The Ruthless Lycan King Fell For His Slave Mate novel Chapter 35

Lyra was giddy and about a moment away from bursting into giggles as she walked out of the hospital. She pressed her palms to her blushing cheeks, feeling their warmth. Being on cloud nine, she did not notice Zero until he called her name.

She dropped her hands instantly and fixed her expression. Zero walked up to her and came to a stop, watching her with an assessing gaze.

“Lyra,” he said in greeting, “it’s been a while.”

Indeed, it had been a while. The last time she had seen him was that day when he pretended to kiss her in class. She had since found out that he had been confined under the king’s orders, and she knew it was because of her.

“Hi,” she replied. “I’m sorry about what happened the other day. The king shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”

Zero shook his head, a slight frown forming on his brow. “I don’t care what he does to me, as long as he doesn’t make you suffer.” He stepped closer to her. “You know you can rely on me, right?”

Lyra was grateful that Zero had stood up for her, but she did not wish for him to keep doing so at his own detriment. Also, she did not want him to keep coming between her and Julian. It only made things difficult for everyone involved.

“I want you to stop,” she told him, looking into his eyes. “You know that Julian is my mate, right?”

Zero’s jaw ticked and he remained silent, but he nodded. It was a fact he wished was not true, but of which he could do nothing about.

“It’s best if you stop doing anything for me,” she told him. “It’s not good for either of us.”

Zero’s face adopted a troubled look. “How can I do nothing? I’ve seen how he treats you. You are his mate, but he does not treasure you. I can’t just watch and do nothing.”

“You can,” she said firmly, “because it has nothing to do with you. I’m not your mate, Alpha Zero. And what happens between me and Julian is none of your business. It’s not your job to watch over me or interfere with what happens in my personal life.”

Zero shook his head, thrown off by her tone. Before, when she warned him against interfering, he could tell it was because she was worried about him. And when she looked at him, he could see the gratitude and admiration in her eyes. But now, her attitude towards him was almost hostile. She made it sound as if he was bothering her, as if he was nothing but a nuisance to her.

“Did he threaten you?” he asked her, because he couldn’t think of any other reason she would suddenly act like that. Julian must have threatened her about him, and she was doing her best to push him away. “You don’t have to be afraid of him. I can–”

“No!” she denied firmly. “He has actually been very nice to me lately. Things are good between us, and I don’t want you to ruin it.”

“Is he going to let everyone know that you are his mate?” Zero asked her.

Lyra hesitated. That was a good question–if it was even one. Even if Julian had sent Crystal out of the palace, they were still engaged. Julian might have been nice to her lately, but whether or not he wanted people to know that Lyra was his mate was another matter altogether.

“He won’t, and you know it,” Zero continued when she said nothing. “He is too proud and would never admit that a lowly Omega is his mate. He thinks you are too weak to be the queen of this kingdom. If he can’t accept you on those terms, how exactly can he be a mate to you? Will he keep you by his side while he marries another shewolf and makes her his queen and official mate?”

“Is that what you think of me?” Lyra asked, sounding hurt. “That I’m weak and lowly?”

“No!” Zero replied. “I think you are brave and amazing, and I don’t care about your status or background. If you accepted me, I would go against anything and anyone to be with you. You are more important to me than anything else.”

“If you met your mate, you would forget me in a heartbeat,” she told him, a bitter note in her voice. It’s not that she doubted his sincerity about his feelings, but it was the truth. The mate bond was incomparable to anything else. “So maybe you should not be here, telling me to abandon my own mate.”

“I do not believe I would do that,” Zero said. “Hasn’t Julian shown that it’s quite possible to shun one’s mate? If the bond was so effective, how come it’s not enough to make him accept you wholeheartedly? It’s not stopping him from looking for a queen among other females, is it?”