Bullied Mate Of The Lycan Kings
Chapter 74

Zac's POV

On the outside, I was humming softly to Make You Wait by Dean Jawson, enjoying the way her music preferences were practically the same as mine, on the inside, I was holding Azrael in a headlock because every passing second seemed to intensify his need to be close to her in more ways than one. We were already in Gold Crest territory right now and Azrael was raging at having to drop her off.

Me and you both, buddy.

She was currently in la la land, singing off key to one of her favourite RnB playlist and I turned to poke fun at her off-key tune.

At that moment, a gust of wind blew in from her open window, sending her scent of jasmine and lavender, a mix that went straight to my brain and filled my lungs.

Wait, why did I open that window again?

In that moment, I knew that i was losing the battle with my desire and my control had slipped. It was becoming harder and harder to hold myself back but I couldn't f**k this up. Not with her. Not again.

I slowed the car to a stop and she looked at me, all hazel green eyes and flushed pink cheeks, right at the moment that I was about to reach out and pull her from where she was sitting to sit on my laps so that I could tilt her neck back and feast on her.

"Are you okay?" I heard her ask but I could not answer. Not with the way I was bent over the steering wheel, breathing so hard and fighting for control, struggling not to allow her scent overwhelm me for the second time because I knew very well that i would not be able to stop myself again if anything happened. That she would not be able to stop me either.

She tried to place a hand on my shoulder and I growled, "don't. Don't touch me."

Or I won't be held responsible for what I do to you.

I should have prepared for this, drank my fill before deciding to stay in an enclosed space with her.

I needed to get out of here. This was a mistake.

I parked the car at the next available stop in front of a convenience store and exited the car.

"I'll be right back." I managed to get out before slamming the door shut, not caring if she saw that I was flustered and disorganized. Right now, I need to be as far away from her as physically possible.

Cold mist descended on my burning skin.

Even though the weather was cool, it felt like my entire body was on fire and I quickly removed my jacket and ripped off my tie, tossing them in the backseat and rolled up my sleeves. My hands were practically trembling as I reached into my pocket and brought out my e-cigarette.

I raised the vape to my lips, shaky anticipation dancing in my veins, hoping that a few drags would give me the nicotine high that I needed to calm down and regain my senses and control. If I was not so out of it, it would have been comical to watch someone else in this position. Shaking because of a girl.

My therapist will kill me if she replaces out that I still take drugs to momentarily alleviate my anxiety.

"That's a false study!" She'd titter, an annoyed vein popping in her forehead, "in the long run, it will make your anxiety a lot worse."

She'd freak if she replaces out nicotine was the least of the party favours I took part in.

I took a deep inhale, a gentle wisp of vapor escaping my lips and momentarily fogging up the view in front of me.

I could have laughed, although nothing about this was amusing.

If I'm going to be there for my gift, I better learn how to stay in the same space with her without trying to jump on her five times in ten seconds.

It would have even been better if it was just her blood that I was thirsty for. But it was not just thirst. It was not just the aching of my fangs to taste her. My entire body ached for her. I was riddled by lust so hot in all its painful glory, desire filling my veins, my groin, my brain and clouding my judgement and there she was completely oblivious of my internal struggle, her face f*****g innocent and beautiful and messing with my mind and body by just existing.

I dragged a shaky hand through my already messy hair. If I had known it would be like this, I wouldn't have tasted her in the first place.

But would I be able to live with myself if I had gone on hating her for a crime she didn't commit? It's a miracle she even lets her guard down with me after the s**t I put her through.

After a couple of drags, I was starting to calm down even though I was sure it was mostly the distance that I had put between us and not the drugs swimming in my veins but at least i was no longer shaking like a leaf.

I heard the door to my car close gently and I did not need to turn, because her scent already told me who it was.

When she walked around to stand in front of me, I realized how small she was, tiny and breakable. She was about five foot six inches, and I towered over her and could already picture how her a*s would feel in my arms if I lifted her up and helped her wrap her legs around my waist.

"Are you okay? The way you rushed out of the car, I thought you were having a panic attack or something." She said with a concerned look in her eyes and even though I plastered a playful smirk on my lips, I wondered if I would be able to pull off this act without her seeing through my facade.

"Yeah, of course. Whatever gave you the idea that something was wrong?"

I mentally facepalmed myself.

Way to go, Zac. Reeeal smooth.

She folded her arms and tilted her head to the side. "Zachary," she prodded, definitely not buying my act.

"Come on, Lily, no one has ever stopped to smoke in front of you before? You have nothing to worry about, okay? I just needed this high."

She sighed and took a step forward towards me.

I quickly took a step back before I did something very foolish like grab her a*s and kiss the hell out of her. Not that I was sure that she would respond. I hated to admit it but at this moment, I wanted her to have feelings for me and not Ren. At least it would help me excuse all of the filthy thoughts that I had right now about what I wanted to do to her.

"You're weird."

"I'm what?"

"Weird. You." She repeated, drilling her finger into my chest."

Because I'm seconds away from losing my s**t and taking you in the backseat of my car? Yeah, it's best she doesn't hear that. Can't have her running for the hills now, can I?

"There has to be a reason you suddenly stopped on the road and started smoking." There is, just not what you'd like to know. "I don't know what is bothering you and while I am not going to push you to open up to me if you don't want to, I want you to know that you don't have to pretend to be strong in front of me either. If there is something bothering you, you can talk to me." Oh, I want to do a lot more than talking to you, duchess. "I won't tell anyone about it," because I'll kill anyone that you replace special enough to share my troubles with. "So yeah, that's all." She spoke very fast and when she was done speaking, I saw her face turn red and realized that she felt very shy offering to listen to me despite her stern look and firm words.

Gods, I just wanted to bite her cheeks.

If I wasn't such a piece of s**t, I would have told her that I thought she was absolutely adorable and that I would not mind confiding in her about what was bothering me if I was sure that she would not run the other way after hearing what I was thinking about doing to her.

I was about to give her a playful remark when the door to the convenience store opened and the moment broke.

Lily froze as soon as her eyes moved away from me to look at whoever had come out of the door.

Curious about what had made the colour drain from her face, I turned around and looked too.

It was nothing unusual, just a group of kids who were dressed in the Gold crest high school uniform of gold and blue walking out of the convenience store.

I turned back to ask what had made her freeze and saw that she looked terrified as she stared at the crowd that was not even looking our way.

According to Aiden, Lily had no previous high school records and had been homeschooled and gate-kept all her life by her mother but she looked at these guys like she knew them, perhaps from the neighborhood, I thought, trying to remain calm and not read any meaning into an ordinary stare.

But when I turned sideways to ask her about it, my words died in my throat because she was standing even closer to me now, her eyes still on them but her hands were shaking as she clutched my arm desperately, her entire presence looking like she was going to fall apart.

What could make her replace comfort in me of all people?

If I wasn't so bothered by what could be making her scared i would have relished in the fact that this was the first time that she has ever touched me willingly.

I looked back at the gang, they were now laughing and bickering amongst each other. They were five in number, three girls and two guys.

One of the guys glanced at us and she pressed her body deep into my side, hiding behind me.

Immediately, I was hit with the urge to protect her and kill anybody that posed a threat to her but before I could do something reckless, I caught myself immediately.

She is not your mate, Azrael, I reminded my wolf for evoking those thoughts in me. Know your place.

Still, I wrapped my arm around her, relishing her closeness. I tilted her chin up, frowning at her chattering teeth. I could feel her fear filling up the entire space as her eyes remained on the back of those kids who were laughing absentmindedly by a car that I assumed belonged to one of them.

"I want to get something from the convenience store. Will you wait in the car or come with me?" I managed to say, my words failing me again thanks to Lily's fingers on my skin. I didn't really need anything from the store but I wanted to give myself some space between us to regain my composure.

Face still as pale as paper, she shook her head in response.

"I'll come with you, I want to use the bathroom."

Not arguing, I led her into the store wondering what could be making her so upset and my wolf who seemed to be obsessed with her was not faring any better, agitated about the unseen threat and feeling overly possessive.

I would have probably listened to him but Azrael, my wolf has never had good judgment when it comes to women.

First he was fixated on Callista, a vampire that proceeded to ruin my life, and now he was fixated on a Lily in more ways than replaceing her blood delicious, somebody that wanted nothing to do with me.

Shaking off my wolf's restlessness, I waved at her when we entered the store and watched as she made a beeline for the bathroom.

Realizing that I had no plan or reason why i had entered the store in the first place i decided to get random things and keep myself busy and just as i made a turn to the left, I stumbled on the aisle that had the cheap chocolate Lily had been munching on earlier and impulsively picked up two packs. I had just handed the cashier my card when a boy from the group from earlier walked in and immediately started heading to the bathroom... where Lily was.

As much as I wanted this to be a coincidence and that the boy did not know Lily, I could not help but roll my shoulders, trying to relieve some tension in my neck as I watched him go while I waited for the cashier to swipe my card and make the payment. It took an eternity before I finally had my card back, Azrael screaming at me to go replace Lily.

I did as he asked, my gut telling me something was wrong with the guy.

At first, a part of me was excited about the thought that I was right and the boy was up to no good because it meant that I had an excuse to beat someone up and quell Azrael's bloodlust.

But that excitement quickly faded and turned to panic when I reached the bathroom door and found out it was locked.

My heart stopped for a full second when I heard Lily screaming my name.

It took one swift, hard kick to knock the door off its hinges. I froze when I saw the guy pushing Lily's face against the wall his front, pressed against her back.

He was touching her. My precious gift.

Rage is a beautiful thing when it's let loose and red happens to be my favorite color.

This time my wolf and i were in agreement that this person needed to die and I grabbed him, pulling the bastard away from her and flung him to the other side of the room into a full length mirror that shattered into pieces and before he could recover, I picked him up by the throat and slammed him hard against the wall.

"You dared to touch her?" I whispered, letting Azrael loose as my hand burned prints into his neck. "Are you f*****g kidding me?"