Lycan Princess Vampire Mate

The Aftermath Of Rejection

Liz

“Lucian…” I breathed out again, my voice trembling as if I needed confirmation that he was real. His name barely left my lips before everything tilted, darkened, and swallowed me whole once more.

I fainted again.

By the time I woke up, I was cradled against a warm, solid chest, his chest. The moment his scent filled my lungs, my knees almost buckled even though I wasn’t standing. It wrapped around me like something forbidden and addictive. I felt intoxicated, drunk on him alone.

Was this what Father meant whenever he spoke about Mother?

About how loving her wasn’t something he chose, it was something he felt, deep and uncontrollable, like a current dragging him under no matter how hard he tried to swim away?

He always said the mate bond was overwhelming… consuming… powerful enough to bend even the strongest Lycan to their knees.

And now I understood.

Because every time Lucian was near, it felt like invisible threads were pulling us closer. My heart beat faster for reasons I couldn’t stop. My wolf pushed toward him even when my mind protested.

It was instinctive, natural.

Lucian watched me closely with furrowed brows, his hazel eyes were sharp and cautious, as though I were something fragile he wasn’t sure how to hold.

Before I could think, I reached up and leaned in for a kiss. But he stopped me by pulling back a little, although his hand closed gently but firmly around my wrist.

I gasped in shock. “Why?”

He took a deep breath, avoiding my gaze. “What did you think you were doing, Liz? It’s your first day in the Silver Moon pack and you’re already out here partying. Do you think that tells well on your reputation as the Lycan princess?” He clamored.

I could barely hear what he was saying, as my heart fluttered embarrassingly. So, he did care? A low chuckle escaped my lips, despite my attempt to stop, and that seemed to anger him even more, which I found cute.

“You were dancing on a pole in front of half the school,” he continued, voice low and laced with anger he seemed to be trying to suppress. “Your life is already at risk. You should be more careful. Reckless doesn’t even begin to describe what you did.”

I bit my lip, biting back a smile. His possessiveness… god, it did something to me.

Firstly, he called me Liz, not “Princess,” not “My Lady,” not the suffocating titles the world used. Just… Liz. Simple. Equal. Mated.

Lucian snapped his fingers lightly to get my attention. “Liz, are you even listening?”

I frowned instead. “Why won’t you kiss me?”

He stared at me as though I had grown two heads. “That’s what you got from everything I just said?”

“Yes,” I replied without shame. “From the moment I knew you were my mate, I wanted to kiss you. You have no idea, Lucian. How much it ached sitting in your class, watching you ignore me while those girls were fangirling over you, when all I wanted to do was kiss me.” I moved closer, covering the gap between us, I felt him stiffen and a smirk tugged at the corner of my lips. He felt it too.

“You know, when you followed be to the bathroom, I pretty much thought you were gonna ravish me, too bad I fainted.” I continued. “So, tell me, is that what you wanted to do?”

He furrowed his brows in surprise. “Are you asking me if I wanted to have s*x with you in the bathroom?” He asked, his tone was a bit higher.

“Yes,” I replied, with a bright smile.

“Liz, what the hell is wrong with you?” It was the second time I had seen him almost lose his temper that night. “Why would you think that way?”

“Isn’t that the whole point of being mates?” I whispered into his ears, taking in his scent. “As mates we’re not obliged to have only vanilla s*x. In fact, before civilization, mates could f**k anywhere. In the open—in the forest, in the ocean, hell! In the middle of the mountain. So I’d say the bathroom is rather discreet.” My tone was lower, seductive. I didn’t just see it, but I could feel it as well, I was doing things to him just as he was doing to me.

When he didn’t say anything else, I began to grind on him slowly, but he stopped me abruptly. “What? Don’t you want to claim me already?” I asked. My tone laced with disappointment.

He groaned, dragging a hand through his hair. “That’s not happening. And aren’t you too young to be thinking like that?”

“I’m twenty,” I shot back. “And we’re mates. That makes us equals.”

“Why? You don’t want to do it in the car?” I shot back, my voice sharper than intended, half-drunk courage and half-wounded pride mixing dangerously.

He shook his head. “Liz, come on… stop this.”

The way he said it, tired, irritated, almost pitying, hit me harder than any insult could. A wave of embarrassment crashed over me so fiercely I thought I might actually sink into the ground. Heat flared up my neck and into my cheeks. He really didn’t want me. All this time, I’d convinced myself the pull between us meant something to him too. That the mate bond would make it impossible for him to stay away.

But instead…

I’d just made myself look desperate.

Pathetic.

Reckless.

My stomach twisted painfully, humiliation burning through me. god, he must think I was throwing myself at him. A needy, shameless girl who couldn’t control her own desires.

Damn it, Liz! I cursed myself mentally.

I had bared my heart, opened myself up completely, and he’d made me feel like I was some cheap distraction he couldn’t wait to shut down. Like I was a… a slut.

My wolf whimpered inside me, curling in on herself, hurt by her mate’s rejection. The mate bond magnified everything, every emotion, every fear, turning my shame into something unbearable. It felt like a physical ache in my chest, like he had pulled away from a thread connecting us and left me bleeding in the space between.

I swallowed hard, blinking rapidly to stop tears that threatened to fall.

“Right,” I muttered, voice tight. “Got it.”

For once, I wished I didn’t feel the bond at all. Wished I could care as little as he pretended to. Because gods, this hurt worse than any wound I’d ever taken.

This was my chance to leave, to walk away, but I just couldn’t. Instead, I pried him for answers. “But before I go, I want you to tell me, why did you ignore me today?” I demanded. “You looked at everyone else, everyone but me.”

“I didn’t ignore you,” he said plainly. “I just had no reason to speak to you.”

“You had every reason. We’re mates!”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Then why are you even here?”

“Because everyone has been tasked with looking after you,” he replied without hesitation.

“Liar,” I whispered. “Your heartbeat is racing right now. I can feel it.”

“It’s not,” he said stiffly. “You’re imagining things. I really have no intention of claiming you.”

The words sliced clean through me. “You’re an i***t,” I snapped. “Rejecting royalty.”

The moment it left my mouth, disgust flooded me. I had never played that card before, never wanted to. But he was making me lose control, and I hated it.

Lucian’s jaw clenched. “Go home, Liz. Stop being reckless before you get yourself killed.”

“Or what?” I challenged.

His eyes darkened. “Or I’ll personally hand you over to the council and let them decide how a future queen who can’t follow orders should be handled.”

My breath hitched. He knew exactly what he was doing, exactly where to aim to hurt.

I couldn’t take it anymore. The humiliation, the rejection, it was too much. Before he could say another word, I shoved the car door open and stumbled out.

“Liz—!” he called after me.

I didn’t wait.

I ran.

I didn’t care where my feet took me, I just kept moving, deeper and deeper into the dark area behind campus grounds. I didn’t realize I was alone until the lights faded behind me completely, replaced with the thick scent of damp earth. Like it just rained.

I was just about to turn back when the sickening smell of blood hit me like a brick wall. It froze me in my tracks. I could tell it was fresh.

My wolf instinctively surged forward, alert and on edge. Something was definitely off.

I scanned the trees, trying to locate the source, but everything was eerily still. Too still. Then I heard it, a faint rustle, like someone trying to sneak through the leaves. I took a careful step back, letting my senses expand.

It wasn’t in front of me. It was behind me. A low, menacing growl echoed through the darkness, close enough that the hairs on my arms prickled.

I turned around too slowly, and before I could turn completely, a sudden, brutal pain shot through my shoulder as something slammed into me from behind. Teeth or claws, sharp enough to slice through flesh, dug into me. Warm blood streamed down my arm, and I gasped, the air knocked out of my lungs, my vision blurred immediately.

Through the haze of pain, I caught a glimpse of my attacker. Their red eyes were staring at me. It wasn’t a Lycan, nor a wolf. It was something entirely different.

Its fangs were long and jagged, dripping with my blood. The ground tilted beneath me as it lunged again, too quick for me to react.

I tried to regain my balance, but my legs gave way. Everything dimmed. And then it all faded away.