Lost Lycan's Mate
著者
A. K. Glandt
閲覧数
🔥24.2M
チャプター
49
I stared in awe at the beautiful creature before me.
A Lycan, here in my Pack. This couldn’t be happening.
The Lycans were driven extinct centuries ago. Yet here he was, and I couldn’t fight the magnetic pull dragging me toward him.
He took a step closer to my father, who was standing protectively in front of me. “You have something of mine, and I want it back.”
“Oh yeah? What?” My father snarled.
The Lycan looked straight at me.
“My mate.”
Cleo has lived her entire life without her wolf, and she’s accepted that she doesn’t have one. But when she meets her mate, a long-lost Lycan king, she feels an awakening that will change her life forever.
Boundaries Crossed, Lessons Learned
CLEO
Getting in trouble was something I did very well. Usually I would just get a scolding and a talking-to from my father.
Then I would get punished, something like having to clean up the sticks and rake the leaves in the yard or going to bed without supper.
This time would be different.
For half a heartbeat, the world tilted west, some thread tugging under my ribs. Nerves, I told myself.
I could sense my father’s rage radiating from his powerful body as his alpha rose to the surface. His irises began to go black and then bleed into the whites of his eyes.
I hung my head and waited for my father to reprimand me.
The warrior standing next to me shuffled his feet, his eyes focused on the ground and his head ducked in submission.
My father’s overbearing nature was forcing all of those in our pack to bow. Whether that was his intent or not, I couldn’t tell.
“What am I supposed to do with you, Cleo?” he demanded, a deep growl in his throat.
I kept silent because I knew he didn’t want an answer from me.
“I’ve told you a dozen times to stay away from the boundary lines, and this is exactly the reason why.”
His voice was filled with fury, and I knew I would not be escaping this one lightly. “That rogue would have killed you if Grey hadn’t been nearby. You would be dead.”
He spat out the last word, making Grey and me wince.
“You are nearly thirteen. This must stop. Learn to obey quickly, Cleo, or you will not like the way I handle you.”
He flicked his head toward Grey. “Take her to the house. I’ll figure out how to deal with her later.”
Grey touched the small of my back and pushed me forward. Though it was gentle, I stumbled a little.
I hung my head as I trudged back to the house, feeling the eyes of the pack members on me before they dipped their heads back toward the ground at Grey’s warning growl.
I scuffed my feet along the ground, kicking a rock that was in my way. “I hate this,” I grumbled to myself.
But Grey’s excellent hearing caught my words anyway. “You may be his daughter, Cleo, but you are still a part of the pack. He’s your alpha and you should listen to him.”
“It’s because I’m his daughter that I’m not a part of the pack,” I corrected him. “I should have started training with the apprentices last year. Instead, I’m forced to sit around the house and go to school and learn like a human. To be a human.”
Tears pushed at the back of my eyes. “I want to explore. I want to be like the rest of you.” I stopped walking and stared at Grey’s feet. “I don’t want to be like those humans.”
The waterworks started, and I began to bawl at the unfairness of it. “I want to be a Hunter, like Father.”
Grey frowned. “You know as well as I that there’s never been a female Hunter, Cleo.” His voice was quiet. “Only the sons are burdened with it. Destined to hunt what hunts wolves.”
I sniffled. “Then I’ll be the first.”
Grey bent to my level. “Cleo, you are still a part of this pack, you can still—”
“Watch pups? Help to cook and clean?” I cried harder. “I want to be a warrior, Grey. I want to protect my pack, but instead, all I do is endanger it.”
Grey exhaled and propped his finger under my chin. “There is still a chance, Cleo. Maybe your wolf just hasn’t awakened within you yet. It’s not unheard of. Give it time.”
I flung myself into his arms and sobbed all over him. “I’m three years late. Not even the smallest sign.”
It was normal for wolves to start showing signs at ten years of age. Our hearing sharpened, as did our vision. Our canine teeth formed, and we became stronger and faster.
We began training the year after the signs started showing. We learned how to fight and use our human bodies. By sixteen, we were able to morph into our wolf forms.
We trained under a master, usually one or two apprentices per warrior, until they deemed us worthy to become warriors ourselves.
They taught us how to transition and how to restrain our urges and emotions. They taught us how to fight in both skins and how to use our skills to our advantage, especially the Hunters.
Skills I would never obtain or hone.
I was a wolf without… I was as worthless as any human.
“It will all be okay, Cleo, I promise.” Grey hugged me tightly before twisting me around and slinging me onto his shoulders, clasping the front of my legs so I wouldn’t slip off.
He carried me back to my house and barged straight to my room to toss me on the bed. I giggled when I hit the soft mattress with an “oomph.”
Grey smiled softly at me. His pointed canine teeth showed slightly under his lip. “Keep smiling, Cleo. Don’t ever let anyone see you cry.” He ran his hand over my head.
I grabbed his hand before it could slip away and looked up into his eyes. “Thank you, Grey, for saving me.”
“Be patient, Cleo. You might appear to be just a human now, but you’re the daughter of Alpha Eric. I’m sure there’s a wolf in there somewhere.”
His head suddenly whipped around and tilted to the side as he listened intently. “I have to go, Cleo. Stay here and wait for your father, and do not get into any more trouble.”
Then he was gone, and I heard the front door opening and closing. Alone in my room, I turned from the open door to my vanity mirror across from my bed.
I sat cross-legged and stared myself down. I tried to growl, to see if I had a wolf that would respond, but the pitiful noises that escaped my mouth were nothing more than a human would make if they tried to mimic a wolf.
I tried again, and still nothing.
Though I hadn’t expected much, my heart still fell and a weight settled on my shoulders. It was this foolishness, this desire to be something I wasn’t, that kept getting me into trouble.
I’d gone to the border to scout, to see if I could scent a different wolf, to prove I could be useful. If not a Hunter, at least a regular wolf. But I couldn’t even scent my own pack members.
I hadn’t heard the rogue that was watching me close by, let alone smelled it. I’m lucky that Grey had. Before the rogue could spring at me, Grey was there. He’d tackled it away from me and delivered a strong bite to its jugular, crushing its neck in his jaws and easily killing it.
He’d taken me straight to my father. My father, the greatest Hunter in history.
It was because of who my father was that I felt worthless. My father was a legend, while I was a worthless human. Not even a small, weak omega wolf. I felt as though I was an embarrassment to my father, although he never said it.
“You must stop this right now, Cleo.” His deep voice had cut through me. “Lycans are still out there, vicious and growing bolder every year. Only our Hunters keep them from our door.”
I’d swallowed, yet slowly turned to meet my father’s gaze.
He had been standing in my doorway, his eyes narrowed at my daring gesture. I immediately dropped my gaze to the bed. I should have known better than to look him in the eyes after how angry I had made him.
“You’ll have to learn your place eventually.”
My lips quivered and tears threatened to spill over at his harsh reprimand. I hated that he could feel my shame so plainly. I hated that I couldn’t keep it locked away from him. I hated that my heart was as easy to read as anyone else’s in the pack.
My father had sighed then, some of what he’d sensed in me settling. His alpha slowly retreated, and he turned into my father.
“What were you thinking, Cleo? Going off alone, all the way to the border? Even if you had detected an intruder, then what? You have no training, Cleo. You don’t even have the speed to run.” His voice was tired. Sad even.
“Then train me!” My hair fell from behind my ear to form a curtain across my face. “Otherwise, I’ll always be helpless, no matter what.” I lifted my chin. “I’m not asking anyone to go easy on me. I’d refuse if you ordered it. Please!”
But my father was silent after that, dismissing me with a few more paltry words, followed by a wave of his hand.
He didn’t have to say anything else. I could see it in his eyes. I would never show signs of a wolf because I didn’t have one…and I never would.
