tempted to say yes. But throwing my mother across the room might be a bit too extreme, not to mention likely to spark a nasty family feud.
“Mom, perhaps you’re a little too close?” I offer, trying to keep the annoyance out of my voice.
But my mother simply waves her hand dismissively, “Oh darling, it’s just friendly chatter.”
I can’t help but shoot a pleading glance at my father, silently begging for him to intervene. But he doesn’t pay me any mind. and continues to pig out.
- 25%
Chapter 17
Lucian notices where I’m looking and soon I hear his voice inside of my head, This is the worst! N
balls, but now your mom is hitting on me!”
I blink in his direction. Since when do you have telepathy as one of your powers?”
only do I have blue
‘Since drinking your blood, apparently, he sighs inside my head. I can’t control my powers, though. Your blood was a huge power boost, and now I’m going haywire. I can hear your thoughts, your father’s thoughts, and your mom’s thoughts, which. by the way, are totally not safe for work.”
“Oh my god…
I really want to sit beside you instead. I’ve never been this scared in my entire life. Your mom is on a whole other level when it comes to desires, Noelle. Please save me.
“How
“Send them homel
“What? I can’t do that! You were supposed to find out whether or not they had kidnapped me!
“Your mom is capable of anything. She must have done it!”
“You can’t just assume that! Read her mind or something!”
But her mind is such a scary place!”
Lucian, I swear to the moon goddess! You’re the one who accused my parents of being kidnappers in the first place. Deal
with this!”
His lips turn into an unhappy frown, and I’m close to losing it when he gives me puppy–dog eyes from across the table. “But Noelle, this is more than I signed up for! You don’t know half of the things your mom wants to do to me, which includes rope and handcuffs!”
His thoughts startle me into a fit of desperate giggles. I hold my napkin up to my face, trying to hide the tears of laughter pooling in the corners of my eyes. Lucian looks mortified. Good.
-Well, darling, I must say your mate is truly fascinating!” My mother coos, making Lucian cringe uncomfortably.
My father finally looks up from his food, a trickle of gravy running down his chin. “What? Oh yes, tremendous young man,” he grumbles vaguely before burying himself back into his plate
I look back at Lucian, who finally has had enough of this dinner shit show.
“Enough!” he bellows and hits his fists hard onto the table, rattling the silverware in the process.
The room falls into a sudden silence. Even my father stops mid–bite, his fork suspended in midair, a morsel of roast beef teetering on the edge.
Lucian’s
‘s eyes narrow as he glares at my mother, his voice dropping to a menacing growl Please stop touching me. I’m your daughter’s mate, not your toy.”
My
mother’s eyes widen, fear flickering across her face at the tone Lucian used before it’s quickly covered up by a polite sunile. “O–of course, Alpha Lucian. My apologies.” She pulls her hand back, folding it neatly on her lap.
Lucian creates some space between them by pulling away his chair, and then he glares at my parents. “Now that you guys have finally calmed down, I want you to tell me how you managed to kidnap a royal lycan princess from the magical realm. I’m baffled how two bumbling buffoons like you two pulled that off.”
I almost choke on my soda. Really? Is he just going to ask them like that, point–blank? I can’t tell if Lucian is insane or al
Chapter 17
freaking genius, but what I–do know is that this is going to be a
Noelle
“See! I told you that
you were kidnapped from your real family and that you’re the lost lycan princess!” Lucian barks while angrily making me a cup of tea.
I sit by the table, my legs bent on the chair, and hugged by my arms. It does little to calm me down, but at least I’m not screaming out of frustration.
“My whole has been a lie…” I whisper.
Lucian’s face softens. “I will take you to the postal in the south; don’t worry. You will get to meet your real family soon enough, Noelle.”
“But what if I’m not the lycan princess?” I argue. “My parents–wince at the word “parents” since they aren’t truly related to me and sigh. “Those people they said the fairies handed me over, but that doesn’t have to mean I’m the lost lycan princess, Lucian. I could be anyone!”
“If you were with the fairies, then we know you’re special, Noelle What I’m failing to see is why they gave you away. The fairies are supposed to work under the royal lycan family and it was their responsibility to protect the princess, not give her away to some random werewolf couple. Something doesn’t add up.”
“Maybe fairies aren’t that trustworthy?” I offer.
Iician hands me over the tea with a strange expression. He glances up at me, and while I can easily tell there’s something on his mind, he chooses to say nothing.
“Maybe,” he mutters. “Anyway, drink that pixie dust tea. It will help calm you down.”
Later that day, when I’m sleeping in one of the guestrooms, I experience a strange dream. I’m in a castle I’ve never seen before, lying in a crib or something. Someone is singing a melody, and when I look up, there’s a woman’s face smiling down
at me
“My little Noellin Star,” she whispers. “I love you more than the stars and the moon.”
My heart fills with joy, but the happiness doesn’t last long. The dream soon turns into a nightmare. Everything goes and I hear the sound of people screaming, “We are under attack which leads to me crying
I cry, and I cry, but nobody comes to my rescue. In the end, I wake up with a start, drenched in a cold sweat while hyperventilating. The room is dark, and I immediately get up from my bed, already knowing where I need to go.
dark.
Lucian and I haven’t been mates for long. We don’t even share the same room since I wanted to go slow, but there’s no hesitation when I open his door. I need him to hold me and I hope he won’t laugh at how needy I’m being.
Silently. I pad into the room, pulling the cover back to slide in next to him. For a moment, he stirs but does not wake. “Lucian,” I whisper, and his eyes flutter open, reflecting the faint moonlight that seeps through the window. His gaze is softened with sleep and the moment he sees me, he breathes a laugh at whatever expression I’m wearing.
“Nightmare?” he asks.
How dare he sound amused? I blush and get closer to his warm body, shivering at the cold until his arms wrap around me. He holds me close and places his chin on the top of my head while I lean the side of my face against his chest.
“Yes, I had a nightmare,” I mutter.
“A bad one?”
Chapter 19
“Well, I’m here, aren’t I
He chuckles. “And here I thought you were finally being cute, bu you’re still feisty even when terrified. I like it.”
“No, I’m not being cute or feisty,” I argue. But even as I say this, burrow myself further into Lucian’s warmth, and a soft noise of contentment escapes my lips. “I’m just, scared,”
His hold on me tightens, and he strokes my hair soothingly “Owhat?”
“…I dreamt of a castle. There was a woman.. she called me her hule Noellin Star,” I whisper, my heart pounding in my chest. “Then…then everything changed. I heard people screaming that they were under attack. It was so loud, so real and terrifying…
Lucian is silent for a while after I share my dream. His heart beats slowly against my car, a calming rhythm that helps to bring down the pounding in my chest.
Finally, he speaks. “You dreamt of your true past, Noelle
“What? How can you say that? It could have been just a nightmare.”
“Noelle.” Lucian’s voice is steady, his hand still stroking my hair. The woman you saw in your dream was probably your real mother. The song she sang for you, the castle, the attack… it’s all part of your true past; it’s all part of you.
I sit up abruptly, pushing away from him to meet his eyes in the dim light. He looks back at me, his eyes intense and serious. For a moment, I want to deny it, to hide behind my fear and uncertainty. But then I remember the woman’s tender smile, her gentle voice as she called me her little Noellin Star.
“I’m scared, Lucian,” I confess, my voice shaky. “What if someone hurt her? What if she is in danger?”
“I know,” he says softly and takes my hand into his. “It’s okay to be scared, but remember that you dreamt about something that most likely happened years ago.”
“Years ago…” I echo, staring into the darkness. The implications of his words sink in slowly, a winter chill creeping into my heart. “She…she could already be dead, Lucian.”
“We don’t know that, Noelle,” he whispers. His voice wavers for a moment, but he quickly steadies it. “Your mother was the lycan queen, and the lycan family are all warriors trained for battle.”
His words only serve to deepen the pit in my stomach. “And I was supposed to be a warrior too, wasn’t I?” A bitter laugh escapes me. “Look at me now.”
Lucian’s grip tightens around my hand. “You’re stronger than you think you are, Noelle. And if it would make you feel better, I could always let you train with the other wolves. Shifting isn’t necessary for combat. There are times when shape- shifting isn’t possible, so there are days when I let my pack members train in their human forms.”
“..and you would let me train with them?”
“Without a doubt,” he says. “So, are you in? Do you want to become stronger?”
I take a moment, weighing his words in my mind before giving a shaky nod. “Yes. I want to become stronger, and if that means combat training, then so be it”
“Good girl,” Lucian replies and pulls me down with him into the soft bedsheets. I don’t fight him and instead let him hold me as he whispers. “I will take you to the portal in the south, but before that, you need training. And since you can’t shape- shift, it won’t be easy, but Lpromise I will do everything I can to turn you into the strong lycan princess you’re supposed to
be
My heart flutters because, somehow, I believe him. Sebastian and my family betrayed my trust, but something in my chest tells me Lucian is different and I so desperately want that to be the truth.
18:40 Thu, Nov 7 @
