The Lycan King’s Abused Mate

3.

***

It had been two weeks after the game. Nearly everyone had moved on already, and the Rams were already looking ahead to the next season. The worst of it had passed, and the tabloids had gotten out all the horrendous articles they wanted to on the defeat.

But Aiden was still not over it.

Defeat was not something he was familiar with, and it destroyed him every single time he remembered that he had failed. He could still visualise the game, and exactly how it had all gone wrong. The fact remained that when his team needed him the most, he had failed them.

He spent the first week alone in his home, staying away from the media and the sensational stories he knew would follow the defeat. Their industry was a brutal one, and any defeat would be magnified a thousand times over, regardless of how small it was.

But this wasn’t a small defeat. It was humiliation on the national stage, and the whole country was aware of his failure. He knew the worst of it would pass in a few weeks, but he would never be able to forget it himself.

In the second week of his self-imposed isolation, he dared to look at the media just for one day. Even though he had a thick skin, it was impossible not to feel miserable and pathetic when he saw some of the comments under a hysterical story which described their defeat as ‘The biggest fumble of the century’. A few of them stood out to him, and he spent several hours going through them, his rage burning with each new one he read.

‘I think the pressure got to Aiden Lambert. How else could he have choked this badly on the big stage?’

‘And yet some of you call him the next Tom Brady? Give me a break. That clown couldn’t pass a parcel.’

‘My grandma could run faster than Lambert. Did he think everyone would step aside and let him get a touchdown just because he wanted it?’

‘I’ve always said he’s a fraud. The only reason he got into the NFL was because the Rams needed a person of colour on their team to make them look modern and inclusive.’

‘Were his hands made of twigs or something? On his day, he’s easily the fastest player in the league. It just wasn’t his day.’

‘Give him a break, guys. He’s never known what it’s like to choke this hard before. Usually he’s the one choking others.’

‘This is what happens when you pick average players, put them on huge contracts and make them think that they are special. My middle school QB could do better.’

Aiden slammed the tablet on the ground, an insurmountable wave of rage washing over him. He wanted to punch something so hard that it would smash in half, preferably Spencer Brady’s face. How could he let him catch up? What was he thinking? It was the worst thing he could possibly do. Victory had been so close that he could almost taste it. So why didn’t he just keep going? He had seen the clip already, and he saw the exact moment when he slowed down drastically, right when the vision came to him and he was once again staring at the woman who he assumed was his mate.

This was all her fault. Why did she have to appear to him right when he was trying to focus? What could be so important that he couldn’t be allowed just ten more seconds of clear thoughts? Was she in some kind of trouble? Who was she? And who was the man who was keeping her?

A million thoughts rose through his head. Aiden wished that he could c***k open a beer and drown in his misery, but he couldn’t even get drunk thanks to his accelerated metabolism. He would have to drink at least twenty bottles of the strongest liquor before he felt even a little bit drunk.

Right now, that didn’t seem like such a bad idea.

Twenty-three bottles and two hours of drunken sleep later, Aiden woke up to the faint sound of someone pulling up into his driveway. He dragged himself out of bed, and peered out the window to see who it was. His vision was blurry, and he had to blink several times before he realised that it was Axel, his beta. Groaning, he slid back to the floor.

Axel came knocking shortly afterwards, and Aiden lay on the floor for almost five minutes before he found the strength to stand up and head downstairs.

Axel frowned when he opened the door, but he bowed his head respectfully before Aiden turned around and left him on the doorstep.

“Forgive me for intruding, sire,” Axel said as he stepped into the house and shut the door behind him. “I got worried, and you weren’t answering your calls.”

“I did not realise that I had to answer every time you call, Axel,” he said bitingly, heading for the kitchen. “What do you want?”

“I came to inform you that the New Moon festival is coming soon, and you still haven’t made any plans regarding it,” Axel said, not at all flustered by Aiden’s hostility as he followed him. “It’s in two weeks, and we need to start making preparations for it.”

“We’ve been doing this for five years,” he said, grabbing another bottle. “Do you still need me to hold your hand and guide you through all this? You already know what needs to be done, so just do it and stop bothering me.”

“You still need to formally declare it to the pack,” Axel said slowly. “You know that’s how it must be done, and I can’t do anything unless you formally announce it.”

“Give me a break,” Aiden groaned as he tossed the contents of the bottle down his throat without even pausing. Axel stood there and watched as he drank it all, but he said nothing. It was not in his place to speak. The most he could do was offer his advice, but it was up to Aiden whether he wanted to use that advice or not. As a beta, Axel knew his place. And when it came to dealing with Alpha Aiden, doing the bare minimum was usually good enough.

“Why do I have to formally announce it?” Aiden asked once he’d emptied the bottle and thrown it down on the counter. “Everyone already knows it’s happening. Or are you all so thickheaded that you need me to remind you of the festival?”

Axel was silent for a while, and then he said very calmly, “It’s tradition.”

“f**k tradition,” Aiden growled. “To hell with all of it. I will not be making any announcements this year, and that’s final. Now get out of my sight.”

Axel walked away calmly, leaving Aiden with a pained silence and a feeling of guilt. He knew Axel was just doing his job, and there was no need to lash out at him. But he had so much pent-up anger and frustration that he didn’t know what to do with it. He just wanted to scream at someone, and probably punch them in the face.

He crawled up to bed shortly afterwards, and he tried to fall asleep once again. But his mind was racing, and he needed to do something to clear his head. So instead, he decided to go out for a walk.

The sun was out as usual, but it was slightly cloudy and the streets were mostly empty. Aiden had thrown on a hoodie and some sunglasses, and he stuck his hands in his pockets as he walked slowly, his headphones in his ear as he listened to some rap music and drowned out the noise of the outside world. It was like he was in his own bubble, and nothing else mattered at that moment.

He lived in a gated community, so there was no risk of being mauled over by fans. Besides, he doubted anyone would be queuing up for his autograph after his epic failure. He had seen the memes already, but he brushed them off as mere social media bullshit. There were death threats as well, but he imagined that most of them were from sloppy teenage boys who were hiding in their parent’s basement and typing away angrily at their keyboards.

At the end of the street, he took a right and headed down Summitridge drive. A few people who recognised him nodded politely and kept on walking, but Aiden could feel their stares even when he had his back to them. No doubt they were watching him, trying to see if the failure would show on his face. He kept on walking, however, and he turned the volume up louder.

He had just reached the end of the road when he realised something strange. A black Audi had been following him ever since he left the house, and he didn’t want to make it obvious that he had noticed it, but he could feel someone staring at him intently from the inside of the car. This wasn’t his first time being stalked, and he knew exactly what to do. He turned left at the end of the road and quickened his pace, but the car kept following. After three more left turns, he was right back where he started, and the car was still following slowly but surely. Aiden slowed his pace, and the car did the same. Now he knew for sure that the person was following him. He looked around, and no one was there to see him. In a flash, he had moved towards the car and flung the door open, his hand wrapping around the throat of the driver.

“Wait!” she exclaimed, raising her hand in surrender. Aiden was surprised to see that it was a female. She had bright green eyes and flaming red hair, which was pulled back in a bun. Her eyes were wide in shock, and he quickly looked around the car to make sure she was the only one.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing following me?” he asked.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “But I’ve been waiting outside your house for days now, and I don’t know how to approach you.”

“That doesn’t answer my question,” he growled.

“My name is Sarah,” she said. “And I need your help.”

***