The Lycan's Queen Universe: My Redemption
Autore
L. S. Patel
Letto da
15,4K
Capitoli
30
Hunter thought he had found forever, until the truth shatters everything he believed about his mate. Burned but breathing, he pours his focus into leading his pack and swears love is no longer on the agenda. Ivy carries her own scars after a rejection that still stings, and she understands the quiet ache he tries to hide. Friendship feels safe. Simple. Manageable. Yet every shared look and steady touch hums with something warmer, something neither of them plans for. In a world ruled by instinct and fate, resisting desire takes strength. But what happens when two wounded wolves begin to hope again?
Chapter 1
Spin-off: My Redemption
To my Baa,
From the very beginning, you believed in me before I even knew how to believe in myself.
You told me to work hard, to chase my dreams, and to make you proud. I hope this book is a reflection of the faith you always had in me.
I will always carry your love and your words with me in everything I do.
~***~
HUNTER
My life has been nothing but hectic. Iâve been through some shitâsome good, some bad. But what is life without a few crazy moments? Without them, I never would have met my Ivy.
Without them, I never would have gotten my second chance.
***
Six weeks. Itâs been six long weeks since Iâve seen my friends, family, or Aarya. My wolf halted at the hill behind my pack. I felt the nerves return.
I had no idea how people would react to my return. I was sure people would be angry, and how could I blame them? I tried to kill Diyaâmy luna, my best friendâs mateâall because of what Lana did to me.
Could I really put all the fault on her? Maybe there was an evil side of me I never knew about. My eyes focused on my pack.
It had been my home for all these years, but now, looking at it, it felt foreign. I saw Carter, my best friend and alpha, chatting with his mate Diya and someone else.
I knew Carter would need a temporary beta while I was gone, but seeing the three of them made me rethink everything. Maybe I should leave for good.
This guy looked like heâd gained Carter and Diyaâs trust quickly, but me? I wasnât sure if it would ever be the same. I didnât have time to think as Carterâs strong nose sniffed me out.
His head whipped around to see my wolf standing there, and he smiled. From here, I could see the tense look on Diyaâs face.
She didnât look happy. Fuck, this was going to be harder than I thought.
Going behind a tree, I shifted back and headed toward my pack. I felt a forced smile make its way onto my face.
I had to show Carter I was fine, even if I didnât feel that way inside. Carter, my best friend. I may have threatened his mate when I lost my mind, but he stood up for me.
He took my side and gave me time to heal. He never let me forget that I was the beta of the pack. For that, I owe him my life.
âBrother, welcome back. You look good,â Carterâs familiar voice said.
âCanât say the same for you, brother. You look like shit,â I chuckled.
âOh, youâll pay for that. Donât forget youâre back to being the beta. No more sketchy shit, because I canât lose you again,â Carter said, raising his eyebrows.
I rolled my eyes. âIâm here to stay, bro, donât you worry.â
âGood, no time like the present! Before we get started, you know Timothy. He was helping me out while you were away,â Carter said, introducing Timothy.
âWelcome back, Beta. It was an honor to help the alpha in your absence,â Timothy said, smiling.
I forced the smile back on my face. Did I really deserve this? Maybe Timothy was a better candidate than I was to fill the role of beta.
I didnât get a chance to say anything as Timothy said his goodbyes. Carter motioned for me to come into his office, where he filled me in on whatâs been happening.
No time to dwell on things, I guess. Diya also tagged along, but I noticed she hadnât said a word yet, and I wasnât sure how to say hi.
I couldnât say, âHey, I promise I wonât try to kill you again.â That would not go down well.
God, this was awkward, to say the least. Carter talked about wanting to start a more vigorous training program and how he wanted me to lead it.
A big task for meâIâd have to work my ass off. He also mentioned some new pack treaties that he had almost finalized.
Pack treaties were good to have. Although we could rely on the palace for any issues, it was always good to have a backup.
Carter was very much an alpha who believed in preparing for the worst. He never wanted us to fall on hard times.
My mind was split. Would people even trust me with this? Should I be given this much responsibility already?
âRight, so you can travel to the Greenland pack house tomorrow for the alpha to sign the treaty. Heâs come here the last two times, so itâs only fair we go there. Itâs a nice, easy task to ease you back into the beta duties,â Carter told me.
I just nodded. I didnât want to express my doubts right now. Greenland packâthat name didnât really ring a bell.
Six weeks of traveling had thrown me out of the loop. Fuck, I needed to get this sorted. I couldnât embarrass my alpha.
âGreenland pack? Whoâs the alpha again?â I asked.
âThatâs Alpha Mick. Heâs mated to Luna Grace, and they have two children. Their son Victor is likely to succeed his father soon. Heâs just come back from his second training camp, so Iâm sure heâs more than ready now. Their daughter Ivy, well, she hasnât had the best time recently,â Diya chipped in.
Carter nodded in agreement while I asked, âWhat happened?â
âShe found her mate in a neighboring pack, but he rejected her. As I heard from her father, it was not a nice rejection. He was awful, and as a result, Ivy has withdrawn from everyone and become a different person altogether. Her father told me this in confidence. I suspect heâs worried she wonât ever recover from this,â Carter explained.
My heart ached in sympathy. I knew what it was like to be rejected. In my case, I rejected my mate, but she might as well have said the words to me.
The look of pure joy on her face as she jumped into the arms of her lover is still an image that haunts me to this day. I honestly thought I was the luckiest person to find my mate on my training journey.
I came back a beta and had a mate, but I was so wrong. Completely wrong. She played me so well and fooled me for so long.
I curse myself for not seeing it sooner. Lana was selfish and used me. I would never forget that.
So Ivyâs pain was something I understood very well. Although a female being rejected wasnât commonâfemales were precious.
Everyone knew that, so to reject one, let alone an alphaâs daughter? The guy must have been insane. Thatâs the only way this made sense in my head.
âMaybe you could talk to her?â Diya suggested.
âHuh? Me?â I stared at Carter. Was he okay with Diya suggesting this? This didnât feel right. I was not the right person for this.
âYeah, itâs a good idea. You know what sheâs going through, and it might be nice for her to talk to someone. Iâm sure her father would appreciate it,â Carter said, agreeing with his mate.
âBut Iâm not good at talking. What would I say to a female whoâs been rejected? Weâre totally different!â I replied.
âDifferent genders, yes, but not so different, Hunter. Ivy was rejected like you, and she might like having someone who understands what sheâs going through,â Carter reasoned.
âI donât know, man. Itâs not easy for me to talk about this stuff. I know itâs been a while, but itâs embarrassing for me to tell a stranger what my ex-mate did to me,â I admitted.
Carter put his hand on my shoulder. âI get that, Hunter. But youâre not talking to any old person. Youâre talking to someone who gets it! Sheâs the best person to talk to because she wonât judge you. Youâll be able to sympathize with her.â
Carter was doing his best to convince me. I sighed.
âIâll see. Didnât you say her father told you this in confidence? How am I supposed to go up to her if Iâm not meant to know?â
âLeave that to me. Iâll talk to her father. In fact, Iâll do it right now so that tomorrow you have the perfect chance to talk to her!â Carter seemed pleased with himself.
I opened my mouth to reply but closed it again. I didnât want to hurt my best friend by telling him that this wasnât something I wanted to do.
It was my first day back, and he was still my alpha. An alpha who never let me leave after all the shit I pulled. Instead, he supported me and gave me the time I needed to heal.
How could I say no to him?
But I looked at Diya. She was the one who first suggested it. And I couldnât help but think, why? Did she know something that I didnât?
Maybe this task was harder than I thought, and she wanted me to suffer. I was already suffering, but of course, I wasnât about to shout that out.
I wondered if she thought about the past like I did. If what I did haunted her, maybe this was her way of giving me a subtle punishment.
There was nothing I could do about it. I wasnât about to turn my alpha or luna down, so it looked like me and this Ivy chick were having a chat tomorrow.
Great. Iâm trying to leave my past behind, but it keeps coming back. So much for a nice week back, adjusting to pack life again.
âWhile you do that, Iâm gonna head down and see everyone,â I replied. There was no use crying over it. Iâd just have to man up, and that was that.
Carter nodded, and I left his office.
I headed downstairs, and the familiar scent of the pack house hit my nostrils. God, I missed this place.
It was my home, my place, and I needed it more than I knew.
âHey, stranger,â a familiar voice said.
I turned around, and a smile made its way onto my face. âAarya.â
