Rejected By My Mate, Now Mated To The Lycan King

~ ROWAN

Nyssa didn’t ask more questions, and it was a good thing too because I had no idea how I’d explain to her that I just felt the need to be out there.

I woke in the dead of night, the wind howling in the distance, the curtains drawn, and an inexplicable need to be out there in the woods with my paws on the ground.

I was out of bed before I even knew what I was doing and found myself running through the trees.

"Do you think I imagined it?" she asked as she crawled into bed, the covers pulled up to her chin.

"No," I answered smoothly, but I did not offer up any further explanations... I couldn’t.

Nyssa was many things, but a liar was not one of them. If she said she saw something, the n she truly believed it, and with everything that happened yesterday—the deer in the road and all—it was plausible that she saw something.

"Do you think it was a—"

"I don’t know what it was," I cut her off. "I also don’t think we need to spend time worrying about it."

Her eyes widened in surprise. "Who are you and what have you done with my mate? The Rowan I know worries about everything."

"Smart ass," I murmured, making my way over to her.

I pressed my lips to the top of her head before crawling in next to her.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t concerned about her words. The thoughts of something being so close to our home worried me. If I hadn’t found her when I did, there was no telling what could have happened.

"Your heart is racing," she whispered softly. "I take it you’re not as unbothered as you want to appear."

I fought the urge to roll my eyes as a small smile tugged at my lips. Of course she’d notice.

"Go to bed, Nyssa, we can talk more tomorrow."

She fell asleep within minutes, and once she was out, I slowly pulled myself out from the bed.

I stood on the terrace, staring out into the trees below, searching for any sign of what she had encountered but it must’ve been far gone by now.

I had no idea what it was, or what it wanted, but there was one way to find out although it wasn’t the way I would like.

********************************************

I was out of the house long before Nyssa woke up.

I left a note by the bed, assuring her that I would be back soon and headed straight for the palace.

Unfortunately, Nyssa was right about one thing; I needed Jeremiah. He was the only one I could trust with such sensitive information.

I’d have to find a replacement guard for her soon, but for now, Eric would handle her care.

"Are you sure about this?" Jeremiah asked, his lips pressed into a firm line. "I don’t know how this will blow over."

"If we’re lucky, he will respect the terms of the treaty."

"And if we’re not?" he asked, the implication hanging in the air. "The treaty is centuries old. I can’t even find an original copy of it. All I’m seeing are explanations."

"The explanations will have to do."

He exhaled deeply, running his hands through his hair.

I didn’t blame him, he looked exactly how I felt—uneasy and worried. The first note of the treaty was in one of the history texts and it explicitly stated that the vampires were not allowed to encroach on other territory without approval.

If I was right, then what Nyssa saw yesterday was a vampire. Hopefully, it was enough to send a warning to the king.

He may be a cruel bastard like everyone says, but as king, even he would know that a war would be wasteful. Millions will die on both sides.

"Who do we send to deliver the letter?" Jeremiah asked. "I do not think anyone would be so willing to send a message to the vampire king. I don’t think they have post... do you?"

I sighed deeply. "No, I don’t."

There was silence for a moment before he spoke again. "I can do it."

"Like hell you are. I’m not sending my best sentinel into the vampire lands. That’s fucking absurd."

"There’s no other option," he said cautiously. "You can’t risk the life of a lesser soldier, and you cannot trust their discretion. I can be in and out in no time."

"We don’t even know where he stays yet. We don’t know anything about him. I will not risk your life on fool’s errand—"

"Why not risk the rest of the pack?" a cool voice drawled from the doorway.

I looked up to find Aria pushing the door open, her face carefully impassive. She walked into my office and leaned against the door, her hands crossed over her chest.

"That is what you’re doing at the moment, isn’t it?" she asked, head cocked to the side. "The longer this issue persists, the more you risk our lives. Why not just send a civilian?"

My lips pursed at the venom in her words.

I had not seen her since the last time we spoke to Allister. It was not unusual for us to go a day or two without speaking, but it was clear that there was something wrong.

The air bristled with tension and her shoulders were tense. She tried to appear unbothered but she braced herself, as if preparing for a fight.

"Is there something you want to say, Aria?" I asked coldly and she scoffed.

"Trust me, there is a lot I want to say. The real question is are you ready to listen?"

I stared at my sister for a long minute, neither one of us willing to break the stare.

"Jeremiah, you can leave. Make sure no one comes by here until we’re done."

Jeremiah looked between the two of us with a cautious expression before nodding. "As you wish, your Majesty."