Lycan Prince Matteo

Freya’s POV

“Oops, sorry,” Britney—the pack and school slut—mocked as she purposely bumped into me while I was grabbing my books from my locker. I forced myself to stay calm, grateful my wolf was telling me not to lose control.

When I tried to walk past her, she blocked my way. Instead of letting me go, she stuck out her foot and tripped me. I stumbled, and laughter burst out—not just from her, but from the crowd watching.

Keep your cool, Frey, my wolf advised, trying to calm me down.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and steadied myself before getting up. It was strange that Pi, my wolf, seemed more level-headed than I was. Usually, wolves were the impulsive ones, quick to lose control. Mine was the complete opposite—calm and sensible, unlike me.

“Oh, I’m sorry again,” Britney laughed with her friends.

Deciding it wasn’t worth it, I got up and walked away. Their teasing wouldn’t stop if I stayed where they could see me.

As I turned the corner toward my next class, I accidentally ran into someone’s solid chest. My stomach dropped when I looked up and saw who it was—Joric, the future Alpha, smirking at me.

Just like Britney, Joric was another bully. His ego was huge simply because he would be Alpha one day. But in terms of strength, he wasn’t nearly as impressive as his future Beta and Gamma. The only reason he would become Alpha was that he was the current Alpha’s son.

“How lucky I am to find you finally!” he said loudly, surrounded by his usual group of followers. I felt relieved that his future Beta and Gamma weren’t with him. They were responsible people, which probably explained why they didn’t hang around him much.

“I’m heading to my next class,” I said quietly, lowering my head. I knew he liked that—it made him feel superior.

“No need for that. I can tell your teacher to pass you if you do me a favor,” he said with a leering grin. His friends laughed.

I would rather fail than agree to that, but instead I just said, “I don’t want to make Britney mad. She’s already caused me enough trouble.”

“You’re here,” Clay said suddenly before Joric could respond. “I’ve been looking for you. Let’s go.”

He grabbed my hand. We both glanced at the future Alpha before turning away. When I looked back, Joric was glaring at Clay. He couldn’t challenge Clay because he knew he couldn’t beat his future Beta.

We walked away, and I sighed in relief. Clay had arrived at the perfect time.

“You really attract trouble, running into that jerk and the pack troublemaker,” Clay joked.

“Yeah, I know. Maybe I give off some kind of signal that calls them over wherever I go,” I replied.

“I’d like to think only they can smell your scent—and that the rest of us can’t,” he said.

We both laughed.

Clay was one of my closest friends. Sometimes I wished he were my mate—but he wasn’t. I had already found mine, and I pushed those thoughts away.

Clay was the future Beta. Even though he was only seventeen, he thought like an adult and truly cared about the pack and its people. The future Gamma, Alec, was the same.

As Clay mentioned, I had no scent, which meant no one knew I already had my wolf. I had thought about telling Clay and Alec before, but I always stopped myself. I didn’t want them to think I was strange because I didn’t have a scent.

Every wolf had a unique scent. Not having one usually meant you were human—or something else entirely. Still, Pi always reassured me that we were simply different.

“Is that even possible?” I asked Clay.

He raised an eyebrow at me. I laughed at his expression. Those two idiots couldn’t possibly smell something others couldn’t.

“If it were true, I’d be happy. At least the future Alpha would have something that actually made him worthy of the position,” Clay replied.

“Anyway, I was looking for you because I wanted to tell you something. The Lycan prince is visiting the school.”

My body immediately tensed.

“Why? What’s wrong?” Clay asked, noticing my reaction. “Don’t be scared. You haven’t done anything wrong. And we both know the Lycans—especially the royals—just want us to follow the rules.”

I wasn’t scared of Lycans or royalty.

I was scared of the Lycan prince—my mate.

Yes, my mate was the Lycan prince, the future king.

Being mated to a Lycan was already complicated. Being mated to a prince who would become king made it even worse. Ever since I found out he was cheating, a constant pain had lived in my chest.

“Freya, are you okay?” Clay asked.

Then I caught a familiar scent.

I sniffed again.

It was my mate.

He was coming this way, and my first instinct was to run. I tried to leave, but it was too late. He was already approaching—with his future Beta and the woman clinging to him.

I wanted to claim him as mine. But how could I when he couldn’t even smell me?

Clay held my arm as he lowered his head in respect. I kept my head down too, avoiding eye contact. I was afraid my wolf might attack him—and that would put both our lives in danger.

I want him, Frey, Pi said.

I wanted to say the same.

Clay squeezed my hand, and we greeted them.

“Your Highness,” I said quietly, keeping my eyes down. I noticed his hand wrapped around the female Lycan beside him, and anger burned inside me. Clay seemed to sense it.

“Hey, Frey, are you okay?” he asked with concern.

His voice snapped me out of my anger. I looked at him and forced a smile.

“I’m sorry. I just remembered something,” I said, lowering my head again.

“What made you so angry? I felt it. It was like you wanted to hurt someone,” my mate said.

“Sometimes she gets like that when she remembers her bullies. Since she hasn’t presented her wolf yet, people judge her,” Clay explained to me.

“Pathetic,” the female Lycan muttered.

I clenched my teeth. Pi’s calming presence in my mind helped me stay in control.

“Eunice!” the Lycan prince snapped.

Everyone immediately lowered their heads in submission—except me. I hoped no one noticed since my head was already down.

“She’s part of the pack and deserves the same respect as anyone else,” he said.

Relief washed over me. At least he was different from the others. But seeing the female Lycan rubbing his arm made my anger flare again.

“We should go to class now, Your Highness,” Clay said.

After getting permission, he led me away.

“Thank you, Clay,” I said softly, resting my head against his chest.

My nerves were a mess. My mate’s presence had unsettled me ever since the day I realized he belonged to me.