Chapter 40

[ 1,066 words ]

Lucien Volkov:

“Show yourself, Lilith,” I commanded her as soon as I went inside the senior doctor’s office and closed the door behind me.

First, there was silence, and then the air near the window shimmered, and a woman slowly emerged from the shadows.

“My King!” she bowed to me.

Long raven hair cascaded over her shoulders, and her violet eyes met mine without fear.

“No need to go through these formalities, Lilith,” I said in a clipped voice, sitting behind the desk, “I came here as soon as I got your mindlink.”

With a nod, she took a seat across from me, “So you marked her?” she asked me while keeping her eyes closed.

I nodded, “I did.”

She stayed quiet for a while and then started chanting something under her breath, “Goddess. You hit her?”

I closed my eyes in shame, “I did. Her brother killed…”

She raised her palm to stop me from speaking, “So you thought that’s okay to hit her? Like father, like son,” she said with a smirk, and kept her eyes closed.

I felt like she had just slapped me. Lilith knew my parents and rarely talked about them, but today she didn’t hold back.

“She’s scared of you, son.”

That I knew very well, even if she wouldn’t tell me, “Can you feel her through your bond?”

She couldn’t see when I nodded, but she still hummed.

“What do you feel, Lucien?”

“Fear…” I said after a moment’s hesitation, “Betrayal. Pain. Nothing good.”

“Yeah. Nothing good,” she agreed with me as she kept her eyes closed, “Did you ask her anything? Like about her past…”

I pursed my lips before shaking my head, “No. I never got a chance. She saved Zara and was admitted to the hospital.”

“Did you send someone to her pack?”

“I did. But either she is very good at lying, or her pack members are world-class bastards.”

She opened her eyes with a smile, “Son. You marked her. You can smell her fear and pain. Yet you can’t trust her. Stop playing games with her.”

“Lilith…”

“You’re my king, and you deserve respect. But right now, you’re acting more like a… please excuse my language… but you’re being an asshole.”

Zorro got furious, but he controlled himself. We couldn’t afford to kill a witch who knew me since I was a baby.

“Now that you have marked her as your mate. Chances are, she might get her wolf as well. We need to be very patient.”

“Just because I marked her, that means…”

“No, Lucien,” she raised her index finger, “A powerful Lycan marked her. It will take some time, but she will be as powerful as you. Moon Goddess chose her for you for a reason.”

I remained quiet, trying to digest whatever she was telling me.

“When to expect these changes? A few days? Weeks? Months?” I clicked my tongue inside my cheek with a raised eyebrow.

“I don’t know why she hasn’t started speaking. But you’ll notice a change in her attitude. She won’t be the quiet little thing you know now.”

I frowned, remembering her, happily eating those strawberry jam buns along with that mango shake.

“I haven’t noticed any such thing in her, Lil.”

“Soon, you will,” A knowing smile tugged at her lips, “Even the people around you will start noticing it. Be ready. She’ll grow a backbone and won’t let anyone walk over her anymore.”

For some reason, that filled me with an unexpected sense of relief. Maybe it was about time that we stopped frightening her.

Lilith must have noticed my reaction, “You’re smiling, son.”

I cleared my throat and looked away, “It’s… just my heart… it keeps telling me she’s innocent.”

“Umm hmm,” she folded her arms, clearly amused, “Then maybe follow your heart, Lucien.”

She sniffed the air and stepped back. “Someone is coming. I’ll stay here invisible.”

I nodded and straightened in my seat. It was unexpected when my mother walked in, “Don’t worry. Helena is with her.” She threw her hands up in the air and smiled.

“Okay.”

She looked around but chose not to sit, “I think I owe you an apology. I was quite rude to that girl, Lucien.”

I nodded at her, “Apology accepted, mother.”

She sighed, trailing her finger on the back of the chair, “I don’t know what got into me,” she dabbed her eyes, “Ever since Anika died, my judgement has been clouded,” she continued quietly, “That girl didn’t deserve the way I treated her.”

I studied my mother for a long moment, “If you truly mean that…”

“I do…”

She offered me a weary smile before turning towards the door, “I should get back to the palace. Don’t worry about Arabella. Helena is with her,” With that, she quietly left the office.

The door had barely clicked shut when a familiar scent drifted into the room.

Sigh…

Those butter croissants and Fresh lime… It always used to make my Lycan crazy.

I looked towards the door and couldn’t help the faint smile tugging at my lips, “Stay invisible. She’s coming,” I told Lilith through the mindlink.

“I somehow guessed it when I saw that grin on your face.”

I ignored her teasing and waited for her. The door opened just enough for Arabella to peek inside. She hesitated near the doorframe, “My King.”

Her hazel eyes briefly looked around before settling on me.

“Come in, Arabella,” I saw her hesitation and shrugged, “Is everything alright?”

She nodded quickly, “I just wanted to … thank you for the buns…and the meal.”

I tried to control the stupid smile threatening to slip past my lips. The good thing was she didn’t get scared while spending alone time with my mother. I couldn’t smell fear through the bond.

“You’re welcome. I’m glad you liked it.”

She gave a tiny nod before stealing another glance around the office. Then she frowned, “My King…”

“Hmm…” I leaned against my seat to have a better look at her. She needed clothes. Right now, she was only wearing a hospital gown.

“Wh… who is she?”

The smile disappeared from my face, “What?”

“Th…that woman with dark hair,” She said innocently, “She’s sitting there in the corner.”

My heartbeat stumbled as I slowly turned towards the corner where Lilith was supposed to be invisible to everyone else.

Except…

Apparently …

To Arabella.

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