Bullied Mate Of The Lycan Kings
Chapter 128

Aiden's POV

The air was thick with tension as Zac's car screeched into the driveway and all I could think about as he parked the car was how all of this would have been avoided if I had not been classic Aiden, selfish and wanting everything to go my way no matter the consequences to other people. Because if what Zac sad was true, the only reason why Lily was still alive was because Ren was keeping her afloat somehow through the mating bond while bearing the burden himself. How could I even compete with that?

As the car parked, I walked towards the passenger seat just as Ren got out of the car and stopped at the sight of him, an uncomfortable tightness in my throat.

Guilt, I realized. What I felt right now was guilt.

It felt like a punch to the gut looking at him because it was him and yet it wasn't.

His glowing fair skin that as once vibrant and warm, had taken on an eerie, ghostly hue. The haunting sight of his almost lifeless appearance sent shivers down my spine and his sunken eyes had dark circles beneath them. Ren happened to be the prettiest male in the entire Shadow cove community and it was no secret that his features were more delicate than that of some females and that even women wanted to attain his level of otherworldly beauty.

I had done this to him. Made him look like a shell of himself practically resting against the hood of the car to stand upright.

Closing the distance between us, I was about to reach for him and hesitated when I saw the wary look in his eyes. The way he gritted his teeth.

If there was one thing that I could have assured myself in my life, it was that I would never see wariness in the eyes of my best friend. Ren saw me for what I was and even though he never agreed with me when he didn't like what I was doing which was all the time, not once had he ever looked at me like he was afraid that I was going to hurt him. The knowledge that I had somehow made him believe that are away at me, the guilt almost crippling.

I had said that I wanted to kill him at school but I didn't actually mean it. If I wanted to kill him, he'd have been dead in an instant. Did he believe me when I said that? Couldn't he read my mind anymore? Or had he just given up on trying to understand me and saw me as a lost cause?

"I know you want to hit me right now. I'd do the same if I were you." I said and he merely shook his head, his pale face making me feel even worse as he leaned against the car.

"I don't want to hit you " He whispered.

"But I do," Zac growled, appearing from nowhere and punching me right in the face. I stumbled back, pain flaring in my left cheek. I grunted, pinching my nostrils as blood rushed up my nose, and worked my jaw. He grabbed me by my shirt, shaking me roughly. "What the fuck is wrong with you man? Do you want Lily to die because of your stubbornness and sheer stupidity? Answer me!"

I could egg him on, hurt him by saying the wrong words and make an already bad situation even worse, add fuel to the fire to conceal my own pain and insecurity. That was always my defense mechanism. "Hit me," I said instead, "you know I deserve it."

"Playing hero isn't going to save you, you bastard!" Zac said, about to hit me again but his hand froze midair. He gritted his teeth and glared at Ren and I realized that he had stopped Zac with his powers.

"The hell, man? You should not even be stopping me. Have you looked in the mirror? You're barely standing and it's because of this a*****e. You should even be more offended than I am. His foolishness would have gotten you and Lily killed." He pushed me away and moved to stand beside Ren who looked at me and I lowered my head in shame, unable to look at my best friend.

Ren c****d his head to the side when I looked at him again, his eyes glowing and I knew that he could read my emotions no matter how hard I tried to mask it.

"He feels remorse. Knowing that he does is enough for me." Ren answered and when Zac scoffed, he turned to stare at him.

"Tell me that you remember the last time Aiden ever felt guilt or remorse for his actions, Zac. I know that you cannot see it, but one look at him and his emotions reeks with it. I don't remember the last time Aiden has ever actually felt sorry for something he did. Have you?"

The two of them looked at me and Ren patted Zac on his back before heading back to the car and reaching into the backseat and then he took out a backpack and threw it at me.

"The bag is filled with my things; clothes, a blanket, a beanie and even socks. These things should be more than enough to keep Lily in good condition and with my scent around her and cold baths, she should be back to normal in no time."

He turned around to head back to the car and paused, turning again to look at me.

"I want you to know this, Aiden. I am not sorry for marking Lily. For once in my life I decided to do something selfish and choose my owm path and she is my path. I'd never regret anything that I do with Lily. I am sorry however that my actions hurt you. That was never my intention."

His words were well articulated like it always was and I found myself envious of how he was able to string his words together while I just stood there, unable to even give him a proper apology. Unable to properly express myself without saying or so doing the wrong things.

I realized how selfish I had been to try to tear away Lily away from Ren.

They deserved each other and I knew that if our positions were reversed, I would never have been benevolent enough to do what Ren had just done. It must have hurt him to have to leave her here, but he had done it for me, even though he knew I wouldn't have done the same for him. I didn't deserve any of the people in my circle because despite being a colossal fuck up, they were still always there for me.

It changed something in me and I decided that I wanted to become someone that was well deserving of their love. If Lily wanted to leave when she woke up, I wouldn't stop her.

Glancing at Zac, Ren gestured toward the car.

"We should start heading back if we hope to make it back to the pack before nightfall."

I raised my eyebrows in surprise and Zac swivelled around to face Ren, dumbfounded.

"I thought you were here to stay. Or that you would take her away. You don't want to see how Lily is doing?"

Ren pinned me in place with his eyes.

"Unless you're prepared for the possibility of Lily desperate enough to beg me to f**k her in your home because that's exactly what will happen if we are in the same orbit right now, it's best if I stay away until she's in her right mind and not thinking with her starved wolf."

I knew that he wasn't saying it to hurt me but the truth hurt and I guessed I would have to live with reality that whether I liked it or not, Lily was mated to Ren.

"Just let me know how she's doing" he answered and something heavy constricted my throat when he nodded to Zac. "Zac, we're leaving."

"The hell we are!" Zac growled, leaving the two of us where we were and stomping up the stairs of my mansion. "I'm not leaving until I see my bonded. And you're not either. Even if Lily gets better, what's going to happen to you? You need to see her and we're staying the night. If Aiden has a problem with it, that's not my problem."

He didn't wait for a response from Ren and he pushed his way in, forging ahead. I looked at Ren who was barely holding himself up against the car and he did something I didn't expect he'd do in this situation. He laughed.

Something about the response unfurled the tight, tangled up knot in the pit of my stomach and I cracked a smile at him and helped him into my home.

Zac was already cuddling Lily in my bed, stroking her hair and seemingly checking her body for signs that I hurt her. Lily was finally awake, which was a relief for me.

He stopped at the shackle marks around her wrist and I saw him ground his teeth in rage.

"No, he didn't hurt me, I swear," she tried to convince him. She turned, a beautiful smile on her lips that made my heart stampede out of my chest but suddenly, she froze midsmile, her eyes falling to my left. She gasped her eyes lighting up with joy and relief as soon as she saw her bonded mate.

"Ren!" She cried and Ren immediately left my side, stumbling into bed with her as they held each other close.

"Ren!" She cried and Ren immediately left my side, stumbling into bed with her as they held each other close.

"I missed you, baby. I missed you so much." He whispered back, burying his face in her hair and breathing her in. She pulled him in for a kiss that twisted my gut.

I gritted my teeth and walked out, remembering not to slam the door on my way out because I had no right to be angry right now. I had hurt her. Hurt them. The least I could do was stomach all of this.

Zac found me in the bar downstairs where I was sitting at the counter and downing my eighth glass of cognac.

"What? Back from the reunion so soon." I bit out.

He took his sweet time replying me and stalked straight to the freezer. Taking out an icepack, he tossed it to me and I caught it in my hands, glaring at it.

"You know, you can just say you're sorry," I hissed as I pressed the pack to my bruised cheekbone.

"Can't. I'd be lying." he drawled, looking into the cooler where I kept an emergency stash of blood bags just for him. He took one out, tore it open and gulped it down hungrily before wiping his lips and shrugging.

"I left because they're fucking right now and as much as I would have liked to stay and watch, I think they need their privacy."

Someone just sucker punched the daylights out of me. I wobbled, my glass slipping from my hands and shattering on the floor.

Zac raised an eyebrow at me, slipping into the barstool beside me with his second blood bag. "I'm not cleaning that up."

I ignored the pain flaring in my chest. I deserve it, I reminded myself. I deserve it.

"You look different. Less of an a*****e than usual." Another gulp, a good few seconds cringing at the taste, "the Aiden I know would have broken down those doors by now."

I shrugged. I wanted to tell him that I understood now, I understood why Lily was so repulsed by me, why she wanted nothing to do with me. I had tried every key in the goddamn door to force my way in but all she needed was for me to knock. To let me in. Her choice, she had said. I could rave, rage, but it would only make her pull away from me. So I'll wait, wait for her to make her choice and try to accept her verdict. Doesn't mean it's going to be easy.

"I don't know if she's ever going to accept the mating bond, but I'm not going to take her away from the one she obviously loves."

Zac tucked his tongue against his cheek, stared at me with piercing onyx black eyes. "Ren thinks there's a way she doesn't have to choose."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"It's called sharing, genius. The rest of us learned it in kindergarten."

"Jackass," I muttered at his jab.

Share Lily... each of us can have her. None of us has to lose her. Rhea had suggested the same thing and I was only just seriously considering it, the idea, the hope that Lily would be open to this.

"Think about it," he said, rapping his black painted nails on the bar top before rising to his feet. He chucked the now empty blood bag in the trash, "now roll up your sleeves. I've not had my fresh blood fix since you took Lily away thanks to Ren rotting away like a corpse." He didn't need to ask twice. I did as he asked and as he took my hand, his fangs grazing my skin, my blood thrummed with anticipation from the high I was sure to feel from this.

This was something to take my mind off of the fact that my best friend was currently f*****g my mate in my own bed, something to take both our minds off the fact that we both wanted it to be us in his place and as his fangs pierced into my skin, I shut my eyes, losing myself to the pure pleasure coursing through my veins and suddenly, thoughts of seeing Lily and Ren in bed together didn't feel so bad afterall.