Heart Of A Lycan King

5.

I could only see rage. Feel it. Taste it. And the only thing I wanted was to snap someone's neck. To make someone pay for hurting my mate.

But soon enough, all those emotions were replaced by a sense of dread. A horrible sense of dread.

The young woman whom I figured was my mate was shaking beneath my touch. She was scared. And I was reminded of the words she had spoken just moments ago. Doesn't she want a mate? What was going on? Why was she scared? But that didn't stop me from asking again.

"I asked a damn question!" I thundered, turning to face the rest of the people watching. "Who did this to her?" I growled, feeling an overwhelming sense of rage wash over me again.

"Your Eminence, are you okay?" Kane asked as he rushed to my side.

I didn't get to reply, due to the woman moving away from my touch. It suddenly felt empty. Dry.

She dropped her head, her hands twined on the edge of her wet yellow dress. Her hair was wild and untamed now after our little moment on the floor. How I longed to run my fingers through those soft curls.

"I'm fine," I replied solemnly, refusing to take my eyes off her. "Are you okay?" I asked, taking a single step towards her. Surprisingly enough though, she took two steps back.

My chest twisted uncomfortably.

‘She's scared,’ Leo, my wolf, spoke for the first time that morning. ‘She's scared of us, Aiden,’ the pain was there. I could feel it wrap me up and envelope me in a tight hold. I could feel it swallow me up, taking over the little senses I have left in me.

My mate was scared of me.

"I...I...y...es," she nodded, refusing to meet my gaze. "I am...so... sorry for...that..."

"No, it’s fine," I replied quickly. "Why do you have these bruises all over? Who did this to you?" I asked again.

She looked up sharply, as though I had said something I shouldn't. She glanced towards the audience, then back at me, and shook her head.

"It's nothing...no one did that. I was..."

"Natasha has always been the clumsy one around, Your Eminence. She slips and falls every time she tries to do something," Camila, the Alpha's mate said as she stood beside Natasha.

So that was her name. Natasha. I loved the way the name rolled on my tongue, and I can't wait to scream the name someday and have her call me silly for that. Or perhaps...

'Focus on the issue at hand, you s**t face, and stop giving that testosterone of yours a reason to act!' Leo chastised.

I straightened up, shoved all thoughts away from my mind, and focused on the lies this woman was spewing before me. Does she think I am stupid?

"She slips and falls?" I flicked the hair that fell to my face and chuckled. "You mean to tell me, that those bruises on her body and face were as a result of falling and slipping down?"

"Yes, Your Eminence. She is so clumsy that it always happens. Isn't that right, Natasha? Go on, tell the King wh..."

"Shut the fvck up!" I thundered, tightening my fist to stop myself from slamming her against the wall and hitting some senses into her brain. But I was never one to hit a woman. I never did, and I wasn't about to let this woman make me start.

My gaze softened as I shifted my attention towards Natasha, who had dropped her gaze down once more.

"You can talk to me. Who did this to you?" I asked softly, taking a single step towards her. Yet again, she stepped back.

"No...no one did this. I'm fine. Luna is right. I have always been clumsy," she replied.

Something wasn't right. I knew it then. I knew it from the very moment I had seen Matteo raise his hand to hit her. She was hiding something. Was she trying to protect someone? Or was she scared of someone?

I can only do something if and when she decides to speak up. I have no idea what was going on. All I knew was that this woman was my mate and I'm taking her with me.

"Change into this, Your Eminence. I had one of the guards get them from the trunk of the car," Kane said as he handed me a pair of blue jeans and a long-sleeved white shirt.

I took the jeans after stepping out of my trousers, then stepped into the jeans and fastened the button at the top. I still had my eyes fixed on her.

"If you don't mind, Your Eminence, she can take those clothes of yours and have them washed and dried off before we are done with the meeting," Matteo stepped in.

"No, that's..."

"It will be a pleasure. I'll do it," she stated as she took the wet clothes from Kane’s hand. "I'll have them ready before you know, Your Eminence," she added, still refusing to meet my eyes.

"Hey, you!" Matteo shouted at one of the women I assumed were Omegas. "Clean this place up.

"You can leave now, Natasha," Camila said, leading her away.

As I watched her leave with my clothes, I knew that regardless of what was going on here, I was taking my mate with me.

And I would love and cherish her for as long as I lived.

****

NATASHA

I thought my feet would give way at any moment as I walked away from the imposing male figure that scares the s**t out of the living cells in me.

Why another mate? Why moon goddess, why!? I cried inside. It made no sense. I had only been rejected yesterday. And now, another mate? And not just anyone, but the Lycan King!

This can only mean that my troubles, pains, and suffering had only just started. But this time, It wasn't as though I was going to let things happen. No, this time, I was going to take things into my hands.

I knew nothing about him, save for the fact that he was the king. But that does not mean he has my interest in mind. If anything, he might be planning to humiliate me way more than my pack already does by asking me who was responsible for my bruises.

He didn't need to know. He was not going to help me. No one had ever helped me and I was sure it wasn't going to start with him.

Besides, how do I know if I'd remain alive long enough to leave this pack if I dare point at my abusers? Matteo might kill me before I set a single foot out there.

I arrived at the washroom and a breath I didn't know I was holding back escaped my lips. I slipped down the tiled floor, my back pressed against the cold hard wall behind me. Now that I was away from his presence, it was impossible not to remember what he had looked like.

Tall and muscular, with a skin a russet reddish brown. Dark, and oh so deep. Rich and shiny. And I figured we had the same shade, although mine looks dull and dirty. At first, I nearly lost it when we locked eyes, and I found myself staring at the most beautiful set of eyes as dark as night. So scary, yet, there was just something so comforting about them. He had a thin mustache that accentuated the curve of his nose, and a beard. So dark. And a gleam to it, with a little curve that fitted his face. He has a hair so black and shiny, with c**k screw curly locks that framed his face, leaving a few locks scattered on his face that fell to his eyes. The rest were packed upwards using a band. He looked dangerous. Yet so inviting.

I brought the wet clothes to my nose and took a deep breath. Soon enough, my head was filled with his scent. His scent was a combination of pine woods and cedarwood. So soothing. So calming.

If only, if only he'd want me, then I'd have gladly had him. But what would a king ever want with a lowly Omega rumored to have been cursed? Nothing.

Would he reject me? Abuse and humiliate me as Matteo did? Would he also hit me?

"Do you think he'll want us, Erin?" I asked although she had been silent ever since Matteo had caught me. Aside from the fact that she stirred when we figured the Lycan was our mate, she did nothing more.

"Would anyone want a cursed mate? Don't get your hopes high, Nat. No one wants us. And no one would," she said quietly.

She was right. No one would ever want us. Running away right now was as good as a suicide mission. I would be caught instantly, considering that the security around the pack had been tightened due to the King's arrival. Now, I'll simply wait for an opening, and that would be tonight. I don't need money anymore, I'll make it when I leave.

My thoughts wandered to what happened when Matteo caught me in his room with the wad of naira notes in my hands.

"You b***h! How dare you steal from me?" he had snarled, pulling at my hair so hard that I screamed. He then hit my face repeatedly as he cursed me, calling me all sorts of names.

"You dare steal from you? You dare try doing that?" He kicked me in my stomach, causing me to double over and fall. "Today, I am going to show you who the master is. It is obvious that I have been so lenient with you these days, hence why you think it is okay to try this s**t with me," as he spoke, he unbuttoned his white shirt and dropped it, his coat already lying on the floor beside his shoes.

"If I didn't have to change my suit, you'd have stolen the money and do what? What were you planning to do?" he yelled, pulling my hair so tight again, causing me to look up at him from where I lay. "Were you planning to run away? Is that it?"

"N...n..." The words died in my throat as he choked me, knocking out the breath I had managed to suck in. He wrapped both of his hands around my neck and squeezed so hard.

For a moment, I thought that was it for me. I thought I was dying. I thought it was the end of me. But it stopped suddenly as the door was pushed open and a voice shrieked from behind.

"Baby! Stop that. The King has already crossed the border and would be here any moment." Camila said.

Matteo pulled back, and through my hazy gaze, I saw his flushed face, the throbbing veins in his neck, his jutted chin, and his clenched fist.

"This...this b***h," he managed to say as he panted. "Was trying to steal from me," he explained to Camila, pointing at me.

Her eyes widened before she took long strides towards me and hit my face with her shoe, causing it to bruise instantly.

I screamed. But nothing happened. No one came to my rescue. No one cared. They never do and never will.

"We'll deal with you later. Now, we need another help in the grand hall. The water is yet to dry off and the King would be here any moment. We can keep a close eye on her that way."

Matteo simply nodded. That was how I ended up in the grand hall. How I ended up meeting my second chance mate.

I wish I'd one day be wanted by someone. Just anyone to accept me for who I was.

I sighed as I added the shirt to the washing machine and leaned back against the wall once more. I was again transported back to the time I had met the Lycan king.

Unlike the pull I felt with Matteo, the one with the Lycan was much stronger. It felt like I was being pulled by a magnet like I was being persuaded to give in. And when he gingerly touched my cheeks, I nearly cried out in joy. No one, no one had ever touched me or treated me with such gentleness.

But I knew that was just a hoax. He may be worse than Matteo, after all, he was a Lycan. And the King as well. He might be putting up a show there so he won't be chastised by anyone. But what he didn't know was this, no one would care if he did anything to me. If he breaks me limb by limb.

No one would. I had no such luxury. Now more than ever, I wanted to run. I wanted to hide. Better yet, go rogue and be alone forever. I want no more pain. No more hits. Nothing...

"The King requests your presence in the grand hall immediately," one of the ranked male wolves, Omar, said as he stood by the door.

"But I'm not done yet," I tried to say as he pulled my hand tightly.

"And how is that a problem of mine?" he snarled. "Let's go."

As he dragged me through the dimly lit hallway, I made a vow to myself. I was going to reject him first. That way, I can spare myself some of the pain that comes with being the rejected one.

"She's cursed, Your Eminence. She has a two-colored wolf," Matteo was saying as we walked into the grand hall. Everyone looked agitated, and they were all standing.

The Lycan king and his guards stood on one side, while Alpha Matteo and the rest stood opposite them. On the other side were five women standing, whom I assumed were the ones chosen to be sent away.

"And so? Have you ever seen one? How do you know she's cursed? None of us has ever seen a two-colored wolf, nor had any of us seen a cursed one!" the King roared.

"Legend has it that every two-colored wolf is..."

"Shut up!" The king thundered at Camila. "I was not talking to you!"

"Forgive me, Your Eminence," she said quietly.

Silence stretched, and I nearly choked on my spit when I found him looking at me, and at the same time, he was walking towards me.

‘Oh, Moon goddess. Please, save me!’ I prayed.

He stood before me, hands tucked into the pocket of his jeans. He simply stood there, staring at me. I waited for anything. Perhaps, a hit? Or an insult? Anything. But nothing came. Nothing. Then ever so slowly, as though he was afraid of something, he ran a knuckle down my right cheek.

"I hate this," he grumbled, grazing the bruise on my cheek.

My knees nearly gave way, but I didn't dare show the effect his touch had on me. I didn't even blink.

"You know what we are, right?" he said quietly, loud enough for me to hear, however.

I could only nod. His knuckle that still grazed my cheek was making me weak. Making me yearn for more.

"Come here," he suddenly pulled me to him, placed his hand around my waist, and pulled me tightly to his side. Then he turned to face the rest of the people.

"This woman, this wolf, is my mate. And I'm taking her with me," he declared openly.

My jaw nearly fell off, literally, as the words left his lips. I tried to gauge his intention, but his face was devoid of any emotion.

"That...that is... impossible..." Camila stuttered.

"What is? Do you mean I don't deserve her?" he asked.

"Of course not, Your Eminence. But she doesn't. She's a lowly Omega. A cursed wolf. And she was mated to Matteo before..."

"Shut up, Camila!" Matteo yelled as he pulled her behind him.

"She was your mate?" the King asked, his voice dripping with rage.

"Yes...yes..."

"What did you say?" he thundered, letting go of my waist and striding over to Matteo in a blink. "Is she your mate?"

"No...no, Your Eminence. Not anymore. I rejected her," Matteo said, his voice trembling.

Now everyone knew I was once his mate.

"Did you touch her?" he growled, clenching and unclenching his hand.

"No...no. I never did anything with...her."

"I asked if you ever hit her. Or have someone do it. Those bruises aren't from slipping or falling. Someone hit her!" He yelled.

I had never thought there'd come a day when I'd see Matteo shake like a wet leaf before my eyes. He looked like he was about to piss himself. I never deemed it possible, but it was happening now. And I loved it.

Even if the king ended up hurting me more than Matteo did, he had at least given me someone special. Seeing Matteo look this scared shitless.

"I'll be back. I promise you this if I ever find out that you lied to me, I am going to break you limb by limb, that is, after I had cut your veins and watched you bleed. I'll do worse than what I have just said, Matteo. Just pray to the goddess that I don't find anything contrary to what you've told me. I don't care that you bring in the most money in the country, I will burn this pack to ashes," he threatened, and I even felt the power and the rage reverberating from him.

Why was he doing this? I'm sure it wasn't because he wanted me or anything. I'm sure it...

I was abruptly pulled and I found it was the King. His eyes were bloodshot, getting darker than I had seen them the first time. He pulled me outside into the now hot sun and straight towards the black BMW parked alongside other cars.

"Wait," I called as I halted and refused to move. I wasn't about to suffer another wave of pain from rejection. Or abuse. No, this time, I would be doing the rejection. "We can do this here. You don't have to take me with you," I said.

He puckered his brows, a disturbing look crossing his face. I pulled my hand from his hold, and his gaze dropped to the action.

"What...."

"The rejection," I instantly cut him off.

"What rejection?" he asked, covering the little distance between us.

"I, Natasha Gladys, reject you, King..." I paused, realizing that I didn't know his name. I knew the name of the former king, but not this one. "Uh-huh, can you please tell me your full name?" I mumbled shyly, glancing up at him.