Bullied Mate Of The Lycan Kings
Chapter 108

Lily's pov

I don't know if it was the contact Dahlia made with me, or the fact that I just turned eighteen, but I've been feeling her stirring in my consciousness, I'm more aware of her presence in me and I've been getting back pieces of my memory. Sometimes, I couldn't tell if they were memories or just very vivid bad dreams because most of them were of people trying to kill me.

I roused from my sleep in the comfortable arms of someone that I knew even before I opened my eyes. Zac Talaverra. Or just Zac. The boy who confused me and somehow made my heart flutter and still managed to make me feel safe at the same time. "Shh, it's okay, duchess, you don't have to wake up just yet" he murmured groggily against my hair and I sighed, diving into his scent, wondering when his voice got so deep and soothing.

Maybe it had always been that way but something seemed to have changed about him or maybe it was me. Maybe something had changed with me.

"I swear, sleeping next to you does wonders for my insomnia." He nuzzled my hair.

"I'm awake now," I responded, snuggling even closer to him and swimming in his embrace, getting rid of the space between us. Even though I felt at ease in his presence, I was worried that if I slept, I would not be able to spend more time with him and I wanted to feel every moment.

I could have sworn that Ren had also been on my other side as I dozed off but his scent was fading away which meant he had left a while ago. Posted by Narugi.com

"He left early to go to school." He said, practically reading my mind. "One of us has to be serious and it's obvious that the person is not going to be me." He said with a smile that seemed to make butterflies erupt in my stomachs and I managed to deflect by reminding myself that I was only acknowledging how attractive he was.

"I'm going to lose my scholarship at the academy at this rate. Doubt they are not tired of putting up with my a*s." I joked but it fell flat because I was really scared that they would withdraw the scholarship from me.

Lifting my chin so that I could look dead into his eyes, I saw that all his humor had gone as he shook his head.

"Nobody will take anything from you, I promise. I won't allow it. We won't allow it." He said and I nodded, noting that he had stopped being weird or hesitant around me like he used to before and it looked like something had changed while I slept because he did not seem to mind me bringing up Ren or Ren being with me.

Sinking into his embrace, I inhaled, loving how comforting it felt to be in his arms. A part of me reminded me that I should feel guilty for feeling so good in Zac's embrace when I had a boyfriend that I was very much in love with but this felt right. And how could something that felt so right be wrong?

"Do you feel any different today, Lily? Does your throat feel dryer than usual? Any weird cravings you want me to know about?" He whispered against my head and I shook my head to answer his question, noting that this was not the first time that he had asked me this question and I wondered what exactly made him worried enough to keep asking, but I just chucked it down to him being worried about me and felt glad that he cared enough to ask.

"I feel really good." I reassured him. "Infact, I've never felt better" And it was true. I felt very rejuvenated.

His brows creased when I looked up at him and he looked like he was going to say something but the door opened and my mother walked into the room.

Zac didn't release me, which I was grateful for but he sat up so that my back was resting against a part of his chest.

"Hello, Mrs Beauregard" Zac said.

"Just Hermione is fine." She said curtly to Zac but when she looked at me, she smiled her relief at seeing me hale and hearty. It was obvious that she was not comfortable around the royals. Yet.

I wondered if it was just because she didn't like how close I was with the princes or because she could not be comfortable with me hanging out with them after what my father had been gone through, thanks to the council, but I knew that she was more than grateful that I was being taken care of and that was why she had not said anything about it yet.

"I'll leave to give you two some privacy" Zac said but immediately he rose from the bed, I began to feel anxious again, like throwing a tantrum, not wanting to be away from him and he paused as if sensing my sudden discomfort and turned to kiss my forehead. "I'll be right outside, okay? I'm not abandoning you." Nodding, I watched him leave, wondering what that was all about. Why did I feel that way?

But a meow quickly took my mind away and I finally noticed that one of the baskets that my mother was carrying contained my beautiful pet, Fiona.

"Look who I brought!" My mother squealed and I reached for my baby, removing the sunflower hat from her head and peppering her cheeks with kisses.

"Thank you for bringing her mum. I've missed her so much." I said and my mother nodded, coming to sit on the chair beside the head of the bed and dropping another basket beside me.

"I brought some homemade food for you. And oh, the repairs at home have finally been completed and we can move back in. It's thanks to those princes of yours."

I paused. I didn't know how to tell her that I wasn't ready to go back home yet. I have a lot of bad memories in that house and I doubted I'd ever feel safe there again.

But my thoughts came to a halt the moment she cracked the plate open. My mouth watered and I chuckled remembering how the princes were trying to kill me with junk food, something I'm sure the nurses didn't approve of, not that I was complaining at all since it was only my favorites they ever brought. I was grateful to them for everything and even though I didn't want to admit it, I was also grateful to Aiden for saving me in time.

Dahlia was insistent that he had to be the one to break her free, something I would never even give a second thought.

Speaking of Dahlia...

"I can see you biting your lip, sweetheart. Tell me what it is that you want to ask." My mother said, peering at me with those wise dark eyes of hers and I decided to just let it out.

"I know about Dahlia. I know about what you and dad did to to keep her contained."

"W- How?"

"Almost dying did that. She told me everything."

My mother's mouth opened in shock and when she tried to speak, it was obvious that she didn't know what to say so I relayed everything that Dahlia had told me about how she had killed a bunch of people and my father had sealed her away so that she would not be able to contact me but my mother immediately shook her head.

"She did more than that. Your wolf cannot be trusted. She derived joy in taking lives for simple mistakes that could have been overlooked. Depending on her mood, she controlled people and warped their minds so that they'd kill themselves while she watched. Please believe me. Your father would not have sealed her away if she was not so dangerous."

My eyes widened and my hands shook in fear as I remembered how powerful Dahlia had been and how her smile that had meant so many unspoken things. Dahlia had said many things and now that my mother had said this, what was the truth? Taking my hand, my mother placed a small journal that she had taken out of her purse.

"This belonged to your father. I wanted to give this to you on your eighteenth birthday before everything happened. Your father documented every incident he experienced with Dahlia, her abilities and victims as well as what he had to learn to stop her." I opened the book and glanced through hurried scribblings, spells and diagrams I didn't understand.

"There was dark witch that reached out to me, offering his help to get rid of her entirely-"

"What?" All the breath wheezed out of my lungs.

"He said that he wouldn't get rid of her per say, that he can transfer her essence from your consciousness to someone else-"

My heart raced erratically, Dahlia's practically throwing a tantrum as I remembered her words, a warning that she would try to be harnessed if I didn't act fast.

"Mum, I don't know..."

"I was entertaining the thought for a while but it seems that decision has been made for me."

"What do you mean?"

"When I summoned the courage to visit him, I found out he had been torn to pieces by what the police suspect to be wild dogs. I didn't know whether to be relieved that he was dead or not. It all seemed too coincidental. Too convenient. When I finally made up my mind to go see him, he was conveniently disposed of."

"I don't think that was a smart move, mum. How did he know about me? Why was he so interested in me? He was a random stranger-"

"All that won't matter once we get rid of her. I know it's against Shadow cove rules to go to a dark witch for help, but if there is ever a way I can rid you of this burden you bear, even if it means sacrificing my morals, I will do it in a heartbeat."

I let her words sink into my chest, Dahlia strangely quiet in my consciousness. All my life, everyone have made choices for me, or put me in positions where I couldn't make one.

I clutched my father's journals to myself, ruminating on everything my mother had told me. I won't let anyone choose for me anymore, whatever I decide to do with Dahlia will be my choice and no one else's. I just hope I make the right one.