Guardian Of The Betas Heir

1 - She deserves better

Welcome to book 9 in the Lycans of Lykos series! This is Michael's story. For those of you who don't know or don't remember, Michael is the second son of Blaze and Rain from book 3 (The Gamma Prince's Broken Mate) and Ava's (Triton's Oath) big brother. I hope you enjoy the story, though there might be subjects you don't agree with, and Michael might piss you off sometimes. Please trust that I know what I'm doing and trust the process! The book will be updated daily, as much as I'm able. As always, this book will remain free until complete. All I ask is you leave comments if you're reading because it helps the book get noticed, and I can continue to allow you to read for free until the end :)

Elenor

“Sylva!” I sing-song while opening the bedroom curtains, letting in the sunlight. “Time to get up.”

I turn around and smile. Baby girl is sitting up in her toddler bed, hair a mess, sleep in her eyes, and smiling right at me.

Sylva is such a beautiful little girl. She’s always happy and smiling. She wakes up happy and goes to sleep the same way. Apart from that, one day a month, she has to see her father, which is today, and I’m dreading it.

I’ve been Sylva’s Nanny for a little over two and a half years. She was a month old when I arrived here and took over her care, and I am all she knows.

My life before I came here was awful. Locked away like a beast in a testing facility after being captured along with my brother. Terrible things happened to us there, things that almost killed us. We managed to escape after three years of torture. We ran as far and as fast as we could and ended up crossing the ocean to reach Dragon Country.

Lots of lies, fake backgrounds, fake documents, interviews, and begging got my brother and me jobs within the Royal Family. I never imagined I would be given the job of Nanny, but I love what I do. Sylva keeps me calm and chases away the nightmares when they rear their ugly heads. The moment I first held that baby girl, all the bad stuff disappeared. I love her like my own, and nothing will ever change that.

Sadly for Sylva, her mother died during childbirth, and her father had nothing to do with her. He acts like she doesn’t exist and sees her only once a month. His mother and father visit Sylva every fortnight and take her out. But they live in Lykos as does Sylva’s father.

He sent his baby girl to live in Dragon Country with that side of his family. The Dragon King is Sylva’s great-great-grandfather, yet even he couldn’t convince Sylva’s father to love and care for her. I’ve never even met the man because I’m just the help according to him. He has no need to check out the woman who cares for his daughter daily. He’s not bothered that she lives with me in a small house far from the castle and the town because that’s what he demanded.

Sylva’s father does visit her once a month for an hour. On those days, I hand Sylva over to the Dragon Queen and take a walk while waiting for baby girls return. That is the only time I have free all month.

The rules surrounding me caring for Sylva are ridiculous beyond belief. The only visitors allowed at the house are those related to Sylva, my brother, and the man the Royals believe is our cousin. A guard comes every Sunday to check on the house and Sylva and inspect how I treat her. I have no problem with that because Sylva’s welfare is all that matters to me. But being unable to take her anywhere other than the backyard is no fun for anyone.

On the day Sylva’s father has her, I hand Sylva to the Queen because Gods forbid he collected her himself. I’ll take a walk and visit my brother while I wait for Sylva’s return. However, each time Sylva visits her father, she’s left in devastated tears, and I am the one who has to pick up the pieces of her broken heart.

Why does Sylva come home in tears?

Because her father is a monster who treats her like she’s a pest rather than his daughter. I mean, it wouldn’t kill the man to be nice to his child instead of acting like he would rather be anywhere else than with Sylva. She tells me all about it when she comes home and how she wishes her daddy loved her. Sylva is almost three, and it’s getting harder to lie that her father loves her when he proves me wrong every month. It kills me to see Sylva so upset. She’s coming up for three, and the older she gets, the more pain this causes her.

Today, the Dragon Queen is collecting Sylva for her monthly visit with her father. I’m dreading it because I know Sylva will again return in tears. It will take days for my baby girl to get over the heartbreak that her daddy will leave her in again. Not once has her father ever held her, kissed her head, or told Sylva that he loves her.

Ever since she learned to talk, Sylva has told me how much her heart hurts that her daddy doesn’t love her. I see so much of myself in that baby that it breaks me every time. I know what it’s like to be unloved by my father. The only difference is Sylva’s father at least kept her within the family and didn’t sell her for research like mine did to my brother and me.

But I don’t know what’s worse, the physical pain or the mental torture. That’s why I make sure to tell Sylva at least ten times a day that I love her. I need her to know that she’s special to me, and what her father does and how he treats her is not her fault.

I pray that one day, her father realizes what a gift he has been given. I hope he knows it before it’s too late. Whatever his reasons, I know he’ll come to regret them one day. In the meantime, I will love this little girl with every beat of my heart and all the parts of my soul.

“Good morning, my little princess.”

“I go see Daddy today!” Sylva squeals happily. She’s always happy when it’s time to see her dad; it’s when she gets home that I worry about. The beauty of children so young is that they don’t hold grudges.

If I had my way, I’d put a stop to these pointless monthly visits.

Why put Sylva through this?

It’s clear to anyone with eyes that Sylva’s father doesn’t care about her. If he did, he’d love her enough to look after her. If he couldn’t do that, he’d love her enough to stay away. He should love her enough not to have her tucked away in a house in the woods, away from all of her family. He should love her enough to let others visit. Instead, she sees not even a handful of people each month. This is no life for a child! It feels to me like the man enjoys tormenting Sylva!

But I have no say in whether or not Sylva’s father sees her. As I’ve been told more than once, I am just a Nanny. My job is to care for Sylva and not interfere in things I have no right to question. I have never been told anything about Sylva’s father besides his name, and asking questions is natural. But I was told that if I continued, I would be fired.

I hate it because I want to wring her father’s neck! I want to shake some sense into him and make him see what he’s missing out on. But I can’t. All I can do is be there for Sylva.

I lift Sylva out of her bed and kiss her head. “Yes, you are. So, let’s get you bathed and fed before Grandma Lia comes to collect you.”

“Otay.”

Sylva loves bathtime. She loves bubbles, and I make sure the water is extra bubbly on days like today.

Once Sylva has splashed bubbles everywhere, soaking the floor in the process, I get her out. Once she’s dressed in her pretty pink dress that she insists on wearing, with her brown hair in pigtails, I give her breakfast. It’s the same every month; Sylva will only eat toast. On the days she has to see her father, Sylva can’t stomach much food. Even at her young age, nerves get the better of her.

Teeth brushed, Sylva smiles up at me.

I crouch down in front of her and smile. “Remember, baby girl, you are so loved. No matter what happens with your daddy today, remember that I love you so much.”

She giggles. “I love you, Mommy.”

I sigh because Sylva shouldn’t be calling me anything other than my name. I have tried so hard to get her to call me Elenor, but she refuses. She heard other children calling their mother’s Mommy and believed I was hers.

I thought the Queen was going to behead me the first time she heard that word from Sylva’s mouth! She threatened to fire me and have me replaced with someone older who wouldn’t have Sylva calling them Mom.

I explained how I hadn’t asked Sylva to call me Mom, and that she had heard other children calling their mothers that. I begged her not to send me away until I was blue in the face. I told her I would try my best to make Sylva see that I wasn’t her mother. But the Queen thought the bond between Sylva and I was all wrong.

The Queen even told Sylva’s paternal grandmother what had happened. Sylva’s grandmother then asked the Queen what she expected when I was the one raising Sylva all alone in the woods. We spent every day together, and Sylva was bound to get attached.

The Queen didn’t like it but allowed me to keep my job. However, I had to swear I would make sure Sylva understood that I was not her mother. I could never take Sylva’s birth mother’s place.

I never dreamed of taking her birth mother’s place. I know I’m just the help. But I am the one who spends the most time with Sylva. I am the one raising her, teaching her new things, and loving her like a mother would. I was the one who taught Sylva to feed herself, use the potty, walk, talk, and everything in between. I’m the one who soothes her tears and joins in with her laughter. I know Sylva better than anyone.

Yes, her family loves her; I do not doubt that. But they allowed Sylva’s father to cast her out of Lykos to live with her Dragon side of the family on the understanding they didn’t raise her themselves. He didn’t want to accidentally bump into Sylva when he visited Dragon Country. We don’t even live in the castle because the man refuses to visit if Sylva is there.

I overheard some of the grounds staff once say the Dragon King agreed to Sylva’s father’s requests because he threatened to take her somewhere far away and hand her to humans to raise. Apparently, this was a promise, not a threat.

Whatever he went through during and after Sylva’s mother died, must have crushed his heart.

Why else can’t the man love his child?

Perhaps he does love Sylva but can’t bear to bring himself to show it in case he loses her as he did her mother. Whatever the reason, it was not Sylva’s fault her mother died!

The door knocks, letting me know the Queen has arrived with her half a dozen guards to collect Sylva.

“Grandma Lia is here to collect you, baby girl. I’ll see you in an hour. Okay?”

One lousy hour. That’s all Sylva gets a month with her father. One fuckin.g hour!

Why bother at all?

Sylva nods. “Then you will snuggle me in your bed?”

I try not to show my sadness to Sylva. But this is our routine every month. I hand Sylva over, visit my twin brother, and then return home just in time for Sylva to come running to me, crying that her father has upset her. I bathe her, shower, dress, make food, and climb into my bed. I put on a movie and hold Sylva close for as long as she needs me. It shouldn’t be like this, but I don’t see it ever changing.

“I will snuggle you for as long as you want me to, baby girl.”

Sylva smiles as I take her hand and lead her to the front door. I take a deep breath before opening the door with a smile. Queen Xylia always collects Sylva herself. She said it was the only time she got to spend with Sylva. The walk from my house to the castle gives them time to chat.

“My Queen,” I bow respectfully.

“Elenor.” Her tone is as clipped as always.

“Hi, Gwamy.”

“My little one,” Lia lifts Sylva and kisses her cheek. “Are you ready to see your daddy?”

Sylva nods. “Is he going to make me sad again?”

Lia looks at me with wide, angry eyes. “What have you been telling her?”

I shake my head. “Nothing. I would never. But with all due respect, Sylva is getting older. She remembers previous visits and how sad she is each time those visits are over.”

Lia takes a deep breath and walks away without letting me reassure Sylva that I will be home when she returns. I sigh and close the door once they’re out of sight.

This is not going to be a good day; I can tell already.