Three

KAILIN BLACKWOOD

“I heard something strange,” Raven Vesper’s soft voice pulled him out of his simple slumber.

Lycan Kailin cleared his throat, sat up and watched with coldness in his eyes as the woman carrying his heir walked towards him.

“Did you send for a doctor from that Rebel Pack?”

Kailin’s brows lifted a bit. “What if I did?”

“Kai,” the Lycan almost winced at that form of his name, “the Rebel Pack is our enemy. Sending for one of them is as good as telling them to take over our palace.”

Raven sat next to him, but he barely looked in her direction when he said, “You have no place or right to tell me what to do,”

She gasped. “I am your Luna, Kai.”

“Kailin,” he breathed through his gritted teeth. Then, with ferociousness in his eyes, he faced her. “My name is Kailin. You do not want to know how terrible I’ll treat you the next time you use that stupid nickname for me.”

“Kai…lin,” Raven let out a shuddering breath, “are you still…?” The man narrowed his gaze, he knew what she was about to say. “Surely, you have forgotten about her, right?”

“What’s it to you?”

“Kailin, she might be dead for all we know.” The Lycan’s hands pulled into the fist the moment she said that. “And if she is still alive by some sheer luck, don’t forget that she left you without any note. She did not say bye, she did not apologise and she hasn’t shown up since then.”

“I don’t need you to remind me, Raven. I know what your insane sister did to me.”

“You chose to get married to me, Kailin,” the softness in her voice quickly disappeared. “You could have decided to call off the entire ceremony, but you took one good look at me and decided to get married to me instead.” She reached for his collar. “I am your wife. I am your Luna and I am pregnant with your heir. If you refuse to give me attention, I will-”

“You will what?” Kailin dared her to complete that statement, his stony eyes yet to yield to her reaction. “What can a little cunt like you do?”

“Don’t fucking call me names!”

Kailin was never comfortable with spewing insulting words at people, but ever since he got married to Raven Vesper, she got on his nerves so much that it took a lot to bring himself to have sex with her not to talk of being in the same room as her for more than five minutes.

Just looking at her face which bore so much semblance to her sister was enough reason to ignore her.

But Raven Vesper was a woman who refused to take no for an answer.

Since that was the case, Kailin found ways to steer clear of her. Well, that was until she got pregnant. Since he desired to have at least one heir before death, Kailin decided to get rid of his ill feelings towards his wife and treat her like a human. The only downside to doing that was having to cope with the immense hatred his wolf had for the woman.

“Kailin, listen to me when I speak.”

“No,” he dusted her hands off his shirt, “you listen to me. Calling a doctor from the Rebel pack is for your sake. You are ill and if care is not taken, you may die before you have a chance to deliver my child.” Raven scoffed. “I will handle the consequences of having an enemy within our walls. Just focus on getting better. Is that clear?”

“I don’t-”

“Just fucking answer yes or fucking no!” The woman jumped at his question.

And with haste, she said, “Yes. That’s fine.”

“Get out if that’s all,” Kailin said as he got to his feet. “I have a lot to take care of.”

Without a word more, a more tamed Raven walked out of the room. Once he was left to his thoughts, Kailin chose to finally think about Aspen Vesper, the woman he once called mate.

But the more he thought about her and the betrayal she extended towards him by running away days before their mating ceremony, the more he realised that it was best to never think of her any longer.

It would truly be best to assure himself that she was dead.

And that was exactly what he did.

~~

FOUR DAYS LATER

ASPEN VESPER

The moment the driver of her comfortable ride announced that they were almost at the gates of the Nyx Palace, Aspen let go of the breath she had been holding, loosened her grip on the blackish mask lying on her lap and after seconds of staring at the mask, she covered her scarred face with it and waited for the vehicle to halt.

Within those minutes of waiting, she went over the rebellious mission she was there to carry out. It was planned that she would complete her mission before heading to do her doctor duties.

So, when the car stopped, she found herself facing one of the undocumented secret entrances of the palace that only she and Kailin knew about. She was mainly sure that nobody would be guarding that area, and she was certain Kai wouldn’t be there since he always found the secret path spooky. So she wore confidence on her sleeves and approached the huge, hollow entrance which would lead her to the file storage room.

“I will be waiting at the main entrance as planned,” her driver whispered.

And through the netted view of her mask, she glanced at Lance and said, “Alright. Be careful.”

“And you too.”

Apparently, Lance found a way to convince their Alpha King to allow him to accompany Aspen in case anything goes wrong. Aspen didn’t hate that move, in fact, it added to her confidence.

So, after seconds of prepping herself, she walked into the space and started to follow the path, her footsteps silent in a way that surprised her.

Once she reached the door that would lead to the entrance of the storage room, Aspen let out a quiet exhale. She assured herself that things would go fine and seconds later, she pressed the handle.

“I want this place to be sealed and documented. We also-”

“Who are you?”

Unfortunately, three people were approaching that door. And since that place was closed, there was no chance for escape for Aspen. So, while trying to keep calm, she started to retrace her steps. If she could get behind the door and prevent them access for a while, she would be able to escape.

But before she could do anything meaningful, the men caught up to her and with a query on their faces, they questioned her presence.

“Can you not speak?” One of the men asked, his finger poking her for answers.

“Is there something there? If not, seal it up now.”

Aspen’s eyes widened the moment she heard that statement. Without a question, she knew who that voice belonged to.

“Lycan Kailin, we can’t seal it. We have an intruder.”

Soon, Kailin appeared in the dark light of that corridor and Aspen heard her heart pound.

Without much expression, the man stared at her for some seconds, and then he said, “Get that hideous mask off her face.”

His instruction kicked up Aspen’s survival instinct. But she still could not get a chance to escape. Two of the men reached for her arms and with strength, they pinned her such that she could not fight to get loose. Then, while Kailin watched, the third man reached for her mask.

“What is taking so long?” Kailin asked when the third man started to grunt.

“The mask is not coming off, Lycan Kailin,” the man responded, his attempts now looking comical, his butt shooting out at some point.

‘Hmm,’ Aspen thought to herself. Lance was right about the mask. It would only come off once the nutritious glue attached to it fully evaporates and that would take days. Experiencing that made her confident about that moment. So, with a smile that could not be seen, she focused on Kailin who was carrying a little moustache on his face.

It really was nice to see him look puzzled. But when Kailin pushed away the man trying hard to get rid of her mask, Aspen felt a little spark of anger in her soul. But then, as he focused on getting her mask off, his fingers happened to graze her skin for some seconds. Thankfully, he could not see her eyes or else, he would have seen how they narrowed while her soul churned due to the memory that little contact conjured.

“Is there a problem here?” Lance's voice filled the space.

Aspen guessed that he used his shifter ability which he tossed for a long time because it was the reason his real family tossed him away.

Kailin looked back. “And who are you?”

Lance smirked, his hands pocketed while he strutted to them. “I am Lance, the Alpha King of The Rebel pack.” The guards quickly reached for their weapons. “I came with my mate, Doctor Sabrina. I believe you called for her expertise. And now that she is here, please show her some respect. Get your hands off her while I am being nice.”