Bullied Mate Of The Lycan Kings
Chapter 153

Aiden's pov

"No way," Lily whispered, her eyes replaceing mine in blatant disbelief.

Static silence rung in my head.

The entire room seemed to suddenly become smaller as I tried to process what Victor had just said. Well, it didn't even need so much processing when the evidence of what he had just said was standing in the room with us, her smile as wide and as power hungry as the man who just announced that he was her father.

"Ren, tell us," Zac demanded telepathically through our bond. "Is he telling the truth?"

Nothing but stunned silence was Ren's response and a look in his direction told me that he was stuck in a state of shock and dissociation, his eyes wide in frozen disbelief, snow white hair stuck to his sweating forehead, his hands clenched at his sides. I didn't blame him. He was seeing his abuser for the first time in weeks.

"No," Ren replied, his voice tight, but I couldn't tell if he really believed that or if he was trying to convince himself. "I don't believe this shit."

I was absolutely disgusted as Mauve walked in like she owned the place, sashaying towards where Lily and I and the rest of the Night shade royals were seated and winking at me before taking her seat.

"Hello, cousin" she said, like she needed to announce her presence to me. As if she wasn't already being a nuisance by being here alone and my entire body was shaking with rage as I wondered what Victor could have planned with this announcement this time. How was it even possible that Mauve of all people in the entire Shadow cove community was his daughter? The same Mauve who had tried to suck me off even when she was mated to Ren? Who had tried to get me to fuck her... The same Mauve that had in the most malicious and humiliating way tried to get Lily killed on her birthday? She was my cousin?

Tuning back in because I needed to hear what Victor had to say about this, I forced myself to remain seated as he spun what I was sure was a web of lies to all of us present.

"This is my daughter, Mauve. I humbly ask this esteemed council that my daughter be treated like you would treat any of the princes gathered here."

The murmurs in the crowd increased and I saw that Ren was shaking his head at me, also looking surprised which meant that he had not sensed that Víctor could be lying.

Lily looked like she couldn't even believe what was going on in the room and even though her hand was still wrapped in mine, she refused to look in the direction I was seated, and I knew it was because Mauve was sitting in that direction.

"Why have you waited this long to reveal her to the council?" Ariel asked, raising an eyebrow that told me she wasn't buying the bullshit as well and I mentally applauded her restraint because I was here trying to remind myself that I could not kill Víctor right now if I wanted to ascend as Alpha.

"Its quite the contrary. I didn't wait all this time as I myself only also discovered that I had a daughter a few months ago. I was involved with her mother eighteen years ago and the recent attack caused her to reach out to me. There was a dna test of course, carried out in one of your hospitals, unless there is cause to doubt the integrity of your institution, Mauve is my blood."

Ariel gritted her teeth and nodded once.

"I had intended to leave her in the shadows for her own protection and continue to provide for her because it would be tough adapting to this lifestyle if I were to throw her into it without much training since I'm sure I have a few enemies that would like to use that against me, but I realized that perhaps there was safety in proximity and I want to keep her close to me. We have seen one too many tales of disloyal and ungrateful family members betraying their family."

He looked at me as if making sure I knew that he was taking about me and then Cade, who looked away, his eyes more downcast than I had ever seen him.

"I don't want to die without making sure that my daughter gets the recognition and peace she deserves. She deserves to have her parent in her life and vice versa. Am I right, Mauve?"

Mauve nodded with a smile and I was so appalled by the show that I wanted to leave but Lily beat me to it, her eyes like daggers as she finally looked between Mauve and Victor before stomping out of the room angrily.

The slam of the door was hard and I was about to stand up and go after her when I heard Ren telepathically.

"I'll go after her" He assured us, rising out of his seat and leaving the room and when I looked at Zac, he nodded for me to remain calm. If this was in the past, I would have ignored and rushed outside but right now, I was sure that Ren was going to take care of her and calm her down in a way that I never would.

Glaring at the door where they left through, I watched as Mauve rose and went after them and I didn't wait, I got up minutes after her and headed out, not trusting anyone but myself to protect my mate, especially if Mauve was involved.

Stepping out into the long hallway, I tried to head in the direction of their scent but just as I made a right turn, a hand clamped around my arm and I was slammed against the wall by a very angry Víctor, whose false smiles were long gone, dropping his act as he glared ferociously at me.

He must have not anticipated that I would not be afraid of him because he frowned when I grinned, because I was excited that we were finally here, away from prying eyes and the judgement of people that would stop me from finally getting rid of him. My grin widened, relishing in the joy that I would have when I finally killed Victor but the strangest thing happened when I tried to call my shadow as nothing came. Infact, it felt like I could not feel my shadows again when they always used to feel like a limb, an extension of me.

"Well, well, not so tough now, are you?" Víctor sneered and I was about to ask him what he did to me when his hands dig into my shoulders, his claws siding to my skin.

I gasped in pain, feeling poison pump into my veins.

"You didn't think I'd let you go unchecked with those powers of yours now, did you?"

"M- my arm..." I can't feel my arm.

He grabbed my other arm with his poisoned claws and I bit back on the urge to scream in pain. I won't give him that satisfaction.

"I should have killed you years ago, you insolent child," he sneered in my ears. "Just like I killed your father."

There it was. The bitter, cold truth.

My eyes widened, my heart stuttering in my chest. I already knew it, already knew the truth from Cade, but having him confess it just solidified it. Made it more present. More true. "No!" I growled, trying to fight him off.

"It's a pity I need you alive. What a shame that such unprecedented powers was gifted to mere kids that won't even know what to do with them. Not for long, nephew. Not for long." "I'm going to fucking kill you!" I growled, tearing out of his hold and wheezing in pain.

My chest wouldn't stop constricting. My lungs wouldn't function properly. What the hell did he do to me?

I couldn't ponder on it too hard because he suddenly grabbed me by my hair and slammed my head against the wall.

Pain exploded in my skull. I staggered, trying to replace my footing, blood dripping down the side of my head as the entire room spun.

"Kill me? Don't make me laugh," he roared, kicking me in the gut, grabbing my left arm and twisting so hard that I felt my shoulder dislocate from its socket.

Blinding pain shot through my arm. Stars dotted my vision.

I growled, trying to escape his hold, simultaneously fighting the poison shutting down my system and trying to summon my shadows.

"You're so weak. So pathetic, it's laughable."

He was actually laughing now, roaring with glee like there wasn't a council meeting going on several floors above us.

"You sicken me," he said, pushing me so hard that I stumbled and had to lean against the wall, fighting for my next breath.

Sweat and blood dripped down my head. There was the faint scent of something... Rhodium, I realized.

This bastard snuck rhodium through the borders.

"Do it," he urged, his eyes bright, taunting me. "Kill me."

"You bas-"

Crack.

He backhanded me in the face so hard, I swayed on my feet, fighting back the urge to show my pain as I tried to get back on equal ground with him.

"You want to kill me, don't you?" He howled, malicious glee dancing in his eyes. "Do it! Kill me! If you're man enough."

I lunged at him, he sidestepped and wrapped his hand around my throat, squeezing hand. "I should end you for this insolence-"

"Let him go." A cold, murderous voice filled the hallway, calming the racing thoughts in my head and we both turned to look at Lily.

She was flanked by Ren and her eyes seemed darker, filled with something that was both old, cold and ruthless.

"Let him go," She repeated and even though I didn't know Víctor to ever listen to anyone, something about the way Lily's voice sounded so cold and the way her entire body echoed with barely restrained fury made him stop and I couldn't tell if it was just Lily right now or Dahlia, her wolf whose actions were volatile and inherently violent.

Hand wrapping around my neck, Víctor tossed her a wicked grin, not taking her threat seriously.

"What will you do if I don't? Huh? What will you do?" He sang, his tone mocking like he couldn't even imagine answering to someone like Lily.

Ren growled and attempted to step forward but Lily raised a hand and stopped him, advancing forward until she was standing in front of Víctor and her eyes glowed as she wrapped her hand around his arm and easily removed it from my neck to the surprise of all of us in the hallway, especially Victor.

"Let go of my hand" He said but this time, even his voice stuttered and I tried to wrap my head around how he was now scared of Lily when minutes ago he was barely even listening.

"Why should I?" She asked, a genuine clueless frown on her face. "What will you do if I don't?" She asked mockingly, repeating his previous words.

"W- What are you doing?" Victor asked as her grip on his hand tightened and her eyes looked even darker, still Lily but something much colder and when she squeezed his hand hard, I watched as Victor, the same man that had abused me all my life crumbled to his knees in agony.

"What am I going to do?" She asked, tilting her head, "is that what you asked just now? Do you want to replace out?"

She couldn't hear him through the mindless garble he just uttered and she pulled him closer, her lips pulling back into a sweet smile. "I can show you."

Before I could fathom what she wanted to do, she crushed his hands, the sound of bones breaking filling the air and he screamed so loud, the rest of the council must have heard him by now.

He was sputtering, gasping, trying to wrench his hand free. She brought her face close to his ear and whispered in a tone so silent and cold, the temperature in the hallway went down a few degrees.

"If you ever lay a hand on him again, I will rip your heart out and feed it to the dogs."

"What?" He gasped.

"I said," she drew even closer, shadows melting out of the dark corners and hovering around us, "if you touch my mate again, I will tear you chest open, like this," she said, raising a clawed hand and digging into Victor's chest, her claws tearing at his skin and muscle, "crush your ribs," there was the sound of crushing bones and Victor folded in on himself, screaming at the top of his lungs as Lily's fingers dug and dug, "and rip out your pathetic, wicked heart."

She's going to do it. She's really going to do it and she was smiling through it all, a malicious smile that chilled my bones.

"This is just a demonstration of course-"

"Lily-" I called out, reaching for her. "Don't-"

"Aiden," she said softly, turning around to give me a gentle look, "I'm going to need you to be quiet while I teach your uncle a lesson."

"You can't kill him- the council-" my lungs collapsed on me and Ren rushed to my side, snapping out of his shocked reverie at seeing his sweet girlfriend go apeshit on Victor.

"s**t," he cursed, placing a hand over my wound. "Rhodium. How-"

Footsteps started approaching us, the sound of someone bounding through the halls and Zac whipped out of a corner, panting hard, "tell me why Mauve is telling the council that-" his eyes suddenly went wide as he took in the scene before him. "Holy SH;T! What the hell happened here?" He pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned. "Sh!t sh!t sh!t! Don't tell me that b***h wasn't lying when she said Lily-"

I realized what all of this was immediately. A set up. Did this bastard set us up?

I heard the elevator ding again, footsteps marching in our direction and my heart sank.

The rest of the council was coming, soldiers and guards marching towards us. They would be here in no time and the last thing I wanted them to see was what Lily had just done. What I was sure would be interpreted as Dahlia's handwork. Victor would solicit to have Lily punished as he sees fit and I can't let this bastard get his hands on my mate.

Snatching her away from where she stood, I practically threw her to Zac who was waiting to catch her.

"Get her out of here. Now! Ren, stay with me and heal the worst parts of his wounds." We needed to make sure they believe that I was responsible for this. I can't let them punish Lily. I can't let anything happen to her. Nothing mattered except making sure my mate was safe.

Nodding, Zac lifted her up and ran for the elevators, covering her mouth and wrapping his arms tight around her waist as she struggled and tried to break free, her eyes wide with comprehension of what I was about to do. Ren got to work immediately, practically draining his life force.

I tried to give her a smile, pain crumpling my lungs, tried to tell her that I would be okay but all I could see was devastation in her eyes as the doors to the lift closed on her while the soldiers made it to us, seized me and dragged me away.