The Love of a Lycan

"You are awake," Lilac put down the book in her hands and stood up from the plush chair that she had been sitting for hours now.

Outside the window, the sun was almost down and the porridge in the bowl that was meant for Jedrek turned cold because the king had been unconscious since his fight with Maximus.

Jedrek squinted his eyes and tried to move his body, but he couldn't do so. His body felt very weak, as if he had not used it for so long. "What happened?" he asked dryly. His throat felt like he just ate sand.

Lilac came over with a glass of water in her hand and sat down on the edge of the bed, beside him. She helped Jedrek to arrange the pillows behind him, so he could drink the water without choking.

"You killed Maximus, but it seems like he did something to you before he died." Lilac supported Jedrek's neck and helped him to drink.

Jedrek swallowed the water with much difficulty and felt slightly better when the cold water moistened his dry throat. "What did he done to me?"

"A curse," Lilac replied curtly.

"Impossible," He sighed tiredly as he rested his head against the pillow. "Curses doesn't work on Donovan's blood." That was why they became the royal family, aside from their strength, their blood was too special.

"But, it did." Lilac put the empty glass back on the table beside the bed. "The same curse that your brother suffered from."

Jedrek opened his eyes and stared at Lilac. "Kace." He remembered the last news that he got about Kace was; he was injured because of his encounter with Maximus, but he managed to escape from him and almost killed the general. It was because Kace was too kind, the only thing that prevented him from killing Maximus and saved the job for Jedrek to finish him himself. "How do you know about this?"

"Eaton told me," Lilac said truthfully.

Jedrek didn't seem very happy to hear that, especially Lilac's next few words.

"I called a healer. She was here when you were still sleeping…" Lilac's sentence was cut short.

"I don't need a healer," Jedrek said grimly while glaring at his mate.

Yet, Lilac continued her words anyway. "She didn't know what kind of curse that you are suffering from. The wounds on your back didn't seem to heal even after all this while." Her brows knitted together.

Lilac remembered how Jedrek fainted in her embrace after his battle with Maximus. At first, she thought Jedrek was only tired, but she found the wound on his back when she changed his clothes the moment Tordoff and Eaton helped her to bring Jedrek back to his chamber.

And strange enough, the wounds didn't heal like they were supposed to.

"I have asked Eaton to bury Maximus's body and inform his mate that he was sentenced to death because of treason," Lilac reported to him.

"You are happy to play your role as a ruler while I am unconscious, aren't you?" Jedrek sneered at Lilac.

For a moment, Lilac didn't answer him, she waited until Jedrek stopped giving her a disdainful look and his expression became serious.

"I am not happy to play my role as a ruler. I play my role as your mate as the Luna of the lycanthropes." Lilac enunciated every word clearly. She wanted the word sink into Jedrek's cold heart and made him understand that he had to stop shutting her away. "You said to me, before you lost your consciousness last night; trust no one."

Jedrek said it twice, before he closed his eyes. However, he didn't remember saying something like that.

"I don't remember," Jedrek replied.

"Whether you remember it or not, your subconsciousness always reminded you that you are not safe even in your own castle." Lilac tried to understand Jedrek.

Living under the same roof with your enemy was the worst nightmare and Jedrek had been living in that scenario for centuries. Didn't know who could really be trusted. Keeping everyone at arms-length, so they couldn���t stay close enough to finish you off. Sleeping with one eye open. Wasn't that very exhausting?

Lilac really tried hard to understand him, but she needed him to cooperate too.

"So, why do I have to trust you? Because you are my mate?" Jedrek glared at Lilac, he was still stubborn to show others his emotions and always used fear and mean words to make them stay away from him, including Lilac.

"Yes, because I am your mate. And, you know for yourself that you can trust me." Lilac agreed with him. "In your vulnerable state, you kept your trust in me. Why don't you trust me now? You can stop fighting alone, there is a war ahead of us to fight for. You don't need to waste your energy to fight me. I am not your enemy."

Jedrek didn't like to hear that, but he was too tired to argue with Lilac now.

"I am glad that you are so forgiving. I guess you have forgotten that I killed you years ago and recently I have put you into the world of illusions for a year." Jedrek reminded her again and waited for Lilac's outburst.

Yet, she didn't react the way he expected though. Lilac stared at Jedrek without saying a word, but the way her eyes looked at him was as if she was looking at a small kid, who was very stubborn to listen to other people's words.

The guardian angel looked tired to face her mate and for some reason, Jedrek felt guilty to turn her down over and over again.

"You need to rest," Lilac said and stood up.

============== 

Serefina walked along the ruins of the city center and looked up at the sky, which had been blackened with smoke and ashes from the burning houses.

She heard about the catastrophe that happened in this city and about Tartarus's gates which had been opened right in the castle.

It would take a few days to reach the south region, but every step she took felt very heavy.

Her heart grew heavier with each passing second…