Bullied Mate Of The Lycan Kings
Chapter 64

Lily's POV

The smile I was wearing while I was with Rhea and Chelsea dropped from my face when we arrived at the table because someone else that had not been there before had joined.

It was Mauve and she was sitting beside Ren. They looked to have been in the middle of something. An argument actually.

Ren had a pensive ridge in his brows and Mauve looked... devastated.

Food. She had brought him food. There was no tray in front of her, so it was clear that she had probably used the money she had left to get him some food. Like I had done.

The tray of food I had gotten for Ren quivered in my hands and I fought to keep the expression on my face as neutral as possible, plastering on a calm smile.

Chase was no longer there so it was just the two of them and I could feel the smile that I quickly plastered on my face to hide my disappointment, try to slip away.

Rhea and Chelsea however, did not seem to care about trying to be nice and they dropped the plates on the table and sat beside each other, creating space for me when I would have grudgingly gone to sit on the other side of the table with Ren and Mauve. I sighed and slid in with them and even though I didn't exactly tell him it was his, Ren pushed the tray, the one that Mauve had got for him, aside and took the one I got for him instead

My heart fluttered for a second but stopped in my chest when I noticed Mauve staring at the interaction, a hurt but pensive scowl on her pretty face.

"Who invited this witch?" Chelsea fired immediately, catching Mauve by surprise.

Chelsea's glare was hard and cold, her electric blue eyes practically skewering Mauve in her eyeballs.

However, when I looked at Mauve, expecting her to glower back, I saw something that I had not realized was there before.

On a normal day, Mauve looked like she could care less what people thought of her and walked around with a chip on her shoulder, a crown on her head and a smirk on her face but right now, she looked completely docile, her face pale and gaunt like she had been crying. Worse, she shrunk back at Chelsea's question, looking down at her nails instead of answering the question.

"Mauve, why are you here?" Rhea asked and even though her question seemed less attacking, her tone was cold and curt as she folded her arms and stared between her brother and Mauve.

I, on the other hand, fixed my gaze on Mauve, refusing to lock eyes with Ren because how could I? His girlfriend was sitting right beside him and even though it would kill me to admit, they looked like an actual couple in a way that I doubted it would ever be with

me.

"I know that you might not believe me but I'm going to answer anyway." Mauve said, her voice sounding hesitant and surprisingly polite. I was used to her speaking like she was commanding an army so this was a surprise.

"I'm no longer comfortable sitting at the popular table anymore because I know it sounds completely stupid to say, but I don't have any friends. Well, the friends that I thought I had are all fake and don't really care about me."

"Oh wow, what a shocker. Rhea, can you believe that? She has had fake friends all along." Chelsea said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I know right? How dare her minions turn their backs on her?"

My lungs squeezed around my heart painfully and I was about to tell them to be nicer but Mauve continued before I could interject, her eyes suddenly moving to me.

"Besides, it would be crazy to still want to remain at that table after what Zac and Aiden did to Lily. I know you don't believe this but my loyalty has always been with Lily from day one and I'm sorry that I could not do much to help. All of you on this table except Lily know what my life was like be fore I met Ren so I understand how it feels to be bullied and I would not wish that kind of thing on someone else. For what it's worth, I am sorry that this is happening to you."

I didn't know how the others felt about her answer but I felt intimidated by the genuineness that I saw in her gaze as she looked at me. She was the first person, besides the others on this table and Chase, to not look at me weirdly since the video dropped and now that she was saying this, I could not help but feel small and jealous of her, especially after what I had tried to do last night.

I looked away immediately, feeling very bad and guilty for implying to Ren that I wanted him to end things with Mauve and looking at her now, how she seemed to gravitate towards her mate and what I had just learned about the mating bond, I felt a hundred times

worse.

I made a choice before I could even give it a second thought.

Without a doubt I was certain of how I felt about Ren and for the first time since Cade, I knew that if I was going to take a chance with anybody, it would be with him, but I didn't want him at the expense of another girl's heart and probably her life if she didn't survive the rejection. How would I be able to live knowing that I was responsible for another person's sorrows?

"Thank you for saying that, Mauve. It means a lot that you think that way." I responded gently and when she smiled a little bit, I could see a glimpse of the Mauve that I had met for the first time, confident and sassy.

"I hate to ruin the moment but please, Mauve, cut it out. You may be able to fool Lily because she doesn't know you like we do. But we know you and witches don't change overnight. So what's going on now? Why exactly are you here at this table? What do you want?" Chelsea asked and I watched as Mauve's eyes widened at the sharp disapproval in her tone.

She dropped her eyes to the table and reached out to hold Ren's hand, probably seeking his support subconsciously. But Ren slid his hand away, discomfort and annoyance clear on his face.

Guilt wrangled my guts.

My fault. This was all my fault. I had put this idea in his head, caused a rift between them. How could I fix this?

Rhea looked at Mauve and then at her brother.

"While I want to believe that Mauve has suddenly turned a new leaf, I have a question for you brother. Why have you not broken up with her yet?"

"I did," Ren started but Mauve shook her head and briefly touched his hand before she answered.

"He tried to break up with me today, actually."

My lips parted in shock and I saw that Rhea and Chelsea were equally surprised and when I looked at Ren and held his gaze, I could feel him trying to say something to me. My face heated up and I looked away again, wondering if he had truly been ready to leave Mauve for me. "Now, this is what I want to hear. What happened?" Chelsea asked, her eyebrows raised and if I was not so stunned by the news that Ren had tried to break up with Mauve, I would have pinched her to try to be nicer.

"The relationship had hit rock bottom and even though I tried to ignore it, I didn't realize how bad it had gotten until he tried to break up with me this morning. I know that you guys hate me because you think I don't treat Ren the way he is supposed to be treated." Posted by Narugi.com

"We think?" Rhea growled ferociously, slamming her hand down on the table.

Mauve flinched and shook her head, cowering slightly.

"I'm sorry. Wrong choice of words. I have not been treating Ren kindly. Not as kindly as he has been treating me since the start of this relationship and I am so sorry for that. I am sorry to you his sister and to his friends, but most of all to him." She turned sideways to look at Ren.

"I know that I don't deserve it but I want this to work. I want us to work and I am ready to do whatever it takes to make sure that we work. Please give me a second chance to do things the right way"

And then she looked back at Rhea.

"Please give me another chance to prove myself. Not just to your brother but to the Hawthornes, your family, your pack."

If there was a moment where I wished I could enter the ground, it was right now.

Rhea merely stared back at Mauve, face unyielding while Chelsea scoffed and dug into her food.

"Only time will tell if what you say is true, Mauve and your actions will speak better than those promises of yours." Rhea finally answered.

I shakily grabbed my fork and began forking my pasta. This was good news, right? Ren could finally be happy with the one meant for him. This is what I wanted.

But why did it feel like there was a gaping hole in my chest? Like there was a large boulder in my throat?