The Lycan King's Healer
The Lycan King’s Healer – Chapter 69

“The last time I was honest with you, you stormed out of here saying you didn’t love me,” I declared acidicly through gritted teeth.

“I did not say that,” he snapped back, matching my energy. “I said you were not acting like the woman I love.”

I laughed humorlessly at that. “Well, maybe she does act like that. Do you not love me now?” There was a challenge in my voice, and I almost wanted to push him to the point of saying no.

Aldrich looked at me with incredulous belief, his lips parting like he was offended by my words. “Of course I love you, you fool. How do you think I felt when the guards alerted me that you were unconscious?”

I hesitated before simply shrugging.

“Cathy,” he said, his nostrils flaring. He stormed up to the bed in a small fit of rage. “I thought they finally got to you,” his voice became gruff, like it was weakening, “I thought you were dead.”

I stared at him wordlessly, not knowing what to say.

“So many people have been found dead this week,” he shook his head, his eyes darkening, “I thought you were one of them. They told me you were unconscious on the ground in the snow, just like…” his voice broke, “just like the bodies we’ve discovered.”

He continued to ramble in his broken voice, and I saw the strongest warrior begin to cry. “My wolf couldn’t link to yours or even sense you there anymore. I almost dropped to my knees but I had to get to you, I had to…”

With as much strength as I could muster, I struggled onto my knees in the bed before grabbing him by the hem of his tunic shirt. He stumbled over and hovered over the bed as I then snaked my arms around his neck, pulling him close to me.

He instantly relaxed, and just like instinct, his arms found themselves around me with a tight grip. He buried his face in my neck like Theo did, as if he was a worried child merely needing an embrace.

“I’m okay,” I mumbled into his long hair, closing my eyes as our breaths eventually synchronized.

“I would never forgive myself if those were the last words I ever said to you,” he muttered, his lips grazing my skin.

I relaxed into him, leaning against his chest. “I deserved it.”

“What? No, you didn’t,” Aldrich argued, pulling back to look at me. I opened my eyes, reveling in his forest irises.

“Yes, I did,” I admitted begrudgingly, sighing. I was suddenly hyper aware of my tangled blonde hair hanging in my face like a bird nest on a roof, and the mens sleep shirt swallowing my figure. “Because you were right. I wasn’t acting ‘strong’ like I used to. I let everything get to me and…I was selfish.”

I had a lot of flaws, but they never included selfishness. I had prioritized a good night over someone’s death; I felt nearly monstrous at that.

“Cathy,” Aldrich began with disapproval in his voice. He gently pushed me off my knees and back to a position where I was laying on my back, looking up at him. He climbed onto the bed before hovering over me, his face over mine. I felt all my breath evade me.

“You are always strong,” he said, his eyes impaling mine to define his seriousness. “You are a strong person that had a weak moment. I shouldn’t have gotten mad at you for that…I should’ve helped you through it. And now look. You’re too weak to stand.”

I chewed the inside of my lower l*p, hesitantly meeting his pointed gaze. “I am not.”

“Oh yeah?” he teased, a ghost of a smile lingering on his lips. “Do it, then.”

“I have other ideas,” I absentmindedly murmured, placing my hand over my face. I caressed his angular cheek in my palm and marveled at his tanned, handsome features. I didn’t realize how much I had missed moments like these while he was angry with me.

He chuckled, his eyes lightening. “I’d love to hear those ideas once you stand for me.”

I cursed under my breath, and he laughed loudly at my silent admital of a bluff.

“I suppose I’d rather not have you faint on me again,” he said with humor in his voice while looking down at me. Much to my despair, he shifted his weight to his knees, and the heat of his body over mine was gone.

“What are you doing?” I protested.

“Avoiding distraction while I ask you very important questions,” he answered. I rolled my eyes at this immediately.

“Fine. Make them quick.”

“Cathy,” he argued, shaking his head, “what happened to you out there?”

I told him about how I had been feeling the entire week. How I had been rotting away in bed, taking refuge in the only place death and despair did not swallow me whole. How I had started experiencing a blistering rage at the lack of normalcy in our lives.

“For some reason, I felt physically weak during all of this,” I admitted as he stood across the room with his arms folded across his chest. He nodded along with my story, brow furrowed. “All I remember is bending down to get Theo’s arrow and then it was all dark. Even walking over to it was hard.”

“The stress is weakening you,” he concluded, “the death around us, the mystery of the arrows and the notes not being resolved…and especially the fact that I am planning a war.” Sighing, he looked toward the window with a shadow of defeat over his face. “I can’t go away now. You’re stressing about me being gone soon.”

“No,” I protested. “That’s not it.”

My memory flashed back to a moon lit hallway bathing in shadows. Emily’s scarred face sneering, her heels on the tile. Her threat about exposing me to the village and the Queen, practically promising my execution. I had grown accustomed to terror and chaos slowly strangling our lives, but that interweaved with a deadly threat that could endanger me and Theo, was what was making me want to retreat to bed forever. She knew I was already married to Aldrich, but if we were to recite our vows and throw another ceremony, she would expose me as a dangerous witch.

I knew Aldrich wanted to do it all over again. It would be our form of a happy ending in the fairytale that contained nothing but pandemonium and perpetual highs and lows of dramatic happenings.

It would be our long awaited peace.

One that we would now never get.

“I’m sorry,” I said, looking at him ashamedly through my eyelashes

“What?” he responded cluelessly, making his way back over to the bed again. “What is it, Cathy?”

I sucked in a nervous breath. He had just stopped being mad at me, and now I had no idea how he was going to react to this.

“Emily threatened to expose me to the village and have me executed for what I have done,” I said breathlessly, the reluctance heavy on my chest, “I had promised her that I would never marry you.”