Bullied Mate Of The Lycan Kings
Chapter 134

Lily's pov

The entire garage was silent. Well what was I expecting when it was only the royals that parked here? An audience?

"You okay?" Ren asked and I tore my eyes away from where Aiden and Zac were standing just staring at the car, their poses intimidating to whoever looked at them to look at my mate. Not the one that fate gave to me but the one that I had chosen. Ren Hawthorne. I remembered the first time he had smiled at me. I had felt butterflies in my belly as he saved my life. And today, I realized that whenever I looked at Zac and Aiden, I felt that wave of excitement and it had done nothing to reduce how much I loved Ren. Maybe this would work.

Leaning forward, Ren cupped my chin gently and kissed me. Soft licks, a gentle tug with his teeth, his tongue slipping in to taste me, and when he leaned back, I was breathless but thoroughly distracted.

I wanted to ask how he knew what I wanted but his smirk already reminded me that he had those abilities and his plan to reduce my anxiety had worked.

When we got down, Ren walked ahead, his hand holding mine as we approached Zac and Aiden and I looked at their faces to try to gauge their reactions but they remained calm.

"Hi" I said in greeting and Ren stood beside them and faced me.

"Lily,"

"Hello, duchess,"

Zac and Aiden's simultaneous greeting had them pausing to eye each other coldly and the parking lot fell into silence again, the three boys, an imposing force around me; Ren, gentle and kind, Zac, handsome and strong, Aiden, ruthless and proud as they waited for me to speak, for my verdict; how I was going to respond to their confessions and if I was going to have to make a choice between them.

They all stood tall and handsome, all three of them towering over me and I felt intimidated and a little bit terrified.

I had stayed up for most of the night thinking about what would be a perfect solution to this dilemma after admitting that I felt something for all three of them but I didn't know if the request that I was about to make was going to be too demanding for either of them to accept or if it made me sound selfish but I could not keep stalling.

Suddenly I felt warmth radiate all over my body and looking at Ren, I realized that he was sending me love through our bond, a sign of encouragement, and it made me feel bold to speak my mind after all it was now or never.

"I'll be honest with you because that is all I can do and I'm tired of running away from this thing between us."

I swallowed a deep breath, my lungs threatening to collapse on me as I stared at all three of them.

Zac had his hands shoved in his pockets, a few buttons of his shirt unbuttoned to reveal his toned, lean chest. His eyes were whirlpools of darkness that I refused to look away from. He was grinning so hard, I could see his fanged canines.

"The truth is..." I'm stalling. Why am I stalling? "I'm attracted to you. To all three of you and I don't want to have to choose. Ren," my gaze found Ren's golden brown ones, my eyes softening. "I had a crush on you from the first moment I saw you. You were kind to me when no one else was. You were my friend when I desperately needed one, you're the one I chose."

I swallowed, my gaze sliding to Zac's, "I couldn't resent you even if I tried. You made a home for yourself in my heart before I even realized what was going on. You have been there for me when I didn't want to speak, ugly truths are never ugly when they come from you. You saved my life when you owe me nothing, your blood flows through my veins and I know you think you thrive in chaos, but you give me so much peace and comfort, sometimes I can't see past it."

"Aiden..."

The past few days I had spent in Aiden's home, in his natural habitat, let me see a softer, more human version of him. But out here in the wild, he had taken up his mask of ruthlessness again, stone cold grey eyes bored into my skin.

"Aiden... You and I have known right from the first day we met that there was something that tied us together. I was attracted to you... at least until you opened your mouth."

"Lily -"

"Let me finish." I said calmly, "I'm sorry that we crossed paths so horribly, that tragedy is what tied us together at first. You were right in your grief but you were wrong to take it out on me. We are both victims of the same incident, so I understand you enough to give us a second chance. You acknowledged your actions and I don't want the burden of holding a grudge. You're my fated mate. Tearing myself from you is suicide on both our parts, I see that now.

"I can't live without any of you and I don't want to, so if you really want me, then there's no other way. You will have to share me, all three of you, you'll have to date me at the same time."

My heart was pounding so hard, I'm sure each of the boys could hear it. My cheeks were flushed, I wiped my sweaty, trembling palms on my skirt as I continued, wanting to get this out as soon as possible before I chicken out.

"No fighting and no pissing each other off. You have to be respectful and cordial with each other. I don't want your friendship going to s hit because of me." I closed my eyes after a long exhale, not wanting to lock eyes with any of them as I summoned up courage to make my last demand.

I sighed as I opened my eyes, meeting their gazes again. "No other girls. You can't see other women. I will not accept it and if any of you choose to do so, that's the end of this relationship. I mean it."

I didn't realize that I was panting by the time I was done until Aiden stretched out a bottle of water which I accepted immediately with gratitude.

Zac was the first to respond, shrugging his shoulders with a playful smirk that I had come to associate and love about him.

He sauntered over to me, pulling me by the waist until our hips connected.

I was hotter than a thousand suns when he took my chin in his grasp. His tongue delved into my mouth without any hesitation. There was no teasing, no joke, none of his easy suaveness and nonchalance, just wet, hot need that seared my insides. One hand wrapped tighter around my waist, the other, sliding down my chin, to the back of my neck, gripping my hair and tilting my face to better receive him.

I was drunk and delirious by the time he released me, my cheeks burning, my ears ringing.

His lips brushed against the corner of my lips. "That's definitely not a problem, duchess."

I was hyperventilating by the time he released me and held me to his side, bringing my attention back to my other mates and reminding me that we had an audience.

Ren smiled and I could feel his agreement before he even spoke. "You're it for me, Lily. There will never be anyone else."

I would have fallen deeper in love with him if I wasn't already in that moment but my attention moved immediately to Aiden. Of the three of them, his answer was the one that worried me the most especially after everything that had happened between all three of us in the past few weeks.

His face remained cold and stoic, glaring at Zac's arm around my waist. The look was downright murderous, but to his credit, he reined in his rage. His handsomeness touched with an edge of ruthlessness but now that I knew him beyond the mask he wore around for everyone, I could see through his facade.

He stepped forward but didn't rip Zac's arm off of me, his gaze entirely on me as he gave me his word. "I've not touched another girl since I found out that we were mates, Lily, and I never will. There's no one else for me. There never will be."

My lips parted in shock because Aiden was notorious for having endless flings and it felt like my heart was going to explode with joy that they had accepted to be with me however they could get me.

It was more than I had expected and for the first time since I woke up today, my heart was light and my smile was wide.

The rest of the first half of school day had passed uneventfully for everyone but me who had been trying to contain my excitement all morning and had spent most of the classes daydreaming.

As I walked into the cafeteria with Rhea and Chelsea during lunch break, all I could do was stare at my men where they were seated together, Zac and Ren in a discussion while Aiden was merely their audience. He noticed me first and my breath caught in my throat as his lips widened in a smile.

Rising to his feet as I approached the table, he leaned forward and stole my lips in a deep kiss that made everyone on the table except Ren and Zac gasp in shock.

I clutched his blazer, partly to hold on for dear life and partly to pull him closer to me. I don't think I'd ever get used to Aiden's kisses. He kisses me like he's been starving his whole life and finally has a feast thrown in his honour and when he let me go, my head was spinning.

Wrapping his arms around me, Aiden addressed the suddenly very silent cafeteria.

"I'm sure you've heard rumours and I am glad to shut it down today with the truth. Lily Beauregard is my mate and she is now under the protection of the royals. A disrespect to her is a disrespect to my name. If anyone dares to bully her or hurt a single hair on her head, you will have me to deal with. Now, as you were."

The silent cafeteria became very noisy as people kept trying to process what Aiden had just said, whispering to each other while others stared at me.

"Wow, you're going to have quite an interesting future." Chelsea whispered with a smirk and Rhea pinched her ear while kissing my cheek and I couldn't help but laugh, my eyes locking with Aiden's before moving to Zac and Ren.

I felt like I was home. For the first time in my life, I felt like I was finally in a place where I was wanted and respected. This was the best decision for me.

Rhea was about to say something the hall suddenly fell silent.

Eerie silence swept through the entire hall as the mood in the air shifted, everybody's attention moving to one direction. And when I turned to see what suddenly had everyone's attention, my heart stopped and dropped to my feet along with the fork in my hand. The sound of the silverware clattering to the ground was almost as loud as my heartbeat pounding out of my chest.

No.

No no no!

Not now, not when I've finally moved on from him.

Cade Corrigan, the only son of the fourth most powerful lycan family but more importantly, my ex boyfriend who had broken my heart was walking towards our table like it was just another school day.

I must be seeing things.

But I wasn't, though. That stupid golden blonde hair, those stupid shocking blue eyes. He was wearing the academy's uniform with that stupid letterman jacket like he used to back at Gold Crest, like playing on the football team was his entire personality.

My ears were ringing, but this time, for all the wrong reasons. My lungs were closing in on me as I felt an instant rush of emotions from confusion to disbelief to rage and finally fear, because why was he here? Was he here to continue from where he had stopped with humiliating me before I dropped out?

I turned around, trying to hide my face but to my shock, Aiden, Zac and Ren had risen to their feet, their faces holding no malice as they waited for him to arrive and when he did, they greeted him good naturedly and it felt like I was sitting on burning hot coals, immediately rising to my feet.

Cade's eyes finally met mine and softened like we didn't have a betrayal and two whole years of radio silence between us.

"Hello, sunflower."

It was a running joke between us.

It used to be a running joke between us.

I didn't replace it fucking funny.

I swayed on my feet, the earth tilted on its axis as my food threatened to climb up my throat and wrap this afternoon up very nicely.

Looking away to see everyone including the boys at the table shocked, I opened my mouth to explain but it was already becoming a hassle breathing in oxygen, the entire room was spinning as I clutched the table for support, the walls of the cafeteria were closing in on me.

Swallowing in a breath, I did what I do best in a tricky situation.

I left.