The Lycan king-Chapter 20

*Jax*

Claire and I stared at all the wolves running into the forest. Today was our monthly pack run and I always used the time to assess the weakness in our pack, mainly focusing on the guards and warriors. It was also a way for the pack to bond.

I noticed a figure standing at the edge of the forest, lingering and looking around. It wasn’t easy to make out because of the darkness but I knew who it was.

There was nowhere she would hide that I wouldn’t be able to make out her figure or silhouette. She paced around the trees and I wondered what she was thinking. Our last conversation wasn’t exactly the best. I had tried to reason with her and get her to understand what was going on. She needed to accept my rejection and instead she told me I was a horrible person or rather ’she had seen the terrible parts of me’.

She hadn’t seen anything yet.

But then again, it made me feel like my actions towards her were too rough and it fueled her more so I opted to try a different route.

I was going to talk to her and I’ll keep talking to her until she accepts me. Maybe she would understand why I was doing all of this and accept my rejection. It was worth a try.

"Jax." Claire called and I turned to her. The night breeze blew her hair away from her face and she looked beautiful standing under the moonlight. "Do you want to go on a run?" She asked and I shook my head. I could she her lips forming a pout as she tilted her head to the side.

"You can go. There are just some things I needed to sort out myself." I said and she nodded. She began to walk out of the balcony.

"I hope you’re working on a plan for Leonora." I turned to look at her and nodded before she walked away. I did have a plan for Leonora and if all goes according to plan, she would be eating out of my hands.

I waited until Claire had stepped out of the building, transformed to her wolf form and run into the forest. I gave myself a few more minutes before walking to meet Leonora.

Leonora was seated at the trunk of a tree when I got to her. "Why aren’t you out there?" I asked and she screamed in fear.

"What is your problem?" She asked immediately she calmed down. "You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"Sorry about that." I said as I sat down beside her. "Why aren’t you out there?" I asked again as she adjusted so that she wouldn’t look at me.

"I can’t shift." She mumbled. "I can’t shift. I’m too weak. I haven’t let out my wolf for so long and it feels like I am too weak." She said with a sad tone. I looked down at her hand picking the grass by her fingers.

I placed my hand on hers, halting her movement. She turned to look at me, her face filled with confusion. "You don’t need to shift right now. You can keep trying until you get it."

"Why are you being so nice to me? Just last night you were threatening me." She asked as she adjusted to look at me. I tried my best not to look at her but there was something pulling me to her. "You really don’t have to sit here with me?"

The way she talked reminded me so much of the girl I used to watch. The girl I called to the conference room to tell her she couldn’t be my mate. The girl I gave rules to follow and she graciously obeyed.

I could tell that I’ve lost that girl. The gentleness in her voice was gone and all that was left was hurt. I was hurting her. I was hurting my mate.

No!

She wasn’t my mate. She just needed to accept my rejection and that’s all. I had to remind myself. I wanted Claire to be my queen. She deserved it after all the sacrifices she had made for the pack. Leonora, on the other hand, hadn’t done much for the pack.

"Why didn’t you tell me about the slave room?" I asked her. When I made the arrangement for her to stay at the neighboring pack, I told them to give her somewhere comfortable. I didn’t know they subjected her to that kind of condition.

"How was I going to tell you?" She asked. "You made it known that you wanted nothing to do with me."

"But you could have come to me!" I pointed out. "I don’t hate you, Leonora. I just think we are in a complex situation and I already have a plan. Our bond will ruin that plan." I admitted to her, or at least the little I could tell her. Leonora didn’t deserve to know more than I was telling her. "Don’t ask me what the plan is."

"I don’t even care about your stupid plan." She said as she scoffed pulling her hands from underneath mine. "You can go now."

"No. I’ll stay here with you until everyone gets back. It’s not really nice to be out here alone." I suggested and I didn’t hear anything from her. I wondered what was going through that brain of hers. If there was a way that I could use our mate bond to get her to agree to my plan. It’ll save me from all these worthless conversations. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

After a few minutes of silence, I heard her clear her throat. "You want Claire to be your queen, right?" She asked me. How did she know? Well any smart person would also think the same thing.

"It only makes sense." I muttered. I didn’t know what else to tell her. I heard her sigh loudly before picking herself up and walking away.

Did I do something wrong?