The Love of a Lycan

The night wind was caressing her skin gently, but the chill didn't last. The bonfire in front of Raine lit up, giving her the warmth that relieved the coldness away. Such comfort felt multiplied especially with Torak beside her.

"I want to go there?" Torak frowned, "but where to?"

Raine crept closer to him. And then, Torak put his arm around her shoulder to make his mate feel safe. It was true that they were surrounded by his people, and Serefina was there too. With all that, there should be nothing to worry about. But, it was all not enough to ease Torak's mind, and still he had this sense of protectiveness over her.

It had been three days since they left the village. Now, they were on their way to mount Uzu, with Serefina leading them. The witch said that it was the place where she encountered Kace in this realm.

But this time, it was unsure whether they would find Kace there, or not. The witch couldn't guarantee such a thing to happen, since that very mountain was the place where Kace nearly lost his mate forever. But it was the only choice they had at hand. In fact, it was far better than having to roam around in this foreign land without knowing where to go.

"I don't know, I've been hearing a strange voice saying that, ever since we left the village. It was like a whisper… It felt like someone was talking to the wind… like she was talking to me…" said Raine. The guardian angel lost in her own thoughts, and her eyes were clouded by curiosity. With that look in her face, anyone could tell that she was completely somewhere else.

"Raine." Torak called out her name, shaking her back to her senses before Raine's mind could stray further than it already was. "What is it? What are you thinking about?" He was truly concerned about her, and it was easy to tell from the look that he gave.

"Ah?" Raine blinked her eyes, and shook her head groggily. "No, I'm not thinking about anything. It's just…"

It would take four days before they could reach mount Uzu from the village. Three days already passed, so they assumed that they would get there by tomorrow. If ever they still couldn't find Kace once they got there, then they would need another plan.

"Just?" asked Torak again, he was quite pressing upon the topic. At this rate, nothing should be taken carelessly. Nothing was ever anomalous anymore to him, because anything could be a lead to something. Especially now, it was something that came from Raine.

"I just felt like… something urges me to go…" Raine tilted her head. There she saw Torak's expression, and almost immediately she realized that she just made her mate worried. "It might mean that we are now taking the right path, that we are heading the right direction... right?" She stretched her hand, and caressed Torak's face, trying to soothe her mate with her touch. 

Torak leaned over reaching to her touch, while secretly he mind-linked Calleb. [Tell Serefina to meet me.]

============== 

"What happened to the castle?" asked Lyrus. He just found out about the recent event. The Beta was completely surprised when he learned the castle was no more. He was even more puzzled once he found out about all the citizens that had been evacuated to the southern region.

"What happened with you when I told you to return right away?" Jedrek asked. The lycan king didn't bother to conceal his suspicion. His natural cold demeanor exuded to the surface, shaking Lyrus. The Beta grimaced, forgetting his initial shock. 

Lyrus should've come back immediately once he finished the mission given by the King. Although the task took place in Torak's territory, he should've come, and then give his report back to Jedrek in person. But, the Beta didn't return like he was supposed to. Only his men returned, and reported back to Jedrek about what had happened.

"My apology, your Majesty." Lyrus lowered his head, acknowledging his mistake. "However, I am back now. And on top of that, I have some important news for you to know." 

True, that once Lyrus arrived in the castle, he went straight to Jedrek's chamber. In fact, he was completely ignoring the warning that the other generals gave to him about their Alpha king who didn't want to be disturbed at the moment. However, here Lyrus was, standing under the furious glare of his king.

"This better be important enough for me to consider not punishing you." Jedrek sat down on his chair. Meanwhile Lyrus the Beta still lowered his head, couldn't look at the Alpha king in the eyes. One thing for sure at that moment; he was afraid.

Whenever Jedrek was angry, an outburst would be such a rare event to witness. Completely worse than an outburst. Instead, an intense mood would fill the air, the atmosphere around him would genuinely change into a gruesome cloud of menace. Those unfortunate souls who could sense it through the mind-link, would experience something that was beyond a distasteful feeling.

Lyrus gritted his teeth when he raised his head carefully. He had to say what he needed to say. "Torak has a mate," The Beta said. His pair of brows knitted above his eyes, showing his deep confusion. "I know that this might sound hard to believe but I watched the way he saw the girl! I could tell that it was different. On top of it, the girl is a guardian angel!"

Lyrus kept on going with his endless explanation. He was trying to make Jedrek see how he came to this conclusion. An idea that he thought might be silly to anyone. For all that he knew, the Donovans were the cursed souls, the lycanthropes who would never get to have a mate of their own. A punishment that was bestowed by the moon goddess herself, for all the abomination that they committed in the past.

But then, Lyrus realized one thing that he didn't expect to happen. Even after all the beyond words information that he shared, Jedrek didn't seem to show the response that he was supposed to give. In fact, the Alpha king just sat there, completely calm and in control while waiting for Lyrus to finish his nonsensical prattle.

"You don't believe me, do you?" Lyrus concluded, guessing the possible situation. However, immediately he felt that his accusation didn't seem to be the right one, thus he changed it. "Or perhaps, you had known about this!? You know that Torak had a mate all this time!"

"I know." Jedrek responded. 

"The guardian angel is his mate?" Lyrus frowned. "But, what about the curse? How could a guardian angel be his mate?"

A split moment of silence fell between the two lycans. It seemed that Jedrek didn't have even a slight of intention to explain further about the curse. The curse was no longer a valid subject for them. Talking about it further was pointless. But somehow, Lyrus managed to put the pieces together, even without having to hear the sufficient explanation from Jedrek.

There would be three guardian angels. There were three Donovans. The curses. The long-waited mates.

Also, how bizarre Jedrek was behaving that moment he insisted to kill the guardian angel, all while keeping one who came straight to his door. He was keeping her safe, and alive. Even after Tordoff's severe crime that time when he attempted breaking the guardian angel out of the imprisonment, Jedrek decided to forgive him, and the guardian angel. From then, Lyrus knew that something wasn't right.

Not only that, he knew that Maximus was away to look for Kace. Maximus was tasked to catch the young Donovan. Not only that, Maximus was supposed to catch the guardian angel who was tagging along with Kace. Thinking about his fellow general's mission, for the first time the Beta wondered, why would Kace care about the guardian angel? What could be the explanation for his affiliation with a guardian angel?

Never had Lyrus thought about it all this through before. Although the way Torak displayed his affection towards his guardian angel was different compared to how Jedrek had been acting around Lilac. But Lyrus was not stupid to miss the obvious in the way Jedrek stared at Lilac. Those eyes that were always filled with complexity, and conflict whenever Lilac was around, yet, affection was unexpectedly there.

"Is that possible?" Lyrus's eyes widened. He was surprised with how things unfolded. No, he was rather looking flabbergasted with this revelation. "These guardian angels are the Donovans' mates? Are you saying that the curse had been lifted?"

Jedrek's silence confirmed Lyrus's statement. However, it was still hard to believe. 

"Is that true?" The Beta still needed to hear it coming from his Alpha himself.

However, instead of answering him, Jedrek asked another question. "Do you have anything else to report to me? Is that all the information that you got? Where is Torak now?"

"Torak is with Serefina to find Kace in the northern coven," Lyrus answered.