Page 88 of Lycan King's Captives
I nod. After hearing Vin threaten the human populace, I understand the severity of the situation. Javier leaves, and I’m left alone once again, anxiously awaiting his return or Xandros’s. Time seems to stretch endlessly, each passing minute fraught with uncertainty.
Finally, an hour later, the jiggle of keys in the door has me sitting up in bed. The door opens, and Xandros steps into the room. His face is etched with anger, his eyes burning with intensity. He silently wanders around the room before moving to the bathroom and shutting the door.
Around ten minutes later, he steps out of the bathroom, followed by the billowing steam. Without a word, he climbs into bed beside me, and I instinctively keep my back turned to him. The tension in the room is riddled with his burning anger.
Whatever happened, he is not speaking about it or taking it out on me, so I suppose I should be happy about that. My body tenses when I feel his hand grip my hip. He tugs me closer, spooning me tightly. His touch is both possessive and comforting, a tumultuous mix of emotions coursing through me.
My heart races as I feel the heat of his body against mine. My mind is filled with questions, and I can no longer keep them at bay.
“What did Vin mean about the council and your mother?” I whisper, my voice filled with curiosity and apprehension.
Xandros’s grip on me tightens slightly, his voice laced with bitterness. “My mother’s father was the head council member,” he reveals. “They believe he died when my father’s kingdom was attacked, and his parents were killed. What they don’t realize is that he was the attacker, and my mother was merely defending herself and her sister.”
I take in his words, the weight of the truth settling upon us. It’s a burden we both carry—the dark secrets and hidden truths that threaten to tear us apart.
“But it was self-defense,” I answer, and he presses his lips to my shoulder. “Doesn’t matter. He’s a council member; he has immunity. Also, the council was aware of the conflict between her father and mine.”
“What do you mean?”
“My father challenged her father, threatened to oppose him on the council if he didn’t give my mother to him. They would have assumed my father killed him to take his place.”
“And this Alaric person?” I inquire, my voice soft and filled with curiosity. When he doesn’t answer, I glance at him behind me.
Xandros’s gaze softens, and he presses a gentle kiss to my shoulder, then sighs. “Alaric had just discovered my aunt was his mate,” he explains.
As I absorb his words, I realize the intricate web of fate that binds us all together. Everyone is connected to some of the things my parents did. We are intertwined in a story that goes far beyond our own desires and choices.
“I thought she had no mate?” I ask him.
“She was pregnant, technically, until he marked her they weren’t mates. He couldn’t because she was carrying my sister. Also, my aunt wasn’t of sound mind, so Alaric knew he had to take things slow with her.”
“That’s why your mother hates me so much; your aunt was her surrogate.”
Xandros nods.
“Javier… he,” I stop, wondering if Javier would get in trouble for telling me.
“What did Javier tell you? You can tell me, Sienna; I know you two are friends,” he answers.
“He said you blame yourself because you gave my mother the key. I don’t understand. Wouldn’t you have been a child?”
Xandros laughs. “We are immortal, Sienna. I’m over 200 years old; I was an adult. My aunt was actually younger than me. Lycans age a lot slower. When my mother helped her sister escape their father, he retaliated, which cost my mother the ability to have any more children. She thought she was done with me, but having the ability to have more children taken from her seemed to make her want another child right away. Her sister felt guilty, so she offered to be a surrogate for her. It sounds odd, I know, but Lycans aren’t human. We have time, endless amounts of time.”
“Your mother killed her father?”
“Yes, protecting her sister; they were close, and she was the only reason she remained in contact with her father. When she learned he had another child, she stayed close, trying to prevent her from having the same upbringing. They don’t share the same mother, and her father raised them both alone.”
“He never found his mate?”
“He did. My grandmother was his true mate, and he killed her.”
“Don’t Lycans go crazy without their mates?”
“Males, yes, but only those of royal blood. Her father wasn’t. He was head of the council. He oversaw the supernatural kingdoms and helped create the laws. He was a man of power, even above the royal families. Just because I am king now doesn’t mean I don’t have to answer the council. The council is basically the twelve kingdoms’ advisors, they’re in-between. So when treaties are made, alliances, the council is the one that oversees and governs them to try to prevent wars. They were brought into place after the war—one from each kingdom. My mother’s bloodline was royal on her mother’s side, her father wasn’t. When her kingdom was dismantled after she rejected him, he waited for my mother to be born and killed her.”
“Why was her kingdom dismantled?”
“Because my grandmother rejected him.”
