~NYSSA
I have a mate.
One of the most beautiful man I had ever laid my eyes on was my mate.
My heart quickened at the thought, but I wasn't as excited as I wanted to be. The man's monosyllabic, totally uninterested words rankled me and I didn't realise how it made me feel until I was walking away from him.
I had tried to read his expression too, but it seemed as if he had been carved out of a marble. Maybe he wasn't human. He might be a robot.
Whatever he was, he didn't look too happy at the fact that we were mates.
The walk to my room took shorter than I expected, and I was about to open the door when Henry came out of his room.
"Have you been waiting out here for me? Come on, Nys. You could have just knocked or something," he stated and I fought the urge to do something drastic about that smug tone of his.
Settling for rolling my eyes, I grabbed the handle of my door and pulled.
"Whatever, Henry. I don't want to talk to you," I muttered and was about to shut my door in his face when his hand curled around my wrist.
"Wait. Are you not going to the meeting with me?" he asked. My brows furrowed into a small frown.
"What meeting?"
"The King summoned us. The both of us. He's finally ready to see us."
I felt a flutter in the bottom of my stomach at those words. After so many days of waiting for the King's summons, it was finally happening.
I must have missed the summons while I was in the garden, but I said nothing to Henry. I stepped back out of my room, locked the door, and motioned for him to take the lead.
Henry and I walked in silence for a while before he decided to break the silence between us.
"Hey. Nys. Now that we are not in the Pack, I feel like the both of us should spend some time together. We've not been hanging out as we used to and I miss you."
His voice was soft, and when I made the mistake of glancing at him, his eyes were already on me. The warmth and recognition in his face, the way he was looking at me like I was the only thing that mattered made my stomach flutter.
He had always looked at me that way, and I used to love that expression on his face so much. But that was before he stabbed me in the back and made me the subject of public ridicule.
When I said nothing, Henry reached down to grab my wrist, halting my steps.
"Come on, Nys. It's just me and you in here. You don't have to pretend. I know you still love me," he said very tenderly as he yanked me closer to his warm body.
"I know you miss me too," he whispered. My chest was flush against his now, and his voice had taken on a very soft, seductive quality that was making my toes coil.
Henry betrayed me. He broke my heart and publicly humiliated me. But as I stared at him right now, with my heart pounding so loudly against my chest, all of that faded into the background.
He was right. I missed him too. My prickly attitude towards him was because I didn't want to find myself slipping and doing something I shouldn't do.
Yet here I was, thinking about how easy it would be for me to kiss him. It would be just like old times, and I…
What the fuck was I doing?
This man was a liar, for goodness sake. I pushed away from him immediately, feeling a little bit of disgust at myself for almost falling victim of his lies again.
"Don't. Whatever your aim is, don't do it. You broke up with me, remember?" I snapped.
Something flashed in his eyes, but it was gone as fast as it came.
"Nys, baby. You don't understand. You are the only one I love."
A snort slipped past my lips. "If Alisa could see you right now, she would be so fucking disappointed."
Then without waiting for a response, I pushed past him and continue to walk. He fell back into step with me but said nothing, and the silence between us became very uncomfortable.
The butler was waiting for us in front of the meeting room.
"The King is waiting for you," the man stated curtly before pulling the door open.
My heart rate quickened in my chest. We were finally going to meet the only person who had the power to save our clan.
For a brief moment as we walked in, I wondered what the King would look like.
The door shut behind us, and the closer we moved into the room, the more nervous I was.
True to his word, the King was already waiting for us. His back was turned to us though, and I watched him with apprehension as he stared out of the window.
Beside me, Henry had gone completely still. His expression was blank, but I could feel the undercurrents of anger wafting off him in silent waves.
"Henry. It's been a long time," the King spoke first, and something about his voice scratched my brain.
It was almost as if I had heard him speak before, which had to be impossible, seeing as I hadn't met him before.
"Not long enough in my opinion," Henry shot back, and the tension in the room was so thick that I could almost taste it on my tongue.
The man said nothing for a long while, and each moment that passed only made my panic grew. I wondered if I should say something to try to diffuse the tension, but I remained tongue tied.
Then after spending an excruciatingly long time staring at his back, the man turned.
The moment my gaze landed on him, panic pressed down on me so hard that I saw stars.
No.
No no no. Absolutely not.
This wasn't possible.
It should not be possible. But it was.
Henry was glaring at Rowan like he wanted nothing more than to punch the King, but Rowan's expression remained fixed on me.
He cocked his head to the side as he spoke.
"Hello, Nyssa."
I swallowed past a lump before remembering to give him a respectful curtsy.
"Hello, my King."
I, Nyssa Fang, was standing before the powerful man in all of the kingdom. The Lycan King. And he was my mate.
Holy freaking airball.