Bullied Mate Of The Lycan Kings
Chapter 41

Zac's

pov:

I sat up with a start, just as my alarm went off. I was breathing hard. My pillows and sheets were soaked with sweat, the nightmare replaying like a broken record in my head.

It has been the same nightmare, or a variation of it since Saturday. Me with Lily, her begging me to feed off of her, me draining her of all her blood and her rising awake as Callista.

And while this was bad, it was a welcome relief from the nightmares I've had every time I go to sleep since I was fourteen.

My insomnia wouldn't allow me to sleep much, preferring to listen to Azrael's mad rambling in my head than give in to the lull of sleep.

I knew what would happen the moment I fell asleep. And when I did fall asleep, I always had nightmares. Always dreamed of the torture I faced at the hands of our family's greatest enemy; the Moronis. The torture I faced specifically from the hands of their daughter, Callista Moroni. Losing my humanity and turning me into a creature like them was only the tip of the iceberg. It was the result of their t*****e, the effect people saw, not the actual hell I was forced to live through.

But over the past few days, my dreams had been filled with a twisted version of Lily Beauregard, the girl, by whatever cruel twist of fate, that resembled the monster I loathed with all of my black, beating heart.

The girl whose blood, whose taste and scent lingered on my tongue, filled me with an unquenchable thirst. The girl who was becoming a frequent visitor in my dreams, begging me to take from her.

I looked around my room, dragging a shaky hand across my drenched forehead as I took a mental note of my surroundings.

Everything was the same. The same textured walls adorned with damask, the same gothic art pieces, macabre paintings and ornate mirrors graced the walls. The same dark, wooden furniture, vintage vanity and candelabras with flickering candles casting haunting shadows across the room.

In one corner of the room, there was a dedicated space for my music. A vintage microphone and a small recording setup, a grand piano and an intricately designed acoustic guitar took center stage, serving as a creative outlet for all the s**t going on in my head. I was in an antique style bed draped in heavy, flowing velvet curtains. Dark, rich silk sheets, rustling beneath me. The same bed I've slept in everyday since I was four. Black lace and velvet curtains hung from the windows, allowing a subtle glow from the early morning sun to filter through.

There was no sign of anyone else here.

She's not here, I told myself. She was never here. She's dead now and she can't do anything to hurt me.

Of course not. I killed her. I watched her bleed out slowly... I watched her die... Right?

I groaned and ripped off the sheets, stalking into the bathroom to wash off the sweat and grime from last night. It didn't help that I still smelled of Lily. I had fed on her, touched her, drank in her gasps and moans like I could live off of it. Now, her scent refused to leave me, even after two f*****g days.

I dressed up quickly, skipped breakfast, much to my mother's disapproval. I gave her a kiss on the cheek to placate her worries and was out the door before she could call me out on it.

I jumped into my black Mercedes, Savio and Lucas following closely behind me, probably confused as hell when I stopped by a drugstore on my way to school.

I was early for once, rolling into the parking lot designated for the princes just as Aiden got out of his Rolls Royce wraith, leaning against the car and watching me with dark eyes as I slid out of mine.

The Talaverras were the ones with the blood money and fear instilled in the people, but our wealth was a joke compared to the Vanderbilt's.

The Hawthornes had old money and prestige, the Corrigans had new money and fame, but the Vanderbilts were in an entirely different league of their own, owning a large chunk of the oil and gas industry spanning three continents and maintaining monopoly of the industry for several decades before trying their hands in any and everything.

Food, technology, art, education, health, politics, you name it, the Vanderbilts have been there first. Aiden was the sole heir of a multi billion dollar fortune he was supposed to start learning the ropes of as soon as his uncle stepped down for him.

After the m******e orchestrated by Edgar Beauregard all those years ago, Aiden had the worst luck out of all of us royals. He had lost both parents and a twin sister he loved dearly to the m******e and while he had never been a sweet, innocent boy, the aftermath twisted his psyche and turned him into something far worse than the malicious a*****e he was before the m******e. Now, he was dangerously tiptoeing the edge of feral madness and cold cruelty.

And while I was no saint myself, Aiden wears cruelty, vengeance and darkness like a f*****g cape. His added powers made him damn near untouchable. Unreachable.

Not that I cared. I'd still beat him to a pulp if I thought he deserved it. All of us would actually. Maybe that's why we remained friends all these years. We really didn't care who any of us was or what our families have accomplished before us. We were not afraid to address each other's fuckups, even if it meant beating the s**t out of each other.

We greeted each other with a handshake, him pulling me in and sniffing behind my ear. "You still smell like her," he scowled, releasing me.

"Good morning to you too, a*****e."

"You did more than feed on her," his silver eyes narrowed. "You won't tell me what you did to her."

"I'm taking it to my grave."

"If you get in trouble with the council, who are you going to have on your side now that the Hawthornes are switching sides."

"I'll deal with the council myself," I shrugged, shoving my left hand in my pocket.

His eyes drew to the plastic bag in my right hand and I realized too late that I was still holding it in clear view.

"Have you been able to get through to Ren?" I asked, to divert his attention from asking about the bag, especially because I knew he had a soft spot for Ren.

His gaze hardened slightly, turning stone cold. "No." He snapped, frowning and taking out his phone to be sure of his answer. Whatever he saw made him even more furious. "The bastard is still ignoring me for that girl." He slid his phone back in his pocket and turned on his heels, "I'll be in the library. Don't look for me."

I shrugged and walked into the building, immediately regretting it.

She has been here. f**k, I can smell her. I can feel her everywhere. It felt like every other scent paled in comparison to hers. Now that I've had a taste of her, I was going to go crazy if I didn't have another.

Pulling through classes was a nightmare, Azrael practically screaming at me to find her, grab her and take her, and fighting with him to not lose control and go on a hunting spree.

So long. For so long I have bridled my bloodlust. Pulled myself into the semblance of a heartthrob prince who had his s**t together. One mistake, one slip off had thrown all my hard work out the window. I had a taste and I wanted more. And it was all her fault.

I should just kill her and be done with it. Maybe that will put an end to all this torment.

"NO!" Azrael bellowed in my head.

"Be quiet and let me think, you defective mutt-"

I froze, my eyes zeroing in on her. I clenched my fists to restrain myself, the plastic bag crinkling in my grasp.

Her head was bowed low, long black hair wisped around her tiny waist as she power walked into the direction of the girl's bathroom.

Totally different from the direction I was heading.

All I had to do was slip the bag into her locker and call it a day. Never interact with her again.

Yes, that's what I'll do.

My feet stayed rooted to the ground, refusing to turn around.

Don't follow her. Don't follow her. Don't follow her, I repeated the mantra over and over in my head even as my fangs slid out, my heart started racing and my feet began moving on their own accord.

Don't let Azrael take control. Innocent people could get hurt. One human has already gotten hurt from this. There is no telling what could happen. I know the risks. I can't let that happen again.

I was already walking in the direction of Lily, following her like a dog on a leash.