Heart Of A Lycan King
Chapter 52

NATASHA.

“Aiden!” I squealed, pushing away from Mav’s hold and rushing towards him. Erin was already jumping around, ears perked in excitement the moment we heard his voice.

I stopped by the bed, breathing heavily as I wiped my tears and sniffed. He looked…alive. Healthy. In fact, he doesn’t look like he had been the sick one just moments ago. The one groaning. The breathless man that had sent my heart in shambles completely and in an instant, I had become a crying mess.

For two days straight, Aiden had been throwing up the black substance, mostly four times a day. And each time he does, he crashes with a terrible fever that scares me so much that I wish I could take away the pain. Today, after he had thrown up five hours ago, his fever had been worse than the last five days. I had watched Kane and Mav pin him down as he fought them. Watched as Inna Laniya forced down some concoction down his throat. Yet, nothing worked.

So, when everyone had left and it was just Mav and I, who had spent most of his time in the room with me, I couldn’t take it abu more. I let the tears I had been holding back for days flow, and decided to step out so I can get a break. That was when Mav had caught my arm and pulled me into a simple hug, one that I found to be comforting at that moment. One that I desperately needed. The strong face I had put up was slowly eating me, and I needed someone to tell me everything was going to be okay, which only Mav had seemed to be doing that.

Now as I stood beside the bed staring at him, his nose flared, eyes a combination of black and gold, which instantly told me that Leo was right on the surface as well.

“Are…are you okay? Can…can I come…”

“Just go hug your man, Sis. He looks like he’s about to rip my arms off,” Mav said from behind me.

Now that I think of it, Aiden did look really furious, and it was then, that his words returned to my mind. He growled and asked why the f**k I was being hugged by another man.

However, my voice and Mav’s seemed to have brought him out of whatever daze he caught himself in. His eyes began to clear a little, but I could still see the gold tint in it.

He then pushed the quilt off his body completely, opened his arms wide so I could see the large expanse of muscles underneath the black unbuttoned shirt Mav had helped him into when we cleaned him this morning.

“Come here, Nala,” he said, his voice a bit groggy.

I didn’t wait for any more invites. And I was certain the tears on my face were still there when fresh ones began to roll. I hopped onto the bed, wrapped my arms around his torso and instantly felt his warmth seep through my soul.

And when he wrapped his arms securely around me, I felt my world stop. Nothing made sense anymore save for the man in my arms, the scent of him filling me, his warmth, his body pressed against mine. I let the tears flow freely. These were happy tears.

“I missed you so f*****g much, Nala,” he mumbled as he pressed his lips against my neck.

“You need to stop doing this to my heart,” I hiccuped, bringing my hands upwards to his neck and wrapping them there. “You reckless man,” I added.

He chuckled, the sound causing his body to shake in the process.

‘Oh dear Nyala! I’m back to heaven!’ Erin purred, leaning into the touch as she closed her eyes.

I smiled through my tears, squirmed when I felt him press a closed mouthed k**s on my nape. “I am sorry,” he whispered throatily.

I simply nodded, tightening my arms around his neck. I pushed myself closer, as though to cover any little space in between us. Thing is, there isn’t any space left, however, I just couldn’t seem to get enough of the hug. Of him.

A throat cleared from behind us. “You’re going to choke him, Sis,” Mav said.

I pulled back slightly so I could look at Aiden. “Is that so? Am I choking you with my…”

“Don’t mind him,” Aiden grumbled, shooting a quick glare towards Mav before he pulled me into another hug. “You’re so frail. What happened?” He murmured.

I sighed, let the silence stretch for a moment before I pulled away from the hug. “Do you feel any pain? Are you okay? Nothing more? Do you feel like you want to attack Mav and bite him? Anything?”

“Calm down,” Aiden laughed, albeit wincing a bit. “You did the same thing last time.”

“And whose fault is that?” I huffed, crossing my arms against my chest.

He pinched my nose lightly, and laughed. The golden glow in his eyes increased.

“Glad to have you back, Leo,” I murmured, cupping both of Aiden’s cheeks. I brought my forehead against his and nuzzled our nose together. My heart was happy, so was my soul. My mate was back, and nothing can ever beat that!

He nuzzled his nose against mine as well, pressed his hot palms around my neck and sucked in a deep breath before he shut his eyes.

‘The pull is so intense now,’ Erin m****d. ‘So intense.’

I felt it. It was raw, and almost too impossible to ignore. I can’t explain why that had happened, but I knew for certain that after I had seen Aiden this way in so much pain on two different occasions, my thoughts had been confirmed.

I had fallen In love with this man. He had been patient with me all through my darkest and most difficult days. The bond might have been there, but that wasn’t what made me fall in love with him. It was all him, this dark, amazing, sweet, sexy man that had a tight grip on my heart in just close to three months.

When he pried his eyes open after a while, the golden glow was gone, and I knew Leo had left. I inched back to give him some space, especially knowing that Mav was still there and may want to see his brother too.

“Thank you for coming back,” I whispered, caressing his beard just a little.

His eyes dilated just a bit, but he didn’t do anything. Instead, his gaze shifted towards the movement from behind us.

“Are you going to leave again?” Aiden said.

I turned to see Mav already by the door, with his right hand already on the handle. His back stiffened for a moment before he turned to face up.

“I figured you wouldn’t want to see me or…”

“You bet I don’t,” Aiden hissed, pushing his legs down and letting them dangle like I did with mind. “I wake up from a near death experience and you want to leave again? Well, this wasn’t the first time you did that so I shouldn’t even be surprised…”

“Aiden,” I called softly, placing my hand over his that rested beside me.

He shut his eyes, his breath coming out in deep pants. I used the moment to look up at Mav and found his face expressionless. It was blank and grim, the playful face he had kept around me since we met vanished instantly.

I watched as he sighed, then began walking towards us. When he stopped before Aiden, he stretched out his hand and tapped his shoulder lightly.

I untangled my fingers from Aiden’s, nudged him a little then shifted to give them some space.

Aiden looked up, sucked in a shaky breath before he stood up. In a blink, he and Mav hugged each other tightly.

I felt tears well up in my eyes. Seeing them hug each other made me wish I had siblings as well. I knew there was an undiscussed tension between them, but it is obvious that these two care so much about each other. I just wish that whatever had come in between them would be settled soon.

“It’s good to be home, brother,” Mav said, patting Aiden’s back.

“You’re the worst brother in the whole kingdom,” Aiden mumbled.

“I know. The worst piece of s**t anyone could have as a brother,” Mav chuckled.

More silence stretched, and I continued to stare at them. A small, lazy smile on my face.

‘Mav seems…so sad,’ Erin said as she sat on her haunches. ‘He tries to hide it, but he’s sad. Almost, like he’s broken.’

‘Yes, that’s true,’ I replied, nodding my head. ‘There’s just something about him that makes me feel comfortable around him. I don’t know, it might be because I know how much he means to Aiden, or just his personality in general. He just has this vibe around him, just like Tiffany and Donald.’ I replied.

‘Now that you mentioned it, I feel that way too. Do you think he and Tiffany would make perfect mates?’ Erin asked, wagging her tails.

‘Well, damn Erin. Your imagination is wild!’ I laughed a bit, shifting my attention back to the brothers still hugging.

Before I could speak however, a knock came from the door before it was pushed open. Kane stepped in with Donald trailing behind him. Both men stopped in their tracks when they saw the brothers hugging.

“Your Eminence!”

“Aiden!” Both Kane and Donald called at the same time, shock evident on their faces.

I laughed at their reaction and watched as they strolled in. Mav pulled from the hug and let Donald hug Aiden, before Kane did the same.

“Glad to have you back,” Kane patted his back.

He was the only one that acknowledged Mav when they came in, Donald didn’t even look towards him.

“You look different. Almost like you haven’t been unconscious for six days,” Donald said.

“I’ve been in bed for that long?” Aiden asked in shock.

“Yes, and now, you need to go back to bed so you can get all of your strength back,” I stepped in, taking his hand and tugging it towards the bed.

“Didn’t you hear what Donald said? I looked energized, Nala,” he grumbled.

“I’m not buying it. Someone that has been unconscious for days cannot simply look too energized to avoid rest,” I replied, sending a glare towards Donald.

“What? I’m right. He looks strong and healthy. You can see that as well, can’t you?” He asked Kane.

I pinned my gaze on Kane, waiting for Kane to say anything. He scratched his hair then smiled. “I think he needs a rest, Donald.”

“Oh come on! Just say you are scared of her.” Donald grumbled.

“Shouldn’t he be? I’m his queen, same way I’m yours,” I said smugly. I helped Aiden back to the bed. He sat and leaned his back against the headboard before he pulled me to his side and wrapped his arms around me. I sighed, sinking into his touch, the same way Erin did.

“There’s no privacy glass here, your…”

“Shut up, Kane,” I grunted, a small smile on my lips as I circled my arms around Aiden’s torso, laid my head on his chest and snuggled in closer, our legs intertwined. Nothing can ever beat cuddling with your man. Nothing!

He and Donald laughed, wincing a bit in the process.

“How are you both?” Aiden asked after a while.

I shifted my gaze towards Mav, who had leaned on the wall beside us, with his arms crossed on his chest. His face grim and unreadable.

“…so right now, I just need a few days of more rest and I’ll be fine,” I heard Donald finish. I had missed both his and Kane’s reply because I was more focused on Mav.

They continued to chat, Aiden asked about Matteo and the events that happened afterwards. Fortunately though, none of them mentioned how I had intervened in the fight. Somehow though, it seemed like Aiden remembered hurting the two but not my interference. It seems he doesn’t even know I had gone to the fighting arena, which is good, for now. I had wanted to pretend and ask him why he was fighting Matteo, but I kept my mouth shut for the time being. When we talk, we’ll let the rabbits out of the hole.

Minutes stretched into an hour, and Mav still leaned on the wall. From time to time though, Aiden talks to him but the tension was there and unnerving. They need to talk fast!

“Baba and Mama will be coming tonight. Umma is tagging along as well,” Donald announced. “I told them you’re awake…”

The words died as Lacie pushed the door and strolled in, behind her trailed Tiffany, Ivayne, and Sherneil.

“He woke up and nobody deemed it fit to let me know? I just heard it from Mama!” Her loud, pitchy voice filled the room. I winced a bit at that before waving my hands at the girls. Ivayne smiled brightly and waved back, while Sherneil simply inclined her head a bit. She had a headphone over her head, her eyes dancing around as she nervously played with her fingers.

They visited everyday since Aiden got sick, and I always appreciated the little time they spent with me. It helped take some of my worries away. Today however, they all looked…different. Excluding Lacie who’s always loud and bubbly.

“Here comes trouble,” Donald murmured, facepalming himself.

Sherneil and Ivayne paused by the door, bowing at the Lycans in the room before a loud deep throaty growl filled the room. It wasn’t from Aiden, neither was it from Donald. It came from beside me, and I knew instantly that it was Mav.

“Not now, Nyala! Please! Not a mate now!” Mav growled angrily.