Bullied Mate Of The Lycan Kings
Chapter 103

Aiden's

pov

The minutes had turned to hours. And the hours had turned days and yet the only time I moved away from Lily's side was to shower after which I returned to stand watch over her.

The only thing that had given me solace in what had come to be the worst hours of my life after my parents passed was the steady rise and fall of her chest as the machines hooked to her made the same beeping sound that could drive someone insane. The transfusion had worked and her skin corrosion had completely cleared but at what cost? What would become of her when she finally woke up? What price would she pay thanks to the hatred of those who sought to harm her?

I didn't even want to think of how Zac's blood would affect her. What it would mean for the mating bond between us. If he thinks this counts for anything in my books, he's about to replace out how thoroughly mistaken he is.

Her mother and human friend were huddled close together, not making a sound as we all stared at her hopefully.

Ren and Zac entered the room quietly and as usual, Ren came to stand beside the head of the bed while Zac stood somewhere by the door.

Of the three of us, Ren looked the calmest and I could not blame him. He was Lily's knight in shining armour and the one she had chosen. Zac, on the other hand was probably on Lily's black book and would remain there once she woke up and found out what he had done to bring her back.

As I contemplated whether to send for a doctor again to check on Lily like I had been obsessively doing even though the only thing left was for her to wake up, I felt her breath cease, her chest rise up in a deep inhale and I froze.

"Lily?" Her mother gasped, scrambling over to her side, nearly knocking me off in the process.

"Come back to us, sweetheart," Ren said, his voice tight as we all stared at her.

Suddenly, her eyes fluttered open. Bright orbs of emerald green blinking up at me.

Days ago if anyone had told me that I would be staring at Lily's unconscious form, begging her to open her eyes, I would have called them a mad man. But here I was, eating my own words. A fool to fate.

I watched as Lily gaze met mine and when she did, it was like my heart stopped for a moment before it continued to beat again. Like I could finally breathe well. In that brief moment, I allowed a flicker of hope to ignite within me, believing that perhaps all could be well again, that I could mend the damage I had caused.

As her eyes adjusted to the sight of me, I found myself hoping that she would remember how I had saved her in the forest and at least that would count for something so that I could formally ask for her forgiveness but when her eyes finally registered who was sitting before her, her gaze hardened with blame and she screamed, instantly trying to move away from the bed.

"Why is he here?" She screamed, before turning a hard glare on me. "Why are you here? Did you come to finish the job? Are you so angry that I somehow managed to survive that you are here to kill me yourself?"

She was hyperventilating, her heart monitor, beeping out of control.

I opened my mouth to say something to calm her down but Ren beat me to it, moving close to her and pulling her into a hug that made my wolf snarl deep inside me, a broken howl for his mate.

That should be me, he thought and while I agreed with him and would in other circumstances have made sure that I exerted dominance, now was the worst time to show who was Alpha.

"It's okay, Lily. Aiden is not here to hurt you, I promise." Ren said softly in that voice that could calm a raging bull, rubbing her back as he placed a kiss on her forehead but her eyes still burned with fear and rage as she stared at me like she was prey and I was a predator.

The way I had longed for a moment like this in the past was not lost on me and I realized with sorrow that being seen as a ruthless predator by your own mate was one of the most bitter pills to swallow.

"He's not here to hurt me?" She scoffed in disbelief, "Did he tell you this before or after he threatened to r**e me?"

The entire room fell into surprised silence and I saw Ren's jaw harden in disgust but it was Zac that acted on his rage, gripping my collar and shoving me back against the chair. "Are you actually fucking stupid?"

I glared at him, as the very words I had said, my own actions ripped me apart, adding to the pile of s**t I had to seek her forgiveness for.

"Why would you say something like that?" He shook roughly, letting me go with a scoff. "Then again, you never learn, do you? You never care that your words and actions have consequences. You crossed a line, Aiden!"

"Ask me if I give a s**t about your goddamn line." I growled at him, shoving him, my lungs burning.

"You will, when I draw that line with your fucking blood!"

"Zac! Aiden! Knock it off!" Ren chided, drawing my attention back to him and the sight of my mate so close to him made me want to rip his arms from his sockets

"You guys," Rhea complained. "Now is really not the time."

"I don't want him here. Please ask him to leave." She pleaded with Ren, not even bothering to acknowledge me.

Something in my chest cracked in two and Nyx cried out at her blatant rejection but my face was a stoic mask even though all sorts of emotions swirled in me; hurt and murderous rage at seeing her cling to Ren for comfort when that should have been me, regret because I knew that the only reason why I couldn't even fight that position was because I had been nothing but a monster to her and deep crushing sorrow that I was going to lose her.

As usual, my rage won and I stormed out the room and slammed the door on my way out, hating how I felt regret at my actions a split second later.

Then again, Zac was right. I never learned. I always acted first without caring about the consequences later.

Pacing around the hallway, I contemplated all of the available options to me. I could do what she asked and leave her the hell alone. That would make everyone in her room happy for sure or I could go back in there and force her to get used to the fact that I was not planning to go anywhere. And there was the last resort, something that I didn't even want to think about was having to destroy my competition who happened to be my best friends and brothers, Zac and Ren.

Hating how powerless I felt, I fisted my hands, feeling my claws pierce into my flesh in desperation and I had just decided to finally leave when I heard footsteps approaching.

It was Rhea and my brows shot up in surprise.

Rhea and I had grown up like brother and sister and I had always looked out for her like one of my own but I could admit that unlike Ren and Zac who had stuck around even though I had tried to always push them away after my parents' deaths, Rhea and I had grown apart, her soft nature unable to handle my cruelty.

"Did you really threaten to do that to her?" She asked, a desperate gaze in her teal blue eyes as she stared up at me, begging to be wrong.

I avoided her gaze, gritting my teeth angrily.

"How could you-" she whispered, "when you know how-"

"If you're here to cuss me out, just do it and get it over with."

She growled and walked around to stand in front of me, preventing me from avoiding her gaze. "No, you're not going to do that! You're not going to do that thing where you push people away because you can't express yourself like a fucking human being." "Rhea-"

"I know that you don't deserve this but I am still going to tell you this because like it or not, you are her mate and she is one of my best friends so I'm going to try to help you see things from Lily's perspective."

"I don't need this shit." I tried to step around her but she only blocked my path again, spreading her arms wide like that would stop me.

"You WILL listen to me because at the rate you're going, she's going to reject your stupid a*s. So if you have any braincells that haven't already been corrupted by your stupidity, now is the time to use them and pay attention to what I have to say." Her words stung and any other person would have been reduced to a pile of blood, meat and bones in front of me but I stood still to hear what she had to say.

"After everything you have done to her, it is only right that you have to understand the depth of her feelings towards you. She's terrified of you and hates you for a lot of things that happened to her at the academy. Things you don't even have any knowledge about. You are not the first person to ever bully that sweet gentle soul and she had gone through the worst things back at her former school and now here, thanks to your influence in labeling her a moving target. Yet, she continued braving every single day with so much hope when her reality was a nightmare you orchestrated. While you blamed her for a crime she didn't commit, she was fighting for her life in the hallways. Expecting her to accept you suddenly because you turned out to be her mate is insensitive, Aiden." My heart sunk. My knees buckled under the weight of her words and I collapsed to the floor, holding my head in my trembling hands.

A fool. I'm such a fool.

Rhea crouched in front of me, genuine warmth in those light blue eyes.

"I- I don't know what to do." I confessed. "I can't lose her."

"You need to be patient and gentle, Aiden. You're only pushing her farther away the more you try to force yourself on her. Take a page out of my brother's book for once and be patient with her. I know how Chosen bonds work and it's already too late for you because Ren and Lily already have a strong connection. To be honest, I don't see her ever leaving Ren for anyone else but Zac donating his blood to her complicates everything. At this point, you'll have to be open to the idea of sharing her with them because the truth is that you stand a higher chance of losing her entirely if you refuse to embrace that possibility."

Her words were a bitter pill lodged in my throat.

I rested my head against the wall, groaning in frustration.

"Why do you care so much about all of this? It can't be because you like me either for Lily, right?"

In response, she simply shrugged, wheat blonde hair bouncing off her shoulders.

"I have experienced the pain of being rejected by my own mate, Aiden. I don't want to witness my oldest friend endure that excruciating agony."

With that, she rose to her feet and walked back into the room as I sat still, thinking over her words.

I had to face the reality that she was right. I had to lower my pride or I would lose my mate forever.