Page 158 of The Lycans: Vol Four

It was an itch under my skin, a burn in my veins. It was that feeling when you are so thirsty that it physically hurts.

I made quick work heading back to the estate, although I should’ve taken my fucking time. I didn’t want to see the sympathetic looks cast my way from everyone I passed.

Fuck their sympathy.

They could never know the destruction you felt when you no longer had that other part of yourself. I wondered if this was what it felt like to have a mate and have her taken away.

It was a hollowness.

It fucking sucked.

I didn’t bother going through the front doors when I got to the estate, just parked and headed around back to one of the less used entrances.

I could hear voices across the property and glanced up to see my father with a few of the Guard, his personal Lycan army, working on fighting.

Although we had an entire lower level in the estate dedicated to training, having natural terrain to get your body used to different stances was better.

I ducked my head and went inside, passing a few of the staff as they went about their day cleaning or cooking.

These males and females had seen me grow into the male I was today. And they watched me slowly spiral to the bottom of the barrel.

I wondered what they truly thought of me.

I wondered if they would still feel sympathetic or give me their sad smiles if I wasn’t one of the princes of the Scottish Lycans.

Once upstairs I headed down the hallway to my room, thankful I hadn’t run into my brother, Tavish, or my mother.

With Caelan mated and living with his female, I only saw him when he came over for a visit or we worked out together.

But Tavish was unmated—like me—and was still at the estate. And because I’d become an unbearable, surly bastard, I found myself picking fights with him almost every time our paths crossed.

It’s because you want to feel again.

I felt like a fucking prick most of the time. Snapping at my father, ignoring my mother’s gentle urges to open up and talk to her, then getting into physical altercations with my brothers. And fuck, we wouldn’t even talk about being an asshole to the staff and Guard.

Especially her.

I scrubbed a hand over my face. I was tired, but it wasn’t the physical kind. No, I had fucking energy for days where that was concerned.

This exhaustion was of the mental and soul kind.

I slowed and finally came to a stop in front of my bedroom door, seeing it ajar and instantly bristling when I inhaled deeply and caught the scent of her.

You’d think for as fucking miserable as I was to everyone, she’d take the hint and leave me the fuck alone, or at least keep a wide berth.

I pushed the door open harder than needed, but reached out and stopped it before it cracked against the wall. The light in the bathroom was on, and I found myself stalking toward the open doorway and glaring inside.

Aisling was currently bent at the waist as she put a fresh stack of towels underneath the sink. Her standard issued white-and-black servant attire was snug around her curvy form.

I couldn’t help but appreciate the sight of her, couldn’t stop myself from staring at the rounded mounds of her ass. The material tightened as she shifted position, and I clenched my jaw as her generous hips, thick thighs, and full ass came even more into view.

The fact that she hadn’t even noticed I was there annoyed me. Did she not take care of herself or was mindful of her surroundings? Did she not know when a threat was right behind her?

Although I would never hurt her, never even dream of it, she was a Lycan and should’ve been able to pick up on my presence before I even stepped into the bedroom.

I scowled, annoyed that I gave a shit so much.

“I thought I asked you to stop coming in here?” My voice was a husky growl that startled her so much she jumped up and cried out, spinning around as she clutched a single towel against her chest.

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