Heart Of A Lycan King
Chapter 10

AIDEN.

I stared blankly at nothingness, willing for the rage threatening to burst my heart to die down. I would hate for Nala to wake up and find me this way, but at the same time, I also couldn’t control the rage I felt.

It was suffocating. So overwhelming.

“Your Eminence…”

“Shut up, Kane,” I snapped, trying to keep my voice down so I wouldn’t wake Nala from her sleep. “If you plan to talk about him, just shut up,” I added.

Silence stretched. Thick uncomfortable silence that made my skin prick from time to time. I hate when he does this. I hate when he uses a few words to ruin my mood. Few words to make me hate him even more than I already do.

If he thinks I would be rejecting my mate simply because she’s a Malakarian, then he’s got it wrong. I’d rather give up the throne like he threatened than to let go of my mate.

Never.

I shifted my gaze towards her. She was everything and anything I’ve ever wanted. And simply because of a one time trouble that stirred during a mating like this, I am being told to give her up. I don’t care what the Goddess had planned, all I know is that, regardless of what anyone thinks, I would never, ever give up on my mate.

A Malakarian and a Lycan? This would be an interesting turn of events. One I plan to make work.

“F**k it all!” I seethed, tightening my hold on Nala’s hand. If he thinks he can control me now like he did when I was a kid, then he’s terribly mistaken!

The small movement from the hand in mine caused my senses to return. I dropped her hand carefully on the bed and stood up. I shouldn’t have returned to the room after my chat with dad till I was sure my rage wasn’t evident.

I would hate to scare her more when all I wanted was to have her with me forever. I leaned in, carefully bringing my face to hers and taking in her scent. The split on her lips had finally healed, and I ran my thumb along her lower l*p.

I wanted to k**s her. My mouth watered with the urge of what kissing her would be like. I leaned closer and closer, however, just when I was about to press my lips to hers, I pulled back quickly.

I wouldn’t steal a k**s from my mate without her knowledge. No. I would only k**s her with her consent. I’ll only k**s her when she wants me to.

I sucked in a deep breath as I ran my hand through my hair. Then after a few moments of staring at her, I walked to the single window in the room. I pushed my hand into my pocket and simply stared out into the early night.

‘There’s nothing he can do if we fight back. He can’t force us to reject her,’ Leo finally spoke. Ever since Baba had visited, Leo had been quiet, refusing to surface or say anything. While he may have not spoken, I could feel his rage. His fear. His uncertainty.

‘We are still dealing with a mate that does not really want us. Someone that is absolutely terrified at the idea of us, and what? He wants to reject her because she’s a Malakarian? What? So a Malakarian mate is not a mate enough? Pfttss! I wish I had growled at him just a bit. Or perhaps, show him a bit of my confident side now. Maybe I should have just hugged her to show him I don’t care what he says or what threat he throws at me. He wants me to give up my mate simply because of the legend? Or what had happened in the past? I bet he’s not ready for what is coming at him!’ Leo continued.

A faint smile tugged at my lips. Leo only talks too much at the same time when he’s nervous. And right now, I can tell how nervous he is.

“We won’t give up on her, Leo,” I replied quietly. “We never will.”

He didn’t reply, instead, he recoiled back once again, leaving me all alone.

“When you act this way every time you meet him, you are giving him the power to control you. The Aiden I know fights for what he believes, not sulk like a baby,” Kane said as he stood beside me.

“I just couldn’t believe he said that to me. He knows how desperate I wanted a mate, and how it was nearly impossible for Lycans to find their mates now. And he wants me to reject her?!” I said in disbelief.

“I understand where you are coming from. But I suppose you also know why he’s doing this. If anything, every single Lycan knows it is impossible to mate with a Malakarian because…”

“Don’t say it! Please,” I breathed, rubbing my eyes for a while before dropping my hand. “I don’t want to hear.”

“The Goddess must be playing at something to mate you two,” Kane said thoughtfully.

“I don’t care what games she’s playing at, I’m going to fight for my mate,” I seethed.

Another wave of silence stretched before the vibrating of my phone in my pockets broke it off. I slipped my hand into the pocket and brought out the phone, a small sigh escaping my lips when I saw the person calling.

“Mama…”

“Your Baba just left. He was furious, Aiden,” she cut me off. “What did you say to him?”

“That I won’t reject my mate simply because he wants me to,” I replied, keeping my face stoic. “If you call to force me to do your husband’s bidding, then you should know you are wasting your time, Mama. I won’t let her go.”

“I never said you should,” she replied quickly. “I would never ask you to do that. However, I want you to understand where he’s coming from as well. Not he alone, but I’m sure the elders from the packs would strongly disagree with this. We all know why this shouldn’t be, save for the Malakarians that had been kept in the dark. If anything, this union can cause us more harm than good,” she paused, sighed then continued. “In that case, I suggest you take things easy and don’t always attack everyone that brings the issue up. Those who know or think this union shouldn’t happen are only scared of the outcome,” she finished softly.

I simply sighed. In all honesty, I’m tired of all this. I found my mate, only for her to try to reject me the same day, then fainted because I was foolish and reacted to my emotions, and now, another issue of her being a Malakarian. Right now, I only want to rest. I sighed again and closed my eyes. I only want her to rest.

Good thing that she didn’t hear my discussion with Baba when he came. It was why I took him outside.

“Mama, I also want you to understand me…”

“I do understand you. All I’m asking is you understand others as well. Don’t be too harsh on everyone simply because you now have a mate,” she teased.

I chuckled a bit, the tension ebbing off my body. “I will, Mama.”

“Will you take her to the palace?” she asked, changing the topic.

“No. I will take her to my vacation home. I can’t pressure her with the palace just yet when she’s yet to get accustomed with me. Besides, that house is much closer to the hospital, and since she’ll be getting therapy, I suppose that would be better,” I replied.

“That’s a good decision. But someone has to stay with her. Do you want me to go there? Also, why does she need therapy? Is she okay?”

“Would you? You don’t mind?” I asked, a sense of calmness rushing through me. I’ve been thinking about how to arrange her living situation. “She’ll be okay after the therapy. We can talk in depth when we see each other.”

“That’s fine. Let me know when you are leaving the hospital and I’ll have Donald drive me down to your house,” she said.

“Maybe I can have Aunt…”

“I will stay with her for the first few days, Aiden. Don’t worry, I won’t harm your mate,” she chuckled at the end before ending the call.

I smiled, picturing her kind face smiling. A mother is always a mother. And the best at everything.

‘Mama has a way of making us feel better even if she’s not close by,’ Leo whispered.

“That she does. After all, she’s a mother,” I said quietly.

Again, he didn’t say anything and kept quiet. Minutes ticked by before Kane finally spoke again.

“Your schedule for tomorrow is packed. Would you like to do away with anything?”

“How tight is it?” I asked, walking back to my seat beside Nala. Because this has suddenly become my favorite thing to do, I took her hands in mine, the warmness sipping through me like I had been given an energy drink.

“You have a meeting with the elders from Langa Mandala pack, Lungami pack, Sambe pack, and Banga pack. Then you have to travel to Kalambani pack for the induction ceremony of new warriors and get back to the capital. You have a training session by 3pm and a meeting with the coach by 5pm. You…”

“You didn’t fix any time for me to be with her?” I narrowed my eyes. “You didn’t?”

“Well, you’ve only just found her today and your schedule hasn’t been fixed yet. It was why I asked if you’d like to take anything out and reschedule for another time,” Kane explained.

“When will I be free if I do everything on schedule?” I asked.

“11pm max,” Kane replied.

“And when do I start?”

“You leave as early as 7am. Your meeting with the elders starts by 9am, however, since you will be travelling to Kalambani pack after the meeting, your flight is scheduled by 11:30am.”

I unconsciously pushed a lock of hair off Nala’s face, watching as her eyes fluttered slowly. It seems she’ll be awake at any moment.

“Don’t fix the schedule yet. I’ll see Nala’s therapist and ask when it is starting, then I’ll fix my schedule around that time to drive her here.”

“You can have Lac…”

“I won’t subject her with Lacie. After all, your big mouth made her come here and they all scared her off. Not happening any time soon,” I snapped.

“That’s fine, Man. Your mate is yours and yours alone. Besides, it is very hard to do away with Lace when she’s hell bent on finding out something. I had to spill.”

“Very much obvious if I may say,” I scowled.

Kane smiled. “Do you want to stop in the Fiko dark forest?” he asked quietly.

I sighed. While that is one of the most disturbing parts of the country, I’m still not ready to face it.

“Did you find anything about the creatures there yet?” I inquired.

“No one wants to volunteer to go in there. But if you give a direct command, I’m sure we’ll find something out.”

“I’ll think about it before we leave for the Kalambani pack tomorrow,” I muttered.

“And what would you do about your Baba?”

“Ignore him,” I said nonchalantly. “I’m going to ignore him.”

He was about to reply when Nala shifted a bit, and her eyes pry open. She had the most beautiful sleepy eyes I had ever seen.

“How do you feel?” I asked, helping her to sit up. She looked confused. Disoriented. But after a moment, she seemed to remember where she was.

“I am fine,” she nodded. “It is nighttime already,” she whispered.

Her voice caressed me. Soothed my uneasy conscience. How I want to hug her tight in my arms. How I want her to be comfortable around me enough to want me.

“Just…” The words died as a loud grumble from her stomach filled our ears.

Ducking her head quickly, she pulled her hand from mine and looked everywhere but at me. I chuckled lightly, then flickered my finger at Kane, pouting towards the food he had brought with him when he arrived.

“Seems like you are hungry. I ordered you something to eat,” I said as I took the tray from Kane and placed it on the bed beside her. “I don’t know what you liked best, so I got you a bit of everything,” I said nervously.

She stared at the tray, her eyes widening after she took in everything.

“A little of everything you say?” she said softly. “This is too much. I can’t finish it.”

“It’s fine. We can eat everything here together. We have been discharged already. I was waiting for you to wake up so I can introduce you to your therapist and then we can leave.”

She simply nodded, her eyes still fixed on the tray. Soon, the corner of her mouth curled up in a small smile before she picked one of the french fries and ate it.

“Do you like it?” I asked, shifting in my chair.

She nodded again, casually shifting her free hand from my touch.

She shifted her gaze around the room and settled them on Kane. “Was he the one that came as I was about to sleep?” she abruptly asked.

I nearly choked on my breath. “What?”

“I thought someone came in here talking about rejection. Perhaps I was wrong?” she asked, looking at me.

“Y…es…yes. Nothing of such happened. Maybe you were dreaming.”

“Seems so,” she nodded and continued eating the fries.

I had taken only a few fries when I noticed smudged ketchup at the corner of her mouth. Instinctively, I leaned closer, noticing the way she sucked in a quick breath at our closeness, but didn’t move back.

Slowly, I brought my thumb to the corner of her mouth and wiped off the ketchup, then brought my thumb to my parted lips and sucked it off.

Her eyes widened, and I watched as she swallowed. The corner of my mouth curled up in a smile. I winked at her. She licked the corner of her mouth, as though savoring my taste there before she glanced up at me, her eyes filled with something I can’t quite say.

“There. No more ketchup smudge,” I whispered as I inched back.

Comfortable silence stretched between us before she broke it off.

“I ehm… I would like it if you… stop touching me for some time. I’m… I’m not… used to such… affection and…it confuses me,” she mumbled shyly while looking down, holding a fry between her fingers. I noticed her hands were shaking slightly. “I am sorry,” she whispered and swallowed loudly. I then realized that she was acting like this because she was afraid of my reaction. I could only stare at her, stunned.

As I stared at her, I imagined myself in a situation like hers. Quite alright, it would take time for me to trust another person. It would also take lots of time before I become comfortable enough for skinship. All these while, I realized, I had been selfish, trying to force her to accept me quickly without knowing to the extent of what she had endured. Of what she had gone through.

In all honesty, I have only had an idea of all that. If I need to make this work, then I need to give her space and time. I need to make her believe she can trust me. Because only then, would our relationship bloom.

As much as I hate that I can’t touch her when I want or be with her, I want her to feel comfortable and secure around me above anything else.

If this is what it takes to achieve that, then I would gladly do that.

“You don’t have to apologize. I understand,” I said with a forced smile. “Like I said, we’ll take things slow.”

“I want to be with you. You have no idea how much I want you. I also know you are trying. I’ve only met you today, but Erin and I both feel safe around you. But…” a wretched sob caught her throat and she paused. The pain on her face was etched in my heart, and I wasn’t sure if I’d forget that any time soon. “How sure am I that you want me? That you truly want a mate like me? I’m worthless, and cursed and…is it possible to love and want someone like… me?” she whispered.

Everything seemed to stop. Every time I try to suck in a breath, my throat tightens, causing pain to shoot through my chest. When I turned to look, Kane had already left the room.

“Wha…what did you say?” I said, afraid the fear in my voice was too much.

“That is what everyone had always said. That I am worthless. Cursed. That no one would ever want me. All I have received so far was hate and insults. I am sure you can understand why I am acting this way. I don’t think you’d want me. The thought that you may be pretending to want and love me without truly loving me…”

“Stop. No. Don’t think that way, please.” I suddenly felt the walls crashing around me. The room spinning non stop.

‘She thinks we don’t love her,’ Leo whispered brokenly.

“I have the words engraved in my mind. In my heart. It is nearly impossible to get rid of it,” she mumbles, wiping her tears.

“Nala…I want you. You are my everything and anything and I want nothing and no one but you. You and only you. Regardless of what anyone may say, I’ll always want you,” I said softly while looking at her, begging her with my eyes to understand me.

She stared at me for a while, a brief hesitation crossing her eyes before she smiled softly. A dazzling smile that made my insides melt.

Goddess, I want this woman. Desperately.

“I’ll hold onto that knowledge for now,” she whispered. “Thank you for understanding.”

I watched as she ate quietly, without moving or saying anything. I simply watched. I pulled a bag from underneath the bed and fished out an open white blouse and a black jean.

“Change into this so we can leave,” I said, handing her the clothes. “Can you stand up?” I asked.

“Yes.” She pushed the quilt off of her and stood up, my eyes zeroing in on the scars on her neck, down her collar. It looked like silver.

“Is…is that silver?” I said tightly, my voice sounding clipped.

She nodded, tracing her index finger along the scar. “I’m okay,” she said.

My eyes turned bloodshot instantly, and I could see nothing but rage. I’ve felt rage more times than I ever did in just a day. If I do not find an outlet for this, I am going to lose it.

“It doesn’t hurt much now,” she added. “In a matter of days, Erin will be able to heal us completely.”

“You have scars on your wrists,” I indicated. “Even if I do not see what is underneath your hospital gown, I know you have scars down there.”

“It is fine. My scars are a part of me. I look at them and remind myself how worthless I am. It is a good way to remember one’s worth,” she smiled absentmindedly while looking into the distance.

“Nala…”

“As I said, it is fine. I keep them hidden all the time so you don’t have to worry about that,” she continued as she looked shortly at me.

“How are you okay about this? How are you so nonchalant about this?” I hissed.

I thought she would flinch. I thought she’d take a step back, but she didn’t. Her face was devoid of any emotion as she stood before me. And I instantly regret it. In a sense, it was as though she was giving me the chance she promised.

“I…”

“Because it is my body,” she said quietly. “Mine to deal with. Mine to hide from the world,” she added, keeping her head down. “Do the scars offend you?”

“They do not offend me,” I denied. “They make me bloody angry,” I seethed. “I…” The words caught in my throat, my chest tightening. I hated this! And I will make someone pay.

“I’m alive, aren’t I? That’s enough. Now, please give me some space so I can change,” she said.

Damn it! F*****g b.astards! They broke her to the extent that she doesn’t care about herself anymore. To the extent that she does not think herself worthy of anything.

As I stepped out of the room, agony and distress, and a blinding black fury was threatening to swallow me whole.

“Aiden…”

“I need to do something, Kane. I need to hit something before I lose it all,” I snapped, my agitation eating at me.

“We can do that when we leave. I went to get the therapist but Phil said she had left for an emergency and rescheduled the introduction to tomorrow. We can leave as soon as she’s changed,” Kane explained.

“Bring that Bastard Alpha to me tomorrow. I want him in the capital by the time my schedule ends,” I commanded coldly.

“But…”

“Hell!” I muttered, and slammed my hand against the wall. “Do it!” I hissed.

Now that I’ve caught a glimpse of it all, I couldn’t get it out of my head. The scars from the silver. The pain in her eyes. The damage they had done to her internally. No idea how many were responsible for what she went through, but I am finding out, and I’m taking matters into my own hands.

Regardless of what they think of her, regardless of how low they think of her, regardless of the said curse, no one, I mean no one had the f*****g rights to hurt her!

And I am going to show them just that!