Page 20 of Rejected and Pregnant by the Lycan King

This display she was putting on confirmed all my suspicions.

She giggled at my comment, a devious twinkle in her eye. “Please, Maxy. We all know your mate may not survive this pack. You need someone much stronger than that to help you rule.”

I sighed and leaned back in my chair, trying to summon deep calming breaths. Unfortunately, deep breathing would never help me remain calm in this situation. I should be enraged by how she was speaking about my mate, but that wasn’t all this bitch was doing. Nova was questioning my rule of the pack and the decisions I made for the kingdom. I couldn’t stand for this.

“It’s none of your business who I choose for a mate, let alone how she will deal with an unruly pack.”

She laughed. “Since you brought her home, we have only seen her once. As a future luna of this pack, shouldn’t she be getting to know us?”

It was my turn to smile. “That’s my fault.” This would not be something Nova wanted to hear. “Once I had my mate alone, it was hard to let her out of the room.”

Nova scoffed. “You’re out of the room now, and where is she?”

“Sleeping off being satisfied to the point of a deep sleep.”

She rolled her eyes and leaned back in the chair. When she crossed her legs, she rested her arms on the chair. “You haven’t marked her, though. What’s stopping you?”

“I was raised better than that. As the king, the bonding should be completed in front of the pack and anyone else who can attend from the kingdom.”

“Ha, please. That’s not why you haven’t marked her yet. Admit it. You have doubts about bonding with her. I can see why. You arethealpha of our kingdom. The Moon Goddess should have given you a mate who is worthy, not someone for you to save.”

I growled, not liking how she felt so comfortable talking to me this way. There were some alphas out there who would choose to do despicable things to anyone who opposed them in the pack. My father didn’t rule that way, and I saw the benefits of it. He believed in earning both love and respect from the pack and the kingdom. He stood against those brutal alphas and showed everyone what true leadership looked like.

I had lived by that, but it seemed I had become too relaxed.

Before I could tell her to go fuck herself and command her to do chores like an omega, Nova opened her mouth to continue her thoughts. She sat straighter in her chair, her eyes narrowed enough to show she meant business. However, she made sure to avoid looking at me directly enough to initiate a challenge.

“You think mating that female will make you look like a good guy, but all it does is reveal you as a weak king—one willing to sacrifice the pack instead of strengthening it. She’s not timid or afraid of conflict. She is something much worse than afraid. She isweak.You don’t think we can sense her lycan strength or, better yet, lack thereof? Her past experiences are so ingrained inside her that fear is leaking out of every one of her pores. That’s why she is so afraid of the pack.” Nova rolled her shoulders, and I could see the hatred in her eyes grow. Now, she was angry, and her voice turned into a raspy snarl. “That girl cannot shift on command. You’ve said she’s an omega, yet she cannot bring calm to anyone around her. That can only mean one thing.”

Fuck, Nova was smarter than she looked. I didn’t want the pack to know how physically weak Kylie was until we figured out how to cure it—if there was a cure.

“Aren’t you going to defend her? Or am I on the right track?”

I should have been angry about her talking like this, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Nova had a point. Kylie had deeper issues than just being afraid because of her abuse. The lycan inside her might be too weak to run a kingdom with me. If anything, Nova was pointing out the mistake I could make by pursuing this.

“I’m taking your silence as confirmation. Your mate’s lycan is too weak to shift. The girl is practically human, and you want to bond with her? How will that look to your kingdom?” She stood up and shook her head at me. “I hope you make the right decision.”

Nova shook her hips as she walked out of my office and closed the door behind her. She made far too many good points, and I was left questioning what I should do next.

Should I reject my mate, the person I’ve come to enjoy having around? Maybe I just needed to give this more time and help Kylie gain strength and confidence in herself so she could shift on command. The pack doctor didn’t have anything to add when I spoke with him again, as Kylie didn’t seem better when she should have. He wondered if it was more of a mental issue, which I had to consider myself.

Kylie had not been raised in a kind environment. The horror stories she told me during her three days in the infirmary left me shaking with rage. Alexander needed to pay for his crimes, which I planned to do after the bonding ceremony. Kylie needed me by her side, so that’s where I remained, but I really wanted to return to the Ironhide pack and slaughter every last one of them.

It would be easy for me. The pack wasn’t that strong compared to mine. Kylie wouldn’t oppose it, either, since the only person she cared about came with her to this pack.

I wondered if Kylie was strong enough to help me run this kingdom. What if her weakness was more ingrained in her personality than I thought? What if this was something that blind fury and vengeance couldn’t overcome? How could I even help her through something like that? Did I need to call a specialist to assist her? Would the pack view her differently, knowing she needed mental help because of her past?

Abuse was nothing to be ashamed of. Kylie couldn’t help that her lycan had been weak throughout her life. If her pack had supported her instead of what they had done, I was sure Kylie would be stronger and wouldn’t have an issue shifting into her lycan.

But I didn’t have time for that. Everyone was aware that I had a mate, and I hadn’t bonded with her yet. If she didn’t become stronger soon, I wasn’t sure if bonding with her would be the right decision.

Mate is ours. Make her ours,my lycan demanded.

It’s not that simple.

Because you are making it that way. Mark our mate. Things will fall into place if we mark our mate.

The beast didn’t understand pack politics. He didn’t see that if Kylie remained weak, another alpha would view me as weak and challenge me for the throne. That’s what I had to remember as I weighed the pros and cons of bonding myself to Kylie forever.

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