Filed To Story: Traded To The Lycan King Novel (Colette & Merikh) by MG Wattsons
“Your makeup is coming off.” He whispers, leaning in closer, his lip tugging down at the corner.
“It’s fine,” I murmur.
“I prefer when you look perfect.” He says. “These freckles…they show imperfection.”
A jolt of anger hits me in the chest as I chuckle and shake my head, pushing his hand away.
“I am imperfect, Teiran. This is what net you are stuck with. A lycan who can never truly love you. This is what you chose. Painting my face like a porcelain doll to make me more perfect won’t negate that I am not the one for you or that you are just using me for the crown. Please don’t pretend you see me as anything other than a stepping stone.”
I tear away from him, moving toward the door.
“Kyra,” His eyes are wide in shock before he drags his hand over his face. “Go, get some fresh air and come back when you have calmed down.”
“If I come back,” I snark at him and his eyes grown orange, his lip twitching in anger. I instantly put my hands up to calm him down. “Bad joke, I am kidding. I will be back.”
“You damn well better.” He grits out before I stomp out the door.
I make it no more than two steps before I am gripped tightly on my arm and dragged three doors down and into a dark room. My body a slams into a wall with a jolt, my teeth Shattering with the force as I grunt in pain and wince. The sparks explode up my spine and every nerve ending as fingers entwine with mine.
“Hayes,” I breathe his name as if it had been a secret prayer, relief and heartache mixing with the sheer pleasure of being able to smell him, touch him.
“Are you okay?” he whispers, his lips brushing my earlobe. “I just need to hear from you that you are okay, that you will be okay, and then I can let you go.” “Let me go?” The words feel like torture to choke out, the thought of him letting me go…
“I will accept your rejection, but I have to know this is what you want, this is you choosing this because you can be happy-“
“No,” I rush out, my voice hoarse as I feel through the darkness of the room and slip my hands around his neck. “No, don’t let me go. Please, don’t let me go.”
His body shudders and suddenly his forehead is pressed to mine, his hot breath panting over my lips.
“Say it again,” he demands, one hand gliding behind my lower back and the other gripping the side of my face. “Fucking say it again.”
“I don’t want to do this, Hayes.” The tears spill from my eyes as a sob breaks through me, my voice cracking. Then he silences me with his lips, warm and so much softer than I imagined he could ever be.
*Hayes*
It feels as if life has been breathed into me again. Every millisecond I steal her lips is one moment closer to healing every broken part of me. Her hands glide up my neck, fingers grazing over the scars and sending shivers through me. She is soft, yet as needy and desperate as I am.
It takes every ounce of self control to stop kissing her as I break away to catch my breath. But my lips have a mind of their own as they taste hers again, chasing that feeling of us just being us. For a moment, one glorious moment, we get to pretend everything is okay. That I am not about to turn the world upside down and set it on fire for her.
My hands shake as I force myself to pull away from Kyra, my lungs burning as her scent overwhelms me. I want to keep kissing her, holding her tight, but I know I can’t. This moment is stolen, one that can only last so long. There will be more, in near future, of that I am damn sure but for now…I need to restrain myself.
My fingers reach out, gliding up the wall as I search for the light and flip the switch. She blinks up at me, causing my heart to flutter as I clear my throat, hoping to hide from my desires in the light as I soothe the growing ache in my chest.
How can a second chance mate bond be this strong? The bond that I felt with Leandra was exciting and wonderful, but this one, with Kyra. It’s mind numbing and life shattering.
“Hayes…” she murmurs, calling me back to reality with confusion swirling in her teary eyes as she watches me, dissecting every move I make. “Are you okay?”
I exhale, pacing away before dragging my hands over my face and spinning around as I step into her again. My scarred fingers glide along her jawbone and tilt her chin up. It would be so much easier to just steal her away now.
Run off and mark her, making sure no one else can have her ever, but Teiran is still a decent ally. One I would consider to be a pompous dick but an ally nheless, so I need to tread carefully. For my brother’s sake.
“Am I okay? I nearly died waiting for a moment to steal you away..” I tell her truthfully. “Every second since you left has been one lived in sheer agony. I thought it was horrible losing you the first time. This time, it felt like I was being ripped apart.”
“Me too,” she breathes, a tear slipping down her cheek as I drag my thumb over her skin, wiping it away along with the makeup hiding her perfect freckles. I frown as I rub a little harder, looking for the stunning woman underneath the mask Teiran felt he needed to put on her.
“What are you doing?” She asks, pushing my hands from her face with a frown. I press my lips together before sighing. “You are ruining my makeup.” “You look beautiful.” I tell her. And it’s not a lie, her dress highlights the perfect body she works for and the makeup highlights her angelic like features, but it’s lacking…her. She looks like someone they are trying to improve when she needs no improvement.
“But?” she whispers, looking away self consciously. I draw her back to me with a soft chuckle.
“I love your freckles.” I shrug. “Hiding them seems a bigger crime than starting this damn war.”
My words have a more sobering effect than I expected, as she clears her throat and looks down at her feet before slowly looking back up at me. “Hayes,” she tilts her head, her tone serious. “You can’t be there for the ceremony.”
“Is there still going to be one?” I ask, my brows knitting together as I shift my weight from one foot to the other. “You just said that you didn’t want this, you just told me you…”
She cuts me off, shaking her head.
“It’s not that simple,” she groans, placing her hand on her head in distress. I take two steps back, finding the sudden need to breathe.
“Because of the baby?” I scoff and she squeezes her eyes closed with a tear rolling down her freckled cheek.
“This isn’t just about Tiago…” She weighs the words carefully as I roll my eyes.
“Of course it is. He is your weakness as much as he is theirs.” I groan.
“Okay, yes,” she admits. “I love him. From the moment I held him, I just…I knew he was meant to be mine. This isn’t easy or simple.”
Her eyes beg for understanding for me to hear the words she is saying and see the internal struggle she is warring with. I want to be angry at her, to curse and throw a fit, but the look in her eyes is that of a mother. Not understanding it doesn’t make a difference. In her mind, in her heart, she is that child’s mom.
“I see.” I nod my head and chuckle to myself. “So you don’t really want me to save you from this mating ceremony? You just don’t want me to think you don’t care.”
“I love you, Hayes,” she murmurs, her eyes grow sad as she reaches out for my hand. “But my hands are tied. I do not want to do this. I don’t want you to let me go. One second I need to escape to you and the next my heart is aching to protect Tiago…”
“You just sobbed in my arms, you just begged me to not let you do this,” I remind her and she breaks into tears, nodding her head. “And yet, I have to let you do this. What the fuck am I supposed to do here, Kyra?”
et “I don’t know, Hayes!” She screams at me. “I don’t want this, but it doesn’t change the outcome. What I want means nothing in the grand scheme of things. If I don’t do this, the way never ends. Our kind will lose this war. The vampires all backed out after helping the first time. The Fae are now almost all in hiding, even the witches and wizards are in hiding.”
“Are you the Alpha?” I bite back at her. She blinks, her brows pulling together.
“W-what?.” she says back softly.
“Are you the Alpha?” I repeat, and she gives me a strange look, lips flat and brows twisted. “Of course you aren’t. So why are you the sacrifice, huh? Why does it have to be you?” I ask her, my chest pounding and my blood pumping.
“Because…” she whispers.
“Because Tiago likes you for a mom.” I bark at her.