Chapter 147

YENA

A wave of unexpected sadness crashed down over me.

I certainly hadn’t been planning on telling Nolan that I wanted to go back to the palace. It was just what came out of my mouth in the moment. But even though it was something I said on an impulse, the way he responded still hurt.

I offered to stay, and Nolan told me to go. That seemed like a pretty clear message. I felt rejected all over again.

Of course, the way he put it, it did sound like Nolan had my best interest at heart. But I couldn’t help but feel that deep down, he simply did not want me back.

Maybe my association with Adan was a betrayal that Nolan could not forgive. After all, I had specifically promised him I would not engage with his half-brother again after the last time Adan messed with our lives.

Evan rapped lightly on my bedroom door, stirring me out of my reverie. I opened the door and found Lucy standing there, and Evan’s back retreating down the stairs already.

“Lucy.” We traded sad smiles, and I pulled her in for a hug.

“Hey, Yena.” Lucy looked pale and distressed.

“Are you okay?”

She kicked her shoes off and climbed up onto my bed, sitting cross-legged and snatching up a fuzzy pink pillow that she held to her chest. “I just can’t believe what’s happened, Yena. Have you talked to Nolan?”

“Yeah, I called him earlier.”

“Is he okay? I mean, maybe that’s a stupid question. But how is he?”

“He actually does seem okay. But Nolan’s been expecting this for a long time. I only wish I’d trusted him about Adan all along. I can’t believe I let that jerk back into my life, after how he messed with us months ago… I told you that I saw Adan recently, right?”

Lucy pressed her lips tightly together and nodded at me, wide eyed. I recalled my earlier suspicion about her secret boyfriend – that maybe it was Adan. Now, more than ever, I hoped that wasn’t true.

“Apparently Nolan knows I saw Adan, too,” I continued, finishing my thought. “I’m worried he must feel like I betrayed him.”

Lucy’s reaction was strange. Her eyes kept getting bigger as I talked, and now were showing the whites all around. Her mouth was closed, but I felt like I could see words trying to force their way out.

“Are you okay, Lucy? What is it?” I sat down beside her, and suddenly my senses filled with a strange scent. Lily stirred inside me, reminding me of the time when I met Adan and his human friend at the bakery, when I had smelled that woman’s fear…

This was different. The human’s fear had been intense and undeniable. Right now, sitting with my best friend, I caught just the faintest scent… but it was fear, alright.

“I’m so sorry, Yena. I’ve just been so scared to tell you.” Lucy fidgeted nervously, her eyes on her hands.

“Lucy, you can tell me anything. What’s going on?”

“It was Adan,” she said quietly. “The guy I was dating. The one that started, you know… getting scary.”

“Oh, Lucy.” I wrapped my arms around her. She leaned into me, still clutching the pillow to her chest. I felt zero surprise, but I did start feeling a sinking sense of dread. “What happened? What did he do to you?”

“Nothing,” she said. “I mean, he never hurt me, if that’s what you’re thinking. I did get scared sometimes when he got mad, but… I never told you about it because he said I couldn’t. He was really weird and intense about that. Now I know why.”

“Shit, Lucy. I’m so sorry that he used you like that.”

She looked at me with glossy eyes. “You’re not mad?”

“Of course not! Lucy, listen to me. None of this is your fault.”

She nodded, looking down at her hands again. “It was about you all along,” she said quietly. “He never even liked me. He just wanted to use me to keep tabs on you. I’m so sorry, Yena.”

I swallowed down a lump that had started rising in my throat. I almost asked Lucy what she meant about keeping tabs on me, but I didn’t really need to ask. I could piece it together.

This is what she was feeling really bad about. She’d been giving Adan information about me. Of course, she couldn’t have known that’s what she was doing.

“Adan is a master manipulator, Lucy. He would have found another way to do what he was doing, with or without you. Do you hear me?”

Lucy met my eyes and nodded hesitantly. “What’s going to happen now, Yena? What’s he going to do?”

“Well, I guess he’s… going to try to kill Nolan.” This thought had not been complete in my mind until the words rolled off my tongue, but then it was out there, true and terrible.

Nolan would never concede to Adan. He would fight to the death for his crown. One of the Lycan brothers was going to come out of this conflict confirmed next in line to be Alpha King, and the other was going to be dead.

Lucy’s frown deepened. The tears she’d been holding in started spilling down her cheeks silently.

I grabbed a tissue from my nightstand and patted her face with it. “I said he’s going to try. Nolan is not going to let him succeed.”

Lucy sniffled. Then, to my surprise, she asked, “What’s Nolan like?”

“What? What do you mean?”

She shrugged. “I never met him. And one of the things I keep thinking about today is how much Adan influenced my opinion of him.” She looked away, shaking her head.

“Nolan is…” I sighed, not knowing where to begin. “Intense and powerful. His energy is different from anyone else I’ve ever been around.”

“That’s something I thought about Adan, too.” Lucy got a queasy look on her face as she said his name.

I nodded. Physically, Adan was built just like Nolan – athletic, strong, and taller than tall. And Adan had a mesmerizing charm about him, a spell-like influence over people that could only be explained by the fact that he was born an Alpha.

“But Nolan has a soft side, too,” I went on. “He was interested in my work and always wanted to help me. And he bought me beautiful gifts, too…”

I paused, caught up in a memory. The time when Nolan came to my studio and gave me the gold necklace that I loved so much. I reached up to my neck, touching the place where it used to be every day, and regretted leaving it behind.

“He’s a good man. And he really wanted to meet you, Lucy.”

“Really?” Her eyebrows shot up.

“Yeah. He was always busy, though. He just cares so much about preparing to be the best king that he can be.”

“I had no idea.”

“I had no idea who Nolan really was either, back when we first met,” I reflected. “He had his walls up pretty high. But it turns out, he has a kind heart, and is true gentleman… Well, except in bed, where he is a freaking animal.”

Lucy howled with laughter, saying, “That, you may need to tell me more about later.”