Page 80 of Rejected and Pregnant by the Lycan King

“I can’t lose you two again. After you disappeared, I was haunted by your absence in such a way that I couldn’t eat, sleep, or evenrun the damn kingdom. I stood over a map, searching for any lead to find you so I could make things better, fix everything I broke.” He reached out and touched my legs, gently pulling me into him. Maximus buried his face in my stomach, and I felt my shirt become soaked as his body shook. I heard him suck in a deep breath and let it out before continuing. “There’s no reason to live in a world without you. Now with Titan here and knowing what Zephyrine has done, I will track her down and slit her throat in front of you for what she has done to us. Please, forgive me.”

It broke my heart to hear him struggle to get these words out. Maximus continued to sob into my stomach, and I had never seen an alpha like him in this state before. My father wouldn’t have been caught acting like this with my mother, and she was his fated mate, just as I am to Maximus.

When I think about the couples I grew up with, none of them would act like this. Not even in private. I heard the females talk about their mates, and during fights, the males just let them pout and moan. Not once did they say how their mate pleaded with them to stay and forgive them.

This was not the man I left a year ago. As much as I wanted to stay angry, Maximus wanted to fix this. If I wanted my child to grow up with a better father than what I had, then I didn’t have to look hard for that man. He was right here, begging for a chance to prove he wasn’t that guy anymore. His remorse was palpable, and I was letting my anger get the better of me.

“Max…” When I hesitated, he looked up at me. His eyes were red, and hope shone in them. “I don’t know. I don’t want to do this right now, either. Let’s go inside… and see what’s going on with our son.”

37

Kylie

Why did this have to be so hard? Love wasn’t supposed to be this ongoing fight, was it? When Maximus let go of me, I walked back into the clinic, not stopping until I reached a chair in the small waiting room. Maximus followed, choosing to sit in the chair next to me, and hesitated before putting his arm around me. I rolled my eyes, then grabbed his arm and placed it over my shoulders.

Even if I wasn’t sure about this, I knew I needed him by my side right now. We waited for a long time, each passing second feeling longer than the last. The heat from his body sunk into my muscles, relaxing me against him. It felt too good to be cuddled up to him. When I leaned my head on his shoulder, everything crashed into me.

I was at a clinic because my child was sick.

My child was sick because of a witch who hated my mate.

There was possibly no way for my child to get out of this mess until the curse was broken, and neither Maximus nor I knew how to do that.

I turned my body into Maximus’s, shaking as everything played out in my head over and over. It felt like no matter what I did, I would lose. If the curse was still intact, did that mean Maximus would have doubts about us again? Or worse… would it first take my son and then my mate?

As I pushed myself off Maximus, hating that I left the warmth of his embrace, I looked into his eyes. Now, he remembered more about what happened between him and Zephyrine. Maybe he would have a way to contact her and ask her to remove the curse from our pup. Even if the answer was no, I would at least have an answer instead of being left hanging in this waiting game.

“Is there a way to contact Zephyrine? Can you get her here?”

A low growl emitted from his throat. “Why would we call her here?”

I pushed myself further away from him. “Because she is the one who put this curse on you and Titan in the first place. Maybe she can take it off.”

He scoffed. “That’s not the kind of person she is, Kylie. That’s another reason I left her. I wanted my fated mate, and there was never a cross-species fated mate. Even before that moment, I saw her jealousy streak. No female could come near me.” He looked away as if the memory was hard for him to relive. It pained me to see him like this, his face twisted in agonyover an ex-girlfriend. “Our kind has a lot of jealousy, which I understood. But for someone who could never be my fated mate, I knew it was too much.”

“So, you ended it. Then she cast the spell.” Relaying the events made it easier for my lycan not to shake with rage inside me. This conversation was causing her to be restless, wanting to break free and claim Maximus now so no one could take him from us again.

Settle down. He isn’t ours. We haven’t claimed him yet.

He is ours. Our mate, ours to claim.

We haven’t claimed him yet for a reason.

Get your head out of your ass and claim what is ours.

I shoved her down and focused on Maximus again. He breathed out a sigh and leaned his head back against the wall. “Yeah. Something I didn’t even realize was a curse until it was too late. It’s why things between us were so complicated. I knew you were my mate, but I still didn’t feel connected like I should have unless I was in your presence. It was your touch and love trying to break through the damn curse, but I saw it as you being needy.”

This time, I scoffed and rolled my eyes. “I just came out of a pack that used me as a punching bag, my father being the top bully. Did you honestly expect me to be normal after going through that? I was terrified you would end up being an aggressive asshole, too. But then I saw how you were with me when we were alone—gentle, loving, and the opposite of everything I experienced in my pack.” I growled as memories flooded mymind. My lycan surged to the forefront again, banishing the memories away, flooding me with her strength and reminding me that I would always have her. “I just wanted my damn mate. The person who vowed to always love me.”

He was on his feet and pulling me against him in an instant, holding me tightly. I could hear his rapidly beating heart slamming against his ribcage. Was he afraid right now?

“My biggest regret in my life will always be hurting Zephyrine to make her angry enough to curse me.” I sucked in a breath, but he hushed me with a small, quick kiss. “Not because I wanted her, but because I didn’t realize my actions would end up hurting more than just her. It hurt you, too, and then my pup. It’s hurting me to know my mistake is causing this much strife in our lives. If I could take it all back, I would let her know I didn’t mean to hurt her like that and that I just wanted to be with someone who would make me feel this alive, and she wasn’t it.” He hugged me tighter. “Gods, that sounds horrible, but it’s the truth. I don’t know how I could have approached it differently, but it would have been better. Whatever I could do to create a future where this curse wasn’t going to take everything away from us.”

Us.He saidus. Nothim… or evenme.Us.

“Do you mean that?” I whispered.

“Yes, I do. I don’t give a shit about anyone else right now. Kingdom be damned, I just want my son to live. To have the life he deserves. Even you. You went through hell and back, twice, and the second time was because of me.” He growled, and I shook. It felt so threatening, and I wanted to get away from him if he was going to get angry again. He didn’t let me go. “I willnever hurt you again, Kylie. You are mine, and I am yours. If it means I have to give up everything else, so be it.”

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