Dangerous Lycan: Claim Betrayed Luna’s Second Chance Mate

My heart skipped and uneasiness settled over me as I watched Kieran stare blankly at the wall. It wasn’t the first time this had happened in the past few days. The spark in his eyes, the one that had returned after our visit to the Coven, seemed to be dimming again.

“Kieran?” I called out setting the book aside I’d been pretending to read.? But his gaze remained fixed on the wall. He seemed not to have heard me call.

“Kieran,” I called out again this time it was a bit louder.

“Hmm?” he mumbled, finally taking his eyes away from the wall. “What is it?”

“Are you alright?” I asked. He blinked and looked at me.

“Yes, of course,” he said, with a stretched-out smile on his lips.

“What happened? You were just staring at the wall. You didn’t even hear me the first time that I called.”

“Oh, so sorry about that. I’m okay, just… lost in thought.”

I wasn’t convinced.? The look in his eyes seemed vacant and the way he seemed to be fading in and out, thrilled me. I couldn’t imagine what was wrong but he acted like when the nightmares started. The ritual of the witches that was performed was supposed to break the connection between Kieran and those vengeful spirits, yet here we were and Kieran seemed to not be getting any better.

I tightened my eyes for a minute allowing my thoughts to sink in, perhaps maybe I would be able to find some answers. We needed answers, and fast. I couldn’t bear the thought of Kieran being consumed by his nightmares. They drained him away slowly and the worst of it was that I had played a part in it.

“Clara,” he called out to me.

I snapped out of my thoughts and faced him.

“Don’t tell me that you are still thinking about that?”

“Not exactly.”

“Then what is on your mind? You suddenly seem a bit distanced too.”

“It’s nothing,” I said.

“Come on, you know it’s not.”

“I saw you staring blankly at the wall again and it just reminded me of the nightmares again.”

He chuckled, “You worry too much Clara. I told you, it’s nothing.”

I smiled perhaps he just had a lot on his mind one of which was him becoming a new dad. I leaned closer to him still smiling. I hoped that he was right. But I was wrong.

Later at night, a scream pulled me from a dreamless sleep. I jump upright holding my chest as my heart pounded. Kieran.? He was having another nightmare.

“Kieran!” I cried out, scrambling out of bed, and rushing to his side.? He thrashed on the mattress; his eyes tightened. His lips moved like he was saying words that I couldn’t quite grab.

“Kieran,” I shook him awake. But he would open his eyes. Sweat dripped down his face. I called his name repeatedly, it took a while, but eventually, his eyes fluttered open and he jumped off the bed.

“Clara? What happened?” He gasped. Breathing profusely.

I sighed, “You were having another nightmare,” I pulled him into a tight embrace.? He clung to me for a long moment, his body trembling slightly.

“The ritual… it didn’t work, did it?” he mumbled into my shoulder.

My heart ached for him.? The hope we’d had after the ritual the belief that the nightmares were over shattered. I wiped away the tears that streamed down his face, forcing a smile.

“We’ll figure something out. We’ll go back to the Coven.? They’ll help us. Emaline, yes, we can call her back. She seemed to know what she was doing right?”

He nodded.

The next morning, we sent a message to Emaline. She arrived within the hour.

“This is terrible, the nightmares… they haven’t stopped?” She asked.

Kieran shook his head, “No.? They’re just as bad, maybe worse.”

She knitted her brows “There must be something we’re missing.”

“Is it something you can handle? I was thinking that we should all go back to the coven. Maybe the other witches can help,” I said.

“No, Emaline,” responded sharply.

“But why? They are older, they would understand the situation at hand.”

“This isn’t about them, they sent me here remember?” she said.

“What do you mean?”

She looked at me, “It’s about you choosing to save him.”

“What choice again are you talking about?”

“I have an idea of how we can finally end? this torment for good.”

“I’m listening.”

Emaline leaned forward, “There’s a more powerful ritual,” she said in a low tone, “One that can finally end the connection completely.? But it requires a deeper level of… commitment.”

Kieran and I exchanged a glance. We were desperate, willing to try anything to free him from the clutches of these nightmares.

“What kind of commitment?” Kieran asked.

Emaline’s lips curved into a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.? “Just trust me,” she said, “This ritual will take away all the pain, the fear… everything.? It will leave him… whole again.”

The way she lingered on the word “whole” made me wonder but I waved the thoughts out.

Something was unsettling about the way she spoke. Like she carefully chose her words.

One time, I had caught her staring at Kieran lustfully and as usual I had waved it out. Kieran was the King and a very fine man that even the witches affirmed to so she could stare, I thought.

“We’ll do whatever it takes.”

Emaline’s smile widened, this time, her smile was real.

“Excellent, then let’s begin the preparations.”

Over the next few days, Emaline became a constant presence in our lives. Sometimes she would spend days in the library. According to her, the ritual was a unique one that needed an amount of concentration and knowledge. She was scoured the library muttering under her breath as she flipped through dusty books. I had the maids follow her just in case she needed anything but everything, she would send them back to me.

“Hey, Emaline,” I called out one evening as she walked out of the library.Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

“Yes, Your Majesty,” she turned to me with a pike of books in her grip.

“I thought I’d meet you here.”

“Do you need me to do anything for you, Your Majesty?”

“Not exactly. You’ve done more than enough for us. But I keep wondering why you sent the maids away. They are supposed to help you around the palace. Like, carry things for you.”

“Oh, thank you for your kind gesture, Clara but I’m good. This ritual process is as delicate as the ritual itself and it doesn’t require so many presences. Don’t worry Your Majesty, I’ll carry my burden because the outcome of this ritual is very dear to me as it is to you,” she smiled, bowed, and walked out.

Ever since she arrived, she had taken the preparations of the ritual very seriously and I had to respect her desire.

As the day of the ritual drew near, she gathered strange ingredients vials of shiny liquids, herbs, and feathers from unknown birds.

On a cool evening, while heading back to my chamber as saw Kieran in the training room. I heard voices coming from a corner as I walked down the hallway.? Emaline, I couldn’t have missed her tiny voice but she wasn’t alone she seemed to speaking with someone. I leaned close to the wall but I still couldn’t see who she was talking to. It was like she was communing with someone or something that only she could see.

“It’s almost ready, soon, you’ll be back with me, my love,” she whispered chuckling.

What the hell was going on? I froze.

I strained to hear the response, but the other voice remained muffled.

Emaline’s words echoed in my mind “You’ll be back with me.”? Who was she talking to?? And what did she mean by “back”?? And just then it dawned on me. It wasn’t meant to free Kieran from the nightmares, it was something more.

Suddenly, the way Emaline lingered on the word “whole” made perfect sense.? She wasn’t trying to heal Kieran; she was trying to use him as a vessel, a body to bring back someone else perhaps someone she had lost.

It all made perfect sense now, from the way she had looked at Kieran when she had first seen him up to the very moment, she decided to help us but ended up bringing the nightmares back so that she would be called to perform a ritual.

Kieran was trusting Emaline blindly, unaware of the darkness that lurked beneath her eyes.

I knew that I had to stop the ritual and warn him before it was too late.? But I just didn’t know how I would convince him of my suspicions without sounding paranoid, especially after he’d already agreed to the ritual.

My heart raced.? I knew I had to act fast before it was too late.