The Lycan King's Healer
The Lycan King’s Healer – Chapter 30

I aimed for my body weight to land on his head and make him fall to the ground, but as my knees locked around his neck, he acted as if a mere squirrel attacked him from the trees.

The man cried out in surprise but was not affected. I started throwing punches at his neck, not realizing I was yelling, and he ripped me from his neck. His strong hands tossed me off like he was flicking a coin; I went lurching into the dense vegetation. .

I fell hard on my back, the landing winding me. A heartbeat passed before I could breathe, and I gasped, sitting up before he could shoot me or attack.

“And here I was assuming you’d be happy to see me,” the man said in a familiar voice I had been waiting day and night to hear again.

I looked at his face, my heart nearly combusting from out of my ribcage.

“Aldrich,” I gasped out, using my hands to aid me in standing up. My legs suddenly felt like sacks of heavy skin devoid of any bones.

“Are you mad at me for being gone for so long or something?” he chuckled. He glided over to me and helped me up, holding my arms. I couldn’t answer, too overwhelmed in the cloud of his musky lavender scent and the feel of his hands on me again.

“Why are you—how are–” I panted, making my hands release his arms. I couldn’t breathe.

“The question is why are you out here?” he grinned, seemingly too happy to see me to reprimand me yet.

Reality hit me like a wave, and I realized I couldn’t tell him.“I…I was just taking a walk,” I breathed weakly. My eyes flitted over him repeatedly, up and down, drinking in what they have been thirsty for.

His hazel forest green eyes, the boyish smile, the long hair that was now tied in a loose knot on the nape of his neck. Wisps of his brown hair bordered his angular face, his hint of dimples visible. The sun was now above the horizon, casting through the trees in glimmering golden spotlights. It illuminated his eyes and his hair, and I curled my fingers into my palm to make sure I was not dreaming of him again.

He raised an eyebrow at me, crossing his arms over his barreled chest disapprovingly. “You attack people on your walks?”

I bit my l*p, my eyes flickering away. I genuinely didn’t have an answer for that.

As I looked away, I sensed from my peripheral vision that he was staring me down, his eyes traveling over every groove of my face and body. Not in the admiring way I dreamed of, or the way he used to look at me.

But with horror instead.

“Are you sick?” he demanded, stepping closer to me, his eyes now blatantly scrutinizing.

I debated saying yes so that I didn’t have to come up with some other excuse. With him coming back so abruptly, I had no time to gather my lies about the happenings here, and how mine, Alan, and even Theo’s lies would have to correlate.

“Are you?” I deflected, looking back to him with a straight face. “Why are you back?” It came out more harshly than I intended.

He narrowed his eyes at that, arms still crossed. “Am I not allowed to come home after a long and tiring war?”

“Well, yes,” I said, trying to soften my tone. I reminded myself how long I had been awaiting his arrival and the degree of grief I felt in his absence. “That’s not what I meant.” I sighed defeatedly. Why was I always on the defensive with him?

Aldrich sighed along with me, shaking his head. “We won our last battle and I came home. There was a major loss,” he admitted, his expression darkening even more as he looked down, “my second in command leaked our deployment map to the vampires. Most of my best warriors have been slaughtered. But that’s not exactly why I’m here.”

I frowned, questioning the look of defeat on his face while he claimed they won the last battle. “Why are you back?” I asked again, this time more softly.

He squinted through the morning light at me. “My brother has been scheming against me,” he said, “I’ll tell you all about it once you care to inform me why you’re actually out here, and why you look sick.”

Now I was really backed into a corner. “I already told you.” It came out pathetically, and he knew my lying voice by now. I had the tongue of a coward.

“Enough, Cathy,” he snapped, throwing his gaze at me, “after I left I thought there would be less mystery between us. I suppose not.”

This is not how our reunion was supposed to go.

“Aldrich, can we just go inside? You’re probably exhausted from your voyage home, and I haven’t slept,” I attempted to compromise, and I even managed a small half smile at him. “Believe it or not, we all missed you around here, and I’m sure there’s many people who would like to see you.”

“You’re the only one I care about,” he insisted, his nostrils flaring.

“Okay,” I accepted, my smile naturally widening, “I know. But let’s get inside.”

He couldn’t help but soften at that, most likely relieved I was deciding to be pleasant. “Fine.”

I gestured for him to go on first, and he rolled his eyes, continuing down the path I interrupted him from.

“So,” he said in his cheeky, lighthearted voice, and I knew I was off the hook for at least ten more minutes until we made it back inside, “you say we all missed you, huh?”

“We did,” I said, staring at his back as we walked through the sunrise soaked trees. I was still secretly debating to myself if I was dreaming.

He didn’t look back as he plodded on, but I could hear the smirk in his voice. “You’re aware that the word ‘we’ includes you, correct?”

I rolled my eyes, wishing I had a rock or branch to throw at him. “I am aware,” I reluctantly said.

“I wish I could have somehow recorded the look on your face when you realized it was me,” he chuckled, pushing aside a low hanging branch. I glared at the back of his neck. “Your expressions admit way more than your words.”

“Who did you think I was?” I wondered, and ducked under the branch he held for me.

“A mischievous child,” he answered, and for that, I lightly kicked the back of his shin. “Hey! Don’t be mad at me that your fighting skills aren’t exactly on par.”

“Maybe they would be if you cared to teach me,” I teased.

Birds sang around us, and the dewdrops gleamed in the sunlight as we neared the estate. It showed how much time had passed since I’ve been out here.

“I’m not getting in a ring with you,” Aldrich chuckled, “not in my right mind.”

As we walked, I watched the graceful way he weaved through the woods, the bounce of his hair on his neck, the muscles in his shoulders as he pushed aside the vegetation. He was truly a character from a fairytale. As the lavender and the sandalwood filled my nose, and the sight of him filled my eyes, I suddenly felt unafraid. I did not fear the woods, or any unidentified arrow. Right here behind him, I was safe.

“I guess I did miss you,” I admitted.