Rejected By My Mate, Now Mated To The Lycan King

~ NYSSA

I stepped aside for Aria to walk in.

Her eyes immediately locked on Eric who was seated on the couch, his legs propped up against the coffee table.

"Is there anyone else around?" she asked and I nodded.

"Leah is upstairs cleaning."

"I need them out," she said pointedly. "We can’t talk in front of them."

There was something off about the way she spoke. Her shoulders were tense, her hands folded in front of her in an almost defensive stance. She would not drag her eyes away from Eric and her stare was not at all friendly.

Eric must have noticed it too because he stood straight. "I’m not allowed to leave her side. Those are my orders."

Aria frowned. "I don’t care. These are new orders."

His lips curved upwards. "I only take orders from the king, sorry."

Aria’s lips curled in a sneer as a low rumble erupted from her throat.

I quickly stepped between them, not wanting things to escalate even further.

"Eric, please let Leah know that she has to leave. When you come back, you can sit here in the living room while Aria and I talk in the kitchen." I looked between the two of them. "How does that sound?"

There was silence for a long minute before Aria rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

Eric disappeared up the steps and as soon as he was gone, I walked towards the kitchen leaving Aria to follow closely behind me. I put the kettle on and grabbed two mugs from the cupboards while I waited for her to begin speaking.

"You seemed awfully insistent that we talk earlier," I drawled, pouring a cup of tea for her. "Now we have the chance and you’re—"

"It’s not safe with you here."

I stilled for a split second. "That’s not what I was expecting."

"But it’s the truth," she said firmly. "You know it, and Rowan knows it too but he’s too blinded by his love for you to do anything about it."

I set the kettle down and lifted my mug to my lips. "I didn’t ask to be what I am, neither did I ask for any of this to happen."

"I know," she said, voice soft. "And I know you’re trying to make this right, but someone has to look out for the pack seeing as Rowan isn’t doing that. As long as you’re here, the vampires will be here too."

"What do you suggest? That I hand myself over?"

"Rowan would never allow that," she snorted. "I just... it’s worth looking into to go somewhere else for now... neutral ground or something. Excluding the threat of the vampires, you’re also a threat, Nyssa."

I blinked sharply at her words.

I’d been called many things in my life, but a threat was not one of them, and I was unsure of how to react to that.

"You’re a new vampire," she placed the book in her arms on the table and flipped open to a page. "There isn’t much on vampires in our libraries and Rowan has pulled everything off the shelf but I managed to snag this one. Look at the paragraph on new vampires."

When I didn’t move, she pushed it closer.

Curiosity got the better of me and I let my eyes skim the page, searching until I got to the passage she was speaking about.

"Newborns are vampires under a year old," I began slowly.

"Keep going," she urged.

"Their new powers gives them speed and strength, but what it does not give them is control..." I trailed off slowly, pausing for a moment before continuing. "The smell of blood is enticing to any vampire, but to a newborn it is a call they cannot ignore. They will kill friend or foe to get to it. Most newborns are not allowed out of the coven until at least six months after their transformation."

"You can’t be around the pack right now, Nyssa," Aria said firmly once I was done speaking. "You read what it said."

"I did, but at the arena, I didn’t attack anyone—"

"If you hadn’t been dragged out, do you really think you wouldn’t have?"

A second ago, I was sure of my answer, but the silent stare and her knowing looked made my stomach churn with uncertainty.

I pushed the book away, reaching for my mug once more but my hands were too shaky and rather than grab it, I knocked it off the counter.

"Fuck!" I snarled as hot coffee splashed over the back of my hand.

I reached for the rag in annoyance. I must have tugged too hard because the next thing I knew, the entire rack of plates came crashing to the ground.

I jumped back with a loud curse as plates shattered all over the floor.

"What the hell!" Eric exclaimed rushing into the kitchen. He took in the scene in front of him. "Are you okay?"

I could not speak. My eyes were locked on Aria and she regarded me with a knowing and pitying look.

It was like the book had said: strength but not control.

"Nyssa!" Eris snapped.

I turned t him sharply. "I’m fine, I... I think I need to lie down."

As I walked past Aria, she reached out to grab me, but I tugged my hand out of her grip.

"Nyssa, there’s more," she began with a frown but I shook my head. "You can’t run—"

"Please shut the door on your way out," I said firmly, and without a backward glance at her, I made my way into my bedroom, locking the door quietly behind me.

I lowered myself onto the edge of the bed, staring down at my hands. The back of my hand was a light shade of pink, but there was no scarring from the hot tea, it was as if nothing had ever happened.

"It was an accident," I whispered to myself. "That’s all it was."

The more I said it, the more unsure I was.