Bullied Mate Of The Lycan Kings
Chapter 115

RHEA'S

POV

I nearly choked on my hot chocolate when Ren walked down the stairs into the kitchen with his arms around Lily, the two of them looking freshly f****d, so much in love and making dreamy eyes at each other.

I took a moment to swallow down the panic that trampled in my chest and focused on how happy they both looked. How they were so absorbed with each other that they probably thought they were the only two souls in the entire universe. Even if Lily wasn't wearing his clothes which she was, I didn't need anyone to tell me that they had bonded with each other because their scents were so muddled up, it was hard to even tell them apart.

The pullover that Lily was wearing slipped from her shoulder and I could see Ren's mark, bright as day on her skin and Lily looked so at peace and unbothered about hiding it.

It took them a while to notice that I was in the room, because they were so absorbed in each other and who could blame them? They were so in love and it made me so happy to see them happy. "Hi!" Lily chirped, her eyes lighting up even more when she saw me and my heart went warm all over.

I walked over to where they were standing with a big smile and pulled her in for a hug.

"I can't believe it! Welcome to the family!" I cried excitedly, meaning it.

When I pulled back, her eyes were bright with joy and she nodded.

"Thank you."

Ren excused himself to get water to drink, already dressed in his uniform and I watched as Lily's eyes followed him like she couldn't help herself before she focused her attention on me again. "Would you like breakfast? I can make some toast for you."

"Thank you, Rhea but Ren already fixed breakfast for the two of us. Plus we need to get going to school now because I want to stop at Bia's to change into my uniform."

I nodded in understanding, squeezing her hand gently.

"Would you like to ride with us?" Ren asked and I shook my head.

"Chelsea's already on her way to pick me up. Thank you, Ren."

Hugging Lily again, I smiled at Ren as he gave me a forehead kiss and there was a tightness in my chest and worry in my heart as I watched them leave because while I was happy for them, there was one very big issue that we were all trying to ignore. And it was a big fat problem with Aiden's face on it. The worst type of problems.

I wondered how he was going to react when he found out that Ren, his best friend, had marked his mate because everyone knew Aiden did not do well when it came to sharing.

Growing up with him, he had demonstrated how he felt about sharing in so many ways but one that had stuck with me was when we were still very little and had both been given the exact same toy. A red firetruck with shiny wheels and steel rims. He had tried so many ways to get it from me, even trying to buy it and bribe me for it and when I refused, he had destroyed it and left the broken pieces for me to replace.

There was no doubt that he had been responsible and he had not bothered to even deny it and I had been distraught without it for days.

But he had showed up the next day with a brand new toy, a green firetruck, similar to my former one but not the same.

He had presented it to me as gift and apologized, with a threat, gently making me understand that I can't want the same things he wants. I can't have the same thing he has.

And I had realized that he had not destroyed my toy because he cared about the toy, he just hadn't wanted me to have that particular toy because it was similar to the model and make of his.

He had made it clear over the years how possessive he was over the things he considered his and I wondered if he was going to apply that same mentality where Lily was concerned and how it would affect Ren. How it would affect Lily.

I had literal goosebumps wondering what he would say when he found out that Ren had marked Lily but before I could dwell on it, I heard Chelsea's familiar car horn, honking wildly outside and I grabbed my bag and rushed outside to meet her. "Am I seeing things or was it Lily that I saw in Ren's car on my way in?" Chelsea asked immediately she saw me, her eyes wide with shock and I rolled my eyes at her playfully as I walked towards the back seat to climb in.

"Yes, duh. You should have seen my face when they came out looking so in love but Lord knows what Aiden is going to do when he replaces out that Ren slept with her. I doubt he'll ever forgive him." I answered, trying to keep my voice light but I was worried as hell for my brother.

"Aiden can go to hell for all I care after what he put Lily through." Chelsea replied, calling me back so that she could collect the milkshake I had carried out for her from where she was seated in the driver's seat and she pulled me for a quick kiss on my cheeks in thanks through her window.

"Ren is the only reason Lily survived through all the s**t he put her through and the way I see it, Aiden should be thanking Ren for stepping up and saving his mate." She added and I sighed, nodding in agreement and really hoping that what she said would happen even though I doubted it would but I froze when I entered the backseat and saw Chase sitting on the other end. I had smelled his scent but had just chucked it up to the fact that it was because Chelsea was around and they were siblings.

"Why is he in the car with us?" I asked Chelsea, refusing to look at his gorgeous face or show how affected I was by his presence.

Breathless. Hot. Nervous. Sticky with sweat.

"His car conveniently broke down and he needed a ride." Chelsea answered dryly and I saw that she was trying hard to not be amused by my reaction.

"Hello Rhea," Chase said with a gentle smile and I forced myself to finally look at him, forcing a frown onto my face.

My wolf reared her big head at his voice, his presence, his intoxicating scent. She has been doing that a lot recently since I started entertaining his presence and I had to slam her back down with all the willpower I had.

I handled my first rejection just fine. I wasn't going to be rejected a second time.

"Why are you seated here and not in the passenger seat?" I asked curtly but instead of getting upset, like I hoped he would, his smile widened and I wanted to smack him for looking good.

"I thought you'd want to sit in the front with Chels."

I wanted to blurt out that I couldn't sit in the front seat. EVERYONE knows that.

Just the thought of sitting in the front seat filled me with even more paranoia as I thought of the experience I survived from the last time I drove a car myself.

The screeching sound of tyres skidding on asphalt, the burning rubber of the tyres, the sickening sound of the crash, of twisting metal and shattering glass. A car accident I had almost not survived from. Everybody thinks Sebastian had rejected me.

He hadn't.

Okay, wait, he did. But he had only rejected me after I caught him cheating on me with that wicked witch of the west at a house party Aiden had thrown. I hadn't been able to take it, hadn't been able to think straight and I had jumped into my car, completely inebriated and hurt.

I should have died on impact.

I'd be damned if I go through that again.

Because of the accident I had been in when I was little which made me extremely afraid of driving or even being in the front seat but it meant that Chase would know one more thing about me and I would rather he didn't so I slid into the backseat, trying to ignore the relieved breath he let out and kept to my corner, even though the entire place felt like it was filled with him.

"I'm Team Ren by the way," Chelsea yapped along and I narrowed my eyes at her, wondering if she was trying to play matchmaker. A headsup would have been appreciated.

Shrugging, I sipped my coffee, "why?"

She rolled her eyes. "Duh? Because we can finally get to see Ren happy after having a mate from hell like Mauve." Chelsea said as she drove through the gates, breaking the terse silence in the car.

"Ren is my brother and I love him but I can only imagine how Aiden would feel right now. It's never easy to lose a mate." I whispered. "Especially one you're obsessed with. I would know." I answered, keeping my face on the road.

The atmosphere in the room became stilted.

"Rhi..." Chelsea said in a heart broken voice.

"It's nothing. I'm sorry. Just forget what I said." I wiped the stray tears that ran down my cheek. "This isn't even about me."

f**k, it's been THREE years. How am I not over this s**t?

A carefully folded handkerchief suddenly appeared in front of me. I dragged my gaze from the hand offering it to his face.

Chase gazed at me with an expression I couldn't decipher as he took my chin in his hand and wiped my tears.

"You know," he said, as if he was only talking to me. "I don't agree with Chels on tons of things but I'm happy that Ren and Lily found their way to each other."

I swallowed when his thumb brushed my lips, igniting a fire in the pit of my abdomen and this time, when I felt Astria spring to life again, I didn't tamp her down as I help my breath and watched Chase.

"It's beautiful, don't you think? They're prepared to damn the consequences, follow their hearts and make their own choices in a community that places a lot of emphasis on following a broken tradition. I've never been a fan of the mating bond. I saw with it did to Ren. To Zac."

We all winced.

"Lily and Ren... they're courageous to make their own choice and do their own thing and I respect them for it."

"But Aiden loves her." I argued. "He jumped into the forest ridden by ferals to save her. He stayed by her side until she got better while respecting her wishes. Not every girl is lucky enough to have a mate that would do that for them."

"Aiden also declared open season on her for a crime her father committed. Lily could have gotten seriously hurt before they even discovered they were mates. And let's not pretend that Ren, heck, even Zac, wouldn't do what Aiden did in a heartbeat. We all saw them leave to get her. Protecting and respecting her is the least Aiden could do after all he put her through."

My mouth clamped shut.

"All I'm saying is Lily's emotions are valid. She's also old enough to make her own choices after all she has been through. If she wants nothing to do with the guy that made her life at the academy a living nightmare, no one can fault her for that. I know you wouldn't want Ren to stay with Mauve even if she apologizes."

"That's different."

"Is it?" He asked, tilting his head.

I avoided his gaze and gritted my teeth, seeing his reasoning.

Of course I would never want Ren to stay with Mauve. She was greedy and opportunistic and she had dragged their bond through the mud, taking advantage of my brother and our family name. It's totally different from Aiden that at least respects the bond and would do anything to fix it and in my eyes, that fact alone makes him more redeemable. Besides, My Mauve was a pathological liar. I wouldn't believe a thing she says even if she promises to change.

But Is it because I care for Ren, or because I'm just bitter about her for taking Sebastian from me?

"That's different," I whispered, losing all the fight I had left in me.

Quickly looking away, I pondered on his words the entire ride and made no move to take my hand out of his clasped ones, my wolf, humming in satisfaction at being close to him.

"What THE FUCK, Ren?! You're supposed to be my BEST FRIEND! And you went behind my back to f**k my mate? Are you fucking kidding me?!"

My heart jumped in my throat as the car rolled into the private garage.

No no no no no.

My face paled as we drove into the private parking lot to see Ren and Lily with a bewildered, furious Aiden standing in a face off, a crowd already gathering around them. Chelsea's words conveyed my internal reaction.