Heart Of A Lycan King
Chapter 71

This couldn’t be real. It can’t be.

But it is. Phillison is right here, and I don’t know what to make of it.

She looked…different. Pale and sick? Like she was dealing with something. Her hair was packed in a loose careless bun, and her once shiny black skin looked dull.

“Where…where is he?” She asked again, tears streaming down her face.

“Phillison? What are you doing here?” Mav asked, walking up to her side. “And what is wrong with you? You look…”

“She was Donald’s mate,” I answered, unable to resist the biting edge in my voice.

“Was?” Mav asked in confusion.

“She rejected him,” I deadpanned, glaring at her and wishing she wasn’t here.

“She rejected Donald?” He asked, shocked. Then quickly turned his gaze back to Phillison. “You rejected him?”

She didn’t look at him, neither did I. Instead, I kept my gaze pinned on her. “Why are you here? Haven’t you caused him enough harm already?”

“I need to see him,” she continued crying, slumping down to the floor. “I…I…need to know he’s fine. Please, I just…need to see him and I’ll be on my way.”

“How do you think he’ll feel seeing you now?” I continued, the tight squeeze in my chest making it hard to breathe. Why did she have to come back now? Why? Just why? I wanted to lash at her so bad right now. I wanted to tell her to leave, that she had caused my friend enough damage already. But I couldn’t. Because that would make me a hypocrite. Right now, I was the one who had caused him his current predicament, and while he may still be in pain over her rejection, Donald still loves her. He was just at our home a few days ago pleading with Aiden to find her. For his sake, I wouldn’t say anything rash. And because I don’t want to be a hypocrite. “Wait, how did you even know about this?”

“I told her and brought her here,” a voice said before a man strolled in. It was David, and this is the third time I was seeing him since I got to the capital.

“You found her?” I asked.

“You could call it luck. Lacie and Amma both called and told me about what happened. She wanted to tag along,” he answered, gesturing towards Phillison.

The loud scream behind the door stopped us from saying anything. I turned on my heels and ran towards the room, with Mav and the rest trailing behind me. When we got into the room, I had to stop, because my heart just couldn’t take in the sight.

In the middle of the room were weird markings, with a Lycan drawn at the center. Its mouth is open and the eyes are glowing golden. Donald lay in the middle, shaking. Smoke rose from his body, as he shook. His body was tied with chains to the floor, as white foam slurps from his mouth. His eyes were open, but rolled so far back we could almost only see the bloodshot white part.

“Quick, hold him! The poison is getting worse!” Inna yelled from where she stood. It looked like an altar, while she held her staff and stood above Donald. Her face was covered in something white, with black marks on her cheeks. Like the first time I had seen her, Inna’s eyes were as white as fog. And now, instead of the black dress she always wore, she was dressed in a red gown, her hair pulled up in a tight bun.

Two young women stood on either side of her, holding black clay pots. They were both clad in white see through gowns, and had their long black hair pulled down.

Aiden and Mav rushed towards Donald, holding him down as they hissed and cursed. “His skin burns!” Aiden growled. “The smoke isn’t just there, it feels like fire on his skin.” He added while grimacing in pain.

This was too much. Too much pain to watch. If I felt pain from watching, how do I suppose Donald feels right now?

“It’s the poison. It is acting up faster than I thought. This is the most dangerous stage, and we need to feed him the roots before we lose him for good,” Inna said.

I crossed into the room, and stood beside Lacie, who covered her mouth with her hand and cried. She was shaking badly from the shock and pain of seeing her brother like this.

“He’ll be fine,” I managed to say. “He has to be fine.”

“Is…is that him?” Phil said from beside me, her voice a faint whisper.

I had no time to reply to her or hear Lacie’s reply because Inna ordered Aiden and Mav to step aside to a safe distance and then chose the moment to blow the powdered root on Donald’s face. After a few seconds, he wasn’t moving anymore.

“Now, My King!” Inna yelled. She hit her staff in the middle of the circle, and began a weird type of dancing.

Aiden who was already bare upwards walked up to where Inna danced. Then she placed her hand on his chest and sang for a while before Aiden collapsed beside Donald. I rushed to his side, getting on my knees and taking his cold hands in mine.

“What…” the words cut off as Donald sat up, a deep growl rattling the room before he broke off the chain and threw Mav to the side.

“Get away from there,” Mav called, rushing towards Donald, who now sat up and was growling at everyone. He had half shifted, and I don’t know how that was possible. But currently, the upper part of his body looked like a wolf’s, with fur and snout, while the lower half still maintained his human form. “All of you, leave!” He yelled again, tackling Donald to the ground as Inna continued to dance.

Soon, Aiden’s body began to shake in mine, and with each passing seconds, his body got colder.

“We are not certain he won’t be reacting to the root, Natasha! Get away from him!” Mav snapped while struggling with keeping Donald down.

“No! I will stay where he stays. He’s my mate and we are marked. That might be able to help.”

“It is dangerous,” Mav insisted. He crashed hard on the wall, but was up again in seconds. Perks of being a lycan, I guess.

“He’s my mate. I’m not leaving him, Mav!” I hissed.

He stared at me for a moment, mouth agape before he shook his head and looked away. Instead of saying anything he yelled at David to come help him keep Donald down.

“You two should leave,” he said to Lacie and Phil.

“No, I can help,” Phil called, rushing to the side Mav and David had Donald pinned. “We may not be mates anymore, but I’m sure he’ll recognize me. Please, let me help.”

“It is too dangerous,” Mav hissed. “Leave now.”

“You two were mates?” Lacie shrieked, looking from Phillison to Donald.

“I can help, really. I’m carrying his baby and that should help,” Phil continued, rubbing her hand on her stomach, the tears streaming down her face in thick waves. “At least even if he doesn’t recognize me, surely, he’ll recognize his child, won’t he?”

She was…pregnant. She’s carrying Donald’s child. A wave of regret and more remorse knocked at my senses even more. If he dies, his child would be fatherless. And I caused this. But what if he’s not his? It was at the tip of my tongue to remind that she was intimate with someone same day she rejected him, so how could she be sure the baby was his? But I held back, because this is not the right time for all of this. And even if it wasn’t, I shouldn’t be the one to say it.

This is Donald’s fight. I’m willing to support him without causing more damage to his relationship. If she says the baby is his, then I’ll take it as that.

“All the more reason you can’t stay,” David snapped. “If I had known you’d be this stubborn, I wouldn’t have allowed you to come along!”

“I just want to help, please!” She cried, watching the way they struggled with Donald. “I want to try to help. It is the least I could do after all I’ve caused him,” she added, taking timid steps towards them.

But when Donald howled again, she paused, and we both watched as his long nails scratched on their bodies, leaving ugly marks on their hands and faces, but neither of them flinched. His gurgled cries filled the room before he suddenly flung the two men holding him and stood up. His eyes darted around as he looked around frantically, his eyes were not able to focus on anything specific. Before any of us could react, he let out a horrible howl and suddenly began to scratch himself with his long claws, leaving a large gash of wounds scattered around all over his body. Black b***d oozed from the areas he had scratched himself, with thick smoke filtering out of the holes.

From where I sat, I could see it all. And the pungent smell from the council was getting stronger. His loud growls increased, so did his frantic scratching. There was no slight indication that he may seem to stop at any moment. Perhaps, that may have prompted Mav and David to tackle him back on the floor, the veins on their hands popping to show just how hard the task was.

“I’m almost done. You must keep him down!” Inna yelled, the tempo of her dancing increasing. The two girls on her side dropped the clay pots they were holding with a thud, the contents in it scattering around. The black worms that had been on Donald’s chest began to slowly vanish like smoke into the air, but Donald wasn’t stopping. Again he flung Mav and David off him and stood up. This time he seemed more focused. He was a horrible sight. Half shifted, snarling with foam running from his mouth, and with huge wounds all over his body. Some still with b***d and smoke oozing out of them, while others were in the process of healing.

He eyed the room, his gaze stopping before me as he bared his teeth. For a moment, he seemed to have registered something before he leaped into the air and jumped at me.

This was it. I chanted, closing my eyes to embrace my punishment. I tightened my hold around Aiden’s hand, trying to remember every detail of his body for when I die. I should be the one in that state not him, and if the target was me right from the start, it should still be me.