Defying the Lycan King (Kira and Derek) novel Chapter 159

Chapter 159: Kai’s Mother

Kira stirred and slowly opened her eyes. The first sight that greeted her was Derek. His figure was emerging from the closet, his muscles defined beneath the snug fit of workout shorts and a t-shirt.

He looked ready to take on the world, or at least beat it into submission on the training ground.

She pushed herself up against the pillows and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "Good morning."

Derek glanced over, and the hard edge in his face softened. "Morning. How did you sleep?"

"Well enough." She stretched. "You?"

"Well enough," he echoed.

Kira slid out of bed and padded over to the closet. She rummaged through it, pulled out a set of workout gear of her own, and started laying it across the chair.

Derek’s eyebrow lifted. "What’s that for?"

"I’m training with you."

Derek frowned. "You’re training with me?" he asked, suspicion clear in his tone.

Kira shrugged as she pulled the top over her head. "Yes. Why not?"

He crossed his arms, watching her with that intense stare of his. "Why the sudden interest in training?"

Kira shrugged, keeping her tone light. "The coronation is tomorrow. If I’m going to be the queen these people need, even for a short time, I should be strong. Physically and mentally. I don’t want to be a weak queen."

Derek said nothing for a moment, and she felt him studying her.

He could see it. Whatever Declan had said to her last night had got under her skin and stayed there. She had been quieter since, smaller somehow, folded in on herself in a way he did not like at all. The fire she usually carried had dimmed, and he hated that someone had managed to dim it.

He crossed the room, took her hands in his, and led her gently back to the bed, sitting her down on the edge of it. Then he crouched in front of her, her hands still held in his, and looked up into her face.

"You don’t have to do all this," he said quietly.

"I do, though."

"You don’t."

"Derek." She met his eyes. "A weak queen reflects badly on you. On your reign. I need to be able to stand on my own. To defend myself and my people, if it ever comes to that." Her jaw set. "I won’t be a liability."

He looked at her for a long moment and didn’t say anything.

Then he sighed. "If you’re going to train, then train for yourself, because you want to. Not because somebody said something to you that they had no business saying."

Kira let out a soft laugh, and some of the tightness left her shoulders.

"You know me," she said. "I spent twenty years living with a father who couldn’t stand the sight of me and a pack that made a sport out of tormenting me. Do you really think one nasty little speech is going to break me?"

She shook her head. "It takes a great deal more than words, Derek. I’ve heard worse from people who mattered more."

Derek nodded slowly, a reluctant smile tugging at his lips. He stood, and offered her his hand.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify