The Gold Queen (Prequel)

***Sofia***

“I, Mateo Salvador Altamirano, challenge Prince Julian Augusto Bolivar to a dual for my mate, Princess Sofia Isabel Reyes.”

A number emotions rush through me: horror that he had challenged the prince and joy that he had come for me.

Julian growls beside me and I look up to see him seething with rage, panting and on the verge of shifting

“Just a friend, huh?” he snarls at me. “I f*****g knew he was your mate!” he hisses in my ear.

“Sofia,” My father calls out to me. “I-is this true? Is Mateo your mate?”

My eyes fill with tears as I look out onto the crowd of confused guests. Mateo’s gaze settles on me and I feel my throat dry up.

Unable to string together a coherent sentence, I simply nod, the crowd gasping at the revelation. I was not at all surprised that Julian and his father were practically trembling with rage but my mother’s reaction confused me.

Why was she so angry?

My father looks between Mateo and Julian, evidently unsure how to proceed.

“Well it doesn’t matter that they’re mates,” Julian snaps, grabbing hold of my wrist. “We made an agreement. Sofia marries me!”

Mateo snarls. “Get your hands off my mate!”

“She is not your mate!” My mother cries, her rage puzzling me. “And I request that you leave immediately!”

What?! Why?

“I’m afraid he can’t do that, your Grace,” Alpha Manuel (Mateo’s father) says, rising from his chair. “By werewolf law, Mateo is well within his rights to object to this union.”

“Excuse me?” my mother sneers. “What the hell are you talking about?’

“Mates are sacred,” the Alpha replies coolly. “And as such, they are protected not only by Moon Goddess herself but also by the Ivory Court. Julian may be engaged to Sofia, but since neither Mateo nor Sofia have rejected each other, nor have they been marked by someone else, Mateo has every right to challenge any suitor for his mate. By law, your agreement with Julian and the Estrella del Monte Kingdom is null and Sofia has no legal obligation to fulfill it.”

The laws designated by the Ivory Court were a big deal. They were essentially the United Nations of Werewolves, having been established many millennia ago to govern the actions of all werewolves. Other species once had similar Courts and Councils but the Ivory Court was the only one still in existence. It was made up of high Ranking Elders and former Kings and Queens, while its laws were enforced by an army of the most elite soldiers across the globe. The Court was lead by a special pair of wolves, although it had been over a century since anyone had last seen the supposed Guardians of the Ivory Court.

I had completely forgotten about the Court’s existence. They rarely made appearances.

My mother looks like she’s about to burst with anger as she turns to me. “Then you reject him.”

“Enough!” My father’s voice booms over us all. “We will discuss this in further detail in my office,” he declares as he straightens his coat.

“What is there to discuss?” King Jose scoffs. “Those laws are ancient! Sol de Oro promised us a Princess and that is what we shall receive!”

“The law is the law and a mate bond changes everything,” my father retorts, an icy mist forming around his hands. “So we will discuss what shall be done in my office.”

He extends out his hand to me and I gladly take it, my legs a bit wobbly from the shock of the events that unfolded.

We walk down the aisle towards Mateo and Valentina, the former clutching a document in his hand. Mateo reaches for me but my father lifts his hand up to stop him.

“Not now, Mateo,” he shakes his head.

Mateo nods solemnly and we walk out of the garden and into the building. My heart starts to race uncontrollably as I hear Mateo fall into step behind me, my wolf yearning to touch him.

“Why didn’t you tell me Mateo was your mate?” My father asks as we head to his office.

“I didn’t think anything could be done…” I mumble back.

He sighs as we pile into his office and he closes the door behind the Estrella del Monte Royal family.

“This is absolutely ridiculous!” My mother huffs. “This young man should be taken out immediately!”

“I couldn’t agree more,” King Jose chimes in. “The treaty is signed and we have spent months preparing for a merge-“

“You are more than welcome to hand over your Kingdom to us,” my father shrugs smugly, King Jose’s face turning bright red in rage.

“This isn’t funny!” King Jose booms. “If we do not have a marriage, I will declare war on Sol de Oro.”

“The Law states-“

“I do not care what the law states!” King Jose roars, his voice echoing off the walls.

“Are you perhaps afraid your Prince will lose?” Mateo chuckles softly, my heart screaming at him to shut up before he gets himself killed.

Julian bursts into laughter. “Don’t kid yourself mutt. I won our last match, remember?” He narrows his eyes and smirks at him. “Or do you need a reminder of what the floor looks like?”

My father stands between the two men before Mateo could lunge at the Prince and snarls at him to back down. Mateo does as his King commands, but the menacing look never leaves his eyes. He hands the document over to my father.

“This is the solution to all of our problems,” Mateo explains. “It details the terms and conditions of my challenge. If I win, I get to keep my mate and Estrella de Monte becomes an ally. We split the disputed land evenly and move on with our lives. No more talks of war, just peace. If Julian wins, everything proceeds as it was. He marries Sofia and takes over as King of both Sol de Oro and Estrella del Monte. Simple.”

“You’ve really thought this out carefully,” my father hums, impressed by my mate’s preparedness.

“This isn’t just about the Julian and Sofia!” My mother exasperates, turning to my father. “We can’t let the fate of our Kingdom hang in the balance of a young man’s whim when he holds not regard for the way we run things!”

“Ana, that’s enough!” My father growls at my mother. “Do you have another solution?” He asks, his nostrils flaring in annoyance. When my mother says nothing, he towers over her authoritatively. “Then I suggest you stop talking. One more word from you and I’ll have Willy escort you out.”

My mother shrinks back, a bit shocked by my father’s reaction. He hands the document over to the Prince to look over. Julian barely skims it before looking over at his father who looks increasingly displeased.

“Do you accept the terms and conditions of this challenge?” my father asks.

Julian smirks at Mateo. “With pleasure.”

The b***d drains my face. Mate challenges were to the death and if Mateo lost, I would never see him again and I could not bear the thought of a world without him in it.

My father turns to Mateo. “Mateo, do you accept the challenge-“

“No!” I blurt out, cupping Mateo’s face in my hands. “Don’t you dare-“

“I accept,” Mateo says, Julian quickly grabbing a pen to sign the document.

“No! No! No! What have you done?” I wail.

“Do you have so little faith in me?” Mateo asks, a bit of hurt flashing in his eyes as he pushes past me to sign his name.

“The challenge will take place at sundown,” my father announces, a bit of worry laced in his words.

My dress suddenly feels extremely tight and I claw at the bodice to get some air into my lungs. I feel everyone’s eyes on me as I go into a panic, my vision slowly starting to darken.

Mateo’s worried face is the last thing I see before I fade into the blackness.

SUNDOWN

***Mateo***

I think of Sofia as I enter the sparring circle, worried out of my mind to know if she’s okay. My poor mate had fainted from the stress of the challenge and she had yet to wake up. Now the only question was, would I still be here when she wakes up?

My match with Julian on my birthday was not a match in vain. I had taken special note of some of his tricks and had spent the past two weeks training with my father on how to counter his attacks. Despite my confidence in my skills, however, I could not allow myself to underestimate the Prince and his abilities. I would need to tread carefully if I was to come out on top.

“The rules of the match are simple,” King Juan declares as Julian and I face off at the center of the sparring circle. “Once the challenge begins, it cannot be stopped until a clear victor emerges or an opponent yields. No weapons, no shifting, and no power activation is permitted at any point during the challenge. This is strictly a sparring match. Violating this rule will lead to an automatic forfeit. Win or lose, each opponent is bound to fulfill their end of the contract. Failure to do so will be punishable by death. Am I clear?”

Julian and I grunt our agreements and the king retreats from the circle, leaving just the Prince and I in the middle.

I close my eyes and draw a big breath in to focus before sizing up the prince.

We can do this, Luis encourages. We’ll be with Sofia soon enough.

“Let the Challenge Begin!”

Just as in our first match, Julian wastes no time to launch his first attack and I am able to easily evade his fists, using the momentum to swing around and hit him square in the jaw.

He stumbles back but quickly regains his footing and swings his leg up toward my face. I block it with my forearms but fail to see him drop low and ankle sweep me to the ground. In the blink of an eye, Julian charges at full speed and jumps in the air, his hand clenched into a fist.

Look out!

I roll out of the way before Julian’s elbow could jam into my face and he g****s as his arms digs into the earth. I scramble to my feet and jump on top of him, knocking him over and pinning him to the ground with my weight. I pound into him with my fists when I feel the wind knocked out me. Julian’s knee collides into my stomach, momentarily disabling me and allowing him to use his legs to flip me over him. I crash onto my back, my spine rattling inside me.

We’re both on feet in an instant, charging once more. We continue this dance of punches and kicks, switching between defense and offensive mood with the changes in our tempo for another 10 minutes. It’s the longest ten minutes of my life and by the end, neither him nor I seem to have gotten the upper hand.

B***d spills from my nose and there’s a gash on my brow bone that keeps leaking into my eye and blurring my vision. My muscles were growing tired and I knew I would be making mistakes soon enough. Julian has some cuts and bruises as well but unlike me, his didn’t show any signs of fatigue.

You have to try harder! My wolf attempts to encourage me. When need to win!

I shake myself in hopes of waking up and lunge at Julian once more. I wasn’t quick enough, though, and he simple kicks me back. He then charges once more, catching my wrist with one hand while his two legs clamp onto my sides. He pulls me down onto the ground while he rolls with me and lands back on his feet, towering over me. Julian then grabs hold of my leg, trapping me in place beneath him and kicks me in the head, black spots blurring my vision.

But he wasn’t done with me yet. I’m suddenly flipped onto my stomach, Julian still clutching my leg in a death grip, and I hear the most awful cracking noise come from my leg. A surge of unbelievable pains runs down to my thigh as he stomps on the back of my leg and I can’t hold back my scream. I knew my leg was broken instantly.

Someone wails in the distance but my own pain makes it hard to distinguish if it belonged to my mother or Valentina.

Julian finally lets go of my leg and crouches down on his haunches, yanking me up my hair. He leans into my ear so that his next words are heard only by me and no one else.

“You really thought you had a chance?” he sneers, my chest tightening from the pain. “I’ll have her screaming my name by the end of the night.”

Infuriated, I swing aimlessly at him, missing and giving him the opportunity to grab my arm again. He twists it, a new surge of pain racing up my arm.

“You’re soo… Pathetic,” he smirks, tapping my cheeks. “And I’m going to enjoy this.”

He tosses me back, the movement causing pain to surge up to my shoulder and I cradle my wounded arm. I look out onto the crowd, despair in the eyes of my brother and sister. My father has a solemn look on his face as he consoles my weeping mother.

I close my eyes, coming to terms with my loss when I hear a familiar voice jolt me awake.

“Mateo!” Sofia screams as she fights her way to the edge of the circle. “Mateo get up!”

She was no longer in her wedding dress, instead now wearing a warm pajama set and her slippers.

Julian turns to look at Sofia, chuckling to himself. “Have you come to see how I finish him off?”

Sofia ignores him, her eyes only on me. “Please, get up!” she pleads.

Julian bends over to pick me up, wrapping his arm around my neck in a choke hold. My lungs begin to burn as I struggle for oxygen and I claw at his arms, searching for release.

“I’m so glad you’re here, babe,” Julian snickers as he tightens his grip. “Now you can watch how I kill your mate.”

Time seems to move slowly as I watch Sofia’s despair unleash in a stream of tears down her face. It’s a look of pain I never want to see on her face again.

I couldn’t die with that being the last image I had of her.

Mustering up the last of my strength, I plant my good leg just behind Julian’s ankle and take a big step to the outside with my broken leg. Ignoring the pain, I lean into Julian’s arms with all my force, hunching my back and sending Julian flying onto the ground.

I waste no time and throw myself on top of him, wrapping my hands around his throat. I see red as I crush his windpipe, remembering the night at the roof top during Sofia’s party. He had made my mate cry for unknown reasons and bruised her perfect face that night. He had disrespected Sofia at every given opportunity and I could only imagine what he did to her when they were alone. He had wounded my brother, searing his tender flesh knowing he could not heal himself. And he has almost taken my mate from me.

I held him in my grip, squeezing ’till my hands felt numb and even when he tapped the ground three times to yield, I could not let go.

It’s not until I feel two sets of arms pull me back that I finally let go. The King and my father hold me tightly as I watch Julian gasp for air, my wolf on the verge of emerging.

“This challenge is over!” The king announces, raising my hand over my head. “Mateo Salvador Altamirano is the victor!”

Sofia rushes into my arms and I g***n as our lips meet, her sweet taste overtaking my senses. I was covered in b***d and sweat but neither of us seemed to mind, both of us overjoyed that I had won the right to marry her.

“I love you,” I murmur in between k****s, the adrenaline slowly waning off and the pain starting to kick in once more.

The Queen’s voice suddenly interrupts our tender moment.

“They cannot be together, Juan Carlos,” she snaps, yanking Sofia out of my arms.

“Ana, he won,” the King retorts.

“No!” she cries, her eyes glazed over with unshed tears. “Don’t you get it? They’re the fated pair!”