The Lycan King's Healer
The Lycan King’s Healer – Chapter 64

Despite the sunlight glowing through the lavender and the gleam in his eye and the way he was smiling at me and the perfect moment drifting right in front of us, I couldn’t do it.

I couldn’t tell him. I had already divulged so much of myself to him, and I didn’t have anything else to give. Once I told him I loved him, he would officially have all of me. He now had the admittal of Theo, my body, and my confessions to caring for him. I braved many things, including death, but I could not brave such a statement.

“I wonder, too,” I said.

A flicker of disappointment shadowed the gleam in his eyes but he nodded, his grin never wavering. “That’s alright. I have enough love for the both of us for now,” he lightly teased.

I managed a weak, faltering smile, the sunlight beginning to burn my eyes as if it was a punishment. “For now.”

The wine suddenly made me feel tired. I struggled to feel giddy or joyous after such a failure, but he never made me feel guilty for it. He continued on as if he never asked, as if the girl he loved didn’t just refuse to tell him that she loved him too. He finished the wine without asking me why I stopped drinking it.

The next few days continued this way. We decided to venture out on several lavish dates; some involved frolicing through the woods, drinking tea in the garden, and even practicing outside with the arrows. Aldrich took me to the training grounds with a bow and arrow, jokingly teasing that if Theo could do it, his mother should be able to as well. But like my first attempt in the backyard with Alan, the arrow did not even graze the target board. He exploded into a fit of laughter as the arrow whistled into the forest beyond, and I realized he sounded like Theo when he laughed real hard. It automatically made me smile, even though I poked him in the arm with one of the extra arrows for mocking me. It drew a droplet of b***d and he gasped at me for the violent action. I popped my thumb into my mouth and sucked on it before grazing it over the wound, instantly healing the shallow nick in his skin. He stopped laughing at that, the humor in his eyes abruptly replaced by longing.

We reserved a day for us to bond with Theo. In the early afternoon, we picnicked by the lake, adorned in coats and flannels. Theo had a peanut butter sandwich and Aldrich wiped the excess from his face as he laughed. I slabbed peanut butter from the jar before swiping it onto Aldrich’s cheek. He gasped in outrage before grabbing a fistful of it, threatening to throw it at all. I screamed in terror, running away down the shore of the lake. Theo ran with us, and I yelled for him to stop Aldrich. He attempted to drag down Aldrich’s arm, but his father simply lifted him into the air as if he was weightless, spinning him around.

Later on, we brought him to town. An older man I had healed that night out with Clement walked by us in front of a cafe. He smiled at my son, looking much healthier than the night I found him.

“Your mother is very special, little boy. I sense the same in you,” he said to him, smiling.

Theo was delighted at this, and as we passed by the man, he said: “Mommy is being a hero again!”

Aldrich looked at me with raised eyebrows and a grin. “She sure is.”

Things were going well, even as we were surrounded by chaos. The unresolved mystery did not affect our relationship; I was convinced nothing could affect it ever again. My confidence in us was more potent than I ever thought it would be. It made me feel silly every time Theo came running up to us with a grin like a child retreating to his parents.

Still calling his own father by his name.

“Aldrich,” I curtly announced one day, interrupting his ramblings on his plans for launching the war. We were sitting in the library after dinner time with glasses of wine, the side tables adorned with candlelight.

He startled at my interruption, looking at me seriously. “What?”

“I think it’s time,” was all I said, staring at a candle’s flame shadow drifting back and forth over a shelf of books.

He hesitated, contemplating what I was alluding to before asking anything. He didn’t like guessing wrong. “For?”

I looked at his face scantily lit by the candlelight, shadows casted over his handsome face. His eyelashes shadowed over his strong cheekbones. He was undeniably beautiful, even when he looked confused.“I think we’ve been doing well enough to…” I drawed on tentatively, fearing that he may not agree.

“We have been doing well, my Cathy,” he confirmed, taking my hand in his before lightly squeezing it. I looked at him through my hair, nodding.

“I think it would be safe to tell Theo,” I said, my eyes daring to stay perched on his.

He slowly began to smile, his eyes soft and relenting, as if he wasn’t allowing for too much excitement to surface in his expression in case I changed my mind.

“It’s your call,” he said.

And so my call was to slowly introduce the concept to Theo. I was aware of the glaring fact that my son was not a fool and knew that Aldrich was already some form of father figure in his life. But I also knew that it confused him. I feared that he may not even be aware of who his parents are anymore; being with Aldrich, Alan, and Danka all the time without a proper title for them. Alan must have told him to call him Uncle, and that maybe introduced some stability to my son’s concept of family, but he needed to know who Mom and Dad were. Not just Mom and Her Friends; he needed a pair of parents.

We went upstairs to put Theo to bed together. Not just me, and not just Aldrich–the both of us. Admittedly, it felt like some sort of alternate world. But it was a world that I wanted to envelope the rest of our lives.

Theo and Aldrich exchanged stories about practicing archery, in which it was mostly Theo rambling about how good he did today. He said he even impressed Alan with his new speed and precise aim, for he never missed anymore. I gave the disapproving motherly look when Aldrich encouraged him to attempt intermediate and, frankly, more dangerous ways to make his training more interesting.

“I’ll get out there with you tomorrow and show you some new skills. I think Uncle Alan is boring you,” he said, winking.

“Please!” Theo laughed, jumping up and down on his bed. “I wanna do it through the ring of fire like you said!”

“Once I figure out how to get your mommy away from the estate for a couple days…” Aldrich teased with a mischievous grin.

“Alright, alright,” I interrupted, grabbing his wrist to softly pull him down. He settled into bed with a pout. “It’s bedtime, you nut.”

“Okay, mommy,” he grumbled, and Aldrich laughed in spite of me.

“Goodnight, my son. I love you,” I said, bending to k**s him on the cheek once he was folded into his sheets.

Then it was Aldrich’s turn. He ran a finger through his boy’s hair then bopped him on the nose, engendering a giggle from Theo.

“Goodnight, my son. I love you,” he said, kissing him on the forehead.

Theo did not react. His little eyes fluttered closed and with a content yawn, he submitted himself to sleep.

I snaked my arms around Aldrich’s waist as he smiled down at his son, who did not even flinch at the premise of this once strange man now being his father. He already knew him as his father before the declaration. This seemed to mean the world to Aldrich, who looked like he was going to shed a tear.

Before I could say anything, his gaze was on the window. At first, dread wrapped its bony fingers around my heart and squeezed. What did he see? Was someone watching us out there?

I looked toward the window, my stomach turning sharply with paranoia.