The Lycan Princess's Silent Mate

5 - I so wanted to be your mate

Parasite

I never had dreams. I didn’t see the point when I knew they would never come true. But then, there she was, the most beautiful woman in the world, and she was mine. If only for a moment.

She didn’t want to reject me, and I saw the vulnerability in her eyes. She needed me. This stunning woman needed me.

Why?

I didn’t understand. But when Ivy said she had been rejected twice previously, I couldn’t do the same. I knew she’d be better off without someone like me. I’m useless and worthless. But Ivy gave me hope that I am more than I have been led to believe. That stunning creature gave me hope in the few minutes I was in her presence.

However, I knew Alpha Jack would never let me leave this place, even with the Lycan Princess. But her words gave me faith that I could finally escape.

I will never escape this place because Alpha Jack will kill me this time. He didn’t give Ivy a chance to explain why we were together and why I was touching her. I couldn’t stop myself because, for the first time in my life, somebody wanted me.

In that instant, all sorts of things flowed through my head. Visions of Ivy and me and the life we would lead. I could see myself loving her so well and how she would love me in return. I saw myself smiling and laughing without fear of what would happen to me. I would become stronger and not be afraid to speak to my mate. I would become everything Ivy would need in a mate, and no one would hurt me again.

Wouldn’t it have been something to wake up without fearing being beaten?

I would have trained my body and mind to be strong. I would have been able to hold my own against any threat that came my way. I would have been a mate Ivy could have been proud of, a man who would have stood up for her against anyone and everyone.

I wanted all that to come true, but nothing ever goes my way. I was born to be this waste of space whom everyone enjoys torturing. As Alpha Jack ties me to the whipping post and tears my shirt away from my body, exposing my back, I pray Ivy isn’t watching. I’m used to being beaten and humiliated, but my mate, seeing this is the worst humiliation I could suffer.

I got to touch Ivy, but once. I felt her warmth, and now I wish I hadn’t. Touching her snapped the mate bond in place, which means she’ll feel my pain. I could have spared her what was to come if I had just kept my hands to myself.

I am so stupid. I never meant to cause the beautiful woman pain. It’s the last thing I ever wanted.

I sense Alpha Jack crouching beside me. But I dare not move my eyes from my forward position.

“I warned you to behave. But you couldn’t follow a simple order. I thought letting you out of your room to work would be good for you. I mean, how could you possibly mess up serving dinner?”

Alpha Jack wanted me to mess up. Even if I performed flawlessly, he would have done something to trip me up so he could hurt me. This has been perfect for him because I messed up all on my own. I touched the Princess of Lykos, and now he has the perfect reason to kill me.

Alpha Jack doesn’t even care that Beta Prince Theo is here with his son or that the King’s son and his mate are also here. He wants to show them how he deals with vermin.

Prince Theo isn’t here to witness this, and I am thankful for that. But perhaps he would have stopped this because of Ivy. Maybe he wouldn’t because this is Alpha Jack’s pack; he has the right to deal with pack members however he sees fit. Or so he told me many times.

“You put your hands on a Royal Lycan Princess! Do you have any idea what the King will do when his brother reports back? Far worse than what I’m about to do.”

Alpha Jack grabs my hair and yanks my head back. He’s holding me so tightly it feels like my scalp is coming away from my skull! But I don’t make a sound; it will only make him hurt me worse.

‘Why are you allowing this?’ My Lycan hisses. ‘Fight back!’

I want to, really, I do, but I also don’t want to die. Alpha Jack will beat me, and I will heal afterward. But if I attempt to fight back, he’ll kill me. I don’t want to die because now I have something to live for.

Does that make me pathetic?

Of course, it does, but I don’t know any other way to be. My whole life, I have been beaten down and conditioned to believe I am nothing. No one will ever come to my rescue; the only person I have is me.

“This is what you deserve. You know that, don’t you?”

No, I don’t deserve this! I did nothing wrong. I never do anything wrong, but nothing I do is ever good enough, either.

“You should have died with your mother, Parasite. No, you should have died instead of her. But no, you had to keep on living and fuckin.g up my life! Well, no more.”

‘Get the fuc.k away from my mate!’

Oh, no.

My heart is banging. I look to the left and see a massive Lycaness standing over Alpha Jack. She is the most beautiful creature I have ever seen! Her eyes are so wide, and her fangs are dripping with saliva. She’s ready to kill, and Alpha Jack is on the menu.

Alpha Jack gets to his feet slowly. “Princess,”

‘Save it!’

“But Princess, this man is not your mate. He’s tricked you,”

The Lycaness howls to the sky in anger. ‘You’re going to die today.’

The fear radiating off Alpha Jack is palpable. Rodrick and Flynn look at one another, not knowing what to say. They’re also scared, and inwardly, I smile.

The garden suddenly fills up. There’s shouting all around me, but I can’t make out what anyone is saying. I can’t take my eyes off Ivy’s Lycan. She’s stunning, and the color of her fur is like nothing I’ve ever seen. She’s midnight blue and so powerful.

‘We can get out of these binds, my friend. We’re strong, and you need to stop letting those with power bring you down. You have a mate who wants you. Be strong for her; that’s all you need to do.’

My Lycan is right. I cannot keep being this weak, pathetic excuse for a man. If there was ever anybody I wanted to be strong for, it was Ivy.

“What is the meaning of this?!” Prince Theo yells.

“Prince Theo. Princess Ivy just went mad over this pathetic excuse for a Lycan!”

I cannot tear my eyes away from the scene before me: yelling, arguing, threats, and my mate’s Lycan getting ready to pounce.

It’s now or never. I must prove my worth if I am to be the mate Ivy deserves. So, I muster up all the strength left in my body. But just as I’m about to break the binds, something sharp penetrates the side of my body.

‘Fuc.k!’ My Lycan screams.

“Did you really think we’d let you leave?” Eric’s voice in my ear sends a shiver down my spine. “Mated to a Lycan Princess? I don’t think so, Parasite. You belong to us, and the only way you’ll leave here is in a body bag.”

He stabbed me. My own brother stabbed me, hoping it would kill me. Eric might just get his wish because I am weakening at a rapid rate, which means he stabbed me with a sliver-tipped dagger. With the wolfsbane still in my system from earlier today, I don’t stand a chance of surviving this.

‘I’m sorry, Ivy. I so wanted to be your mate.’

As my eyes begin to close from the loss of blood, I hear Ivy scream, “NO!”