The Lycan's Mistress

3- Mate

CRYSTAL

I'm alright. I'm… okay. I am… in control.

I repeat those words in my head till I'm standing before my mother's room door and finding it hard to breathe. My palm is sweaty and I think I'm having cold feet. I can't even-

"Is that you, dear?" her voice booms like a flower blooming on a hill. It's soft, gentle and inviting. "I know it's you. Come on in. I've been… waiting." She sounds soft like she's being gentle with a fragile child.

I don't blame her. I ran away once and I can do it again.

I hear murmurs behind the door and one of the voices sends a tremor through me. That's… father. He's here too. For the first time in five years, I'll be seeing him and I… I swear I'm not ready for this.

What the fuck am I doing here?

"Crystal," I turn to the familiar voice from behind and hold Kirill's gaze. He's my father's beta. His grey hair has doubled and the wrinkles on his face makes me imagine what my father must look like now.

"Beta Kirill," good thing my voice doesn’t shake. "It's good to see you-"

I'm being pulled into a hug before I see it coming. I tense up in his arms as he hugs me tight, his hand at the back of my hair. When he pulls away, he steps back like that didn’t just happen and I'm shocked to see him wiping the corner of his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Alpha Princess. I just… couldn't stop myself," even though he's smiling at me, he looks sad. "How have you been?"

Alpha Princess. A title I used to bear but… not anymore. "I'm fine. You look as good as always. It's good to see you again."

"You too, Princess. Nothing has been the same-"

"Alpha Princess?" The menace behind that voice makes me tense up with wide eyes as his strong scent floods my nose and the scowl in that voice makes me shiver. Beta Kirill's eyes go wide in fear too as he looks past me to the large man who casts a shadow over me. "You misspoke there. Princess to whose Pack?"

Ah, yes. I mustn't get ahead of myself.

As I turn to him, my heart drops to my stomach and I take a loud gulp.

His eyes are glaring, his brows in a thick frown. He doesn’t look like he's aged in five years. Did he get bigger as he grew older? His hair is dyed black--he's never fancied grey hair especially when he's not ready to hand it over yet. He's a large man so he's practically blocking the door.

"Father," I whisper and his eyes darken so much that I quickly lower my head in fright.

"Y-Yes, forgive me. I was just… carried away," Beta Kirill chuckles nervously as he apologies. The silence is awkward and too hard for me to breathe properly-

"What are you doing here? This is Pack's property," his voice is low and deep, sending shivers down my spine as I stare at our shoes. "You don’t belong here. You need to leave now-"

"What the fuck do you think you’re saying to my daughter!" mother's scream has father and I freezing in shock. I lift my head just in time to see the panic that crosses his face.

"That's the attitude right there! That's the fucking reason why I collapsed the first time-"

"H-Honey, don’t yell," gone is the scary man from earlier leaving behind a devoted and loving husband. He hurries back in and I'm blessed with the sight of my mother in her hospital gown throwing a fit at my father.

I bask in the nostalgic feeling and bless the moon goddess for her mercy. To watch my parents display another extension of their undying and unwavering love makes my heart ache. All my life I've taken them as a sample for what I wanted my marriage to be like but my fate was rather unfortunate as the mirror I looked at them with was now shattered and broken into pieces.