The Lycan's Queen Universe: My Redemption
Автор
L. S. Patel
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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. I’ve been through some shit—some 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. It’s been six long weeks since I’ve 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 Diya—my luna, my best friend’s mate—all 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 he’d gained Carter and Diya’s trust quickly, but me? I wasn’t sure if it would ever be the same. I didn’t have time to think as Carter’s 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 Diya’s face.
She didn’t 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 didn’t 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.
“Brother, welcome back. You look good,” Carter’s familiar voice said.
“Can’t say the same for you, brother. You look like shit,” I chuckled.
“Oh, you’ll pay for that. Don’t forget you’re back to being the beta. No more sketchy shit, because I can’t lose you again,” Carter said, raising his eyebrows.
I rolled my eyes. “I’m here to stay, bro, don’t you worry.”
“Good, no time like the present! Before we get started, you know Timothy. He was helping me out while you were away,” Carter said, introducing Timothy.
“Welcome back, Beta. It was an honor to help the alpha in your absence,” 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 didn’t 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 what’s been happening.
No time to dwell on things, I guess. Diya also tagged along, but I noticed she hadn’t said a word yet, and I wasn’t sure how to say hi.
I couldn’t say, “Hey, I promise I won’t try to kill you again.” 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 me—I’d 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?
“Right, so you can travel to the Greenland pack house tomorrow for the alpha to sign the treaty. He’s come here the last two times, so it’s only fair we go there. It’s a nice, easy task to ease you back into the beta duties,” Carter told me.
I just nodded. I didn’t want to express my doubts right now. Greenland pack—that name didn’t really ring a bell.
Six weeks of traveling had thrown me out of the loop. Fuck, I needed to get this sorted. I couldn’t embarrass my alpha.
“Greenland pack? Who’s the alpha again?” I asked.
“That’s Alpha Mick. He’s mated to Luna Grace, and they have two children. Their son Victor is likely to succeed his father soon. He’s just come back from his second training camp, so I’m sure he’s more than ready now. Their daughter Ivy, well, she hasn’t had the best time recently,” Diya chipped in.
Carter nodded in agreement while I asked, “What happened?”
“She 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 he’s worried she won’t ever recover from this,” 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 Ivy’s pain was something I understood very well. Although a female being rejected wasn’t common—females were precious.
Everyone knew that, so to reject one, let alone an alpha’s daughter? The guy must have been insane. That’s the only way this made sense in my head.
“Maybe you could talk to her?” Diya suggested.
“Huh? Me?” I stared at Carter. Was he okay with Diya suggesting this? This didn’t feel right. I was not the right person for this.
“Yeah, it’s a good idea. You know what she’s going through, and it might be nice for her to talk to someone. I’m sure her father would appreciate it,” Carter said, agreeing with his mate.
“But I’m not good at talking. What would I say to a female who’s been rejected? We’re totally different!” I replied.
“Different genders, yes, but not so different, Hunter. Ivy was rejected like you, and she might like having someone who understands what she’s going through,” Carter reasoned.
“I don’t know, man. It’s not easy for me to talk about this stuff. I know it’s been a while, but it’s embarrassing for me to tell a stranger what my ex-mate did to me,” I admitted.
Carter put his hand on my shoulder. “I get that, Hunter. But you’re not talking to any old person. You’re talking to someone who gets it! She’s the best person to talk to because she won’t judge you. You’ll be able to sympathize with her.”
Carter was doing his best to convince me. I sighed.
“I’ll see. Didn’t you say her father told you this in confidence? How am I supposed to go up to her if I’m not meant to know?”
“Leave that to me. I’ll talk to her father. In fact, I’ll do it right now so that tomorrow you have the perfect chance to talk to her!” Carter seemed pleased with himself.
I opened my mouth to reply but closed it again. I didn’t want to hurt my best friend by telling him that this wasn’t 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 couldn’t help but think, why? Did she know something that I didn’t?
Maybe this task was harder than I thought, and she wanted me to suffer. I was already suffering, but of course, I wasn’t 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 wasn’t about to turn my alpha or luna down, so it looked like me and this Ivy chick were having a chat tomorrow.
Great. I’m trying to leave my past behind, but it keeps coming back. So much for a nice week back, adjusting to pack life again.
“While you do that, I’m gonna head down and see everyone,” I replied. There was no use crying over it. I’d 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.
“Hey, stranger,” a familiar voice said.
I turned around, and a smile made its way onto my face. “Aarya.”
