The Ruthless Lycan King Fell For His Slave Mate novel Chapter 61

Zero turned around and looked at her. “What if I say it's because of you? What will you do?”

Lyra searched his face, looking for the truth. She could not see the passionate look that was always there when he confessed to her before. “Is it really?” she asked him.

A small smile flitted across his lips, then he shrugged. “You rejected me multiple times. You'd only think I'm a nuisance if I didn't let go.”

Relieved to hear that, Lyra asked, “So why?”

“Just because I let go does not mean my heart did not break,” he said.

After a moment’s pause, Lyra asked, “Is that all you feel?”

Zero looked at her without saying anything for a while, then he walked back towards the window and took a seat. Lyra followed him and sat across the table from him, watching him and waiting for his response.

When he met her eyes, she could see the conflict in his own. “I'm not sure I know what I feel. When I first saw her, I–I…I wanted to run to her and hold her, but I couldn't.”

“What do you mean you couldn't?” she asked, not in judgement but curiously.

“Ever since I met you, I did not think there would be anyone else for me,” he confessed. “I could not think of being with anyone but you. So when she showed up, even though I felt the connection between us, my instinct was to fight against it. I'd let you go, but there was a part of me that did not want to give that space to someone else.”

“Do you still feel like that?” she asked.

“Not as strongly, but…” he trailed off with a smile. “I meant every word I said to you, and I never thought I was the kind to take some things lightly. I've never been the kind of person who just says something because it'll get me what I want.”

“You are not,” Lyra said. “I believe you meant everything you said. If you weren't sincere, you wouldn't fight against your natural instincts just to stay true to yourself. But I was not the right person for you, so it's okay if you forget about it. Now, you have someone to devote yourself to. You shouldn't let the past get in the way of that.”

Zero looked towards the window and rubbed his forehead. “You won't think I'm…flaky?”

Lyra chuckled. “Of course not. If you are flaky, I don't know what to say about everybody else.”

He looked back at her with a soft smile. “It's funny how you've made sense of it all so easily. It didn't seem that way to me.”

“Since you thought it had to do with your integrity, which you care about a lot, of course it would not have been easy for you to sort through,” she told him. She placed her hands on the table and linked her fingers. “So, does this mean you have nothing against Anna personally?”

“What would I have against her?” he asked. “She looks so…delicate. Vulnerable.”

From the beginning, Lyra had thought it unlikely that Zero would be biased against Anna because of her background. Regardless, hearing it from him was a huge relief. “She looks like that, but she is strong. She has been through a lot and she survived. Staying with the witches was not easy for her.”

“I guessed as much,” Zero said. “They don't really like our kind.”

“No, they don't,” Lyra agreed. “They had initially intended to use her for experiments to create corrupted wolves. When they found out she had substantial magic power, they decided she was of better use as one of them. Since then, they have been using her powers and controlling her while also treating her like an outsider.”

Zero's jaw tightened as he gritted his teeth. He had known that Anna must have been abducted by the witches, but he had not thought that they would have been abusing her if they made her one of their own.

The thought of what she must have gone through in a place where everyone hated her made his blood boil. And, now, he felt guilty for having been one of the people to make her feel unwelcome at the palace. He had thought his indifference would turn her off, but she kept coming to him, obviously trying to get on his good side.

“I feel like shit,” he said.

“It's not too late to fix it,” Lyra said. “Anna was really happy to meet her mate. Despite what she's going through, she has maintained a happy face. Today, however, it's like she hit a wall. You are the only one who can keep her from spiralling.”

He swallowed. “Is she alright?”

“She'll be fine for the night, she already went to bed.”

“I'll go to see her tomorrow,” he said.

“Really?” Lyra teased with a smile.

Zero shrugged, but with a smile of his own. “Who am I to turn down the Goddess's blessing?”

***

The next evening, a smiley-faced Anna showed up at Lyra's room. Lyra had been at training all day, so she had not seen Anna since checking in on her in the morning.

“What's that big smile for?” she asked teasingly after stepping aside to let Anna in.

When she turned around after closing the door, Anna engulfed her in a tight hug. “Thank you.”

Lyra returned her hug, surprised. “What did I do?”

While Lyra's body and mind underwent significant changes, there was no undue stress on her.

Meanwhile, Anna's own status in the palace had improved significantly. After finding out her connection to Zero, the bullies who had thought she was an easy pick backed away. And, since Zero did not tolerate any kind of trash talk about his mate, the vicious gossiping also died down.

Anna was also heavily involved in the research on the corrupted wolves, and her contribution proved to be immensely helpful. This changed the perception of the palace officials working on the case about her as it became clear that she was not one of the enemies.

While Lyra and Anna were having a good time, it was the opposite for Crystal. She had not given up on making Lyra's life a living hell despite the strict warnings from Julian. But this time, Lyra seemed to have someone who was always watching out for her–Anna.

The more Anna got in the way of her plans, the more frustrated Crystal became. Eventually, she decided to teach her a lesson.

One day while Anna was walking down a corridor, a door opened suddenly and someone grabbed her. After being dragged inside and shoved to the floor, she saw that her assailant was Crystal.

“What are you doing?” Anna demanded, trying to get up.

Crystal kicked her, sending her sprawling to the floor. “This is your fault,” Crystal said, walking around her. “If only you had kept out of my business, I never would have looked in the direction of a disgusting witch like you.”

“I'm not a witch,” Anna said.

“You are,” Crystal insisted, kicking Anna in the stomach. Anna grabbed her belly and curled in pain. “And let me tell you, I can take everything from you in an instant if I wish to. Do you understand? I am the daughter of the Alpha of Blacksword and soon-to-be queen of this kingdom. What do you think will happen to you if I tell everyone that you've been messing with my head, trying to get me to betray my kind?”

“What?” Anna gasped. “I’ve done no such thing.”

“It doesn't matter. What matters is who they'll believe, and it won't be some stupid witch,” Crystal spat. “Everybody else in this palace seems to have lost their mind, but I'm not blind. I cannot live in a place stinking with despicable creatures like you, and I'll fix that. If you know what's good for you, stay out of my way!”

Crystal left, leaving Anna on the floor with tears flowing down her cheeks.

After that, Anna tried to stay out of Crystal’s way, but despite that, Crystal always found excuses to antagonise her. Anna knew that even though her situation at the palace had improved, things could change if someone as powerful as Crystal made accusations.

Knowing how werewolf hierarchy worked, she could not imagine that anyone would believe her over Crystal. So, the only thing she could do was endure Crystal’s bullying in silence. Zero had mentioned that at some point they would go back to his pack, so it was only for a moment of time.

While Anna was determined to act like nothing was wrong, Lyra eventually noticed that her friend was hiding something. After witnessing a couple of suspicious interactions between Anna and Crystal, Lyra told Zero about her concerns.

Together, they decided to keep a close eye on Anna to see whether something was going on.