Heart Of A Lycan King
Chapter 7

My heart thundered in my chest, pounding so hard I feared my ribs would crack. My ears rang loudly. I could feel it thump in. Feel the way its sizzles rose from the pit of my stomach to my chest.

Rage. Pure unadulterated rage.

I saw only b***d. Nothing but b***d. It thumped in my ears. In my chest. It squeezed my heart, and for a moment, I thought I couldn’t breathe.

My stomach clenched and every muscle in my body turned to stone. In all the long years I had waited for my mate, I hadn’t felt this kind of rage. In all the long, dreadfully sad days, weeks, and months I had waited for her, I hadn’t felt this rage. Not in my thirty years of being alive.

Hell, ten rounds with the best boxer in the world would certainly not knock out the ugly stuff churning in my system right now.

‘Break his jaw,” Leo growled, pounding in my head. ‘No, don’t just stop at that. Kill the piece of s**t if you can. If you can’t, I’ll do it!’ he snapped.

He needed not to tell me that. I burned with the rage to do that. To slap away the crooked grin on his face as he stood there panting and looking at me.

“What. Did. You. Just. Say?” I asked, enunciating each word slowly.

“She’s still his mate, Your…” A growl I had been trying to hold back escaped my lips, and Matteo’s mate clamped her mouth shut. I shifted my gaze back to the fool standing beside her and waited.

I just needed a good reason to beat the living hell out of him.

“I…I… she’s… she’s still my mate,” he breathed, his lack of thinking surprising me.

I clenched and unclenched my fist, looking towards the car and making sure Nala wasn’t out.

I wouldn’t want her to see me turn this man into a bloody mess.

“And how is that?” I asked mockingly.

“Let me take care of this, Your Eminence. You can leave,” Kane said as he stood beside me.

“It’s fine,” I waved my hand. “I will handle it.” I wouldn’t trade a chance to hit Matteo for anything right.

‘I don’t understand what you are waiting for!’ Leo snapped, fighting dominance for my consciousness.

‘Unlike you, I like to think before I act. I am waiting for the right moment to strike,’ I growled.

“Answer the damn question!” I yelled, taking a single step towards him.

“I… didn’t reject her,” he stuttered.

“So you want her back?” I asked, pressing my lips together and biting my tongue to stop myself from slamming him against the car.

“I already have a woman I would take as my Luna, Your Eminence,” he wasn’t stuttering anymore. Perhaps, it was because he thought I was okay with giving up my mate. “She’s cursed and undeserving of me as a mate. But I still didn’t reject her so she can have somewhere to stay. For someone at your position, I don’t think you deserve that b.itch…”

That was it! I was done listening to his bullshits!

Before he could react, before he could notice what was going on, I had pulled him by his tie and smacked my forehead against his nose.

His loud cry and the cracking sound of a bone calmed me a bit. But it didn’t take away the murderous instinct in my mind.

“Who the f**k do you think you are?” I smashed my fist into his face once more and leaned down to his level, the cries of his supposed mate irritating me even more.

“Shut up!” I growled at her, and she quickly clamped her mouth shut, shaking like a leaf from where she stood.

“Who do you think you are to tell me what I deserve? And how dare you call my mate a b.itch? How dare you!” I raged, slamming him against the hood of the car. “A b.itch you say?” I hit his face again.

All I could see as I did that was the image of Nala’s bruised body and face. The blinding thoughts that Matteo may have been responsible for those scars did nothing in calming me down. If anything, I wanted to inflict as much pain as he did on her. The b***d oozing from his nose did nothing to calm me down. Instead, I wanted more.

“Are you responsible for those scars?” I demanded. “Are you?! Is that why you think doing this would make me leave her behind? How dare you!” I raised my fist to hit him again when the door of the car was pushed open.

Her scent was the first thing I noticed, her frosty scent enveloped me before I finally looked up to see her. However, the expression on her face made my b***d run cold, and I felt all the anger that was once filled in me, slowly deflating.

“Stop it! Just stop it!” she cried, bringing her hands to her mouth as she stared from me to Matteo. “What are you doing? Why…why…” she hiccuped, as I slowly released the death grip I had on Matteo.

“Nala…” I took a step towards her as Matteo slumped to the ground. Camila rushed to him, her cries returning.

“Stop!” she said, her voice a strangled whisper. “Stop. Don’t come any closer, please…” The look on her face was crushing me. Huge, teary eyes looked at me and the scene behind me. She was terrified. Of me.

“Why?” I said, and I wasn’t even ashamed that my voice shook. That I sounded like a baby with no mother.

“Why did you do that? I’m just an omega. A cursed omega responsible for being doom and harm to her pack. You didn’t have to hit him on my behalf,” she cried. “You didn’t have to. I am undeserving of that.”

Fury and frustration flooded me. She had accepted all that had been thrown at her that she now does not deem herself worthy of anything. Not even his care.

“Nala…”

“He’s right. I am an omega, and I don’t deserve to be his mate,” then quite suddenly, she straightened up. “Because he does not deserve me as well. I want no mate like him, which was why I accepted his rejection.”

“Nala…”

“But that does not mean I want you or anyone to hit him. This is my fight, and I’d rather fight it alone. You…you…you didn’t have to be like them. You are all the same. Choosing violence over everything.”

“You didn’t expect me to stay sane while he insults my mate, did you?” I flared, losing all the senses I had held onto. “You’re my mate. Mine, Nala. MINE! And I’ll do anything to…”

“Then reject me!” she cried. Was she doing this for Matteo’s sake? Was she saving his skin?

‘She’s doing it for herself, Man. I can feel her wolf. Restless and quiet. Not even when we met for the first time had she stirred much. She’s doing this because she had witnessed so much violence, and would rather not have anyone go through something like that for her sake,’ Leo mumbled.

“You just need to let me take care of you…” I tried, but she quickly shook her head as she waved her hand.

“I have always been alone. I have always battled with my demons. No one has ever helped me. No one has ever cared about me. Why the sudden care now? From a stranger no less?” she asked me. “Not even my pack wanted me, nor my mate…” she added with a distant and hopeless look in her eyes.

“I am your mate. I want you.” The desperation in my voice wasn’t hidden. I covered the distance between us and placed my hand on her shoulders. “You deserve love. You deserve everything and more in this world, Nala.” I shook her as I spoke.

Terrible mistake. A big terrible mistake.

She was suddenly shaking in my arms. Tears rolled down her cheeks. She looked frightened, so frightened that it hit my guts.

‘What have you done? You should be gentle with her!’ Leo snapped.

But I was past the level of reasonable thinking. All I wanted was for her to accept me. For her to leave with me. For her to let me take care of her.

“Let…let go,” she pulled away from me and walked over to where Matteo was laying.

I was back to seeing red. What does she think she’s doing?

I watched as she kneeled before him, as she stretched her hand towards him. I didn’t know what she did because her frame covered him, but I saw her lean in a bit and I lost it all.

I took three long strides and picked her up. Her scream didn’t make me stop. Neither the pounding of her fists in my chest. The only thing that brought my senses back to me as I placed her back into the car was the words she was uttering.

“I just needed to tell him something. I was leaving with you. Stop being so violent!” she sobbed.

I stepped away, stared at her sobbing figure then closed the door. Had I been violent with her? This is why I rarely get angry. Because whenever I do get angry, I find it hard to calm down. I just hope I wasn’t violent at her, but at someone else.

I turned and walked over to Matteo, who had now sat up and was glaring at the car. It was then I noticed it, the trail of spit on his cheeks, right close to his left eye.

“She…she…” Camila tried to speak, but couldn’t complete the sentence.

It dawned on me then, that Nala wasn’t trying to calm him down, rather, she spits on him.

A sense of pride surged within me. Even though she hated herself, although she was scared, she had the will to fight. And she did the simplest thing, yet most annoying.

“I’ll be back,” I snarled. “And we’ll end this silly game of yours once and for all. Right now, my mate needs me.” The rage was back. Burning at me. Eating me raw and merciless. “Those scars on her body will be inflicted on whoever is responsible. I am promising you that again.”

Then to keep myself in check, I walked to the drivers’ side without sparing him another glance, waved my hand at Kane and Deigo, the driver to ride the other car. I pulled the door open, stepped into the car, kicked the ignition, and drove at a blinding speed.

I needed this. I should have shifted, but I wanted to be around her. My only option is this. I needed to set my emotions in place.

And so, I drove away, the loud screech of the car setting in the mood of the drive I needed.

NATASHA.

I sat paralyzed in my seat. First, it was from the impact the King had on me. The way his words had affected me. His light touches. His intense gaze. His positivity.

I was slowly getting used to it. Thinking I deserved it. Thinking it was something I should get. That I could be loved.

A delicious heat had woven through my b***d. A heat that had begged me to stop resisting and enjoy every stolen touch, every caress of the King’s warm, clean breath on my skin.

I shouldn’t have enjoyed it though. I should find a way to reject him or have him reject me. Instead, I only wanted to snuggle against him more. To feel his heat against my body. To take in his scent.

Then. A second. All it took was a second before things had changed so quickly. How the once calm surrounding I was enjoying, turned to something I hated. Something I was scared of.

I shouldn’t have thought he was different from Matteo. They were all the same, with anger issues and violence.

As he raced the car through the tall trees and flat road, I couldn’t help the paralyzing fear that crept into me. It held me in a tight embrace, engulfing all the senses in me. It reminded me of the day Matteo had taken me on a ride similar to this.

He had stalked into the attic the second day we had figured we were mates. He looked angry, his menacing dark figure towering above me.

“Come,” he snarled angrily, pulling me by the white dress I wore. “My mate? You?” he snarled. “I’m going to show you just what happens when a b.itch like you crosses the line,” he added as he continued dragging me down the steps.

No one said anything as they watched him do that. It wasn’t the first time they’ve all turned their eyes away when Matteo was dealing with me. He had also always been violent with me even before he found out we were mates.

Soon, we stepped out into the courtyard, and he pulled the door to his car and pushed me in. When I was young, I always loved to go on car rides with my parents. But not anymore.

Matteo pulled the car and raced down the road. I couldn’t even see the trees clearly because of the speed. I screamed and cried, begging him to let me put on my seat belt, but he didn’t.

“A lowly omega for a mate? A cursed omega at that?” he snarled, swerving the car around as though he was going to crash us. “I am going to kill you so no one finds out,” he added in a low threatening tone, continuing to swerve around.

“Pl…” I tried to speak, but it died down, and instead, I screamed. He made a sharp turn and stopped right at the edge of a cliff. He pulled me out of the car and dragged me to the edge of the cliff.

“I’ll throw you down there and no one will find you. No one would look for you. No one would know you were my mate,” he said in a sadistic tone.

I tried to speak, but before I could, he hit me on the mouth, so hard that my l*p sliced.

“Shut up!” he grounded. “Shut that trash of yours. Or better yet, I can do that for you.”

He bent and grabbed a fistful of the dirtied sand around us and pushed it into my mouth.

“Swallow!” He pressed my lips together. “Swallow or I make you do that the hard way.”

It was impossible to do that. But I had to try. I had to force myself to swallow, small stones clogging my throat and making me gag. Then he pushed my face to the edge of the cliff and a wave of fear washed over me. I saw the height, the large stones down below. If I fall from here, I’ll certainly die.

I tried to fight to get away, tried to find anything that I could hold onto, that would make me not fall if he decided to push me over. The fear I felt made me cold all over, it had a deadly grip on my stomach and forced my throat to close. I could not hear him anymore, could not feel the hand on my neck pushing me to the edge. I could only see the bottom with the hard, cold rocks. I could only hear the splat of my body hitting it, of my head crushing. Only see me laying down there. In my future bed. Painted red.

But somehow, he didn’t throw me down the cliff as he threatened. Instead, he kept feeding me the sand and at the end, while I was laying there gasping for air and paralized of fear, he peed on my face.

I was forced to swallow some of it as water. Just so I could get some of the sand in my throat down.

Now, as I sit back and watch the King drive the same way Matteo had done, or even worse. I couldn’t help but get scared.

He had said he wanted me. That he would never hurt me. He had said I was his gift, one he wanted so bad.

Yet, he was hurting me. He was causing me unimaginable pain. Somehow, the pain I felt then was unlike the ones I felt when being around Matteo. Perhaps, it was because of the tiny bit of hope I had held on with the King.

I was wrong. He doesn’t want me. No one loves me. My life may as well end right now, which was exactly how I felt.

Suddenly, I was hyperventilating. I struggled to breathe. Struggled to get air down my throat. But the paralyzing fear that he might try doing something worse than Matteo did, didn’t let me.

At that moment, the car stopped. The king turned to face me and we locked eyes. The hard line of his mouth slackened on a short, sharp intake of air. Perhaps, it was the look on my face that did it, but he suddenly looked terrified.

He opened his door, and I instantly knew he was coming to me.

I didn’t want him near me, I realized, as a tight constriction completely closed my throat. I couldn’t breath, couldn’t swallow. Even my heart stopped beating with the violent thump, then set going like a hammer drill against my right temple.

He began walking towards me in a strange, slow, measured way that made me want to start backing. But where? Sweat began to break out all over me. The car began to fade, tunneling inwards in ever decreasing circles until nothing seemed to exist safe for me and him. The closer he came after pulling the side of my door, the more tight and airless the tunnel began to feel, until I was almost suffocating by the time he kneeled beside me, just outside where I sat.

And he was big. Too big. Too dark…beautiful dark, too handsome…too everything, I thought as a shudder ran through me. He overpowered me with that compelling look burning in his eyes.

No, I protested, though I had no idea what it was I was protesting against.

Maybe I’d said the word out loud, because he suddenly went quite pale, and his eyes were so dark I actually felt as if I was being drawn right into them. Or perhaps, I was. Because this was my mate.

Crazy, I told myself. I can’t be crazy.

“Nala,” he breathed very thickly. “Oh dear goddess…”

I fainted. With my name still sounding in my head, I simply closed my eyes and sank like a stone into the seat.

I embraced the darkness.