Defying the Lycan King (Kira and Derek) novel Chapter 184

Chapter 184: Under Seige

Back in Dravengard, Angelica stepped into Kai’s room with a soft smile, only to find her son already moving.

Kai heaved a heavy sigh, pushed himself up off the bed, reached for the crutch propped against the bedside table, and started for the door without so much as a glance at her.

"And where do you think you’re going?" Angelica asked.

"I don’t have time for you tonight, Mother."

She blinked. There was no charm in his voice. No cocky grin, no teasing lilt, none of the easy mischief that lived in him as naturally as breathing. For the first time she could remember, her baby boy sounded flat and tired and done.

"Kai." She stepped in front of him. "Why have you been avoiding me? Ever since I brought Alicia to see you, you’ve barely looked at me. What is the matter with you?"

Kai stopped and looked at her, and the look was not a kind one.

"Really?" he said. "You’re going to stand there and pretend you don’t know exactly what you did?"

"I am doing what is good for you," Angelica said, lifting her chin. "That’s all I have ever done. You and Alicia have been close since you were children, the pair of you. You might well be soulbonds, Kai, have you considered that? She comes from a good family, a strong line—"

"And who made you the goddess," Kai cut in, "to decide who my soulbond is?"

Angelica’s mouth thinned. "I am trying to protect you," she said. "Surely you don’t want to throw your heart at some werewolf girl, only for her to lay eyes on her true mate one day and vanish, leaving you in pieces. That’s what they do, Kai. They find their mate in an instant and they’re gone in an instant. I won’t watch that happen to you."

"That’s not going to happen."

"And how can you possibly be so sure?"

Kai held her gaze, steady and certain.

"Because Jessica has already found her mate," he said. "And that mate is me."

Angelica’s eyes flew wide. Her mouth dropped open and stayed there, the lecture she had been building dying somewhere in her throat.

"What?" she managed. "I— I didn’t know that. How was I supposed to—"

"No," Kai said quietly. "You didn’t know. Because you were too busy hating her to bother finding out a single thing about her."

***

"I’ll be leaving first thing tomorrow," Jessica said.

She folded another blouse with sharp, precise movements and pressed it down into her open bag. Kai stood a few feet away, leaning on one crutch, watching her with an expression she refused to turn around and see.

"You can’t be serious," he said.

"Oh, but I am." She huffed, not looking up. "I always knew this wasn’t going to work anyway," she muttered under her breath, mostly to herself.

"Really." Kai’s voice sharpened. "So that’s it? You’re not even going to put up a fight for us?"

Jessica turned and stared at him as though he had just calmly announced the moon was a rumour.

"Fight?" She scoffed. "I only fight for things I actually have a chance of winning, Kai. I don’t throw myself at brick walls for sport."

"Nothing is going to change between us," he said, taking a careful step toward her. "I have nothing to do with Alicia. Yes, fine, we had something once, when we were children. Years ago. I haven’t so much as seen the girl in goodness knows how long. She is nothing to me."

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