The Lycan Prince’s Puppy (by C Tamika) novel Chapter 371

Kylan

“I’m willing to listen.”

The queen smiled as those words left my mouth. “Willing to listen,” she breathed. “That’s what I should have said years ago.”

It was that smile on her lips that bothered me, because this was no smiling matter. A hot sensation burned within my chest as I suddenly began to wonder what the fuck I was doing here.

I had this fear that I knew exactly how this would end.

She might have taken responsibility for the way she handled things, but I just could not see her apologizing. That wasn’t her.

The queen would tell me to apologize so we could all start over, I would refuse, and lose all the progress I had made regarding my anger. That’s how this would end…or how it could end.

Kaelis and Kiora had gone completely quiet. I glanced back at them, then back at the queen as I waited for her to speak.

“I spoke with Kaelis and Kiora,” she said. “About family, how much has changed over the years.” Her eyes shifted to my sisters. “And there’s also a lot I haven’t told you girls either…about what happened between me and your brother.”

Kaelis and Kiora frowned at each other as the queen continued.

“The two of you obviously know a lot has changed between us, but I never really told you why.”

It was true they hadn’t known. They had ignored me for years, sure, but I had pushed them away just as hard because I didn’t want to bother or disrespect the queen. Those two didn’t even know why things were broken in the first place and just followed their mother like they always had.

‘If mother hates Kylan, we must hate Kylan also.’

Kiora took a bite from her crispy chicken sandwich.

It went silent, and I took that as my cue to speak.

“During the battle for the throne…I poisoned Kayden.”

Kiora opened her mouth in shock, and the piece of bread fell onto the table. She stared at me as if she had misheard. Kaelis leaned back in her seat and met my eyes. She could be silly at times, but she was also smart when it mattered, and she had been fourteen back then. From the look on her face, it was clear she already knew what had happened.

The queen opened her mouth. “Your brother—”

“No,” I cut in.

The queen shot me a startled look. My voice had perhaps been a bit too sharp, but she had left me no choice.

“I’ll tell them myself,” I stated. “You never believed my version anyway, so don’t give them yours.”

I could see the hurt in her eyes.

Good.

It couldn’t have been any worse than the pain I had lived with all these years.

I looked back at my sisters. After all this time, I was finally ready to tell them the story. My story.

“The day we went to Orrithyl to pray at the temples, I met someone in the woods,” I told them. “Someone who told me that if I didn’t win the battle, our brother would destroy everything I love.”

A small chuckle escaped me. I knew all of this sounded crazy, and it was even crazier that I couldn’t fully remember the woman, but all of it was true. Yet after the queen called me crazy back then, I began to think of it that way too.

My sisters could turn on me again. The three of them could laugh at me and accuse me of only trying to make excuses, but I didn’t care for their validation.

At least Violet believed me, and that was enough.

“I have never seen her again after that. She gave me a small bottle and said it would just slow him down. I threw it in his drink, and later, when he collapsed, it was already too late,” I explained. “I kept running. I didn’t turn to help him because all I kept thinking about was securing the crown and protecting the ones I love, which includes…”

I didn’t know how to say it out loud, but I could only hope the message got across. Because after learning how to love again, I realized that even after all those years of silence, after all the distance and pretending we weren’t related at all, I had never stopped loving them. How could I?

Kaelis cleared her throat. “After the battle, you and mom used to fight a lot,” she said softly. Her eyes squinted like something had finally clicked into place. “I figured you had something to do with Kayden’s condition, but that’s all I knew.”

“If you say it was an accident, then it was an accident,” Kiora said right away. “I believe you.”

The two shrugged at each other.

“Me too,” Kaelis said.

I could only stare at them the same way I had stared at Violet. I had expected them to call me a liar, a monster…but not this.

“Just like that?” I asked, confused. “You believe me just like that?”

Kiora let out a shaky laugh. “You can be an ass,” she said bluntly. “You are cold, annoying, insufferable, bossy, scary…but my brother is not a liar. Never has been.”

Something inside me cracked. If they could believe that, why couldn’t she?

I lowered my gaze to the table, then lifted it again to look at the queen.

“And you?” I asked, my hand tightening around a napkin on the table. “What do you think?”

My voice hardened. “Because the last time we talked about this, you called me a liar. You looked me in the eyes and told me I was a monster, not your son.”

From the corner of my eye, I saw Kaelis blink rapidly. She snapped her head toward the queen. “Mom?” she whispered, stunned.

The queen didn’t look away. Her back stayed straight, chin lifted. At least I knew she wouldn’t walk out on me and would face this conversation head-on.

“It’s true. I have made many mistakes, and not communicating with all of you has been one of them,” she admitted. “I isolated Kaelis and Kiora because I didn’t want them to get hurt, and I was hard on you, Kylan…but only because I wanted to prepare you for a world that has been cruel to me.”

Bullshit.

“I know you didn’t have it easy,” I said, irritated. “We all know.”

My voice started to shake as I tried not to lose my cool. I truly believed we were getting somewhere and didn’t want this conversation to fail. I didn’t want it to turn into a situation where I forced myself to pity her and keep everything inside for her sake.

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