The Lycan King's Healer
The Lycan King’s Healer – Chapter 34

Cathy

At first, I didn’t know where I was going. Before I left the estate, my body decided for me.

My heart whispered to the muscles in my legs and soon enough, they were weaving through the familiar forest. I had no fear, no desire to stay, just a picture in my mind of the one place I needed to be. I knew every footfall, every groove in every tree along the path, and every fallen trunk or notable pinpoint. Soon, I saw the weeping willow tree, signaling my long awaited arrival.

My prison cell had become my solace through the years. I was grateful for more space, more convenience in feeding my son, and the large area he could play without it being interrupted by trees. But I still felt like this was home.

I walked through the garden arch, looking at all the flowers that preserveered on their own. Most were dead, but it must have rained more out here. I stared at my spot on the swing that I used to read on, where I had no worry in the world, where the estate was never a place I had been and arrows in the soil only meant Theo mishot. Where the roses glowed as I realized I wanted to k**s Aldrich. Now I debated if I wanted to ever again.

This was not how our reunion was supposed to go. We were supposed to finally stop fighting, and soon I would’ve gained the courage to tell him that Theo was his son.

I walked into the cottage from the backdoor. It looked like the ghost of a memory; the floors and walls blank of any former existence at all. Sunlight was the only decoration, brightening the floors, and it reminded me of when I was first banished here. I sat down on the ground right where I used to starve to death, next to the spot near the window I crawled to when I actually did.

It was stupid of me to assume that Aldrich wanted anything but Theo. I thought he wanted a romance with me, a marriage, and a son to adorn that. But clearly he only wanted one thing from me: Theo. He never gets more angry than when I deny him his son; rightfully so, but he had no right to force it out of me so soon. He knew he was the one who caused the demise in my life beforehand, the result being Theo. He also knew it was my son before his, and my right to tell him whether he is or not.

“This war must have changed him,” I murmured to the well-nourished rodent scampering across the floor. Maybe he would never be the Aldrich I got to know again; maye something irreversible happened to him out there. He was so much angrier now.

But I couldn’t help the looming reminder of all the progress in our relationship. And that made it harder to imagine a life without Aldrich. As I sat on the dirty, empty floor, the reminders were now overwhelming of the day I was thrown in here. I went from bathing in dust to an estate on rolling hills, a physical reminder of how he had grown to care for me.

Or then again, maybe it was all for Theo.

The day eventually phased from daylight to dusk, and when the stars dusted the pink sky, I went outside to stare for a while under the willow. My whole being felt like cold water was permeating it, and my chest hurt, but I somehow felt at peace.

Maybe a life without Aldrich was for the better. Every time he was present in it, my life was threatened. The first time, I died. The second time, I was shot at by arrows.

If there was someone intending for it to be my turn this time, Let the damn arrow hit me right through the eye. I didn’t care.

The strange content feeling only lasted a couple minutes before it was plagued by a wave of abrupt nauseousness. I tightened my lips together to stop from gagging; something deep in the pit of my stomach was twisting violently.

Something was wrong. My woman and wolf intuitions intermingled, and with dread, I predicted that something horrible happened. It came from some internal, ancient sense inside me. Was it Theo?

I immediately got up to run back to the estate. Just as I was about to sprint into the trees, someone emerged from them.

I froze, my eyes watching the broad figure. “What are you doing here?” I asked.

Aldrich walked out of the shadows of the trees into the opening. “What do you mean?” he demanded, approaching me. “You really didn’t think I’d come replace you?”

Shocked, I stared at him.

He took advantage of my hesitation and sat down where I was formerly sitting under the tree. I looked away.

“I have to go see if Theo is okay,” I simply said, beginning my walk along the path, that horrible feeling still anchoring down on my stomach.

“Theo is fine,” Aldrich said abruptly, “I went back to check on him in the palace before I came here. He is with Alan.”

I frowned, pausing my step in confusion. I had no choice but to look at him, to see if there were any lies upon his face.

There was no lie, but b***d.

My heart did a somersault before storming over, narrowing my eyes at him to examine the wound upon his face. It was a deep gash, as if someone grazed it with the sharpest end of a blade. B***d oozed from it like a can of paint gradually emptying on his face down his neck, intermingling with his hair.

“You’re hurt,” I accused, the healer instinct in me resonating in my fingers, and I knelt down in front of him, “what the hell happened to you?” Worry edged my tone.

He sighed, not meeting my gaze. “I’m not sure. Maybe I would if you cared to tell me anything going on around here.” His jaw clenched.

I felt the automatic need to defend myself then stifled it. “Let me help you.”

I took the dagger still in my pocket. He could only mutter a syllable of resistance before I cut the side of my hand, where my hand ended and palm began. I pressed it to his cheek.

“This won’t heal it completely, but it’ll stop the pain,” I informed, watching the bloodstream slightly eb.

He didn’t say anything, looking into the distance with a silent annoyance. His jaw was still clenched.

I sighed, blotting the wound with my hand, trying not to stare at his beautiful face in my palm. The chorus of night wood creatures filled the silence.

“There’s a lot of things I haven’t told you,” I said, knowing I’d have to tell him. Another unknowing person hurt because of me.

He then snapped his cold gaze to me. “Why did you run away?”

I looked at him for a long moment, but not meeting his eyes, only focused on his wound. Then I sighed, knowing I’d have to tell him the real reason.