BULLIED MATE OF THE LYCAN KINGS

CHAPTER 1: TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE

LILY'S POV

(2 YEARS AGO)

The moment I walked out of my home, I knew something was wrong. It was a trickling awareness that raised the hair on the back of my neck. Even my usually docile wolf was a restless ball of energy in my chest as I stared at our empty driveway.

Cade was late… except… Cade is never late. He was my best friend, my boyfriend, my only friend actually and throughout the three months we've dated, he always showed up unfailingly, even though he was the busy, popular quarterback and golden boy of our school.

He was the respected and beloved alpha prince of the mighty Gold Crest pack that every girl wanted a piece of and every guy wanted to be like. Kind, good-looking and strong, Cade Corrigan was my very own guardian angel. He had found me when I was at my lowest. When I had been crying in a corner of the bathroom stall, done with all the bullshit and ready to let go, finally.

"Not just yet, Lily!" He screamed at me vehemently, kicking the door down and stopping in his tracks where I was already covered in blood, tears and shame. "Don't f*****g die on me, Beauregard!"

I gasped and looked up, shocked that he knew my name, my face and even my surname.

There was so much desperation in his eyes as he looked down on my shaking body, my dizzy eyes, the blood oozing from the slits in my wrist and I had never seen a man cry before then.

"f*****g hell!" he cursed, picking me up and racing out of the bathroom. "Don't you DARE close your eyes, Lily! Don't even think of giving up yet!"

He would scream and shake me awake, a tremble in his voice as he raced to the medicare room of our school that was less of a sick bay and more of a hospital.

He had stayed with me, worriedly running his hands through his already messy golden blonde hair as they patched me up. The nurse had been unnecessarily kind and quiet that day, as if feeling the violent and protective energy the alpha prince had for me.

He had been an avenging angel for me since that day, watching over me, protecting me, taking care of me, and guiding me. I was starting to become spoiled.

The girls... the entire school hated me even more for snagging him. And the bullying would have been worse if they didn't fear his wrath.

Very few people could stand up to him. Cade Corrigan was from one of the four most powerful lycan families that governed the community we lived in. He was the only son of the alpha and Luna in Gold crest, and when it came to raw, physical strength, he was hailed as the strongest among the other four alpha princes.

Last night, when he had been obsessively affectionate towards me, I had summoned up the courage to ask the question that always nagged at me.

"Why me," I whispered as he pulled me up on his lap and into his arms last night, in my tiny little room, "why did you follow me that day, Cade? You have your pick among all the other girls in school. So why did you pick me?"

Something had been weird about all of this. It had looked too good to be true. That somebody as kind and perfect as him would fall in love with someone as defective as me.

The fact that I was an omega, and even worse, shiftless, was enough to get me bullied in Shadow Cove, the community that was home to the four most powerful packs in existence. Among legends, prodigies and geniuses, I stuck out like a sore thumb. Wolfless, shiftless and defected. I was already a sitting duck...

But no, I also had to be born to the biggest traitor in Shadow Cove too.

Shadow Cove is a protected and gated community consisting of the four most powerful packs in the world; Night Shade, Gold Crest, Silver moon and Poison Fang. Each of these pack are headed by a family of powerful lycans and they entered into a pact to do business together and keep Shadow Cove protected.

Shadow Cove is currently the richest and most protected werewolf community on the planet. The alphas, lunas and their council that govern here have transformed it into a mini utopia. Every lake, every valley, every field in Shadow Cove was covered by strong barriers and shields that protected us from werewolf hunters that were quickly wiping the werewolf race out of existence.

As the story goes, my father had changed all that. He had murdered the alpha and luna of Night Shade, the richest and most ruthless pack of the four and with his help, the hunters were able to breach the barriers for the first time in history and kill a lot of our loved ones and people.

My father had been killed for his crimes and my mother and I had been banished. Gold Crest had been the only pack to accept us, but even then, they made us stay on the outskirts, far away from town, ostracizing us even further.

I had been a victim of bullying since I started going to school at Gold Crest academy, picked on, picked apart and reduced to nothing.

Cade had always been a familiar face. He was popular, a star footballer and always had a new girl on his arm each week. We never actually met or spoke, but I had always admired his charismatic grace and golden boy looks. When he smiled, never at me, I would feel my heart skip beats. Our paths never crossed. We floated in different orbits. I didn't even know he saw me, he noticed me, until that day I had wanted to give up on my life entirely.

Cade remained silent for a few minutes, just stroking my dark, dark hair softly. "You can't feel it?" he asked, taking my fingers and guiding my hands to his beating heart.

My breathing shook as he looked me in the eyes, his deep azure blue eyes, finding my light green ones. "You're mine, Lily. The goddess has set you apart for me. I can feel it so strongly in my chest, it hurts to even look away from you. Can't you feel it?"

I swallowed and shook my head. No. I couldn't feel it. My wolf was pretty much useless in helping me with regular werewolf stuff like shifting and enhanced senses and speed, much more, finding my mate.

Still, I have always been drawn to Cade. Always looked him out in a crowd even when he never knew my name.

That counts for something right?

"Don't worry. I'll wait till you're 18 to tell you I told you so," he had grinned at me.

I smiled warmly. 18, when even the wolfless could feel more strongly and find their mates; the ones meant to complete them.

I sincerely hope it would be Cade. I could live the rest of my life, loving him.

And then his mouth had captured mine in a passionate kiss that I felt down to my toes. It was a heavy make out session that could have easily led to s*x but he had pulled back and held me close, content with holding me tight to his naked chest, even as his rigid d**k rubbed against my ass, covered in only my simple black panties.

We had slept like that, tangled in each other, his legs thrown over my waist, his arms around me.

But when I woke up this morning... Cade was nowhere to be found.

A crippling sense of dread washed over me but I shrugged it off and pushed it into the back of my mind. Maybe he had something important to do and was too busy to tell me.

Pulling out my phone, I shot him a good morning and an I love you text. And waited.

Nothing.

No reply. He usually replies in seconds.

I shut my phone and shrugged my shoulders.

Whatever. No matter. Whatever was going on, I would find out soon enough and then we'd talk about it. He wouldn't lie to me. Right? He wouldn't.

My heart clenched at the thought of losing him, of being without my Cade forever. Of the bullying starting again. No. I can't think like that.

I walked to school, arriving at my locker with ten minutes to spare before my first class. I was just shoving the books I needed into my bag before I felt it.

It was wave of uneasiness that made my heart sink to my stomach.

"You didn't hear? I heard he f****d her. Traitor is also a w***e, just like her mother. You show her a lick of attention and she'll be panting after you like a dying b***h. Corrigan played his cards right."

My heart clenched in my chest, pain washing over me as his name drifted into my ears.

Corrigan played his cards right.

Show her a lick of attention.

Traitor is also a w***e. A w***e. A w***e.

With great difficulty, I swallowed and slammed my locker close, my hands trembling as I grabbed my phone and tried to call Cade.

He wouldn't answer. He wouldn't pick up. Why isn't he picking up my calls? Did I do something wrong? Did I offend him in any way? Does he know what the people are saying?

Cade, where are you?

Please… please pick up. Don't do this to me.

I didn't know anxious tears where already streaming down my face until my phone burped a text. My heart soared with joy and relief when I saw that it was from Cade.

Something has always been weird about my relationship with Cade. It has always looked too good to be true. The golden boy falls in love with the outcast and they become the envy of the school. You should never trust something that is too good to be true and I should have known better than to think a guy like him would fall for a girl like me.

The noose around my neck loosened for a tiny second before it tightened right back again when I read his message.

"Stop calling me, Beauregard. It's over between us. Everything I said last night was a lie. All this started as a bet with the guys to see if we could break you even further. I knew you've always had a crush on me but you were so easy, it was pathetic. You played right into my hands like I knew you would, begging for s*x last night, it was disgusting. Don't call me. Don't text me. What we had wasn't real. I'd say this is goodbye, but we never even had a proper hello."

My heart skipped a gigantic beat and my phone fell from my shaking hands.

No. No. No. Cade. He can't do this. He can't!

When I bent down to pick it up, someone kicked it away from my grasp.

I looked up to see the girls that had always bullied me since middle school smirking down on me.

Lana, the leader of the girls, squatted in front of me, grabbing my chin, her claws digging into my flesh. Her carnelian red eyes were wicked and spiteful. "Pray to whatever devil you serve, Beauregard, because things are about to get a lot worse."

Right before she punched me in the face, knocking me out cold.

Even as the darkness consumed me, even as I fell into the black, I prayed to the goddess that this would be the last time I have to open my eyes to see the light again.