The Silver Lycan Queen

Chapter 8 - Powerless

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Novah

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A message comes through on my phone and it’s from Ana. She’s letting me know she’s on her way to the apartment, taking the stuff I asked her to organize for Nolan. I place the phone down and stand in front of my mirror, staring at myself. The only thing running through my mind right now is how I'm going to sneak out to go to Nolan. I need a plan and I just can’t seem to come up with one.

There’s a knock on my door, snapping me out of my thoughts, and my mother comes in with a big smile on her face, immediately making me worry. Lately, most of the things that have been making her smile have been making me want to cry.

“You have a visitor,” she says, the smile not leaving her face, and I raise my brow in question. I was not expecting anyone. My kids aren’t coming today. I have an orphanage that I sponsor and visit whenever I can. Whenever it’s one of the kids’ birthdays, I always have a special dinner prepared for them here and give them a tour of the palace. They never tire of this old place; they’re excited whenever they come here.

Speaking of which, an idea pops into my mind. Maybe I have a way, after all. “Who is it?” I ask my mother, who’s still smiling in front of me. “It’s a surprise. Fix yourself and come down,” she says, making me worry even more. “Don’t be too long,” she adds, and she walks out after that.

I head back to my dresser and apply some makeup. After that, I change into a pair of blue jeans, a gray top, and black open-toe boots. I leave my hair down and head downstairs.

My eyes widen in surprise at seeing Kellan come up to meet me halfway with a bouquet of blush pink roses in his hand. What is he doing here? I force my face into a smile, giving him my hand and he raises it to his lips, leaving a kiss atop it before handing me the roses. The action makes my skin crawl for the first time and all I can think about is how I wish Nolan were here right now. “How are you?” he asks as we climb the last couple of stairs. “I’m fine. It turned out to be nothing serious. Thank you for understanding.”

“You’re my fiancé. It’s my job to be understanding,” he says, placing a gentle kiss on my forehead and making my mother blush. She’s a huge fan of Kellan’s. She always finds everything he does impressive. I, on the other hand, find him very cold and untrue.

Kellan’s always affectionate in front of people, but he’s distant when no one’s looking. I figured a long time ago that he doesn’t want this marriage and it used to make me feel bad before, but now I’m glad. Now it might just be my saving grace.

He asks me to join him for dinner and I accept. It’s not like I can say no, anyway. We exit the palace, and the moment we get onto our ride, it’s goodbye, affectionate Kellan, and hello, cold Kellan.

I can’t believe I almost committed my life to this. I can’t believe I even hoped he’d change, because right now, sitting next to him, I know he’s not capable of being any other way but this. Again, my brain drifts off to Nolan. I wonder what he’s doing right now. I wanted to ask Ana to get him a phone so I could talk to him since we can’t mind-link with each other, but I decided against it.

I want to be the one to take him shopping. I want to experience that with him, but I asked Ana to get him a few things just so he could change, because he only had two articles of clothing, and my heart can’t help but sink at the thought.

I glance over at Kellan to find him busy on his phone, and I turn my head away again without him paying me any mind. I think about the idea I had earlier. The orphanage is the only place I get to visit and spend time alone without being guarded.

My security detail only enters to check for threats before I enter, and then wait outside for the rest of the visit. They never used to do that, but after speaking to my father and begging him to instruct them to wait outside, they did. They made everyone uneasy.

We arrive at the hotel and head inside; the press makes it difficult as always, as they hound us down like bloodthirsty vultures. We are escorted to where we’ll be having our dinner, and my heartbeat speeds up, looking at the intimate setting.

The entire floor has been reserved for us. Everything looks nice, and I’d be impressed if it were under any circumstances. “Milady,” Kellan says, pulling out the chair for me, and I thank him and take a seat. He takes his seat after that. “This is very nice,” I compliment with a smile.

“I’m glad you like it. This is the kind of life you’re going to have to get used to now,” he says, making me regret the genuine smile I gave him just seconds ago. He always knows how to ruin a moment. Thank Goddess; I’m not interested in having any moments with him.

Our first-course meal is brought to us, and we have it in silence. After the second one, I ask to be excused and head to the ladies, wanting to check up on Ana. I link her as soon as I’m away from Kellan and she tells me she’s now back at the palace. I tell her about my plan to ditch my detail at the orphanage and sneak out while they think I’m still inside. She likes it and thinks it will work. I tell her I’ll see her when I get back home and I end the link. Just hearing about Nolan raises my spirits.

I get back to the table to be met with Kellan’s interrogating gaze, not even bothering to get up and pull the chair for me now that no one’s looking. “I thought you left,” I hear him say as I sit down, and I don’t reply, causing him to place his fork down and look at me. “This kind of chaos is not going to fly with me once you become my wife,” he says, looking me in the eye and I have no idea what he’s talking about.

I don’t ask him because that never works; he just says more hurtful things when I talk back to him. As far as he’s concerned, marrying me is like marrying a servant. He once told me I should worship his father because no other king would have dug in the trash for their heir’s wife.

I have never told my parents about the things he says to me when no one’s looking, because the one time I tried, my mother brushed it off like she always does with words of encouragement. She never allows me to speak freely; she always asks me what’s wrong to only turn around and answer for me. It makes me feel exhausted. “Kellan?” I call him after a moment, and he hums in response.

“If you had a way to get out of this marriage, would you?”

“Is that a trick question?” he asks, setting down his glass.

“No, it’s not. Kellan, I don’t want to go through with this and I know you don’t either,” I tell him honestly and he looks at me silently for a moment before he speaks.

“Where’s this coming from? Why? Why are you suddenly saying this? You’ve always known how I felt and yet you never wanted to get out of it. Why now?” He asks, looking me in the eye, not even blinking.

“Because it’s not fair to us. We should be able to be with people we love.”

“People we love? You’ve always known the duty is not to love but to our people. What has changed?”

“I... I guess I grew up.”

“Strange, normally when people grow up, they become smarter, but it seems that’s not the case for you because what you’re saying now is stupid,” he says, and he picks up his glass again while I look at him tearing up, wanting to just get out of here.”

The chef comes out with our desserts, but I can’t stomach anything anymore. He has his dessert and doesn’t question me for not having mine or pay any mind to me after that. I keep glancing over at the clock, the time feeling like it’s standing still. I just want to go home so I can go to the orphanage and put my plan to the test.

•

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It’s now 11 p.m., and I’m arriving at the apartment. The date with Kellan dragged on longer than I had hoped. He spent the entire afternoon with my father discussing Goddess knows what and only left in the evening, making it impossible for me to go anywhere. I had to wait for everyone to go to sleep and sneak out like I always do.

Ana had her mother’s car stashed at the entrance of the forest for me to use. The apartment is right in the middle of town and I need a car to get there since we must keep our existence a secret from humans. Otherwise, I’d just transform into my wolf and get there even faster.

I’m very grateful to Ana and her mother for everything they’re doing for me. I know how scary it is for them to be involved in all of this. And I would never tell anyone about their involvement if I were ever to get caught.

I have decided to tell my mother about Nolan tomorrow. I won’t tell her much, just that I’ve found my mate and that I cannot marry Kellan. I know they’ll be disappointed, but I’m hoping they’ll understand in the end. He is my mate, after all. It’s not like I’m pulling out because of some random guy.

I knock and tell Nolan it’s me, and I smile, taking a deep breath, flooded by his scent as he approached the door. “Hi,” he greets, opening and stepping aside, and my eyes widen at how handsome he looks. He shaved and cut his hair shorter.

“Hey,” I reply, itching to hug him but shy for some reason, and as if he can read my mind, he pulls me into a hug and lays a gentle kiss on my forehead as he pulls back. “You look... beautiful,” I compliment, and he tries hard not to blush before thanking me.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t check on you during the day like I said I would. I-”

“-It’s okay; you’re here now,” he says, cutting me off as we take a seat. I glance over at the coffee table and notice two open books. “Were the books helpful? Did you read up on anything interesting?”

“Yeah, actually, I did. I know this ring is not only a family ring like we thought, but a shield,” he says, touching the ring.

“What does that mean? What is a shield?”

“Well, it conceals my aura and scent, preventing other magical beings from knowing what I am-”

“-Which would explain why Ana thinks you are human.”

“Yeah, and it also shields me from the sun, which is why I’m able to walk in daylight and not burn,” he says, and my eyes widen as a scary realization dawns on me. If such rings exist, then there may be more vampires roaming the streets without being detected. This ring renders us powerless. It makes us vulnerable.