Heart Of A Lycan King
Chapter 96

My mouth went dry in mere seconds. And all I could do was stare at the woman. She stared at me too, before I slowly saw her mouth curl up into a smile.

Her smile was exactly like Abba’s, including the way her eyes crinkled on the sides. She has beautiful grey eyes, which were lined with kohl, and a few grey hairs peeking from the wrapper she draped over her head.

She wore a green and black patterned ankara, sewed into a blouse, with a wrapper that was tied over the blouse, and another she placed over her head. A walking stick in one hand, and a kolanut in the other.

“I…you…” I started, but the words wouldn’t come. I swept my gaze from a smiling Aiden, to Mama who was smiling and laughing at the same time, to Baba who was looking at me with affection and finally, to Mav, who stood with his hands behind him, clad in a black caftan similar to Aiden’s with a red cap. His trimmed beard stretched as he smiled.

“She’s real, Sis. You have a family out there, and I found her.”

Before I could say anything, this woman, who looked too much like my Abba, walked up to me and hugged me

I make a choked sound, reeling in shock for several beats before returning her embrace, a warmth I didn’t realize I was missing spilling back into my shaking limbs. I knew Mav said not to cry, but how do I stop these happy tears? How?

Over her shoulders, I saw him shake his head at me, and I found myself crying harder, wrapping the old woman even tighter. She smelled like Abba. A lot.

“Ashe munada rabon haduwa (I never thought I’d see you),” she murmured, her voice choked with emotion.

“Ka…In…bansan mezan kiraki dashi ba (I don’t even know how to address you),” I cried harder.

The knowledge that I have someone, someone to call my family besides my in-laws just filled me with so many emotions.

“I’m your grandmother,” she smiled, pulling away. “You can call me that.”

I squeezed her hand in mine, testing the name in my mouth before I finally pronounced it.

“Nana,” I whispered, the tears returning in thick flows.

“Yes. Yes, call me that, Jikalle (grandchild),” she said in tears, before she shifted her eyes towards Aiden. “And is this your husband?”

I nodded like a lizard. “Yes. He is.”

Aiden moved and hugged us both, whispering small words in my ears before the sound of the drum caused us to move away.

“No questions. We’ll talk tomorrow,” Mav grinned, pinching my cheek again before he pulled Nana with him. Baba and Mama joined him too, and once again, only Aiden, Inna and I remained in the center.

“It is time for the shift. It is 6pm already, the time to do the dance offering to Nyala. Time for you both to shift,” Inna announced.

Erin, who had been jumping around in my head after learning we have a grandmother paused in her tracks. The panic returned in her eyes.

But as though Aiden knew, or maybe, he did know, he kissed the side of my neck, directly where his mark was and grinned at me.

“The dance is the best part in this ceremony,” he whispered, as he loosened the knots on my head, the alkyabba-like veil falling down to the ground. “Just allow yourselves to enjoy it without thinking too much about anything, okay? Enjoy the moment,” he added, removing my accessories, handing it to one of Inna’s girls. “I’ll shield you. You can go first.”

Sighing, I reached Erin one last time and nudged her through the bond before I stepped back and allowed her to take over.

Bone cracking, joints snapping, clothes tearing, gaze more focused, Erin surged forward, as I began to fade into her consciousness.

From where I was tucked, I watched as she shook her fur, allowing her eyes to wander around before she raised on her paws and licked Aiden on the lips.

He laughed, a deep throaty laugh that made my insides clench. Then he took Erin’s face in his hands and rubbed their nose together.

“Beautiful as always, Kamla,” he grinned down at her.

Erin howled, jumping on her paws, while Aiden took off his accessories, then his shirt and just stood there, arms wide open .

Erin sat on her hinds, her tail wagging around happily as we watched the transformation happen. In seconds, Aiden was replaced by a towering Lycan with grey fur and deep golden eyes.

Then he howled, Erin joining him. Soon, everyone was shifting and the sounds of drums were everywhere.

“The king and queen will begin the dance,” Inna yelled.

**

ERIN.

This was my first time doing this. But I wasn’t scared anymore. Like Nat said, I can and would do this. That and the new knowledge that we have a grandmother pumped me into becoming more confident.

I started to circle around, just like one of the elderly women had explained yesterday. With darkness already falling, and a thick fire burning in the middle. It was my first time seeing a fire this close.

The sound of the drums were getting to me, and I started to swing my body with my tail wagging from side to side. I padded around the center, my claws digging in so I can feel the texture of the soil even more.

I could feel Leo hot behind me, his scent, his presence, the power he exudes. And the big beast was sniffing my butt every time I raised my tail and swung.

I liked it though.

As more wolves joined the dance, circling the fire, running around and nipping their mates, I became conscious enough to know that this was it for Leo and I. Today, we’ll finally be one, just like we were meant to be. With the moon already up, the drumming increasing, I could also feel my heart pick in anticipation.

‘Hello, gorgeous,’ Leo said smugly as we ran side by side.

‘Gorgeous? Are you trying to flirt with me?’

‘I figured I should if I plan to empty this heavy sack with no issues tonight,’ he nudged me.

Ah, the sack. I wonder how he’ll empty it? Or how it’ll feel when he does?

‘If you’re curious to replace out, I can show it to you now. No need to keep my queen waiting.’ He kicked a rock in front of us and overtook me, his tongue reaching out to smack a fly from his nose.

I rolled my eyes and chased after him, this time, I did the sniffing.

I don’t know how long the dance lasted, but it was finally time to stop. And I know what that means. It was time for Leo and I to mark each other.

We stopped in front of the High Priestess, whom I was scared of ever since we met. She circled us thrice, then blew some white powder to our faces.

Both Leo and I sneezed at the same time, my eyes stinging before it cleared.

“You two can proceed,” she murmured, leaving the center.

I didn’t know what else to do, and the gut wrenching silence around wasn’t helping the matter. I want to be marked, but at the same time, I don’t want it to be in public.

‘It is part of the tradition for the king and queen to mark each other in the presence of their people. That is all, nothing more. Don’t worry, I won’t be emptying my sack here. That’s for you only to see,’ Leo murmured, nuzzling my neck.

I calmed down, sitting on my hind with my paws out. Leo hovered above me, then after a while, dropped his head to my level and bared his neck.

He wants me to mark him first.

‘Go ahead, Kamla. Mark your mate.’

Those words seemed to fuel my dying confidence. I swallowed, feeling Nat nudging me a bit before she stopped. Licking my lips one last time, I bared my canines and sank them into Leo’s thick fur.

He growled, his whole body shuddering as I allowed myself to savor the moment. The feel of marking my mate. When his growls grew more and more, I could feel his desperate urge to mark me as well, and it made my stomach drop more in anticipation.

I withdrew my canines slowly, looking at the way the mark of a small wolf appeared on his neck, and quite suddenly, the burn mark on his back disappeared.

He gazed at me with so much intensity that caused me to squirm and purr in his process. I was shifting from one paw to another, unable to settle down.

‘Your neck, Kamla,’ he said, his voice sounding a bit drugged.

With my body still shaking from the earth shattering experience of marking him, I bared my neck to him, a small whimper leaving my lips when he sank his canines into my fur.

So that was how he felt.

For a moment, I couldn’t feel myself, or maybe, I was there but I never knew. Regardless though, I couldn’t relate. I was feeling all sorts of emotions at the same time. This wasn’t just about sinking his canines in my fur, this is about the deeper connection this has created between us. I was burning, but this burning was for something completely different.

This was what it felt to be wanted. To be yearned for. To be craved for.

And I was finally feeling all of that.