Heart Of A Lycan King
Chapter 99

NATASHA.

A- ‘Do you think Nana would like some beef jerky? I came across it from your favorite place and was wondering if I should get her some.’

N- ‘Oh, so now you’re getting Nana some beef jerky but not me? Why do I feel as though you care more about Nana than me now?’

A- ‘I have to get her to like me, Nala. I need to put in effort for that to happen. I was so relaxed at first because I have no in-laws, but now I have one and I need to put in all my effort to get her to like me so we can live happily.’

N- ‘(Laughing emojis) Does she scare you that much?’

A- ‘Let’s just say I’m trying to be on her good side.’

N- ‘Smh. You’ve fallen deep for an old woman. You should replace a way to get me to like you, not Nana.’

A- ‘Says the one who screams my name when I have her in my arms. See you at home soon. Love you!’

I glowered at the screen long after he had sent the text, simply because his last message was true. But I’m not the only one who screams. We both have different ways of expressing it and I’d like to think mine is a little tamer than his.

But tonight, we’ll replace out who does that more!

I heaved a sigh, setting my phone aside on Tiffany’s side drawer before I fixed my attention on her. She had her eyes closed with her back resting against the headboard. Ever since she arrived more than an hour ago, she had not spoken a single word, nor left her room. Not even when Nana came in to give her some food, which thankfully, she did eat.

“Are you going to talk to me or keep being like this?” I finally said. “You’re scaring me, Tiffany. I’ve never seen you like this so I don’t know what to do. You have to talk to me so I can understand how you’re feeling.”

Silence, and for a moment, I was beginning to get pissed. But then she spoke.

“You know how I’ve always said I wanted a mate and all. How I have always told you, I adore your relationship with the king? I’ve always been expressive of my feelings, but this time, I didn’t know how to react or what to say,” she mumbled quietly, her eyes still shut.

“First and foremost, how are you doing?”

“If I tell you I don’t know, does that make any sense?” She turned to face me.

“Certainly,” I nodded in agreement.

“Then I don’t know, Natasha. I honestly don’t.”

I scooted closer, and now, we were both leaning against the headboard.

“When I met Aiden, I felt the same way, especially since it was weird that he wanted me when no one else did. It felt unreal, and I always thought he’s joking and at any moment, he’d hurt me and then reject me. I mean, it is what I’ve been used to, right? So, it was hard to formulate my thoughts and understand how I felt at first. All in all, this is me telling you I perfectly understand how you feel, Tiff.”

She had been away for a week, before she finally returned today. I kept bugging Aiden to replace out if the dragon had somehow taken her with him without anyone knowing, and he said no.

I am still cranky about Mav leaving without saying goodbye on Monday, save for the text he sent after he had left. The jerk didn’t have enough guts to face me and I intend to make him regret doing that! Plus the fact that he and Sherneil were mates, and they had both agreed to keep it a secret! What in the world is going on?!

Right now though, my focus was on Tiffany.

“So tell me, does he scare you that much or does the idea of being mated to a dragon scare you?”

“I guess it’s both?“ she furrowed her brows. “I honestly don’t know, Nat.”

“Is that why you didn’t go with him?”

“Well, for one, he didn’t ask me to. And also, he was too cheeky for my liking.” She hissed.

“Too cheeky? I mean, I did know he followed you, but did you guys get to talk?”

“The man hardly speaks, Natasha. Could you believe he simply stood there looking at me as I cried? Then after a while, he used his thumb to wipe the tears without saying a single word. When I snapped at him and asked him to say something, he asked me what I wanted him to say.”

“Wow!” Was all I could say.

“That wasn’t all,” she turned fully to face me. “You know that small drink kiosk before the ceremony ground, right?”

“Umhum,” I nodded.

“He broke the door down, went in and took various drinks and dumped them before me. There were at least six different drinks, none of which he paid for because the kiosk was closed!”

“Ahh, he’s certainly giving the commander vibe,” I said with a small smile.

“Do you replace this funny?” Tiffany looked at me wide eyed.

“Of course not!” I replied quickly. I do know one thing, she likes talking about him. And if that’ll ease her mood, then I’ll have her continue talking about him. “Go on. What happened next?”

She avoided my eyes, then ran her fingers through her braids.

“Tiffany?” I called.

“He kissed me,” she g*****d, the words leaving her mouth so quietly that I’d have missed that. But still, I asked again.

“I can’t hear you.”

“I said he kissed me,” she whispered, a bit too edgy.

“You had your first k**s already?” I screamed excitedly before I told myself to calm down. “Oh my! Dear Nyala! Tiff, you had your first k**s!”

“It wasn’t on the lips, silly. It was on the cheek.”

“You mean that buffy scary man kissed you on the cheeks?”

She nodded.

“This is getting interesting,” I replied. I wanted to ask if she’d enjoyed it but that would be prying too much into her personal life so I didn’t. “Is that all?”

“Then he took a picture of himself on my phone. So I can always remember him.”

“He did what?”

“He snapped a picture of himself and set it as my phone wallpaper,” Tiffany grumbled. “According to him, he already has my face engraved in his heart, and since he doesn’t use a phone back at the empire, there’s no reason to take one with him.”

“I see,” I nodded, trying to stifle a laugh. “And how does that make you feel?”

“I don’t know, Nat,” she fell back onto the bed. “I want a mate, it’s been a lifelong wish of mine. But then, replaceing out my mate was a dragon just…” she waved her hand around, “it was just too much for me to take in. I don’t know how I’ll fit into a world like that as a mate of one of the strongest men there. I can’t do this, Nat.”

“So the whole idea sets you off?”

“Yes.” She hesitated for a moment then continued, “and then there’s him. I can’t understand him. I mean, what to do with someone who doesn’t talk and just acts? How can I know what he thinks? Or what he wants?”

“Maybe if you give yourself a chance to know him, you’d replace out all of that,” I reasoned. “I mean, without giving this a chance, how can you replace out all of that?”

Aiden and I may have marked each other, but there are still days that this all feels like a dream, and I start to wonder when I’ll wake up and replace myself back in the Malakari pack. I’m still scared, thinking if I really fit into all this. It is hard to get used to this quickly, as Doctor Lily said, old habits die hard. But mine are slowly dying. Or so, I guess.

“I can’t fit in there, Nat. Did you see the scary dragon with him? Or the way the princess looked at me when they were leaving? It was hatred, Natasha. I felt it.”

“Don’t be too sure. And stop saying you can’t fit in. If I could fit in here, then so can you.”

“This is different. You are among wolves like yourself, and that says something. I’ll be leaving the realm and staying in a whole different realm with no cellphones, cars, electricity, technology, nothing. And I’ll be living amidst dragons, Natasha. Dragons, not wolves. How do you think I’ll fit into a strange place like that?”

All her concerns are valid, and I could see where this is leading to. It is true that the realm the dragon empire exists in is a direct opposite to our realm. They’re more medieval than contemporary, which is going to be very hard for Tiffany to fit in as she says.

“Tiff, have you ever imagined what your love life would be like?”

“Yes!” She said a bit enthusiastic. “I hoped to be mated to an Omega like myself, or preferably, a wolf. I wanted a simple life with no external issues, which is opposite of what I got. A dragon commander isn’t my spec, and certainly not in a world like his.”

“So, you don’t want him.” I said quietly.

“What?” She sat up quickly, eyeing me. “I never said so,” she scoffed.

“I thought that was why you are complaining,” I said, feigning innocence, as though I don’t understand what she’s saying.

“All I’m saying is that, I don’t know how this makes me feel.”

“Then give yourself a chance to know that, Tiff. You have to allow yourself to try new things, feel new things to perfectly understand your emotions. Before I allowed myself to feel them, embrace them, I was confused as well. And I didn’t know what to think, or how to react to certain emotions. It was hard, but the moment I allowed myself to ease into those feelings, I found it to be one of the easiest things to do. He may be a different version from what you’ve always wanted, but that doesn’t mean he’s bad.” I paused, then took her hands in mine and squeezed.

“I’m not trying to tell you to do what you don’t feel comfortable enough to do, but all I’m saying is, give yourself a chance to feel. Get to know him. You don’t have to go to the empire now if you don’t want to, but allow yourself little bits of him till you get used to the idea. How’s that?”

“But how?”

“He didn’t leave anything with you?”

“He did,” she sighed, slipping her hands into the pockets of her knee length ankara skirt she had paired with a black blouse. “He left this with me and told me to blow on it when I’m ready. But I don’t know what he meant by being ready, and I didn’t ask.”

I took the whistle-like object in her hand and turned it around, trying to see if it could do anything. But I found nothing.

“I also got this when he kissed my cheek,” she added, pulling the sleeve of her right hand to show me a small mark on her wrist. It looked like a rune, with strange markings around it and a curled up dragon tattoo in the middle.

“That appeared simply because he kissed your cheeks?”

“Yes. He had the same mark appear on his wrist too after the k**s.”

“Maybe that wasn’t just a k**s,” I trailed off.

“I thought so too. My mother said the same thing.”

“What did she think of all this?”

“She gave her blessings, Natasha.”

“Then that is great. I have a feeling that when you blow this or so, he’ll come to you. Do you want to try?”

She shook her head. “Not yet. I’ll think about it more.”

“Promise you’ll think about this with an open mind without thoughts about being an Omega and all? You have to allow yourself some happiness, Tiff.”

After a moment of silence, she looked up at me and smiled. “I’ll do it tomorrow. And like you said, I’ll take it one thing at a time. I won’t leave with him just yet, but I’ll get to know him first. After all, I can only know if this is real when and if I allow myself to feel it.”

“That’s my friend,” I laughed as she pulled me into a hug.

I’m happy for her, even though I am yet to know Bilal. But I’d like to give him the benefit of the doubt, and believe that he’s good enough for my friend. I’m going to pray to Nyala to make this work out for Tiffany, because she deserves it.

We pulled away from the hug and continued chatting, talking about the ceremony and how she had felt scared when she realized she was mated to a dragon. The shock that everyone would frown at it and the fear that she was the first to have an interspecies mating after long years scared her so much that she fled crying. But when Bilal simply stood and watched her cry, she began to get annoyed.

The more she talked about the little moment they shared, the more relaxed she was, and the more she stared at the mark on her hand and rubbed her thumb on it.

I had been there once, when I couldn’t figure out what I truly wanted, and yet, I could feel the pull. It was the same thing Tiffany was feeling.

But I have faith that true love always wins. Someone taught me that.

“You’ve got a text, Natasha,” Tiffany called, pulling me out of my reverie.

My lips pulled into a smile as I began to reach for my phone, wondering what Aiden wanted this time. But then, my eyes fell onto Donald’s number.

I tapped on the text and began to read it.

‘Hey.

Sorry I’m sending this instead of meeting you. But I’m tired of crying my eyes out in your presence and it makes me feel sick that I’m this weak, Natasha. You’ve been a great friend all this while, the best anyone could ever wish for. Thank you for listening to all my s.hit, embracing me without questions and helping me through my darkest days.

But I’ve come to a decision, I cannot stay any longer. This doesn’t mean that I won’t return, but maybe someday, when I’m in a better state of mind, I will. Do not freak out, I’ll be in contact. But by the time you get this, I’m sure I’m gone already, and even if you try calling me, you won’t reach me.

Don’t worry, I’ll reach out once I’m settled. I, however, do not know where I’m heading to yet. I wish you a joyous life with my cousin, Natasha. Take care of yourself.’

Another person left without letting me know face to face. I wanted to call and yell at him for doing this, but I decided to understand his situation. I tried to put myself into his shoes, feel what he feels and get where he’s coming from. But that still didn’t take away the hurt that he left without saying goodbye.

Same way Mav did.

This was why, when Aiden returned and knocked on Tiffany’s door, I bade her goodnight and ran into his arms.

At least, with him, I’m certain he’d never leave without letting me know. And that was enough to calm me down as I sank into his embrace, his arms wrapped around me as he kissed the crook of my neck lovingly.

He’s giving me all the assurance I needed, and that was enough for me.