Bullied Mate Of The Lycan Kings
Chapter 32

Ren's POV

Maybe I was overdoing it, I thought to myself as I ran my bath but I could not help the fact that my mind kept going back to Lily over and over again.

Take for instance, I had gone to change the oils and soaps that I would have normally used to bathe to products that smelled like Jasmine and lavender because it reminded me of her.

As the warm water filled the bathtub, carrying with it Lily's gentle fragrance, I smiled to myself.. It seemed that every aspect of my life had become intertwined with her presence, even in the simplest of moments like taking a bath.

I chuckled softly to myself, realizing how absolutely f****d I am with her. I swear, all I ever wanted to do was protect her, be there for her but after today, I was done lying to myself. I liked her. I really liked her. The way her smile lit up a room, the sound of her laughter echoing in my mind, and the way her eyes sparkled with enthusiasm-every memory of her was etched in my heart.

As I submerged myself in the soothing water, closing my eyes, I allowed myself to indulge in the memories of our time together. Each shared moment replayed in my mind like a cherished movie, bringing a surge of happiness that coursed through my veins. The sound of Lily's voice echoed in my thoughts, as vivid as if she were right there beside me, her laughter intertwining with the tranquil ambiance of the bathroom. I could almost feel her presence, as if the walls themselves whispered her name. But amidst the euphoria, a hint of longing crept into my heart. The desire to be with Lily, to feel her warmth and see her smile, grew with every passing second. The thought of being apart, even for a short while, felt like a void in my soul. With a contented sigh, I leaned back, closing my eyes.

I could not deny that I felt a sense of emptiness, which I realized had not been present at all when I was with her. If Rhea found out about this, she would never let me hear the end of it.

Maybe I should have asked her to stay longer today, found an excuse to keep talking to her or taken her to another of my favourite places. I liked talking to her. With Mauve, there was never any talking, just mostly insults from her end except when she wanted to beg for something which made her to feign politeness that was outright unbelievable.

Mauve's demeanor was as sharp as her name implied, always quick to criticize and insult. The rare moments of politeness from her were merely manipulative ploys to get what she wanted. It was a stark contrast to the authenticity and kindness I found in Lily. The thought of Mauve discovering the depth of my connection with Lily sent a shiver down my spine. She had always been possessive and prone to jealousy, and the idea of her replaceing out about my growing feelings for Lily made me apprehensive. I knew that if she caught even a whiff of my emotional attachment to Lily, she would seize the opportunity to berate me endlessly. She had a way of twisting words and using them as weapons, tearing down any vulnerability I dared to reveal. It was a toxic dynamic that had kept me trapped for far too long.

The emptiness I felt in that moment reminded me of the void that had persisted in my relationship with Mauve. It was a constant struggle, a cycle of toxicity that left me yearning for something more meaningful. With Lily, I had tasted a different kind of connection- one that felt genuine, sincere, and fulfilling. It was easy to see me getting addicted to that taste.

Frowning, I remembered that today was Friday and that I was not going to be able to see her till Monday. Yeah, I should probably text her and see if she had plans this weekend and if I could somehow factor into those plans.

Platonic plans, of course, right? It would not hurt to see and speak with her, would it?

Reaching for my phone, I unlocked it and realized that my phone was blowing up with messages and not from the person that I wanted to be texting me right now.

There were a couple of messages from Aiden and Zac asking to meet up and speak and when I was done.

"Where are you?!" Zac texted in big bold letters. "We need to talk."

Aiden, ever the sadist was next. "Really, Ren? You left us to go console that girl? Don't tell me you've found another charity case to help out. I swear, that's all you Hawthornes ever do."

I ignored Aiden completely and texted Zac, "no we don't. I'm busy right now."

I tried replying as politely as I could, given that I was angry with them and they knew it, I moved to the one person whose messages I would never expect but never seemed to stop coming in. Mauve.

The first series of messages were uncharacteristically calm and just demanding where I was.

"Where are you?"

"Did you ditch school? It's been an hour already and I still need a ride home. Sydney is being unbearable today."

"I swear, how long does it take to console a crying girl?"

"Ren!"

The next set, however, were the reason why I would never be happy with Mauve texting me.

"Ren, I'm serious, if you don't reply me right now!"

"You're with that b***h, huh? You're with Lily aren't you? You think you can get her to f**k you, huh?"

"You're so pathetic. No one in their right senses would be interested in dating you when they've seen who you really are and how pathetic you are. No one! Especially a low life like Lily."

She proceeded to insult me and Lily in words that I didn't even know were in the dictionary.

I stopped reading at some point, extremely tired and needing something else to wipe away the bitter taste in my mouth after reading those messages.

Opening the message app again, I searched for Lily's name and started to type but every time I wrote something, all that came out was either weird, clingy or downright stalkerish, especially because I was the one with a girlfriend. What was the polite and best way to ask a girl that was not your girlfriend but you just saw barely hours ago that you wanted to see her again because you can't stop thinking about her without sounding like a total lunatic?

"Hey," my finger hovered over the send button. I shook my head and deleted the text, retyping; "are you home yet?"

No. That sounds too clingy.

"Can I see you?"

Even more clingy.

I kept typing and deleting until I just decided to give up. I needed to give her some space or I was going to chase her away. Letting out a huge sigh, I stepped out of the bath and walked into my closet to replace something to wear, the scent of jasmine and lavender trailing after me and painfully reminding me of how difficult this thing I was doing with Lily was.

Opting for just a pair of sweatpants, I slung the plain tee shirt over my shoulders and headed into the theater to watch a movie when Pearl, my sister's cat bounded into the room and curled herself around my foot.

Rhea had found Pearl when she was only a kitten, abandoned and had taken her in, but no matter that the cat was the most adorable creature in this house, she did not like to have company and it was difficult to have the maids care for a cat that did not allow anyone but Rhea to touch her, not that I had tried at the time until one day when I had slept off in the theatre and woken up to the furry creature sleeping beside me.

Perhaps it was because of how much I resembled my sister or my ancestry as Fae that allowed her to like me but she did to a fault and Rhea often teased me about it that I was pretty enough that even animals wanted to be close to me. Not that I minded. "Hello, precious." I cooed and lifted her in my arms, settling her on the chair beside me as I turned on the projector and started scrolling through the movies, looking for one that went with my mood.

Chuckling when Pearl climbed my chest and made herself comfortable, I heard my phone notification ring and excited, reached for it, hoping that Lily had maybe sent a message, however it was a notification of an Instagram post put up by Mauve.

It was a dark aesthetic photo where her fingers were dipped in red paint and the caption read: When I send a message, I prefer to do it in red.

A chilling feeling immediately enveloped me because I knew that there had to be a hidden meaning behind that post. What had Mauve done this time?

Even though I didn't want to, I was about to call her to replace out when my phone lit up with a message.

It was from Lily. The smile on my face immediately appeared, all my dark feelings melting away as I quickly opened her message to replace two pictures; one of a poofy black cat and the other of her, doing the peace sign with the black cat.

My grin widened and I magnified the picture until the only thing I was staring at was her beautiful radiant face and sweet smile.

I didn't need anyone to tell me that what I was feeling right now as I stared at this picture was dangerous but I went ahead to send a picture of Pearl on my chest and waited for her reaction and when I did not get one immediately, I jokingly sent her another text, asking if the cat was cute enough to get a reaction from her. And her next series of texts were her gushing over the cat and asking if we could organize a date for the two of them.

I would do anything she wanted as long as it meant that I got to hang out with her and it made me giddy with glee that she was the one making the suggestions.

Quickly confessing that Pearl belonged to my sister so that she would not think that I was purposely lying to her, I was smiling at her reply when the door to the theatre opened and Rhea walked in, dread in her teal blue eyes. "Mum and dad are back," she said quietly. "And they want to speak with you."