Heart Of A Lycan King
Chapter 58

The ride to the restaurant Aiden picked for dinner was just…perfect. We laughed and cracked jokes. And all through the ride, Aiden never let go of my hand. He clasped it tightly in his. At some points, he brought my knuckles to his lips and kissed them.

To be honest, I absolutely love all the emotions he’s teaching me. However, there are times I’m still wary about it. I mentioned it to Dr Lily and she said PTSD doesn’t just vanish after a day, a week, or a few months. I may slowly be falling in love with Aiden, without the mate bond forcing it, but I’m still my own person with doubts.

But I guess that is what makes every individual different.

When we arrived at the restaurant, he helped me out, placed his hand on my back and guided me through the sliding glass doors. The interior of the restaurant was breathtaking. Light shone from the chandeliers above as peaceful music played. People bowed as we walked passed. I guess they recognized us today.

All through our walk into the restaurant and to our seat, I was very aware of the way Aiden constantly rubbed small circles on my back with his fingers.

“Stop that!” I whispered. We were pressed against each other. I heard his possessive growl from time to time, and it was mostly because people were watching. Men more than women.

But I liked that he didn’t go all ballistic with everyone and maintained his composure.

“Why? It’s fun to feel you squirming under my touch,” he grinned.

“Well, what if someone sees us?”

“Is that bad? Sorry, I forgot to ask you if you’re okay with public affection and…”

I paused in my tracks and placed a small k**s on his right cheek. “Does that answer your question, My King?” I batted my lashes. Uh, where did I learn that from?

‘Your seduction lessons on YouTube. Learned a few there too,’ Erin purred, licking her lips.

I had no time to answer her, because Aiden’s hold tightened on my back, making me wince at the intensity.

“You…you’re trusting me more and more,” he murmured, as though afraid the words wouldn’t leave his mouth. “Thank you, Nala. Promise I’ll make it worth it.”

“You earned it,” I smiled. “Now, let’s go, I’m hungry,” I added.

He stared at me for a moment before his eyes dimmed a bit. “I need to do this. I’m sorry,” he mumbled, leaned down just a bit and kissed the corner of my mouth lightly.

I stiffened a bit, savoring the feel of his mouth against mine before he pulled back, his gaze more intense.

“What a tease!” I mumbled softly, watching the way his mouth curled up .

“Not a tease, Nala. I’m trying to hold back from kissing you senselessly like I said back home,” he replied, his thumb touching my bottom l*p slightly before he pulled his hand away.

We continued walking to our seats, neither of us able to say anything. I could feel the gaze of everyone on us, but I didn’t mind. I was more concerned about the heated look I saw in Aiden’s eyes.

He looked like he was in…pain.

“Aiden?”

“Hmn?”

“You don’t have to apologize every time you touch or k**s me,” I said hesitantly, then searched deep within me and tugged at any courage I could muster before I continued. “After all, you’re my mate. And I want you as well,” I added.

He didn’t say anything as he pulled a chair back for me. I took the seat, watched as he walked to his and settled in. It was then I noticed how his eyes were back to gold and black. He shut his eyes tightly, his fist in a grip so hard I was scared he would break his hand.

I reached across the table and placed my hand over his. His eyes shot open instantly, as I rubbed small circles on the back of his hand, his eyes began to clear.

“Are you okay?” I asked softly, my brows creased in confusion.

It took him a while before he nodded, then he turned his hand and clasped mine tightly in his.

His voice had a certain edge of gruffness when he spoke. “I was trying to control Leo. I almost gave in.”

“Is that a… problem?”

He nodded again. “A little. Lately, it’s been hard to control him. But I’m fine.”

I studied him for a while before I spoke. “Is something going on, Aiden?”

“Not really, Nala. It’s just…”

He stopped mid sentence, perhaps noticing the intensity of my glare.

“I promise it’s nothing. It’s just hard to control him when I’m around you now,” he replied.

I beamed, happy to hear that Leo wants me that much. “In that case, that shouldn’t be a problem.”

Aiden sighed. “It is a problem, Nala. He is a beast, a royal lycan. His primal instincts are different from mine. I may be able to control myself to a certain extent, Leo does too. But…”

He trailed off.

It dawned on me then, that my journey towards healing wasn’t just about me. It was also about the people around me. The people with me. A few months ago, if I had been told I’d be this free with another man, or fall in love like I love Aiden now, I’d have denied it. But here I am today, happier than I’ve ever been, with a man that placed all of his personal urges aside for my sake.

I may still not be ready for everything. If I’m being completely honest with myself, I love taking things step by step. But this isn’t only about me, and while I may want to be selfish and focus on me, it is far more about him than it is about me.

Aiden and I are together in this. Right from the first day, he has always been there and still is. Now, perhaps, it is time for me to step up as well. I am overly grateful that he has given me this much time, and that he never pushed me to my limits. I liked that he’s giving me a chance to make this decision myself.

But first, I just need to prepare myself both mentally and physically. And that will be tomorrow! Nothing much to do. I just plan to give myself a pep talk and that’s it! Maybe get one or two things to set the mood since I plan to do the seduction.

“Can I meet Leo later tonight? Maybe meet him for some time and let Erin out so they can go for a run? What do you think?”

Aiden grinned, a slow devilish grin that made me squirm in my seat. He leaned forward on his chair, brought my hand to his lips and kissed the back, again. His eyes never leave mine even for a moment.

“I think it is a wonderful idea!” he replied, then a waitress arrived at our table with the menu. She bowed before us, as usual, the salutations for the royalties. I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to that.

Aiden took the menu and asked what I wanted to eat. I chose couscous and one pot chicken and vegetable sauce, catfish pepper soup, and a glass of mango and watermelon smoothie.

“You’ll eat all that?” Aiden asked after the waitress left.

“What? I’m hungry,” I defended. “Besides, they aren’t heavy meals,” I pouted.

“Mine isn’t heavy as well. I can stomach it,” he said, pushing back as he began to remove his vest. Then he unbuttoned his cufflinks and rolled the sleeves of his shirt up, exposing his arms.

I smirked as soon as I noticed that, my eyes fixed on his toned biceps. “Ah! I never knew amala was not considered a heavy meal. You didn’t stop there, you ordered pepper soup as well,” my eyes were still glued on him as I appreciated how hot he looked underneath the lighting. I licked my lips, swallowing hard. Hmn, how would it feel like to lick him there? I wondered.

I looked up to replace Aiden looking at me with an intensity like before. Oh, Nyala! What have I just done? Have my dirty thoughts been heard?

“Uhmn, you look like you’re about to throw me over your shoulders and take me home like Christian did to Alana at the club.” I said, trying to ease the tension around us.

“Who’s Christian?” he growled slowly, his throat working constantly as he swallowed.

I laughed. “Hold your horses. He’s just a character from another favorite book of mine from Dreame,” I replied, remembering how he reacted to Alpha Markus earlier. “It’s called ‘Daughter Of Light’. What happened was simple. She went to the club, without her mate knowing and danced with a vampire. But Alana being so stubborn didn’t stop there, she kissed the vampire right in the presence of her mate,” I laughed, recalling how much I had loved that particular chapter.

“That was a dangerous move though. She should know better than to tempt her mate.”

“Well, he was being stubborn as well. She was only playing his game. But the most funny part of it all was how her friends who dragged her to the club literally left her with the angry Alpha.”

His lips tugged up slowly. “I can see Lacie doing that to you. So, what happened next?” he asked, leaning more on the table and kissing my knuckles again.

I was happy he was interested in the book I was reading. Even more happy that he wants me to keep telling him about the book, in a way, it just made him more attractive.

“Well, they got into the car and the girls challenged her to k**s him. Because apparently, they agreed to k**s whoever they could before the day ended. But Alana had already kissed the Vampire, that should have counted, right?” I asked, and Aiden nodded, seeming to get more and more interested with each passing minute. “But her friends insisted that the k**s was void, and that she had to k**s her mate again. Guess what she did?” I asked, laughter bubbling in my throat as the scene flashed in my eyes.

“What?” He asked, grinning at me.

“She gave him a mini lap dance, and almost, I mean, almost kissed him, but didn’t. She left him with blue balls!” I couldn’t help laughing out now.

Aiden laughed as well, the sound making my heart swell with joy.

“Or maybe, a full sack like Leo says,” he said.

“Full sack?” I asked.

“Yup! That’s what Leo calls it every time you tease us without even knowing,” he replied.

“I…tease you?” I asked, unable to believe him. Because I’m still trying to learn how to tease and seduce him.

“You have no idea, do you?” Aiden asked quietly. “But I’m good. No full sack or blue balls,” he said smugly. “I’m well trained.”

“Ugh! You’re so full of yourself!” I g*****d, happy that the conversation didn’t slip back to what I was afraid of. At least now, Aiden may be feeling better.

“Guess what I just remembered?” Aiden asked.

“What?”

“Our first k**s,” he said softly with a small smile.

“Are you trying to embarrass me right now?” I pucker my lips.

“No, not at all, Nala. I just remembered that the first time you willingly touched me intimately, was when you were in heat. A mysterious heat.”

My cheeks heated up. Little flashes of my heat state flashing through my mind before it vanished.

“We shared our first k**s without you being fully aware of what you were doing,” he laughed a bit.

The tension in my body eased when I saw him laughing, before I chuckled as well. “I still found it odd that it wasn’t a natural heat.”

“I think I know why now,” Aiden said, a bit too serious.

“You do?”

He nodded. “If this thing with the Fikoians is true, then maybe the connection we have may be the reason.”

“How?”

“I mean, you and I are destined to either help them or not, and then we both dreamt of them saying a connection had been made. If they marked me years back, then they may perhaps have a hand in this?”

Might be true. But we won’t be entirely sure. “We’ll replace out everything on the full moon,” I replied.

He squeezed my hand in his and smiled. “You were a hot mess that time,” he laughed.

I rolled my eyes before I pulled my hand away when I saw the waitress and some others trailing behind her with our order.

Soon, the table was filled with our food. Both Aiden and I dived in, talking from time to time. Just like the time Aiden and I visited Mama, he was playing with my legs from underneath the table.

“I still replace it weird that you’re eating couscous with your hands without using the cutleries,” Aiden said.

“You’re using your hands too,” I pointed out, swallowing another handful of couscous.

“Only because this,” he pointed at his half finished plate of amala, “is best enjoyed when eaten with hands.”

“Well, same with this,” I pointed at my almost finished plate. “If you don’t believe me, try it.” I pushed the plate towards him.

“I have soup,” he showed me his hand. “but we can do this another way,” he added.

“How?”

“We can do this the way we shared the ice cream, or, you can feed it to me with your hand. But I think I like the first option better,” he grinned.

I would be lying if I say I don’t like the first idea more as well, but I don’t think I would be able to do it. Instead of wallowing in the thoughts of how bad it would go if I decide to go for that, I simply scooped some of the couscous and sauce in my hand before I brought it to Aiden’s mouth.

He locked his eyes with mine, then he carefully wrapped his hand around mine and pushed my fingers into his mouth. I watched dazedly as he chewed on the couscous after bringing my fingers out, but instead of letting them go, Aiden licked each one the same way he did with my toes before we left home.

Oh, damn! Nyala! I thought, as I shut my eyes and embraced the sensation floating within every part of my body.

A few moments afterwards, he released my hand and resumed eating as though he did nothing. I pretended not to be affected by it as well and resumed eating.

After our table had been cleared, we got desserts. I got a slice of marble cake with chocolate syrup. Aiden didn’t order anything so we ended up sharing the cake and talking some more.

He told me how he spent his day, most of it was spent investigating Malakari pack. Then he told me after my questions about Philipson, he asked Kane to replace out anything he can about her disappearance alongside her family. He also told me about his training, and the pending matches he had been rescheduling for almost two months now.

I asked him how and why he chose football as a profession, and he said that’s a story for another day. But he had always loved football since he was a kid.

Well, even if he wasn’t royal and all, he’d be making lots of money through football, I thought.

From time to time though, he’d wipe the corners of my mouth with his thumb. I was slowly easing into the idea of him and I.

“How did you and Kane meet?” I asked, after we’d left the restaurant and were now sitting on a wooden bench in a small park beside the restaurant. Aiden had his arms wrapped around me, as always, while I snuggled against him, enjoying the brightness of the moon over us. At first, I wanted to ask him about Mav, but like I’ve noticed, it’s a sensitive topic for him. I’ll wait till he and Mav talk tomorrow before I ask him.

“As kids. We went to the same school and did everything together. He, Mav, Phil, and I were always together. Kane is a lycan-werewolf mix.”

“How is that possible?” I looked at him.

He tucked my hair behind my ear, then stared at me for a while.

“His mama was a wolf. A female Alpha wolf from the Bantal Kambali pack. She was supposed to be the Alpha of the pack, but the wolves there wouldn’t have it. My grandfather, in his attempt to calm the riot that broke in the pack, married off Kane’s mother to one of the Lycans from the council, hoping that they would accept her and everyone could be happy. That did happen, they accepted her, but not as the Alpha, rather, the Luna, while the Lycan my grandfather chose, was sworn as the Alpha.”

“Why would they do that? It’s her rightful place and not his,” I snapped, rage twirling within my heart like a nylon spinning in the wind.

“Well, everyone agreed with that. But it turned out Kane’s father played a dirty trick to end up being the Alpha. After Kane was born, he was just four years old when his mother killed his father and ran away, leaving Kane behind. No one has heard from her since,” Aiden explained.

“I…I…that’s just terrible!” I finally managed to say. I felt sad for Kane, and wonder how he manages to get through everyday with a past like that.

“That’s not all. When Baba found Kane, he was at the brink of death. He was poisoned, and because he’s not a full Lycan, he couldn’t shift that early. His throat had been slit with a silver knife and was left there to bleed to death. Some believe his mother did it, others said it was the father trying to use him as leverage. Regardless though, he didn’t deserve what he went through,” he finished.

Silence stretched between us as I tried to take in everything Aiden had told me. I thought I was the only one with a dark past and a terrible life, but the more I open up to the people around me, the more I learn that just because you cannot see it on them, doesn’t mean they haven’t had a hard life. To know that Kane had gone through all that, and can still laugh and crack jokes made me appreciate myself as well.

People wake up and laugh every morning, not because they may really be happy, but because they need something to keep them going. Through that, they tend to replace a rhythm and a balance to the life they live.

Life, as always, is full of hurdles, and every individual has something he or she is dealing with. For so long, I have only been considering myself and what I went through, and I never really thought about the people around me. Just like I realized how much Aiden was giving into this relationship of ours.How much he had endured for my sake. And now, it was my turn.

“Mav and Kane were the closest people I have in life. When Mav…left,” he clenched his teeth as he said that, “Kane was there for me through it all. He may have not replaced Mav, no one can ever replace the relationship Mav and I shared. But Kane would be the second person I would run to besides Mav,” he said solemnly.

I heard the hitch in his voice. The sadness. The pain, and it tugged my heart and squeezed it so hard I wanted to cry for him. He does love his brother, despite how angry he may be towards him.

“I’ll meet him tomorrow, and I do hope he has a better explanation for why he left home. Why he left Mama and I,” Aiden growled.

I ran my hand slowly on his back in an attempt to calm him.

“But for some reason, I’m more interested to see Matteo in three days!” he snapped, before his face softened as he looked at me. “Will you join me in the council meeting in three days, Nala?” he asked carefully.

My heart thundered for so many reasons. Fear. Eagerness. Anticipation. Anxiety. However, I decided to focus on those that make me happy. I know I won’t like seeing Matteo, but if it means putting him in his place with my King beside me, then that’s what I’ll do. I’ll go to the council meeting with my mate’s mark and show it to the world.

So, I did the only sane thing that crossed my mind. I untangled my hand from around him and pushed back, before I shrugged off his vest that he had wrapped on my shoulders when we stepped out. Without giving him enough time to question what I was doing, I straddled him, happy with my choice of dressing.

I tentatively wrapped my arms around his neck, pulled his face to mine, before I began moving slowly. Just like I saw in the YouTube videos I watched. To put it simply, I was grinding him, albeit slowly. I didn’t care that we were in public, or the fact that people walk past us from time to time. All I cared about was my man, and the feeling gradually building up at the pit of my stomach. And I loved the way my cotton panties feel against me right now.

Yup, you never go wrong with cotton panties.

“Nala…”

“Shhhhh…” I placed my finger on his lips. I leaned closer, brought my lips to his ears and whispered. “I want you to k**s me senselessly like you wanted to,” I whispered. “And yes, I’ll go to the council meeting with you.”