Fated to the Lycan King

Lilah Winters has been on the run for the last seven years. Moving from pack to pack, and hotel to hotel. Lilah’s mother had been trying her hardest to keep her only child safe. Using any method she could to stay one step ahead of the man from her daughter's nightmares.

Just days before her eighteenth, Lilah and her mother are in a car accident, throwing Lilah directly into the path of the very man she was trying to escape.

Injured and barely conscious, Lilah has no choice but to accept his help. But that doesn’t mean that she is going to make it easy for him.

Prologue.

“Hand her over.” The new Alpha was growling at my dad as I hid behind my mum. I could just about make out the brilliant blue of his eyes. When they flash at me, I hide my face.

“Alpha, she is only ten years old.” I hear my dad growl back, standing his ground.

“She needs protection.”

“You are not having her.” My father was the old Alpha’s Beta. He had planted himself between the new Alpha, my mum and I. “She is just a child.”

“I am well aware of that. I hate it as much as you do, but you can’t protect her any longer. I can keep her safe until she is an adult.” His deep voice echoed around me, but I wasn’t afraid. There was something about him that called to me. A tug in my heart maybe, an overwhelming sense that I knew I was made for him.

“Then just reject her.”

“You know it doesn’t work like that. Not anymore. I will wait until she is old enough. I will ensure she is healthy and cared for, but you have to hand her over.”

For a moment, everything around me was no longer important. I tried to make sense of what he had said. Mum pushes me back a bit further. Trying to put distance between us and him.

“She will never belong to an arsehole like you!” Mum screams and dad throws a fist. Mum grabs me and races to the car. Half dragging and half sobbing as dad tries to hold off the new Alpha. She throws me into the backseat and sped away. As I looked out the back window. Watching as the new Alpha ripped my dad apart.

“Lilah, come on.” Mum calls from the otherside of the door as I pull myself from the bed. Another night and the same nightmare. I sigh as I get dressed.

Looking into the mirror. I was looking sicker by the day. Trying to rub the bags under my eyes away, I tell her that I would be out in a moment. Brushing out my long raven hair, I pull it down around my collar bone, hiding how frail I was becoming. I knew what was happening. I knew that being away from him was making me like this. But we had to keep moving. He could never find me.

Grabbing my bag, I make my way out of the hotel. The bag was small, but we never needed much. We were never in the same place long enough to have belongings, only necessities.

“Sorry, I’m tired.” I mutter as I hand her my bag.

“Nightmares?” She looks at me with pity. The same look she gave me most mornings.

I nodded my head, but it wasn’t nightmares plural, it was just the one. The same one every night for the past seven years. The replay of my fathers death and the way the new Alpha had looked at me. It was like my mind was trying to work out the meanings behind the Alpha’s words, but each and every time there was something slightly different. I started to wonder how much of it was true. Or if my mind was playing tricks on me.

Since that night we have constantly moved. Travelling all over the world, looking for a pack to protect us. We never got to stay long. As soon as they heard the name of who we were running from, we were sent away. It was always just my mum and I and it had been that way for the last seven years. The way I liked it.

“Lilah, I’m sorry honey. You can sleep in the car.” She throws my bag in the back next to hers.

“What happens when I’m eighteen?” My birthday was just days away. The day that I had been dreading. It would mean the mate bond would work both ways. It would mean that he could link me. It would make it so much harder for us to escape his clutches.

She tucks a strand of my long raven hair behind my ear. Her cool hand cups my cheek, but her eyes glance at my thinning shoulders. She doesn’t comment, instead, just telling me that we would deal with it together. Mum tries to give me a warm smile, but just like every other time, it doesn’t reach her deep blue eyes. It hadn’t done in months, she was just as tired as I was.

I inwardly groan. The man we were running from was my mate, the one that had killed my father. The King of Alpha’s, a murderer of packs, a psychopath, a Lycan.

“Lilah. We will deal with it together.” She gestures for me to get in the old honda. As I slide in next to her, she pats my knee. Giving me an awkward smile. Because she knew the truth as well as I did. The day that I turn eighteen, I will not be able to ignore his call.

The problem was, I had already felt the pull to him. I had that night all those years ago. I was somehow drawn to him even as a ten year old. I also felt the pull whenever he was near. It’s how mum and I knew to keep moving. How we were always one step ahead. If it wasn’t for me being a Luna and a Beta’s daughter, I wouldn’t even feel the connection.

Mum had explained it to me years ago. She finally broke down telling me that she was a Luna, the second born of an Alpha. Mum had met my dad when she was seventeen and several years later, they had me. They knew I would be different. I carried her bloodline and my fathers bloodline. A Luna and a Beta. They just didn’t know how different until Alpha Colt took over. That’s when they learnt that I, a werewolf, was mated to a Lycan. Something that has never happened in the history of our kind.

“What if he does find us?” I push a little more, desperate for answers.

“We will deal with it!”

“Mum, you can’t keep saying that. I need to know, I need to prepare myself.” We had the same conversation at least every other day. Sometimes I wondered what she was so afraid of. But deep down I knew. The moment he found me, mum was as good as dead. She had been keeping me from him.

“Lilah, he is a murderer. That's all you need to worry about.”

“I know he killed Dad, but you have told me the mate bond does weird shit.”

“Lilah language!” She scolds me.

“How am I supposed to escape him? It’s not like I can reject him.”

“He has wiped out dozens of packs. Killed hundreds of our kind. It’s what Lycans do.”

“That doesn’t help me. I want to know what he will do with me?”

She blows out her cheeks. The sign that she was done talking. Both of us fell into silence.

“I need to know so that I can defend myself.” I mutter after a few miles.

“Lilah, you can’t even shift yet.” she just about screeches at me. I knew it was time to drop the matter.

She was right. I couldn’t shift yet. My wolf abilities were pretty much nonexistent until my birthday. I couldn’t even heal like a wolf. It was a stupid design fault. Shift at eighteen. Find your mate at eighteen. As if being a teen wasn’t hard enough already!

Leaning over the backseat, I reach for my bag. Rummaging in it for the book I was in the middle of reading. If mum wasn’t going to talk. I might as well do something else. Just as I grab the book, I feel the pull in my heart. Stronger than before, like he was trying to speak to me. He was near and he was calling me. Something he had never done before.

“Mum…” I mumble, pressing my hand to my chest. Because this time, it hurt. She knew instantly and stuck her toe down.

“Put your belt on! She snaps as I sit back down.

“It’s fine,” I groan, tugging the seat belt around me. The pull on my heart increases and I realise we are moving closer to him. “Mum, turn around.” I panic, we were heading right towards him.

She spins the car and a truck is coming directly at us.

“MUM! Look out!

It collides into the side of us. I hear her scream, followed by glass shattering. The sickening crack of my own bones echoes through my head as I’m thrown through the window. The tyres screeched across the tarmac. Moments later, the sound of sirens echoed around me.

Images and noises come in flashes. Mum calling for me in between her screams. Blood was sprayed across the ground. The thud of my own heart echoed in my ears. The patter of feet of those running towards me. My mum’s voice grows distant, weak. After all the years of running, I was about to die.

The smell of musk mixed with oak invaded my senses, but it was oddly calming. It was him, I just knew it. Alpha Colt had finally found me. Seven nearly eight years I had escaped him. And just like that, my life was over.

“It’s alright, I’ve got her.” His voice was deep. It was a sound I remembered from all those years ago. My heart pounded through my chest as I recalled the last time I saw him.

“MATE!” He growls as he bends down next to me. His hands run over me checking for my wounds. Flipping me over onto my back, he exhales loudly, almost groaning.

He puts a hand on my hips.

“Ouch” I mutter, feeling a shock as he touches me.

“Sorry” He mumbles back. He almost looked disappointed that he had hurt me. I must be seeing things.

He touches me again, pressing against my bone. He presses down as hard as he can. Sending a wave of pain through me as my hips crack. I almost vomit and I let out a scream.

His face is close to mine as he speaks. I could smell the recent chocolate bar he had eaten. “Fucking lucky you are not paralysed.” He sounded annoyed.

“Mum…” I mumble and he sighs. Lifting his head, looking in the direction of the wreckage . But I couldn’t see anything and realise that I hadn’t heard her in a few minutes.

“I’m sorry Lilah. She didn’t make it.” My need to make her turn the car around had killed her. “I’m sorry, but this is going to hurt.”

His hands slip under my shoulders, someone else’s hands grip my ankles. They move me onto some kind of board. Lifting me up. I find myself looking into his cobalt blue eyes. He gives me a small smile, but his eyes were full of pity. Why did he care so much? He was probably going to kill me anyway.

Moving past the wreckage, I see mum. Her eyes closed, her head back, blood trickling out of her mouth as paramedics tried to free her. For the last seven years it had just been us. Now I was alone. I would have to deal with Alpha Colt alone.

“Where are you taking me?” I mutter slowly. Trying to make sure I was making sense as everything started to spin.

“To the nearest pack hospital and then home.”

Seven years I had outrun him. Seven years of escaping whatever the future held for me. But he didn’t sound angry. He was unnervingly calm.

“Now close those pretty grey eyes of yours.”

“No.” I couldn’t move, not even if I wanted to. It was like my body was working against me.

A smile teases on his lips. I realise that he probably has never been told no. Well not since my dad told him no. After all he was the King of Alpha’s, everyone obeyed him. Everyone did as he said.

“Do you ever do what you are told?” He cocks an eyebrow at me as I’m placed into the back of an ambulance type of vehicle. He slides himself in next to me. Telling the other guy where to take us.

I choose not to answer. Mostly because I was fighting to stay awake.

“In just a few days, you will have no choice but to listen to me. To answer my questions.”

“Fuck off.”

This time his lips curve up into a proper smile as he starts to laugh.

“You will make an interesting mate!” He mutters before I pass out.

One.

Alpha Colt’s POV

I knew I had been close to finding her. I just didn’t realise how close when I called out to her. She would be eighteen anytime now and I tried to reach out to her through mindlink. I had felt her as we pulled up to the junction.

My Beta Linc slams on the brakes, narrowly missing a swerving car. From nowhere a truck slams into the same car with a force that no one would survive. The moment the truck hit the car. I knew Lilah was in there. I felt how scared she was, the fear, the pain. My heart thudded in my chest as I watched her body fly through the windscreen. Her limp body sliding across the tarmac.

For a moment I am speechless. Almost eight years I had been tracking them down. Searching the world for my mate. And just like that, she was right in front of me. Unmoving and with blood pooling around her.

“Is that…?” Linc trails off. He knew we had been close. He had been helping me hunt her down anytime he could.

I don’t say anything. I had waited for this moment for so long. Now it was here, I was speechless. It was rare for me to have nothing to say.

“Well go to her then.” Linc mumbles, half pushing me out of the van door. If he had been anyone else, I would have broken his nose. But Linc had been with me for a long time. He was the only one that I could trust.

Stumbling out of the car. I rushed over to her. She was on her front, her face away from me. Her long raven hair fanned out over her head. I could already see that her hips were dislocated. Her top, ripped in multiple places and stained with blood from the glass wounds beneath.

The moment her citrus scent hit me, my Lycan growled ‘MATE!’ I couldn’t even stop it from coming out.

Flipping her over on her back. I assess the damage. Surprised that her hips were the worst thing. When she cries out in pain, I find myself apologising. I had never apologised to anyone. Ever!

It was worse when I had to tell her that her mother hadn’t made it. I felt her wave of sadness. I felt sorry for her.

She doesn’t put up a physical fight, but she is very verbal. Even when I tell her to close her eyes, she answers back. I guess I would be pissed too if I couldn’t heal. But she was somehow alive and I finally had her.

Lilah eventually passes out and I find myself just watching her. She had changed so much since the first time I laid eyes on her.

Her small frame had been hiding behind her mother as the traitor argued with me. Her peculiar grey eyes would peer around her mother, focussing on me. She didn’t seem afraid, even when her father was shouting at me. Or when her mother was holding her back.

I had hated the fact that I had been mated to a child. And not just a child, a werewolf too. She was ten years younger than me. The whole idea sickened me, but after what her father did. I knew I needed to protect her. Even if that meant keeping her safe until she was old enough to be properly accepted as my mate. She would be slaughtered if the news got out of what her father did.

I would have killed her myself if she wasn’t mated to me.

I had tried to tell her father. I had repeated the words over and over, but Beta Wayne didn’t want to hear me. I promised him that I wouldn’t touch her. That I had no intentions of marrying a child. That all I would do was keep her safe.

When he threw that punch. I saw the mother take off with her. Anger had ripped through me and I tore him apart like he was a piece of paper.

He would have been sentenced to death anyway. But her disappearance is what started my reign. I was different from my soft touch father. There was no way these packs were going to get away with half the shit that he allowed.

The only person that knew of Lilah’s bloodline was Linc. He had vowed that he would keep it a secret. Because murder of a Lycan King was death. And death to everyone in the family. There would be a bounty on her head if news got out. She would have been protected under my care.

“We’re here!” Linc calls and I peer between the seats.

Luna Juniper was already waiting in front of the pack hospital. Not a single strand of her short black hair was out of place. She had her arms folded over her large chest. Her lips pressed into a thin line as her foot tapped on the grass.

“And just like everyone else, she is happy to see you.” Linc half laughs. But it was true, everyone hated my arrival. They knew that if they wanted their pack to survive, then they had to be on their best behaviour.

Pushing open the back doors, I climb out.

“Why are you here, Alpha Colt?” She wastes no time in questioning me.

“Juniper. It’s nice to see you too.” I snap, turning my attention to my passed out mate.

“That’s not what I asked!”

“Do you need to be reminded of who you are talking to, wolf!” I growl.

She drops her head. “Sorry. It’s just that we were not expecting you.”

“Well I’m here now, so deal with it! I don’t have to let you know of my arrival. Or is that a problem?”

She doesn’t answer my questions and peers into the van. Her eyes on Lilah. “Who is she?”

“My mate and if you lay a hand on her. I will have yours!” I glare at her, using my Alpha tone. She knew it was an order.

“Wyatt isn’t here yet.”

“Doesn’t matter. I require your best pack doctors and nurses.”

She nods her head and points to the pack hospital doors.

Carrying Lilah inside, a female doctor and a nurse are already waiting. They lead me to an individual room and ask me for details about Lilah. I realise that other than her name. Knowing that she is nearly eighteen. I actually knew nothing about her.

They exchange looks

“If you don’t ensure she recovers. You are all dead.” It wasn’t a threat. They knew what I was capable of. If she doesn’t survive. The entire pack would be wiped out.

They nod and quickly get to work, ushering me out of the room. It’s nearly an hour later that they tell me how badly broken her legs are. Because she hasn’t turned eighteen yet, they will unlikely heal properly. Not until her Lycan kicks in.

I look at the doctor, debating whether to tell her. I was going to have too. They knew what they were doing.

“She’s a wolf.” I mumble, staring at Lilah through the window.

The doctor stares at me. I didn’t need to hear what she was thinking. Her face told me everything I needed to know. She was wondering what it meant by me having a wolf as a mate. Something that I had questioned all these years.

They finally let me in to see her. She looked peaceful. They had braided her long hair back out of the way. I could see just how ill she really was. There may be injuries to her legs, but she had been suffering in other ways. Her collarbone jutted out, her skin pulled tight around her face. Her raven hair had been hiding how bad things were.

Running my finger along her jaw line, she smiles in her sleep. It was an involuntary movement, but one that showed we were bonded. That my touch reassured her.

Before the doctor agreed to let me in. I retrieved the handcuffs from the van. I had been prepared that Lilah would never come easily. But I had to be certain that she wouldn’t run. The moment she turns eighteen, she could disappear without any of us knowing. This way, she wouldn’t be going anywhere. I slip one end around her wrist, the other to the bed and walk away.

Two.

Lilah’s POV

The accident replays over and over in my head. How the pull on my heart had strengthened moments before. Was he already watching me? He must have been close enough to have called to me. Could he have had something to do with the crash? Was he responsible for my mum's death?

The doctor pulls back the curtain and smiles at me.

“How are you feeling today?” She was always so damn chirpy!

“Like I was hit by a truck” I snap sarcastically.

“Okay. I just need to do some checks if you don’t mind?”

“Do I have a choice?” I looked at my wrist which had been handcuffed to the bed. I wouldn’t be going anywhere unless Alpha Colt had a say in it.

She lets out a giggle and clips her blonde hair back. Were they all this stupid? Is this what pack life did to them?

My mum had always been desperate for a pack to protect us. She thought it was our only option. Yet I was always secretly grateful when we were kicked out. I hated pack life, hated being told what to do by one person. Hated everyone knowing my business.

“Well, you are looking much better. Still waiting for those bones to heal though. They should speed up a bit after tomorrow.”

Tomorrow, my eighteenth. A day that I had been looking forward to and yet feared at the same time. It was worse now that mum wasn’t here. I always thought that I would get to celebrate it with her,

“Great!” I roll my eyes. But I was fighting back the tears. I didn’t want anyone to see me cry. They would think I was weak.

His musky oak scent suddenly hits me, along with that tug on my heart. He hadn’t been to see me since I had woken up yesterday, something that I was grateful for. But he had already cuffed me to the bed.

He appears just outside of my room. His cobalt blue eyes scanned over me as he rakes a hand through his short dark hair. He doesn’t move and waits for the doctor to speak to him. It was hardly like they were talking in private, I could hear every word they spoke.

The doctor tells him that she thinks I’m in pain because of my sarcastic comments. Of course I am in pain, I was in a car accident and both my fucking legs are broken.

“You’re awake.” He states the obvious

“Been awake since yesterday!” I snap in annoyance, refusing to look at him.

“And feeling sarcastic I see.”

“What do you want with me?” After all this time, I still didn’t know. It couldn’t just be because we were mates. Why would he have spent so long looking for me?

There’s a hint of a smirk at the corner of his lips. “It’s rare for anyone to speak to me like that and get away with it.”

“Do you think I care? You killed my dad and most likely killed my mum too.”

He lets out a sigh as he sinks into the chair beside my bed. He scratches the stubble on his chin. “Your father betrayed my father. As for your mother, I wasn’t involved. That was your own doing.”

“But you let her die!” I turn my head away, signalling that I was done.

“You may feel like that now Lilah, but maybe your mother got what was coming to her!”

“What the fuck did you say?!” I was livid. If only I could get out of the bed, I would have punched him in the face.

“You heard me. I am the King of Alpha’s and she has been keeping you away from me. She refused to bow. Her fate was sealed, whether it was by my hands or in the hands of the Moon Goddess.”

“She chose not to bow for a good fucking reason!”

“Oh Lilah, you have so much to learn.”

“I’m not learning anything from you! I already know the truth. Mum taught me everything I needed to know”

“Lilah, you can at least listen!”

“Just you wait until I have healed. I will make you pay for what you said about my mum!” every inch of me was fighting the pull. The desire to be with him, the need to have his body pressed against mine. I hated the mate bond, but it was going to get so much worse tomorrow.

“Just one more day Lilah. You won’t be able to resist me.” He was too calm for my liking. Irritatingly unbothered.

“Try me!” I growl through clenched teeth and he stands up laughing.

“I don’t need to try. I already know.”

He walks out, practically belly laughing as a nurse appears. I hadn’t seen her before and she gives me a smile as she places a jug of water by my bed.

“Hi, I’m nurse Halle.” She looks back as the Alpha exits. “I assume things didn’t go well?”

“No, he is a fucking moron!”

Her green eyes widened at my declaration. “Please don’t call him that.”

“Why do you care? It’s not like you are mated to him! You don’t owe him anything.”

She tucks a strand of jet black hair behind her ear. “He is the King of Alpha’s and your actions could get us all into trouble.”

“What do you mean?” I was curious, how I would have anything to do with them.

“If he punishes one, he punishes all of us.”

“That is fucked up!” I knew there was a reason as to why I hated pack life. It was the same everywhere. Every Alpha punished the entire pack for one mistake. It was how they stayed in control. How no one ever challenged them.

“It’s just how it is around here. It’s easier when he isn’t here.”

“This isn’t Red Bay Pack?” That was the name of the latest pack we had been kicked out of. The Hotel mum and I stayed in hadnt been too far. So why had Alpha Colt taken me somewhere else?

“No, we are one of the smaller packs. White Crescent. You were too injured to be moved any further. Alpha Colt practically screamed at all of us to save you. I hate to think what would have happened if you died.”

My mouth drops open. Why was he so desperate to keep me alive?

“I would have been better off dead!” I remember everything my mum had told me about him. The packs he had brutally slaughtered. The way he would wipe out wolves and Lycans if they stepped out of line.

“Things can’t be that bad. Besides, I think you are lucky to be mated to him. I haven’t even met my mate.”

“Then you have no reason to stay. Escape with me!” I offer. It was a long shot, but I would need help to get away. She shakes her head and looks at me as if I was mad.

“You have broken legs. There is no chance you are going anywhere. And I am not stupid enough to do that.”

I inwardly groan as I stare at my battered legs. She was right though. We wouldn’t make it far. Not when I couldn’t even stand up.

I was left alone for the rest of the day. Halle popped in before she finished her shift, making sure that I was drinking enough. She tutted when she saw my cup from the morning hadn’t been touched.

“You need to drink and I will see you in the morning.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” I tut, making her laugh. I just wanted out. Why did they think I was messing about and joking?

Closing my eyes, I let out a groan. “Why are you back?” I snort as his scent wafts in.

“I thought you might want this to read.” He drops my book on the bed next to me.

“Where did you get it?”

“My Beta grabbed it from the wreckage.” He turns his back on me.

“Wait –why?”

“It seems important to you. You didn’t have a lot but it's something you kept.”

“Oh,” I was confused by the act. I had only known him to be a psychopath. Not someone who cared.

Three.

Lilah’s POV

“Help!” I whimpered, as my legs began to spasm. The hospital was dark, no one seemed to be around.

My legs were in agony, a fire raging through them. I couldn’t help but scream out in pain. The doctor comes running in. The hospital lighting up as the doctor tries to pump meds into me. But nothing helped. Nothing stopped the burn.

“What’s going on?” Alpha Colt practically shoves a doctor out the way to look at me.

“They are trying to reset.” I hear the doctor call out

“Why now?” Alpha Colt yells back over the top of my screams.

“It’s past midnight.” The doctor yells back.

I was officially eighteen and my body was making me suffer. Instead of shifting, my wolf abilities had kicked in and my body was trying to heal. My bones were snapping and resetting correctly.

“Then help her!” He demands.

“We can’t, this is her wolf trying to correct everything.”

“Make it stop!” I beg through the tears. This was worse than the car accident. At least I hadn’t felt the pain, just shock.

“Lilah, look at me.” It was an order, but there was no way I was giving into him. Not now, not like this. He grabs my wrist, a wave of sparks travels over my skin. The mate bond was already kicking in. There would be no escaping him now.

“Lilah, it will be over soon.” He tries to reassure me as I rip my hand out of his hold. I didn’t want him touching any part of me. Not at the moment.

Grabbing my face, his Cobalt blue eyes stare into mine. It was odd, just like when he had found me after the car accident. Like his gaze instantly calmed me. I couldn’t pull away this time.

“Make it stop!” I beg him as the pain shifted from my legs to my back

“I promise, it will be over soon.” He speaks to me in a soothing tone.

A wave of sickness builds up inside of me. I couldn’t tolerate the pain any longer. I felt lightheaded as the room started to spin.

“She’s going to pass out!” I hear the doctor yell.

When I open my eyes, I am no longer in the hospital. Instead I find myself in a large bed. Attempting to spread out, I realise my wrist is still cuffed, this time to the metal headboard.

“Crap!” I rattle my wrist, pulling on the cuff, but even as a wolf now, I was still weak.

Looking around the room, I could make out the sound of running water. It was coming from a door. My guess was that this room had an ensuite. There was an oak dresser with a small mirror opposite the bed. Blue curtains draped at the large windows, but other than that, there was nothing here. The room was practically bare.

“Good Morning!” He was so chirpy, just like the doctor. I inwardly groaned as he sat on the edge of the bed. “Happy Birthday!” He beams at me, his eyes shining.

“Fuck off!”

“You need to watch your language! I tolerated it when you were hurt, but it has to stop now!”

“You need to fuck off!” I retort as he hovers over me.

His blue eyes darken and a snarl escapes his lips. “You need to learn to do what you are told!”

I closed my mouth, deciding now was not the time for another comment and he pats me on the leg, calling me a good girl.

“My legs don’t hurt!” I sounded more surprised than I intended too.

“They shouldn’t, not now that you have healed.”

I kick my legs about on the bed, never had I been more grateful that they were working again.

“I need the bathroom!” I mumble, suddenly aware of my very full bladder.

“No funny business!” he snaps at me as he unlocks the cuff and points to the ensuite. I slam the door, only for him to push it open.

“Door stays open!”

“Are you serious? I’m not allowed to piss in private?”

“Nothing I haven’t seen before.” He smirks at me. Retreating back to the edge of the bed where he could see me. The comment infuriates me and it’s made worse when he starts laughing to himself.

“I have a right to privacy.” I snap as I finish and exit the bathroom

“You have a right when you have earned it. Until then, you do as I say. Got it!” My hands clench up into small fists and he just laughs. “And what do you hope to do with them?”

He grabs hold of my arm, pulling me back to the bed and cuffing my wrist again.

“You are such a bastard!” I shake out my arm, ignoring the sparks that his touch had created.

“I’ve been called much worse!” he shrugs his shoulders, and winks at me..

“What the hell do you want from me?”

“You will be my mate, you will stand by my side and you will do as you are told.” Spitting at him, the smile fades from his face. His hand wraps around my neck, his eyes laser focussed on my own. “Try that again and see what happens!”

His eyes drift down to his hand around my neck. The smile returns as quickly as it faded.

“I could just mark you now. Make you mine whether you like it or not. After all, you have always been mine.”

“Who wants an old man like you?!” I snarl. Every Alpha that mum and I had met had been in their late forties. Some even in their fifties. Though I have to admit Alpha Colt didn’t look it. He looked exactly the same as he did all those years ago.

“Old? I’m twenty seven!”

“You have to be old to be an Alpha.”

“I was twenty when I became the King of Alpha’s.”

Calling him old had clearly touched a nerve. But weirdly, I was also impressed that he had become the King at such a young age.

He lets go of me. Scowling, he moves to the door. “I have some meetings and then I will be back to celebrate your birthday.”

“I don’t want to celebrate it.” It wasn’t worth it if my mum wasn’t here. “Least of all with you.” I add, making sure he understood how annoyed I was.

He growls at me before slamming the door on the way out. I needed to find a way to get out of here.

“Don’t try anything stupid!” His voice rumbles through my head, sending a shiver down my spine. The link between us was in place. He would be able to find out anything he wanted. If I ran away he would find me. If I lied, he would know. I was fucked!

He had left my book beside the bed. It was stacked on top of others. Some that I had read before, others I had never heard of. But they were all from the same fantasy genre. The gesture was kind but I just couldn’t see Alpha Colt doing such a nice thing. Not after everything mum had told me.

When Alpha Colt returns, he doesn’t even look at me. He strips off his shirt as he moves to the ensuite, tossing it in the laundry basket. Just as the door closes, I see the large tattoo on his muscly back. It covered his entire back, I couldn’t quite work out what it was and wondered if it had hurt.

There was also scarring up his left side. Running from his rib cage downwards. His joggers blocked me from seeing anymore and I briefly wondered what had happened. How had he gotten the scar,

Moments later I hear the water running. He reappears, telling me that I need a shower. He wasn’t wrong, I stank, but I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of seeing me naked.

“Maybe later.” I muttered, turning a page of my book.

“There is no maybe about it. Do I need to hold you under the water myself?”

Glaring at him, I slam the book down on the bedside table.

“You can’t make me do anything.”

A low rumble comes from him, but I refuse to break eye contact. He needed to know that no one could make me do anything. Well, except my mum.

He pulls the key from his pocket, unlocking the cuffs. Stupidly I thought he was letting me have some freedom. He wraps his arms around me, pulling me from the bed and pressing my back against his chest.

“You need to learn to listen, Lilah. You need to learn when to keep that mouth of yours shut!”

He steps under the shower, holding me under the water. Refusing to move no matter how much I kicked and screamed.

“For fucks sake Lilah.”

The problem wasn’t the water. It was what his touch was doing to me.

Four.

Lilah’s POV

I was mortified. My body had reacted against my wishes, crumbling under his touch. The tighter he held me, the more I craved him. I couldn’t stop it. Waves of desire rippled through my body. It was why I started kicking and screaming. I had to hide what my body was doing. I didn’t want him to know how much I hated it and enjoyed it.

Alpha Colt ends up dropping me on the floor of the shower. My clothes were soaked from the water. Clinging to my body, no longer hiding how my bones stuck out.

He doesn’t care. How could he? He was heartless. He throws a bottle of shower gel at me.

Giant tears roll down my cheeks. I quickly wipe them away. Alpha Colt turns his back on me, shaking his head and walks out of the ensuite.

I didn’t care if he could see me through the open door. I didn’t care that he was watching me. This man had ruined my life, he had taken everything from me.

Hugging my knees to my chest as the water trickled over me. I no longer fight the tears and let them flow. I had lost. I had lost everything.

I will kill him! I will ruin him!

Wiping the tears from my face, I look up to see him standing over me. He was turning the water off and drops a towel on my head.

“Clean yourself up.” He marches out of the ensuite and into the room. Moments later the bedroom door slams shut and I hear the turn of the lock.

Racing across to the door, I eagerly turn the handle, but just as I thought, the door was locked. I wasn’t going anywhere.

Stripping out of my wet clothes, I quickly dry myself off and rummage through his wardrobe to find something to wear. Everything was big and baggy and not made for me. It all smelt of his musky oak scent. Pulling on a giant t-shirt, I take a deep breath. His scent was all over it, but at least the t-shirt covered me, sort of.

Looking in the mirror, I was a state. My long raven hair was in a half braided, tangled mess. Huge bags sat beneath my eyes. Mascara was still caked on my eyelashes. Alpha Colt hadn’t been wrong when he said I looked a mess.

Sitting on the floor in the corner of the room. I hug my knees to my chest and pull the t-shirt over them and down to my feet. If only mum had told me what to do. Instead she had kept denying it, maybe hoping that this day would never come. She could have prepared me. She could have helped before she left me. Before Alpha Colt killed her.

I had to find a way out. I had to get out of here. Rising to my feet, I push on the large windows. They opened easily, and overlooked the forest, but it was a massive drop.

Looking back at the locked door, I knew that I couldn’t stay here. Who knows what Alpha Colt will do to me. I had to get away.

Looking around, I see something poking out from under the bed. My backpack!

Quickly pulling it out, It’s barely in one piece. But I find a pair of my shorts and my spare trainers. The rest of my items were ruined. But I didn’t care. I had started over, time and time again. This time would be no different. Mum may not have told me much about the King of Lycans, but she had made sure that I could look after myself.

Pulling the shorts on and fastening my trainers. I carefully climb out the window. I knew it wasn’t the greatest of plans, but it was all I had.

If the situation wasn’t so shit, I would be laughing.

Climbing over the ledge, I look down. It was easily a four or five metre drop, but I had to hope my wolf senses would kick in. Mum had always told me that our wolf reflexes were pretty good. And now, I need them more than ever.

“Come on Lilah. You can do this!” I mutter to myself

Lowering myself down, I use my feet to grip the wall. Feeling for anything that might help. Maybe a hidden ledge or a broken piece of brick that wasn’t visible to the naked eye.

My feet start sliding out, my fingers scraping the window ledge as I try to hold on.

There is a knock on the door, followed by his voice asking if I was decent.

It was now or never.

Closing my eyes, I let go. The air rushed around me and my feet hit the ground, but there was no pain. Peeking out, I find myself in a low crouch. I’m amazed that I hadn’t broken a bone. But mum was right, my wolf reflexes were fab.

Without looking back, I take off. I had no idea where I was going. I just knew that I needed to keep moving. If I stopped, he would find me.

“LILAH!” He screams at me through the mindlink. I don’t stop, pushing myself forward. I was scared, starving and had no idea what I was doing or where I was going. But there was no way I was going to let him get a hold of me.

Dipping into the trees. I move quickly. Jumping over fallen trees and sliding under low branches. I could hear nothing but the small animals. There was no sign of Alpha Colt following me and for a moment I stop to take in my surroundings.

The wind rustled through the trees, carrying fallen leaves through the forest. As I started moving again, I could only hear the crunch of the forest ground below my own feet. He wasn’t following me?

Was it a trap? Did he think that I would go back to him? Why wasn’t he chasing me? It was strange. It was like a part of me wanted him to find me.

I keep moving until I hear water. Flowing water meant it was heading down hill. I would be able to find my way out of this shithole and maybe to a human town.

A small stream separated two sides of the forest. The other side was much darker than the side I was on. Something about it gave me a bad feeling, but I didn’t know what it was. It was like a gut instinct.

There was still no sign of anyone coming after me. I stayed on this side of the stream, making my way alongside the running water, following it down hill.

The crack of a twig somewhere behind me has me jumping across the stream. Running into the dark forest. An eerie feeling grows within me. Someone grabs me from behind, smacking me across the top of my head. Falling back, I see deep yellow eyes staring at me.

Five.

Alpha Colt’s POV

Opening the door, I find the bedroom empty, the windows wide open. The curtains blowing in the wind.

“Fucking moron!” I curse myself. I hadn’t handcuffed her again, believing that she was locked safely in the bedroom. It hadn’t occurred to me that the windows might not be locked.

Leaning out of the window, I pick up her citrus scent. She was alone, no one had helped her. Though I was impressed that she had landed without hurting herself. Lilah wasn’t exactly in the healthiest condition and it wasn’t a small drop to the ground either.

I call out to her through mindlink, just as I see a foot disappear into the forest. She doesn’t respond. I was both annoyed and surprised that she was already trying to escape. I thought she would have at least waited until she felt better.

“Stupid fucking girl!” I mutter.

Storming through the packhouse, I bump into Alpha Wyatt. For once, Juniper wasn’t hanging off his arm.

“Is something wrong?”

“Lilah has taken off!”

“Oh! You’re going after her?” He inquires

“Of course I am. She has no idea where she is. She is hardly going to be in safe hands out there is she?!” This idiot was always asking me stupid questions.

“Doesn’t your room back on to the forest?” He inquires.

“Yes, why?” He had allocated the room to me, he should know this.

He clenches his jaw together. He was hiding something. “You better tell me now!”

“We have been having a problem with Rogue Lycans.” He glances away, but I knew there was more. “We have lost a few of the pack to them.”

“Rogue Lycans?” They had to be from years ago when my father was in charge. Rogues were not a thing for me. Banishment was a waste of time. Rogues would just cause more of a problem. Death was straightforward and I would never have to worry about them again.

He nods his head at me. “They have taken up space at the edge of my pack, on the other side of the stream.”

“Why the fuck has no one said anything? I could have dealt with them when I arrived.” This pack was in shambles. The Alpha was a pussy and I couldn’t say much about his wife, other than she was an annoying bitch.

“We didn’t want to be in your debt!”

“You will always be in my debt. Do you understand! I am your King. This is strike one, Wyatt.

Shoving him into the wall, I march out of the house. Racing around the building, I enter the forest where I had seen Lilah disappear. Her scent was strong and she was annoyed. I could feel that much through the link.

Stripping off, I shift into my beast. At almost seven feet tall with broad shoulders and back, you would think you could hear me coming. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Moving carefully, I place my feet where nothing would be disturbed. The soft earth moulding to my feet.

Her scent was easy to follow. There was a point where her scent was stronger. I’m guessing she sat for a moment, trying to catch her breath.

Every instinct told me to call to her, to order her to come back. But that would make her hate me more. That wasn’t what I needed. Instead I want to follow her. I want to know what her plan is, what she is going to do.

Picking up the sounds of the stream, I panic slightly. Knowing what Wyatt had said. We were close to the Rogues and Lilah was heading straight towards them.

My foot hits a twig and I feel her annoyance turn into fear. Her scent changes too, becoming mixed with another. She wasn’t alone. Fuck!

Running on all fours, I charge towards the stream just as Lilah lets out a muffled sound.

“Lilah, talk to me.” I linked her, hoping that she would say something because her mind had gone blank. Her feelings had faded away.

Diving across the stream into the nearly black forest, I let out a howl. Rogue or not, if they are putting Lilah in danger, their life is over.

Her scent is almost clouded by the Rogues here. If I hadn’t been mated to her, I probably wouldn’t be able to smell her.

“Lilah!” I call out through the link again. I needed her to fight. Rogues were a different kind of Lycan. They were feral and fed off of people, wolves and other Lycans.

Racing forwards. I see her arms stretched out across the ground, half hidden by a thick bush. Something drags her into the bush. She makes no sound.

Jumping on it, I land on top of a Rogue Lycan. It’s dark yellow eyes glowing at me in the darkness.

“She is mine!” I growl

“I found her” He snaps back.

“Bow, you fucking idiot. I am your King!”

The Rogue glances at me and then to Lilah. He starts laughing. “She is a wolf. What kind of Lycan King is mated to a wolf?”

He takes a swipe at me as I lock my teeth around his leg. His claws sink into my skin , raking through me, splitting my back open. He half laughs, half howls as he thinks he has won. Rising to my feet, I place myself between Lilah and the Rogue. His yellow eyes searched me, like he was looking for a weak spot. He lunges as I force my claws into his stomach.

Clasping his neck with my free hand, I let my claws sink into his throat. My hand squeezes tighter and tighter. His yellow eyes bulge. He lets out some gurgling noises as his neck splits from his shoulders.

Tossing his head to the ground. Turning around to pick up Lilah, I was ready to take her home. But once again I could feel her fear. She was awake and staring at me. Her grey eyes wide.

“You killed him!”

Six.

Lilah’s POV

His knock comes at the bedroom door. He musky oak scent wafting in through the small gap under the door.

“Fuck off!” I shout, making it clear that I didn’t want him anywhere near me. He steps into the room, his eyes on me as he shakes his head.

It had been three days since he had brought me back here. He had kept me locked in this room all day every day. If he wasn’t in here with me, I was cuffed to the bed. There was no way that I was escaping this time.

We hadn’t talked about what he did. We had hardly spoken about anything. The only thing he had done was explain what a Rogue was. Mum had never mentioned them. You would think she would have told me about Lycan’s and wolves that are banished. Especially when she wanted me to look after myself.

The lack of knowledge made me feel stupid. Alpha Colt tried to tell me that it wasn’t my fault, but it didn’t change how stupid I had been. Or how close to death I was. I should be grateful that Alpha Colt saved me. Instead, I couldn’t get the image out of my head. He had torn the Rogues head off like it was nothing.

“Just fucking leave me alone.” I pull the bed sheet up over my head, making my point. I didn’t want to see him.

“Lilah Winters. You really need to watch your language. Pretty girls shouldn’t swear.”

“Then you should wash your mouth out too.” I retort. It was a stupid comeback, but I couldn’t change that.

“Are you trying to call me a girl?”

“If the shoe fits!” I snap, refusing to look at him. He shakes his head, rolling his eyes.

“Are you hungry?”

What was he up too? He hadn’t offered me food at any point until now, well nothing proper. He just brought a few snacks to the room now and again. The most fluids I got was tap water from the bathroom.

I couldn’t ignore the growling in my stomach, it had been almost a week since I had last eaten. Reluctantly, I nod my head and a smile appears on his face. He was pleased that I was giving in.

“Come!” He holds out a hand for me.

Refusing to take it, I stand and wait for him to lead the way. I was very aware that his eyes were roaming over me and I try to pull the t-shirt down a bit further.

“You look good in my clothes.” He smirks at me, annoying me more.

“It’s not like I have anything else to wear is it?!” I snap, pulling the hem of the t-shirt down further over my thighs. It was another one of his giant tshirts that I had no choice but to wear.

“We can do something about that. All you had to do was ask. But are you always this short tempered? If so, we are going to have to do something about that.” He asks as we make our way out of the room and across the landing.

The Hallway ran all the way around the building. Over the railings I could see the large foyer. Big and open. Windows reach from floor to ceiling with a wide marble staircase leading to this floor. It was the nicest pack house that I had ever been in. Everywhere else was always dark and dreary.

“I’m sure anybody would be angry after what you have done.” I mumble, folding my arms across my chest.

“I didn’t kill your mother.” He shakes his head

“Maybe, maybe not, but you just happened to be there!”

“Lilah…”

You did kill my dad though. I watched you tear him apart. All because he was protecting me! You can’t deny it! You killed him just like you killed that Rogue!”

He stops on the stairs to look at me. His brow deepened. His cobalt blue eyes dropping a shade darker.

“The Rogue was going to kill you.”

“So you are not denying killing my dad then?”

“Who told you that I killed your father?”

I was thrown off by the question. I see the same thing every night. Even here, when Alpha Colt lies next to me. I still had the same nightmares. But what if I hadn’t seen it? What if that was the part of the nightmare that wasn’t right?

“No one told me. I saw it with my own eyes. I have nightmares about it. The image of you just…” I trail off feeling sickened. How could the Moon Goddess pair me with such a cruel man?

“Yes I killed your father, but it wasn’t entirely because of you.”

“You demanded him to hand me over, like I was a piece of meat. A prized possession” I remembered the words that mum had used.

“To protect you Lilah.”

“Don’t bullshit me. I remember everything you said like it was yesterday. Every fucking night, I have nightmares. The same scene playing over and over since I was ten years old.”

“I’m sorry you have nightmares, Lilah. I cannot change that.”

“Of course you fucking can’t. You are the one that caused them. It’s not like they are ever going to go away!”

He shakes his head at me. “Lilah, you need to stop thinking of your dad as some kind of trophy dad. He was far from it.”

“You’re lying.” I could feel the tears coming again and quickly wipe my eyes.

“I have no reason to lie to you. If I was planning on living an unfaithful life, yes. But that’s not what I want.”

“What do you want?” I ask quietly, frustrated with the way the conversation was going. I still wasn’t getting any answers.

“I want you by my side. Lilah, you were chosen for me. I can’t change that and you cannot change that. But this seems to be difficult for you. So go ahead, try and reject me.”

Seven.

Lilah’s POV

My mouth drops open. I knew I couldn’t. The Moon goddess had been so fed up of mates rejecting each other over the years. Over two decades ago wolves and Lycans began to discover they couldn’t reject each other. She had made it impossible for us to say those words. There was always a reason she chose the couple.

“I…. I….” I try to say the words, but they don’t even form.

“Can’t, can you?” He cocks an eyebrow at me.

“Li….Lil….Lilah” I keep trying. Hoping that the words would start coming. I was stunned into silence. When I couldn’t even get out my whole name.

“Trust me, Lilah. I tried. For the first year of you being on the run. I tried over and over to reject you, because you were a child. But I couldn’t. For some reason, the Moon Goddess wants us to be together. I know you hate it. I feel it with every fibre of your being. You make it more than clear that you don’t want to be around me. But I promise, I will never hurt you.” He smiles and shoots a wink at me “Not unless you want me too.”

“Is that why you wouldn’t leave us alone? Why you always came after me? Because you want us to live together, like some happy family?” My voice hitches up and he smiles. He did have a nice smile. “Was that the only reason?”

“No!”

“You didn’t actually want me though?”

“You were a child. The most I wanted to do was protect you.”

“You were going to keep me as some child bride?” I was disgusted by the idea.

“No, I tried to tell your father that. All I wanted to do was keep you safe. Until you were old enough.”

“Why? Why was it such a big deal to keep me safe? I was with my mum.”

People appear in the foyer, they don’t stay for long, but it’s enough for Alpha Colt to end the conversation.

“It doesn’t matter. We can talk about it later. I would rather you ate first.”

It didn’t make sense. Why was I so important that he wanted to ‘save me’?

“Why didn’t you like my dad?”

He glares at me with his cobalt blue eyes.

“Later!”

“I want to know!”

“Later, Lilah. Now let’s go!”

“I fucking hate you!” I stomped back up the stairs. Screw eating. Screw everyone. I would make him suffer, he could watch me starve!

“LILAH!” He shouts my name. The moment my name left his lips, I felt the undeniable urge to obey his order. A King’s order, no one could refuse it. But it didn’t mean I had to be happy about it.

“WHAT?!” I snap at him

“Just come and eat. I’m well aware that you have not eaten, and I would prefer it if you did not starve yourself.”

“Why do you even fucking care? You are probably going to kill me anyway.” I wished that I knew what he was thinking. I didn’t understand why it only worked one way. It was like the fucking Moon Goddess had deliberately made men more powerful than women.

“I told you, I have no intention of hurting you!” He shakes his head as he takes a step up to me. He rips me off my feet. Dangling me over his shoulder, his hand clasping my thighs. His touch sends sparks over my skin. He knew exactly what he was doing. He was forcing the closeness between us. He was hoping that the more he touched me, I would cave to him.

Making his way down the remaining steps, he ignores me as I kick, scream and punch him.. Finally dumping me on a chair, he smiles at my frazzled state.

“You will eat and you will be happy.” He sits at the table opposite me. “Whatever it takes!”

Plates of food are brought out one by one and placed on the wooden table between us. No matter how much my stomach was growling, I couldn’t bring myself to eat any of it. Instead I sit in silence, staring at the plate in front of me. It only had corn on the cob on it, but all I could do was stare. Corn on the cob had been mum’s favourite treat.

The tears came faster and harder than I expected. The reality is settling in. I would never see her again.

“Talk to me.” His deep voice is smooth as it hits my ears.

“Like you would give a shit!” I jumped up out of the chair, grabbing the plate. Throwing it as hard as I could onto the floor. Tiny bits of china shattered all over my feet as my anger levels went through the roof. I could feel my wolf trying to push forward.

“Lilah, you need to stop!” His voice enters my head as I grab another plate. This time, I launched it at him. I hated how he told me how to act. How he told me I should stop swearing. How he made out that my dad was a bad man. I hated how he made me feel.

The more items I grabbed, the less he told me to stop. Instead, he stood there watching me. He let me trash the entire dining room without saying another word. Tears continued to stream down my face. My heart thumped through my chest as anger radiated through me.

“What the fuck is going on?” A man with short, wavy blonde hair marches into the room, a woman with short black hair hanging off of his arm. They both stare at me in absolute horror. Food was plastered all over the floor and walls. China was in tiny shards.

The man turns his attention to Alpha Colt. “Sorry Alpha. I didn’t realise you were here.”

“OMG! Look at the mess Wyatt. She is batshit crazy.”

Alpha Colt moves fast. He pins the woman to the floor. A low rumble escapes him as holds her. His teeth inches from her neck

“Alpha Colt, she didn’t mean it. Juniper, apologise. Now!”

“But…” The woman muttered. Her perfectly placed black hair, now a chaotic mess.

“Apologise!” The man with short wavy hair doesn’t move, his dark eyes are on me and he shoots me a wink. Making me feel uncomfortable.

“Wyatt, I suggest you turn your attention to your own wife, not my mate.”

This Wyatt guy doesn’t move other than to turn his head. The woman finally apologises and Alpha Colt lets her go. But he refuses to help her up.

“Alpha Wyatt, this is my mate, Lilah”

“Ah, so you are Lilah. Nice to meet you.” He holds a hand out to me and Alpha Colt growls. Wyatt quickly puts his hand down and moves to his mate.

The whole situation was strange and I just stood there with gravy running down my leg. Alpha Colt runs his eyes over me, “Feel better?”

I just nod my head, because I still couldn’t process what had just happened. I had lost complete control of myself. I don’t think I have ever reacted like this in my entire life.

“Come,” Alpha Colt holds a hand out to me. My options were to either stay with Alpha Wyatt or go with Alpha Colt. Neither option was appealing. I choose the one that makes sense and is less likely to cause a fight. I take Alpha Colts hand.

A smile appears on his face as the sparks spread out over my hand. Looking back at the mess. I see Juniper glaring at me.

“I will replace it.” I mutter as we exit the room.

“You will do no such thing!” Alpha Colt tells me as he leads me back up the stairs.

“I broke it, no one else.” I may have a bad mouth, but I knew when to apologise for my wrong doings.

“And you are their future Queen. Fuck them! Juniper needs to wind her neck in any way.” He smiles at me and I see how his eyes flash. He seemed more amused that I had caused a problem for the Luna of White Crescent.

All I could think about are his words. ‘Queen’? No fucking chance!

He closes the bedroom door behind us and slides the lock across. He doesn't turn around immediately. Like he was deciding what to do.

“What are you doing?” I had a bad feeling, I should have stayed with Alpha Wyatt.

He turns around, smiling at me. “I want a proper look at my mate.” He cups my face just as he did earlier. The sparks hit me hard and I came to my senses.

“Do you not have eyes!” Pulling away from him, I step back, sitting myself down on the bed. Pulling the filthy t-shirt down as far as I could.

“Why do you fight it so much?”

“Because you are a fucking psychopath!”

Eight.

Alpha Colts POV

“A psychopath?” No one had been brave enough to call me that too my face.

“Yes! That’s exactly what you are. A Fucking Psychopath!” She practically spits out the words.

“Why would you even think that?” It’s not what I want my mate to think of me. I don’t want her to hate me. I don’t want her to fear me. But here, right now. She finally tells me what she thinks.

“Mum told me everything I need to know.”

“Your mother didn’t know me!” I fire back, trying to keep my cool.

“She knew enough.”

“And what was that, Lilah? What shit did your mother tell you?"

“That you are a killer! You destroy everything. You hurt everyone around you.”

“I saved you from that Rogue, Lilah. He would have eaten you and he wouldn’t have killed you first. He would have snapped a limb off. Just a little at a time. A finger. A thumb, maybe your hand. Would you rather I let that happen to you?!”

She doesn’t answer me. Her grey eyes finally looked away from me. It was harsh, but it was the truth. I was starting to see just how much her mother lied to her. How desperate Lilah's mother had been to keep her away from me.

“I don’t think you know anything about me!” I mutter, sitting on the bed next to her “I will let you ask me one question and I will tell you exactly what happened. I will let you feel the truth.”

“Feel?” She looks at me with head tilted to one side, like she was confused.

“I won’t block the mate connection.”

She jumps up to her feet. “Really. The actual truth?”

I nodded. If I was going to get her to trust me. I had to do this. Whether she liked it or not.

“Why did you kill my Dad?”

“Your father was the one who killed your Alpha. That man happened to be my father. Your father betrayed his own pack. The moment I became Alpha, I knew you were my mate. Yes I may have been almost ten years older, but I had to find a way to protect you. Even then, I never wanted you to die. You were just a child.”

“You’re lying.”

“I told you. No lies. Like I said before. I tried to reject you.”

“My dad would not have done that. He was the Beta. He loved your father. Mum said that sometimes The Alpha saw Dad more than we did.”

“He would and he did. He died because of what he did!”

“You’re….you’re lying.”

“That’s the thing Lilah. You know I am not. You would be able to feel it if I was lying.”

“Fuck off you wanker!” She yells at me. Her hands hit my shoulders as she tried to shove me off the bed. When I don’t budge, she lets out a high pitched scream. She could feel my truth, but I could feel her denial.

“You wanted the truth, Lilah. This is it!”

“Stop lying!” She throws her hands over her ears. Tears streamed down her face. But she knew. She knew that deep down, I was telling the truth.

“If I had marked you that night, you would have been saved. You would never have had to spend your whole life running. Your father put your life at risk and then your mother did. You were lucky none of the packs knew the bloodline you came from. They would have killed you and your mother instantly.”

If the others had found out it was Lilah’s father that had killed the King, she would have been killed. Slaughtered for being the traitor's daughter. The pack would have wiped out the entire bloodline.

Her breath hitched as she paced. Tears streamed down her face. Her lips pressd together as she scowled.

“I don’t understand. He was a good man. He was an amazing dad. He did nothing but care for us.”

“He wanted power, Lilah. He wanted something that was never his."

"No. Stop speaking, please."

“Come on Lilah. You need to realise this."

I had opened a can of worms. The truth was coming and she wasn't going to like it.

"Your father fucked up. But it doesn't change the fact that you are my mate."

"Is it because of the bond." she half whispers, half croaks. "Is that why you found me."

I nod my head. Plus the packs told me that a stray mother and child had appeared. They reported you everytime. I know that your mother was using a different name. Trying to hide the truth. Trying to hide you."

“Please, stop!” She begs me, but I needed her to know. I wanted her to know what her mother had been hiding her from.

I stopped speaking just to look at her. I could feel her pain. Her confusion. Her frustration. Everything she was brought up to believe was crumbling around her.

“Why are you saying this?” The words quietly tumble from her mouth.

“Because you need to know the truth. Whether you like it or not. Lilah, sometimes the truth is a hard pill to swallow.”

She presses her back up against the wall. Her grey eyes are on me, but looking through me. After a moment, her body slides down the wall. I was very aware her tshirt had hitched up on her hip. Showing how her hip bone sticks out. I decided not to say anything. Waiting for her to speak instead.

“My dad was a murderer?”

I still don’t speak. She was looking for a reason to prove he wasn’t guilty.

She stretches her legs out in front of her. The tshirt dropping over her thighs.

“The packs would have killed us?” She finally asks. It was the question I was waiting for.

“Yes.”

She doesn’t speak again, mulling over her thoughts.

“You are wondering why the packs didn’t make you stay? Why they constantly kicked you and your mum out.”

“Don’t do that. You can’t just read my mind because we are mated. I never agreed to be mated to you.”

“Why do you think I left you alone in the bathroom? I knew you were conflicted with your feelings. But I promise, you will learn to want me.” There was no choice. She would have to accept me at some point.

She growls at me. If it wasn’t for the situation, it would have been cute.

“If they had kept you, they knew what would have happened to them. If they were discovered to be harbouring my mate, how do you think I would have reacted?”

“That wouldn’t have been their fault. It’s not like mum went around telling everyone who I was. They would have just handed me over”

“Not if they wanted to take me down. Besides, I would have found you anyway.”

“Then maybe that’s what they should have done.”

“You don’t get it do you Lilah. It wasn’t just your dad that was a traitor, but your mum was too!”