Eight

ASPEN VESPER

Before Aspen and Lance could reach the rooms designated for their stay, Lycan Kailin sent for her.

Lance went on to carry out the mission as planned.

And Aspen readied herself to make the best use of the meeting she was about to have with Kailin Blackwood.

“I heard you discovered the cause of my Luna’s pain,” the Lycan King said the moment she entered the room where a ridiculously long table was placed with just two chairs accompanying it. “I should thank you a million times and more for that.” He gestured to the seat opposite him and she sat down. “What do you want? Mention it and we will complete our contract right now.”

Aspen leaned back and attained comfort. “I don’t want a single thing.”

“Oh.” He chuckled. “I heard you think dark magic might be involved.”

“It is possible.”

“If that’s the case, do you think I will accept that you don’t wish to get anything in return? For all I know, you might go out there blabbing on the streets about dark magic and whatnot.”

“So, what? You want to shut me up and thank me at the same time?”

He nodded. “You truly are smart.” Then, his upper body shifted forward. “So, I will ask again, what do you want for this deal to become complete?”

Aspen sensed he would not back down, so she opted for a crazy response. With her eyes narrowed with fabricated desire, she flirtatiously and loudly whispered, “I want you, Lycan Kailin.”

He didn’t hide his shock, his brows viciously frowned. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“If you refuse to give in to my desire to get nothing in return, put it in the contract that you’ll give yourself to me to do with as I wish.”

“Do you realise you are speaking to the Lycan King right now?”

“Does the Lycan King realise that it is rude to disregard what his citizens want?” she retorted. “If you insist that I ask for something, I have told you what I want. I want you. Body, soul and spirit altogether.”

“Not only are you rude, you are wonderfully insane,” he commented while a feverish laughter left his lips. “I can’t believe you want me to sell myself to you.”

“I take joy in being insane, Lycan Kailin.” Her elbows rested on the table. “If you refuse to do as I wish, I might exhibit even worse craziness.”

“Alright. I don’t have all day to sit through your madness. You have agreed to accept nothing in return for treating the Luna. So,” he clicked his fingers and a man walked out of the shadows, a tray in his hand, “sign the contract. Once a week is over, let’s never see each other again.”

Aspen smirked and thought to herself, ‘You wish. This is just the beginning of your hell, Kailin. You’ll see me more than you desire, so much that you’ll wish to die to escape me. But too bad, you won’t be able to escape me.’

“Doctor, what’s with silence? Don’t you want to sign the contract?”

Aspen looked up and saw that the man with the tray was stretching some folds of paper to her. She collected it, read through the contents and minutes later, she signed all copies of the contract.

“That’s all, Doctor Sabrina. Please head back to my Luna’s ward. I don’t want you to miss a moment during the week you’ll be with her.”

“I am a doctor, not a nanny, Lycan Kailin.”

“Oh, my bad.” His lips grew a wicked smile. “Just do your job regardless.”

“How you became like this, God only knows,” Aspen muttered to herself while rising from the chair.

“How I did what?” he questioned sternly.

“How nothing, Lycan Kailin,” Aspen playfully dismissed what she said and slowly tiptoed out of the room.

~~~

KAILIN BLACKWOOD

As the doctor walked out of the room, Kailin listened as his wolf crept into his mind.

‘A week is not enough, Kailin,’ Lexus snarled, his mighty physique flashing in Kailin’s mind for a second.

“I can’t keep that woman around for too long.” Kailin got to his feet. “Her presence disturbs me.”

‘Find a way to keep her around longer or I will make life hell for you.’

That response drilled out a shallow laughter from Kailin, who for the life of him, could not comprehend why his wolf thought it would be appropriate to threaten him. “You make me laugh, Lexus.”

‘I am the reason you are who you are, don’t forget that.’

“Lexus, don’t give me that crap.”

‘Listen to me-’

“No!” Kailin roared, his hand slapping away an object in his reach. “You fucking listen to me. You might have made me, but I am the reason you are alive. If I die this very moment, you will become nothing. Nothing and freaking nothing. Now, I will repeat myself, I will not keep that doctor in my palace for more than a week. She gets on my nerves in a way that I hate.”

‘Are you sure you won’t regret those words?’

“Why would I? The next time you bring up that doctor, I will personally see to it that I end her life while you watch.”

‘Unbelievable,’ Lexus scoffed. ‘I can’t wait to see you eat your words up in regret. And when you do, I hope you choke on it.’

“I am leaving to check on our Luna. So, make sure you behave.” The first time Lexus met Raven as their mate, he went berserk and made things fly in a way that almost hurt the Luna. “Go back to your hole and stay there.”

‘Do as you wish.’ And like that, his wolf walked away from the conversation.

And the next minute, while hitting his chest to get rid of the burning sensation his wolf left, Kailin walked out of the room.

“Lycan Kailin, how wonderful is it to see you here!”

Kailin, who was a little startled by the fake excitement in that greeting, looked up. When he saw who was in front of him, he groaned and wondered why he wasn’t born with shifter abilities. They would have been perfect to use to escape from unwanted situations like the one he was about to endure.

“Alpha Lance,” Kailin replied through seethed teeth, “this is my palace, I can be wherever I want. What are you doing here?”

“I came for my mate.”

Kailin tsked. For some reason, that statement got on his nerves. “Your MATE left many minutes ago.”

“Oh,” Lance grinned, “did she?”

“You knew that already, didn’t you?” The Lycan placed a hand on his hip. “If you are trying to get a reaction such as jealousy, save it. Take your admiration for your mate far away from me.”

“Oh, I wasn’t trying to make you jealous.” Lance stepped closer. “I am trying to check if you still know what it means to search for your mate.”

Kailin frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I know you abandoned your true mate.”

That statement was like a poisonous arrow, it shot right into his heart and his soul felt extremely shaky for some seconds.

When he got his system in order, Kailin hardened his gaze and made sure the man didn’t get a chance to read him.

Then he said, “I don’t care what you think you know. That true mate abandoned me years ago. Mention her again and see how much of a mess I’ll make sure your life becomes.”

“She abandoned you?” Alpha Lance chuckled dangerously, a glint of mischievousness in his eyes. “Is that what you tell yourself at night? Does that make you sleep better?”

Kailin managed a smile and chose to ignore the man. “I am done here. Think whatever you wish.”

“I will do just that, oh great Lycan King,” Lance responded, a mock in his tone.

Kailin didn’t bother to say another word. But in a corner of his mind, his desire to kill all thoughts about Aspen Vesper died and he found himself struggling to remember what her face looked like while his heart and soul recalled the fond memories they shared.

When he could not find a way to recall her face despite the vivid recalls of their memories, he decided to contact the one person who helped him get rid of all evidence of Aspen Vesper from his life after she abandoned him.

So, he took out his rarely used phone from his pocket and messaged his long-distance friend whom he trusted to carry out the mission in secret.