The Lost Lycan King

Chapter 1 - Pushing for Freedom

Anastasia's POV

"Please Dad" I said, cutting up my steak and glancing at him from across the table, "I hate business studies".
I was about to enter my second year of university and I couldn't stand the course that I was on. My parents had chosen it for me, saying that it would be better for my future, but I really wanted to study art.
"Anastasia, we have met you halfway with this university stuff. You wanted to go and even though you didn't need to, we let you. You wanted to live independently on campus and even though we felt it was unsafe, we let you. You really are asking too much now" he grumbled, aggressively cutting up his own steak.
"I don't think that monitoring my every move classes as living independently, don't you want me to be happy?" I said, putting down my knife and fork.
His own cutlery clattered onto his plate and he looked up, his eyes burning into my own. I knew I had crossed the line.
"That is ENOUGH Anastasia" he growled, using his Alpha aura to make me bow my head in respect. We ate the rest of the meal in silence.

I had hoped that coming to university would allow me to have some freedom, but I was wrong. As the Alpha's daughter, my whole life was pre-planned and it had taken some persuading to get myself to university in the first place. My parents were the Alpha and Luna of the Blood Moon pack and so saw little point in me attending. My future was already set, I was destined to become the future Luna of the pack and whoever I chose to marry would become the Alpha. Why would I need a university degree to do that? It had been my mum who had eventually given in and encouraged my dad to let me go. She had reasoned that a degree could help me to be a better Luna in the future. The only issue with this was that I didn't get to do the degree that I wanted to do. I desperately wanted to do art as I spent every spare moment doodling or drawing. But what good was an art degree to a Luna? Instead, my parents had pushed me into doing Business Studies. As Alpha and Luna, they owned a large number of businesses across our pack lands and due to this, we were one of the wealthiest families. Some day, I would inherit these businesses and they felt that a degree in business, would help me to run them. I could see where they were coming from, but that didn't mean that it wasn't the most boring subject on the planet. I had trouble staying awake in most lectures.
Despite not wanting to do it, I had agreed to Business Studies as it meant I could still go to university and experience life away from home, finally some freedom for myself. Oh how wrong I was.

My parents had initially refused to allow me to live on campus, buying me a new car and a chauffeur to take me to campus each day and bring me home again. When I had complained about this, they had called me ungrateful. I suppose I was, most people my age would love a brand new car. But most people my age, would also love the ability to drive their own car and go where they wanted to, not have a driver who knew exactly where I was and what I was doing and reported this back to my parents. In my second semester, I had managed to talk them into letting me live at university, but again, there were conditions.

I lived in a flat on my own, as an alphas daughter, my parents were convinced that other people posed a threat to me at all times and so I couldn't have a housemate. They even had a security guard who came to lectures with me and followed me around campus, I was rarely alone. I was expected to come home every weekend and stay in my flat every night. It wasn't dignified for a future Luna to be getting drunk and going to parties. Didn't I know I had a reputation to uphold?
Then to top it all off, I was given a part time job at my dads own company, I worked Wednesday afternoons and Friday mornings as he knew this was when my free periods were. He expected me to be grateful to be earning my own money, especially since he basically paid me a full time salary for minimal work, but was it too much to ask to be able to sit in the library with my friends?

Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if I wasn't an only child, but with no siblings, I was destined to become blood moon's Luna and my parents went overboard on protecting me. They were convinced that tensions between other packs would result in me being captured or killed. If I was out of the picture, there would be no one to take the role from my parents and the pack would descend into chaos.
My parents had desperately wanted more children and a male heir, but for some reason, my mum had been unable to fall pregnant after having me. It was uncommon for an alpha to have a female heir and not a male one with most werewolves having multiple children. This put a lot of pressure on me as whoever I married would automatically become the Alpha. In an ideal world, I would find someone who would let me rule alongside them, not someone who would marry me purely to gain the power of ruling blood moon pack. There are times that I wish fated mates were real, just so that I could find someone who wants me and not the titles that come with me. But fated mates are just fairytales. There are stories going back generations of wolves that are destined to be together and cannot survive without each other, but that's all they are, just stories. I don't know a single person who has met their fated mate.
Some people say that the wolf population is just too big now, that with millions of wolves roaming the earth, it's highly unlikely that you will lock eyes with your soulmate. Other people, such as myself, think that the stories were exactly that, just stories made up and told to children to help them sleep at night. But sometimes, when I think about my future, I wish that they were real, it would definitely solve a lot of problems and save me from a loveless marriage.

There is a knock at my door as I slip into my pyjamas, it's my mum, I can smell her perfume before she even walks in. She sits down on the end of my bed and sighs. I imagine that my dad has sent her to smooth things out.
"Anastasia" she began "you are being very unfair to your dad and I" she won't look me in the eye, she's tracing the pattern on my bedspread with her fingers.
"Mum, I hate business studies, I don't see why I can't do something I enjoy. It's not as if I need to get a degree for a job, my job is to be the Luna"
"Ana, being Luna is a big responsibility, bigger than you can ever imagine" she looks up at me "we just want to prepare you as best we can, plus you go back to university tomorrow, there's no time to change your subject"
I scoff and narrow my eyes.
"I've been asking dad all summer to change subjects, he has had all summer to sort this out. He's the Alpha anyway, so whatever he says goes and you know it"
"Yes exactly" she says raising her voice slightly "whatever he says goes and he says business studies, not art"
"Why can't you just let me do one thing that I enjoy?" I snap, my heart beating madly in my chest, I hate arguments.
My mother stands up suddenly her nostrils flared and a growl erupts from her chest.
"You don't realise how lucky you are Anastasia! You have everything you could ever want. This conversation is over, I will see you next weekend" and with that she turns and leaves, slamming the door behind her.
I sigh and lie back on my bed, I didn't want to cause an atmosphere before I left for university. She was right in some respects, my parents showered me with gifts and love, but i couldn't help but feel like all of my life choices were already made for me. I wanted some freedom and studying art was my absolute dream. I suppose it would just have to be a hobby.

The next morning, I wake up early for breakfast. I'm itching to get out of the house and away from my parents. As I walk downstairs, I see that my suitcases are already by the front door, ready for my departure. Our chef, Jenny, has made my favourite, American style pancakes with maple syrup. I eat alone and then hurry upstairs to shower and change. As I walk back downstairs, Lyle, one of my security guards is waiting for me.
"Good morning Anastasia" he says, spinning the car keys round his finger "I will be travelling with you today". He picks up my cases and follows me to the car, where my driver Conrad was waiting. I look around expecting to see my parents, but I can't see them anywhere. They always said goodbye to me.
"Where are my mum and dad?" I ask Lyle and Conrad. Conrad clears his throat and looks down, Lyle meets my eye and says
"The Alpha and Luna have been called away on urgent business"
"What urgent business?" I say, narrowing my eyes at him.
"I don't know" he replies, looking at the floor.
"Oh" I say, feeling downhearted. I highly doubt there is urgent business on a Sunday, they were probably just mad at me, maybe I had pushed them too far. I chew my lip anxiously for the entire journey to my flat, replaying what I had said to my parents in my head. I check my phone periodically to see if they have messaged, but it's radio silence from their end.
Soon, we are pulling up to a large grey building, which I know would be my home for the next year. My parents had insisted on me having a new flat to celebrate completing my first year at university. They had hired interior designers and decorators to get the flat ready over summer, ready for me starting back. I hopped in the lift and turned the key to get to the top floor, which opened straight into the living room of the apartment. Along one wall there was floor to ceiling glass windows with a view of the entire city. The glass was tinted so that I could see out, but no one could see in. In the middle of the room was a coffee table and two leather sofas around it. Behind the sofas was a dining table and open plan kitchen. The the right of the living room was a hall with three doors leading off it. The door at the end of the hall was the bathroom, complete with double shower and a large bath. The two rooms on either side of the hall were bedrooms, but one had been turned into a giant office with a MacBook computer and bookshelves lining the walls. My own bedroom had a king sized bed, walk in wardrobe and en suite. The wardrobe had been stocked with many new clothes and shoes and I couldn't wait to try them all on.
I pick up my phone again and message my parents telling them how much I love my new apartment. I wait a moment, but there is no reply. I sit down on the edge of my bed sighing. I hope they don't stay mad at me for too long. Maybe I really am being ungrateful.