Beyond A King

Homeward bound

(Lyla pov)

You are perfect my dear, simply perfect, I’m going to enjoy making you mine.

A shiver runs down my spine hearing his name in my head. As much as I hate it, I can't erase the memory no matter how hard I try. His voice his hands on my body making my skin crawl nothing I did could erase the flashbacks.

I hate that all it took to trigger the memory this time was someone calling me my dear. I looked at the elderly gentleman in the seat next to me who now wore a concerned expression. I felt bad for the fear that must be etched into my face. All he had done was ask if he could have my fruit cup for his grandson in the seat behind us.

I forced my best fake smile, unable to use my words and handed him the fruit cup. He hesitated for a moment before nodding thanks and handing the cup over to his daughter for the crying toddler in her lap that was still hungry from the tiny breakfast.

I closed my eyes and focused on the breathing exercises that Jasmine had taught me a few weeks ago. I hadn’t told her or anyone at silver moon pack about my history but as a healer Jasmine could sense my unease and offered some calming techniques. Though I had never told her why I had these episodes and in my opinion Jasmine was just a little too quick to make assumptions.

The captain’s voice sounded throughout the cabin that we would be landing soon and my stomach jolted again. It wasn’t just the flashbacks that had put me on edge this morning but the knowledge that soon I would be back home. I was happy, I missed my family terribly, being with my aunt and cousin Megan had been great but it was only the two of them in their little house since my uncle died.

Even though she had moved to my uncle's pack when they met and all our family still lived in ravenwood pack my aunt had never thought twice about moving her and Megan back home. I suppose it had worked out for Meg in the end since she found her mate and I guess my aunt just likes the quieter life, not me. I missed the hustle and bustle of my family.

As I walked through the terminal I looked around expecting to see the familiar imposing figure of my father or a horde of signs and screaming from my siblings, all eight of them but I was shocked only to see the handsome face of my younger brother Tyler was the only one waiting for me.

At first I didn't recognise him and had to do a double take at the not so little young man waving with a giant smile on his face. I couldn’t deny that the lack of a welcome committee had left me disappointed but I schooled by features and gave my baby brother a bright smile as the big goon came barrelling towards me scooping me up and spinning me round with ease.

“ Hey sis, how have you gotten more gorgeous since you left? I thought I was picking up an Angel for a second” He beamed, setting me down on my feet, my little brother wasn’t so little any more, when I left he was a scrawny little thing that barely reached my forehead, always cracking jokes and carrying a football round with him wherever he went, any opportunity to throw the old pig skin, he’d say.

Now I was welcomed by a giant that towered over me with thick biceps, definitely not as much as dad but he was certainly heading that way. I knew he’d started warrior training now but I wouldn’t have expected such a drastic change in him he wasn’t even eighteen yet. His once short dark hair was now longer on top allowing his natural curls to come through, that along with his beautiful grey eyes I could imagine pack girls fawning over him. There were already a few humans in the crowd staring dreamily at him. Ugh.

I laughed and shook my head, reaching up to pinch his dimpled cheek like I’d always done “oh thank goddess you're pretty otherwise you’d never get girls with those cheesy lines' ' I mocked laughing as his smile dropped. I’d heard worse but a big sister has to keep him on his toes.

Tyler frowned down at me before smiling wickedly flashing some gorgeous dimples once again, oh dear lord those poor unsuspecting females. He will make them swoon with that smile alone. “ Hey, my game is on point, don't you worry about me” he winked. Obviously knowing all too well what that smile did to girls.

Oh but I did worry about my baby brother, from what the others told me he was heading down the same path as our wayward father had before my stepmother got him in line. Tyler had only been fifteen when I left for England and was more interested in playing sports with his friends than girls but apparently he was now a bit of a playboy amongst the pack females. I just hoped he was being careful. He was only seventeen and wouldn’t be able to find his mate for a few more months. I just hope she wasn’t part of our pack. I knew more than a few friendships that had ended because of pre- mated pack relations. People don’t like being around others that they know have slept with their mate. You’d think our fathers lifestyle would have been enough of a detour to all of us.

Tyler picked up my bag with ease and threw it over his shoulder like it didn’t weigh just as much as me, I’d had to pay a fortune for the extra baggage just to get it on the flight. He took his other bulging arm and wrapped it around my shoulder pulling me with him towards the exit. I got a few glares from women around me as we left but I just rolled my eyes amused. I mean seriously Tyler and I looked the most alike out of our siblings. It was obvious we were brother and sister. We both had the same dark curls and grey eyes along with the same facial features as our father. Dad would say it was the dimples when others said it was our chins but I think dad only said that so I didn’t develop a complex over having a male looking chin.

Tyler put our similarities down to the fact we both had magical heritage. My mother was a witch and Tyler’s had been a Fae. I don’t know much of how his parents met but we know that Tyler was given to the pack border patrol as a pup a few months after he was born. There was a letter explaining his mother had met her beloved shortly after discovering she was pregnant, she had tried to conceal Tyler as her beloved’s child but it was obvious when Tyler was born he was of wolf origin and her beloved refused to raise another man’s child. Although from the letter it seemed his mother was incredibly heartbroken having to give him up, she’s never tried to contact him in the years since. My brother never lets on that it upsets him but I know it does, he has always been the sensitive one in the family.

It took forty minutes to get out of the airport parking lot mostly because in true Tyler goofball fashion he’d been in such a rush to get to me he had forgotten to take note of the parking bay and it took us thirty minutes to find dads car. “ I thought dad was coming to pick me up?” I asked when we finally reached the pack's gated security. I was beginning to feel anxiety about being home and needed to distract myself.

Tyler seemed nervous for a second biting his lip, something he did when he was about to lie, the guard waved us through and we drove onto pack lands, home. I thought to myself “He had something’s to take care of” Tyler cringed apologetically.

I look out of the car window realisingTyler’s hidden meaning. “ Oh goddess he didn’t, '' I muttered, already seeing the giant welcome home banner that would no doubt be hanging out of the top floor windows of our house, the house would be buzzing with life which was nothing unusual. Our house always served as a second pack house. People were always coming and going but if they found out my father was throwing a party everyone would turn up.

“ He just wants you to know we missed you,” Tyler said with pleading eyes. He knew me well enough to know if it was up to me I would bolt to my room and stay there. Being the centre of attention wasn’t really my thing and my own party was my idea of a nightmare.

“ So organising a party knowing I hate them is a way to prove that?” I rolled my eyes, I knew dad meant well. I knew he had missed me but inviting loads of people to our house wasn’t my idea of a good time. Usually I was the girl that left a party as soon as I could.

Tyler sighed, I knew he didn't get it he was like dad, he loved a good party “ look at it this way, everyone’s in one place, you’ll save yourself weeks of awkward repeat conversations of how your doing and why’d you stay away so long…..why you left in the first place” I puffed out the air I didn’t even know I was holding. knowing he was right, I’d left so suddenly that I hadn’t said goodbye to a lot of people, nor had I been able to contact them whilst I was gone and I knew there would be questions.

“ Since when are you so level headed?” I asked, trying to lighten the mood but Tyler didn’t return my playful smile. He looked straight ahead with an emotionless expression.

“ I grew up while you were gone sis” he muttered glancing at me quickly before turning back to the road without another word making my stomach roll a little. It wasn’t like I’d wanted to go to England in the first place, I’d had no choice, my being here when they knew where I was put everyone in danger I had to leave until things died down but I had stayed there even after they all begged me to come back, I supposed I had to expect a bit of a frosty welcome. What worried me was Tyler was the most easy going of my siblings so what kind of reception would I get from the others. Was that why none of them had come to meet me at the airport?

I returned to admiring the vast greenery and pack members going about their business. That was one thing I’d missed being overseas, crescent moon pack was so quiet and isolated. The people loved it that way being one with nature but it wasn’t for me. I loved that you have the best of both here.The beautiful surrounding forest but also we were close enough to the city you could easily get the busy city atmosphere as well. I loved being home again.

We drove for thirty minutes before coming to the one landmark that always took my breath away “ devils cove” Tyler commented seeing my line of sight. I looked out at the cliff at the edge of the territory that led to a hundred foot drop into the cove lake below separating the neighbouring territory from ours.

When we were pups the omegas used to tell stories of how the moon goddess split the land in half creating the canyon , it reached all the way down to the devils lair so she could keep watch over his evil deeds. I could remember all the pack kids would dare each other to hang over the edge and see how long we could hold on. My brothers always held the record. There was only one other kid that could beat them they said but I never met him apparently he left the pack years ago.

As I looked out at the vast forest around us I was hit with a wave of loss in the pit of my stomach, a memory tried to push its way to the surface but I couldn’t quite grasp it. It almost made me cry. I quickly shook off the strange feeling and turned back to the canyon.

“ I remember it well” I hummed to him remembering the last time I was at devils cove. My heart hurt at the fond memories that now felt like a sham. Another reason I didn’t want to return. Maybe that was the strange emotions I was feeling.

“ how is he?” I asked before I could stop myself, not trusting myself to say his name without tearing up. The emotions caught me by surprise, I hadn’t expected to not be over it by now.

“ don’t get mad but dad and Cora invited him” my head whipped around to face him my shock and anger evident, Tyler immediately held his hands up in surrender before turning back to the wheel.

“ Look I tried to tell him you wouldn’t want them there and it’s too painful but it’s hard, since you never told dad the full story of what went down and SHE has been telling the pack they are fated mates sooooo….”

I scoffed “ So it looks like I’m some jealous ex that needs to get over herself” I finished feeling all the rage I felt the day I left returning with a vengeance and now I would have to face them both at the party. If HE was going to be there of course he would bring HER as well. She was the mother of his pup after all and I was just some bitter ex apparently.

“ to people that don’t know what happened, yes, you seem like a jealous ex who can’t get over that he found his fated mate. It’s been made worse because you left” Tyler resoned.

“ That had nothing to do with it” I shouted, immediately feeling bad. Tyler looked shocked and then hurt at me. I expected him to start shouting back but instead he reached over and grasped my hand.

“ Dad thinks seeing them together will help you move on. I'm sorry lyla but you made me swear not to tell anyone” he said gently, he was right, at the time it had seemed like the best option. If dad had known the truth of what happened the day I left he would have gone on a murderous rampage and I couldn’t let that happen. I was still too in love and heartbroken after everything I’d still wanted to protect HIM.

I angrily wiped the tears from my eyes ready to explode, I was heading into my nightmare. A party where everyone would ask question after question about why I had gone and to top it off the two people that hurt me most in the world would be there and I had to plaster on a fake smile pretending it was all ok.

I should have stayed in silver moon pack.

“lyla your magic” I heard Tyler’s panicked tone and looked down to see flames in my palms. Tyler had removed his hand and looked down as shocked as I was. This was new. I had never conjured flame before I could manipulate the elements but never created them, even my energy balls had been hard to master, it was still hit and miss when I needed them. Yet here I stared down a flame that gently licked up my palms as if it was the easiest thing in the world. It took a moment to reign in my emotions but after a few seconds it stopped.

My brother looked worried. I reached over and squeezed his arm, he flinched away through fear thinking I will hurt him, that almost broke me “ sorry I’ll be more careful I just wasn’t expecting to have to see them together today that’s all” Tyler nodded and relaxed before his goofy grin came back.

“ Are you sure? cuz I was just going to say arson is a much better cover up than having to tell pack police you didn’t mean to hug them both to death” he chucked at his own joke just as we pulled into the driveway of our house.

“ haha not funny, I won’t do anything” I said even though I was imagining setting their hair aflame “ I just didn’t think I would have to dive straight into it as soon as I got home” it wasn’t like I hadn’t expected to see them we lived in the same pack after all and I had planned to do my residency right here. I just planned to put it off for as long as possible, I was being a chicken. I knew that. Maybe it would be best to see everyone and get it all over with like Tyler said.

Seconds later the front door opened and the huge figure of my father filled the doorway with a bright smile on his face. He barley fit through the door frame with his giant body. His blonde hair was still long and tied back in a man bun much to my stepmother's dismay I’m sure. She always says it’s his best feature and demonstrates by always running her fingers through it.

My father was a handsome man even now he was in his forties he still had women half his age pining for him. It pissed me off sometimes because he was a mated man now and I felt it was disrespectful but my step mother always took it in her stride. It was easy to see why dad had ended up with so many children, he had been known to get around in his youth and it wasn’t just the females that loved him, some pack males would be caught staring and even my father himself had never met a reflective surface he didn’t like.

In dads words it was his cross to bear. Note the eye roll.

Despite his vanity my dad had a heart of gold and had loved me unconditionally despite our years apart. He was never too busy for his family and we all loved him dearly. Seeing him in the doorway in front of me I couldn’t hold back any more.

I jumped out of the car with inhuman speed making it all of two steps before I leapt into his waiting arms.His scent of pine hit me instantly and I relaxed knowing I was truly home.

“ baby girl I’ve missed you so much” dad whispered, kissing the top of my head. His bearded chin tickling my hairline like it always did when he kissed us. I could have cried at that moment because it had become all too clear how much I had missed him too.

The house itself didn’t look any different from the day I’d left. I was hit with a wave of nostalgia and I couldn’t hold it in any more as tears streamed down my face, I’d missed this place so much. After mom had died this was the first place that felt like home even though I wasn’t a wolf I had never felt like an outsider here.

I saw the colourful balloons and the huge welcome home sign hanging over the threshold of the door. I knew the second I walked through that door my family and friends would rush at me. Dad had more than likely made them wait so he could be the first to hug me. He was a bit of a baby like that. He had to be the first to welcome his little girl home.

We spent a few minutes outside before dad dragged me and Tyler inside where I was engulfed by welcomes and hugs. I would say I complained but honestly It was just so wonderful to finally be home.