lived near the capital where the Ironclaw Pack was based, and wolves from the capital often wandered into our territory. But I''d never seen this many people on the streets before.

Alina grabbed my hand and expertly weaved us through the crowd. My anxiety followed me as she led me to an outdoor bar that was so packed you could easily get lost in the sea of people. Alina pushed through to the bar and ordered us drinks.

It was my first time drinking alcohol and I hesitated, but she encouraged me. She kept telling me to relax, though I found that pretty much impossible. Alina disappeared for a few minutes and I nearly panicked, especially when different guys started hitting on me. I was about to bolt when Alina reappeared and shooed them away.

"What''s this?" I asked as Alina shoved a keycard into my hands.

"We''re definitely getting wasted tonight," she giggled. "And Mom would kill us if we came home drunk. We''ll crash at this hotel nearby and go home in the morning."

She must have seen the doubt on my face because she quickly reassured me that everything would be fine. I was about to argue with Alina when a huge screen overlooking the bar lit up and the crowd erupted in applause.

"It''s Eric and Lily!" Alina shouted as the screen showed a gorgeous guy and a stunning woman dressed in flashy, expensive ceremonial clothes. The applause died down and I overheard two girls talking nearby. They were whispering, but I could hear them since I was standing close.

"Eric is so hot," the first girl said.

She wore a super short, tight pink dress. She was thin with an unusually long neck and kept batting her eyelashes.

"He really is," the second girl replied. She was the complete opposite—short, stocky neck and a round, chubby body. "The girl''s gorgeous too. I heard she''s the most beautiful woman in the capital."

"I believe it," the long-necked girl said. "She was born eighteen years ago, on the night of the harvest moon."

My heart sank. Lily and I were born at the exact same moment. The harvest moon only came once a year, and legend said that any female wolf born under the harvest moon grew up to be incredibly powerful and beautiful.

The universe might have blessed me with beauty, but it definitely forgot to give me any powers. Lily and I might have been born at the same moment, but her fate was way better than mine.

I looked away from the screen and scanned the crowd. Everyone had huge smiles on their faces—everyone except him.

He stared at the screen with cold, icy eyes like he wished the engagement wasn''t happening. His gaze never wavered, and this freezing aura radiated from him like smoke from a dirty chimney. Despite his rigid posture, his face looked surprisingly calm, as if what was happening on screen didn''t matter to him at all—yet he was watching intently.

The guy suddenly downed his drink in one gulp, tore his gaze from the screen, and stared directly at me like he knew I''d been watching him. His piercing blue eyes startled me and I quickly turned back to the screen. The couple on screen kissed and the crowd went wild. I glanced back at the man, and the cold aura around him seemed to get even icier as the couple kept making out on screen.

"...so heartbreaking," the long-necked girl''s sad voice caught my attention. "I really feel bad for the second prince."

"Marco?" the chubby girl asked. "Why?"

"Didn''t you know?" Her whisper carried this juicy excitement like she was about to spill some major tea, and I immediately tuned in.

"Know what?" the fat girl asked, practically bouncing with curiosity.

"Lily is the second prince''s fated mate," the girl said. "They dated and were actually in love."

"Then why is she getting engaged to Eric, the first prince?" the chubby girl asked, her shocked expression matching mine.

"The second prince can''t become the Lycan king even though he''s the most powerful Wolf in Mador," the long-necked girl explained. "He''s the child of a surrogate and he''s cursed. So Lily had to marry Eric to become the Lycan queen."

"I can''t imagine how the second prince is feeling right now," the chubby girl sighed. "He..."

I thought I had the worst luck in the world, but I really felt sorry for the second prince. I knew what it was like to be rejected and looked down on, to be hated and denied what should be yours. I also knew how painful it was to be separated from your fated mate.

I looked away from the happy couple and searched for the man I''d seen earlier, but he''d vanished. I scanned the crowd until Alina bumped into me with a cup full of red liquid.

"Who are you looking for?" she asked.

"No one," I said quickly, eyeing the cup in her hand. "What''s that?"

"It''s for you," she giggled. "To help you relax and have fun so you can get back at your cheating boyfriend."

"I''m not sure," I stammered. "I..."

"Don''t be such a buzzkill," she pouted. "Drink up."

I didn''t really want to drink, but she was right. I needed to loosen up and have some fun. Plus, she really seemed to want me to drink it, and I didn''t want to disappoint someone who was looking out for me.

"Good," she clapped excitedly as I downed the drink. "I''ll go get more," she said and disappeared again.

Soon after she left, I got dizzy like the whole world was a merry-go-round and I was stuck on the wildest ride. My body felt hot and cold at the same time and I thought I might pass out.

I quickly pulled out the keycard Alina had given me earlier and headed toward the hotel that overlooked the bar. It was the only one around and had to be where Alina booked our room. I didn''t want to collapse in front of a bunch of strangers, so I struggled to get to the hotel and find my room.

My eyes were practically closing as I stumbled into the hotel and made my way down the hallway looking for my room. I saw a door marked 410 and immediately pushed it open. I was reaching for the light switch when I suddenly froze. I wasn''t alone in the room, and a low, wolfish growl confirmed it.

"Mate," he murmured.