The 5-time Rejected Gamma & the Lycan King

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Sebastian’s eyes were filled with regret and longing as he looked at her. She wanted to ignore him and continue walking but he grabbed her wrist as he pleaded, “Lucy, please let me

explain.” “Don’t call me that!” Lucianne’s eyes burned with rage as she took her hand back with force. “Lucianne,” he pleaded again, his eyes glistening as she called out her name.

“Lucy, is there a problem?” Alpha Juan just exited the restroom, and Luna I-lale was only two steps behind him.

Lucianne assured, “Juan, I can handle this. You and I-lale go on in. I’ll be there in a bit.” Alpha Juan looked hard at Sebastian, and his Luna felt uncertain about leaving her alone with him.

“I’ll be okay, I promise. I’ll mind-link you if I need help.” She assured her leaders once more.

Alpha Juan seemed more at ease with this response but Luna Hale was still sceptical. Lucy was like family to them. She had been Juan’s childhood rival and friend, and she was the first

to welcome Hale to their pack when the majority of pack members initially showed disdain of having an Omega from a small pack as their Luna. ‘

They walked away in slow steps, still wondering whether they were making the right decision. When they disappeared from sight, Lucianne said, ‘You don’t have to explain anything, Sebastian. There’s nothing between us.”

Sebastian’s eyes were filled with pain as he said, “No, don’t say that.”

“It’s the truth.” She said simply.

“No,” he shook his head and said, “The biggest mistake I’ve ever made is to accept your rejection. Please, give me a chance to redeem myself. Give me a chance to take care of you.” i

“No, thanks. I can take care of myself.” She wanted to walk past him but he stood in her way t 0 stop her from leaving.

“Lucianne, I wasn’t in the right state of mind. What you saw wasn’t what’s real.”

“I know.” When Lucianne said this, a spark of hope glimmered in Sebastian’s eyes until Lucianne continued, “What’s real is the fact that you defended your father when I asked about the rogue attacks. What’s real is that you lied to me when I asked you about rogue Lycans. You told me that they didn’t exist but then I catch you having the very same topic of

conversation with your colleague two days later, declaring proudly that you heard rumours of their existence months before the wolves. You want to talk about what’s real?”

He took in Lucianne’s words, and every single one felt like a stab to his heart. The lump in his thmat 5t°Dped him from speaking as Lucianne continued, “What’s real is you told me that

your father wanted to discuss about the country’s affairs with you on the night I found you

scanned with Cams nnnn er naked in bed f*cking a female Lycan.”

Sebastian seemed to have found his voice again as he hastily explained, “Lucy, I was drunk and…and Sasha said telling you that I was going to the bar with some old friends would only

make you unnecessarily suspicious about my loyalty to you. I didn’t want you to think that…

“Unnecessarily suspicious?! Do you hear yourself right now?!” Lucianne hissed. “And you let your sister talk you into lying to me before sleeping with another female?!”

“Lucy, please.” His voice broke, Sebastian was close to tears as he reached for her wrists. Lucianne was taking steps back when a large figure appeared between her and Sebastian.

Xandar growled at Sebastian before warning ferociously, “Stay away from her.”

They were both surprised by Xandar’s sudden appearance. Lucianne’s view was blocked by his large frame so she stepped to the side to watch the exchange. Sebastian cleared his throat before speaking in a steady voice, “Apologies, your Highness. I meant no harm. I was just

speaking to Lucianne.”

Xandar stepped forward, and looked Sebastian dead in the eye and growled louder, “If you so much as try to touch her again, I’ll rip your body part by part.”

“With much respect, your Highness, it would amount to murder if you did that.” Sebastian retorted with a smirk. Unlike his father, his career was not dependent on the King liking him.

Lucianne’s voice then filled the hallway, “Hmph. It’s funny how you know the law when it novelbin

comes to murder but disregard it when it comes to your father’s adultery and your sister’s

drunk driving.”

Sebastian’s eyes softened with distress as he looked to the King’s side and called out, “

Lucianne, please…”

Xandar growled again, and pinned Sebastian’s neck to the wall with only one hand. Cautiously, Lucianne reached for Xandar’s free hand and started stroking it in slow motions

with her little thumb as she said softly, “Xandar, leave him. We should go inside. They won’t

start without you. Let’s not keep everyone waiting.”

Xandar’s onyx eyes lightened bit by bit as he took in the beautiful voice of his mate. He released Sebastian, and punched him in the gut with his free hand, making Sebastian slump t o the side of the corridor. Before turning away, Xandar declared flatly, “That was for harassing

my mate.” 3

On the ground, Sebastian groaned at the impact and his eyes widened in distress as he asked

between breaths, “Your what?”

Lucianne pulled Xandar away before the two started another fight but she released his hand

before they stepped into the hall. All eyes were on them when they entered, and Lucianne couldn’t help but feel guilty that the ceremony was halted because of her encounter with Sebastian. Xandar’s hand was glued to her waist as they strode to their seats. 1

The Master of Ceremony started his speech when Xandar was seated. But Xandar couldn’t care less about the same scripted words being said by different people every year. He stole a look at Lucianne, and his mate’s saddened look worried him. “What’s wrong, Lucianne?”

She shook her head and muttered, “I shouldn’t have let everyone wait.”

He smiled and took her hand before kissing it. “It wasn’t your fault, Lucianne. Don’t blame yourself. This is a very minor issue, if it amounts to an issue at all. Don’t worry about it, okay?”

“Okay.” She managed a small smile, and tried to concentrate on the speech being given. She felt more at ease knowing that her Alpha and Luna were right next to her. It was better than sitting with a group of Lycans who looked down on werewolves.

When the new Alphas and Lunas of certain packs were about to be announced and presented on stage, Sebastian walked in. His longing gaze fixed on Lucianne but she returned her sights

to the stage, wilfully disregarding his stare. Xandar, on the other hand, continued to glare at Sebastian until he was seated next to his father and sister.

After the new pack leaders were introduced, Alfred Cummings gave a speech about how they fared in the attacks the previous year. He mentioned pack alliances briefly without naming the packs involved, which made one wonder if he even knew about the packs which collaborated as allies at all. He thanked his deputy for assisting him in protecting the Lycans and werewolves, whatever that meant. As far as anyone could remember, Alfred and his deputy were never seen on anybattlefields. None. They were only in ministerial positions to hand out orders. Even then, they were all vague orders. He never knew the precise or estimated number of rogues in each attack; he didn’t know their origins; and he didn’t know when they may attack. He didn’t know anything!

As all these thoughts ran through Lucianne’s mind, she tried to cope with watching the disgusting hypocrisy of the minister by biting her lower lip. She didn’t think that Xandar would catch her doing it. He stroked the back of her hand which he held on his lap as he asked in concern, “Everything okay?” 1

“Yeah.” She nodded amicably and smiled meekly.

After Alfred’s speech, the Lycan officials clapped loudly but the werewolves clapped grudgingly.

Next, Gamma Tobias Tristan, as this year’s Gamma representative took the stage. “Good morning, your Highness, ministers and families, Alphas, Lunas and fellow Gammas. My name is Tobias Tristan, and I am the Gamma of the White Blood Pack. It is my pleasure to stand before you as the first Gamma representative of this annual meeting. Last year was undoubtedly one of the most difficult years to endure as we fought one rogue attack after

another. We lost friends. Some of us lost families. In worst case scenarios, some lost their mates to the ruthless creatures.”

I-Ie paused for a moment before he continued, “Needless to say, most of us wouldn’t be here

Scanned with Cams nnnn er today had we not relied on our ally packs. Together we form trust; together we trained and improved; and together we won.” There was a loud applause from the werewolves, and even Xandar let go of his grip on Lucianne’s hand to clap.

Tobias waited for the applause to die down before he continued speaking, “It would be misleading to say that our alliances started out swimmingly. If anything, we just wanted to show the other pack our purported superiority.” he smirked, and laughter spread through the

hall, mostly from werewolves who could relate to what he just said.

“Many alliances started with nothing more than rivalry. I, myself, was not a saint. But it took me one experience working with a very commendable Gamma to make me question my motives when I was ordered to join an alliance. This Gamma couldn’t care less about the strength of an individual wolf, and she didn’t see the point in fighting to impress our superiors. What was important, as she drilled into our heads, was the fact that we were strong as a pack. Even if we were made up of three alliance packs, the point was to train as one, to

fight as one and to win as one.” There was another round of applause.

When it died down, he continued, “Most of you have heard of her. Many of you have met her. Many of our packs owe her. She changed the way we collaborated, and she changed the motivation we have when we trained. I once asked her, ‘Who do you have at the back of your mind when you’re on the battlefield?’. Without hesitation, she told me ‘Those who cannot fight on the battlefield’.” Xandar shot Lucianne a look of admiration but her eyes were fixed 0 n the ground as she blushed. ‘It has to be her’, he thought, as he recalled her words from the

previous night. 1

Tobias’s voice continued to ring through the speakers, “Her nobility is something many of us had never seen. I’m sure you would love to hear from her. I’m ecstatically proud to call upon in y mentor, my rival, my good friend, and my sister on the battleground, Gamma Lucianne Paw

from the Blue Crescent Pack. Lucy, get up here!”

Lucianne stood and glanced at Xandar, who was getting up from his seat as he clapped with the rest of the audience, obliging all the other Lycans to stand with their King. He didn’t know she was giving a speech, and suddenly felt irresponsible as a mate. But he and his animal were prouder than anything since their mate was chosen among hundreds to speak. The

werewolves behind the Lycans were already up on their feet before the King himself.

Lucianne walked in graceful steps to the stage, where Tobias grinned widely as he clapped with the audience. They embraced briefly before she stood before the microphone. “Thank

you for that flattering introduction, Gamma Tobias. It is my greatest pleasure to speak in this annual meeting. And it is my greatest honour to be selected by my fellow werewolves to speak this year.” A resounding applause from the werewolves before she continued, “As Gamma Tobias has said, last year has not been easy. In fact, statistically speaking, last year

was the worst we have ever fared as a species in werewolf history.” The hall was silent as

everyone waited for her to continue.

I-Ier expression turned serious. “All packs combined, we lost a total of 2,316 lives. Amongst

Scanned with Cams nnnn er them were 52 children who had never lived past the age of ten. We lost 15 packs when their Alphas and Lunas were killed during an attack. Before last year, the worst we had seen

was 203 years ago in the battle between vampires and werewolves. Even then, the death toll was only 1,857, and the packs lost were 12.”

She covered the microphone with her hand, and sighed in despair before her voice continued to ring through the speakers, “In our pack-to-pack post-mortem, we discovered that the deaths were due to a constraint in time and an insufficient number of trained warriors in a pack. Help was sought, but many who needed our help were hours or days away from where we were, and when we got there, we saw bodies, blood and demolished homes.”

Her fist was clenched on the podium as she held back her tears. “I will never forget the moment when I held a 6~year-old girl from the Black Night Pack in my arms as she whimpered, calling out for her mother. The medical team told me that the girl was crushed by the building we found her under for too many hours, and there was no way to revive her. Gamma Tobias was there, and we both tried our best to comfort her until she closed her eyes t 0 welcome death. Her mother, whom we identified a few hours later, had her corpse slumped

on a tree with dried blood surrounding her neck, undoubtedly oozed from her throat a few hours earlier.”

She stood back and took another breath. “We’ve all heard stories. Most of us lost friends. We can’t let our distance destroy our own. We must stop hoping that help will come on time when we need it because last year clearly showed that it may not. It’s time to stop wishful thinking. It’s time to step up. It’s time that every able pack member learned to fight. I’ve spoken to my Alpha, and he has agreed to offer training sessions to Gammas and warriors from any pack who are interested. It is better to have sufficient defenders in your own pack to buy your allies time to come help you.”

“With that being said, the Blue Crescent Pack is not the only one blessed with trained warriors. Many of you in this room have the necessary skills. You know who you are. Please, offer your grounds and your time. The rogues are getting stronger. The rumours about rogue Lycans have not died down. This is no time for pack rivalry. We are all the children of the Moon Goddess. In effect, we are siblings, whether we

like it or not. We don’t have to wait for any official to help us. We can help ourselves and each other. Let’s stand together, for the sake of your people and mine. Thank you.” 2

When she stood back from the microphone, the Lycans clapped politely, Xandar’s clap being the loudest. The werewolves were looking at one another, and Tobias’s eyes glazed over as he received a mind-link from his Alpha. When his eyes cleared, he shot Lucianne a cheeky grin from the side but she looked at him in confusion. He then stood closer to her, and faced the audience as he howled into the air. Every other werewolf in the room got on their feet and

howled with him. When the Lycans saw Xandar stood and howled with the werewolves, they too, howled along. 1

Howling instead of clapping after a speech was the highest honor for any werewolf or Lycan t 0 receive. It was so rarely practiced that some thought it was a dead myth. Tonight, Tobia s,

Scanned with Cams nnnn er upon being ordered by his Alpha, who had received support from the other wolves around him, revived the practice. If memory served Lucianne right, the last howl after a speech was about 200 years ago when the vampires and werewolves declared truce. She was moved. Tobias held her in a brief embrace the second time before she got off the stage.

Alpha Juan and Luna Hale couldn’t be prouder. Xandar walked towards her even before she

reached her seat, and held her in a tight embrace as he whispered into her ear, ‘You are beyond amazing.”

She blushed as she uttered, “I only do what I can, Xandar.”

He planted a deep kiss on her hand and said, “If only you could see how much that really is.”

Her cheeks flustered, and Xandar grinned as he cheekily traced the warmth forming there with his thumb. A few rows to theback, Sasha Cummings scowled at the affection Xandar was publicly displaying

to the little wolf who, up until last night, was a nameless creature under his reign. Next to her, Sebastian’s lilac eyes were turning onyx as he tried his best to restrain the animal in him, clearly angered and jealous at how Lucianne was looking at and interacting with their King.

@ Stina’s Pen Author

“ Will the brother—sister duo team up to break up the King and the Gamma? 2 What do you think they’ll do?