Page 47 of Destined to the Lycan
“Not even Ranael?” I challenged.
Once again, he hesitated. He lowered his gaze as he reflected on his response before locking eyes with me again.
“Ranael could never get to me unless I allowed it,” he finally replied.
I wanted to pry further, but the expression on his face made it clear I wouldn’t get any more information as to the potential outcome of a confrontation between him and the demon wolf. Anyway, that was the least of my concerns. All that mattered was my mate.
“You say you could neutralize the poison killing Amara. And after that? Will she be able to go back to her old life?” I asked.
“No. She will have to stay with me,” Lyall said, lifting his chin with a subtle hint of defiance.
A powerful wave of jealousy crashed over me, and all of a sudden, everything became clear. His anger whenever I professed my devotion to saving her and how we were Twin Flames. The almost evil smirk that stretched his lips once he noticed I finally understood his intention to keep my woman for himself angered me.
“You can’t have her!” I snarled. “You may covet her, but Amara is mine! She’smyTwin Flame notyours.”
“A Twin Flame that you are allowing to die,” he spat back while taking two angry steps towards me. “Amara has seven days left to live, eight at the most. You will never get to Ranael in time!”
“You imply that you care for her and yet you detain us here, delaying us further? How about you help us instead?” I shouted back.
“And deliver her to you?” he replied in a disdainful tone.
It was my turn to look at him with contempt. “Based on your previous comment, I assume that you’ve tasted her blood, which allowed you to experience the wonder that she is, all her memories, and all her past experiences. And yet, you will let her die if you can’t have her?”
“Iam the better choice!” he shouted, slapping his hand on his bare chest. “I can be everything that she wants or needs.”
“You can be anillusionof what she wants!” I countered. “Fate chosemefor Amara. Your soulmate is another that you shall meet in time.”
Lyall huffed, but I didn’t miss the glimmer of pain that flashed through his eyes. In that instant, a part of my anger towards him gave way to a sliver of sympathy. I didn’t know what he was, but I suspected that, like me, he was an outcast among his peers. Loneliness cut deeper than the sharpest tongue from those who belittled us.
“If you love her, you will put her welfare before yours,” I said in a gentle tone. “If Amara was not my Twin Flame, I would reluctantly step aside and let you look after her. But Fate paired us. No one can ever love her more than I will, and vice versa.”
“Like hell you would!” Lyall hissed. “You would cling to her even at the cost of her life, just like you are right now!”
I shook my head. “Like you, I do not lie. I will always put my mate’s happiness before my own. In fact, I suspect that you’ve already made that same offer to Amara, and she declined. Just so you know, had she accepted, I would have honored her wishes, wrong though they might be.”
“And you expect me to believe that drivel?!” Lyall challenged.
“The Weaver is never wrong, Lyall,” I said calmly. “If you were the solution, she would have sent Amara to you, not me.”
To my shock, Lyall released a savage growl and lunged for me. Paralyzed, I stood helpless while he painfully fisted my hair on my nape, yanked my head back, and buried his fangs in myexposed neck. I gasped at the sharp pain. I knew his people possessed a venom that numbed the point of puncture and could even put their victim in a state of euphoria that encouraged them to submit while having their deepest thoughts and memories plundered.
He afforded me no such courtesy.
Hewantedto hurt me and was doing a great job of it. But I couldn’t hate him for it. A doppelganger’s bite allowed them to know a person even more intimately than they knew themselves. It was like having spent a lifetime with that person. His feelings for her weren’t superficial. If I was already this crazy for my woman by just spending a few days by her side, I could only imagine how much more potent his affection for Amara had to be after he shared such a deep connection with her.
I hissed when he brutally pulled his fangs out of my neck tearing some of my skin in the process. He took a few steps back, staring at me with an anger that bordered on hatred. And yet, I didn’t miss the hurt, sadness, and even resignation in his eyes. Once again, he appeared to be battling with himself not to give in to his primal and violent urges.
“I could kill you, right here and now, and make this entire discussion moot,” he said in a dangerously low voice.
I swallowed hard, the movement making my puncture wound sting in my neck. I ignored the sliver of blood that trickled from it as I slowly nodded.
“You could, and there’s obviously nothing I could do to stop it. But if you do, Amara will know, and she will never forgive you for it,” I said in a reasonable tone. “You could choose to help us instead. And she will be forever grateful to you.”
“I don’t want her gratitude,” Lyall spat. “I have no use for it.”
“But you also don’t want her to die,” I replied matter-of-factly. “Her happiness is in your hands. It’s up to you what happens next. Your choice to make.”
That last sentence appeared to strike a nerve. I wondered if my mate had made a similar comment to him.
