Chapter 6 Painful history

Ronon POV

When the seer revealed that Dax, Kael, and I shared the same fated mate, we were thrilled.

It meant more than just reaching the peak of our power as Lycan Alphas - it meant the three of us would be bound together, strengthened by a shared destiny.

We'd always known that finding a fated mate was rare, something not easily granted. And for Lycans like us, Alphas of royal blood, the bond wasn't just about love, it was about purpose, survival, and ascension.

Unlike normal werewolves who might stumble upon their mates by chance, ours was meant to be a divine connection. That's why we sought out the seer, to confirm that somewhere out there, our mate lived and breathed, waiting for us.

But the joy vanished the moment the seer uttered her name.

Lyra.

The last Lycan Luna.

We should've been overjoyed. She was powerful, fated, chosen. But this was different.

She was the daughter of the one queen who had betrayed us, the very queen who fractured the unity of the Lycans. That alone was bad enough.

But Lyra herself... she worked with the vampires in the East. With them. The ones who tortured us.

She wasn't just the daughter of a traitor - she was labeled a traitor herself, exiled by our clan and forbidden by law to ever return.

And even if we were foolish enough to defy the law... she sided with our enemies.

The very enemy who had plagued our people for two thousand years.

The Vampire King: Malrevok, Lord of the Bleeding Court.

He was no ordinary threat. He was cruelty made flesh - a monster whose name alone stirred hatred in every Lycan heart.

Each of us bore wounds, scars, losses that could be traced back to him. We had sworn, with blood and bone, that we'd destroy him and his court the moment we were strong enough.

And now... we were fated to one of his accomplices?

The bond we once longed for now felt like a curse.

I felt the rage in me rot into bitterness, a kind of hatred I never thought I could feel for someone I hadn't even met.

I despised fate for dealing us such a twisted hand.

Dax, usually the strongest among us, sank into a dark depression, his anger festering beneath the surface.

Kael and I weren't much better, each of us consumed by the same truth: we were destined to be incomplete.

Because we could never accept betrayal as our mate.

And without our fated mate... we would never become the Lycans Alphas we were meant to be.

Malrevok had shattered my life in ways that could never be mended. He'd slaughtered the only family I had, my sister, her mate, and their children, all over a petty grudge against her mate.

Instead of facing the man directly, Malrevok went after his entire family. He left their bodies to rot in their home, with nothing but a bloodstained handkerchief marked with his initial, a sick calling card.

It was a mockery. A cruel boast. He even retold the massacre like some twisted bedtime story for his court.

When I found them, the image seared into my soul. I swore that one day, I'd make him pay.

The Lycans and vampires had been enemies for 2,000 years. Recently, there had been whispers of reconciliation, but the Lycans were fools to trust them.

Malrevok's cruelty knew no bounds. Dax had been robbed too. His cousin lost everything - land, pack, wealth, consumed by Malrevok's greed. Driven mad, he died alone.

Kael's family suffered the same fate. The two Lycan Alphas who once ruled the East beside Malrevok, Dax and Kael's own blood, were murdered. The Eastern lands were taken, and we were all left alone, with only grief and rage for company.

Eventually, we decided to take action.

Dax suggested we go to the East, not to reconcile, but to observe, to plot revenge. That's when we saw her.

Lyra.

The most beautiful of the Pleasure Maidens.

Our supposed fated mate.

At first, we dared to hope. Maybe there was something redeeming in the bond. A chance to fulfill our potential. But when we approached Malrevok, he made his stance painfully clear.

He rejected the idea outright, furious at the very notion.

He told us she was his. Not just a worker, but something more.

Still, he allowed us one brief, controlled glimpse. She was brought before us quickly, expression cold, distant, almost disgusted.

There was no chance to speak or connect. He made it clear: stay away.

Her expression mirrored his message. She looked at us like we were beneath her.

I was ready to forget the whole thing, but Dax and Kael weren't.

Then we discovered something worse, she wasn't just his.

She was rumored to be the mastermind behind a killing.

Reluctantly, I agreed to leave a spy in the East.

We needed to know more.

But within a year, the reports we received were... disturbing.

Her behavior was wild. Reckless. She had taken countless lovers, including the king himself. It disgusted us.

She was young, but acted without restraint. No dignity. No loyalty.

The idea that she could give herself so freely to others, while we were supposed to be her fated mates, enraged us.

We were furious. Betrayed. And so, we decided to forget her, and the seer's prophecy - forever.

For a while, we did just that.

Until the day we received a desperate message from Bata Jaka, a distant relative of her mother.

He begged for our protection.

He had no idea about the fated bond and proposed a symbolic marriage, to unite the East under our rule and offer her protection.

He claimed she had sought refuge with him, unaware of who he truly was. That made me wonder... had she fallen out with Malrevok?

To strengthen his case, he forged marriage certificates and documents transferring her inheritance to us, without her knowledge.

At first, we were disgusted.

Her reputation was still tainted. The betrayal still fresh.

But Dax and Kael were curious. And against my better judgment... so was I.

So I agreed.

Despite the bitterness still lodged in our hearts, maybe it was time to see her again.

Maybe there was still something left to salvage in this twisted fate.