The Rejected Werewolf Princess

CAMILLA'S POV

None of what Ryker said made sense to me and the more I tried to make sense of it, the more it felt like my brain was being fried. I opened and closed my mouth a few times trying to make sense of what he had said but I got nothing. After a long two minutes of silence, I let out an exasperated sigh.

“What do you mean by you saw their life force?” I asked slowly, not sure if I wanted to hear the answer or not. “How does one see that? What the hell is going on?”

“I don't know,” he sounded just as confused as I was and that made me even more worried. “Something happened tc me, I don’t know what it was but I feel different. I could see her child dying and I could see the darkness that was inside Riley.”

“What darkness?”

I was having a migraine already and he hadn't even started explaining. I ran my hands through my hair trying to get semblance of sanity but it wasn’t working. Ryker dragged me over to the nearest bench and all but pulled me into it. He ran his fingers through my hair until I had calmed down considerably and it didn’t feel like I was about to go insane.

“I'm sorry,” I mumbled after a beat of silence. “This entire thing is just very overwhelming. Now can you please explain and start from the beginning,” he seemed hesitant to do that. I crossed my arms over my chest and looked a him despite the fact that he wasn’t looking at me. “Ryker, what are you hiding?”

“When we killed Reina, she did something,” he began slowly and my spine straightened. “I started having these dreams after of this darkness, it would speak to me. It felt evil, like death itself”

“That was why you asked Juan to go back there with you,” I deduced and he nodded. I tried to hide my annoyance that he hid this from me so I cleared my throat. “What else has been happening? What did you find there?’

“I found one of her dolls but it was of me. Don’t ask me how I knew, I just touched it and I did. I think she planned to die there and whatever she was working with, whatever magic she had, it came into me. I know it sounds insane but Audrey confirmed it too.”

This had my eyes widening and I shot to my feet. “Our daughter knew?”

“Please calm down,” his voice was soft and patronizing. “I didn't tell her, she told me. She said the dark magic was inside of me.”

“You didn’t think to tell me about that?” I asked and his face fell. “Why wouldn't you tell me about this? It could be dangerous for her to know. What were you thinking?”

I didn’t want to yell at him but the thought of Audrey knowing and having to hold this secret to herself was mind blowing. She was a child and she already had so much to worry about. The last thing she needed was to panic about the newfound dark magic that her father had. At least Ryker looked guilty.

“I didn’t want to tell her, Camilla, she just knew,” he whispered but that didn’t make it any better. “I'm sorry for not telling you. I wanted to but I couldn't. You were happy and for the first time, there was peace. I wanted things to go back to normal.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “You have Reina’s magic. There is nothing normal about that. Do you remember what she did with it?”

“I remember, but I also know that Reina was a terrible person. I don’t think the magic in itself is inherently bad. I haven't felt the urge to do anything bad-"

“Yet,” I cut him off and he frowned. “Don’t look at me like that, you don’t know what is coming.”

“Can you try to trust me at least?” he sounded a little annoyed. “I pulled out whatever darkness Reina had planted inside of Riley today and I might have just saved Christine's child. This could prove to be a blessing. So far, it has been of help to us.”

“It's dark magic, Ryker,” I deadpanned.

“I don't think magic is inherently dark or good. I think it matters how the person uses it,” I snorted and this seemed to annoy him even more. “Is it the magic you don't trust or is it me?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Do you believe that I can’t handle this?”

Yes. “That's not what I said.”

“Your wall is down,” I rushed to check and sure enough, in my panic, I had forgotten to put up my wall. I opened my mouth to apologize but he held up a hand to stop me. “l would have loved to know that you at least supported me on this. When you got healing powers out of nowhere, I supported you.”

“I do support you. This is just-" I was at a loss for words. “This is just different and hard to get used to.”

He said nothing. I knew I had messed up and it was going to take more than that to get hs trust back. I took a step towards him but the door to the physician's quarters opened and our argument was forgotten as Juan rushed out. He seemed in a daze, like he wasn’t quite himself. He was even stumbling lightly. We rushed over to him and Ryker put ¢ hand on his shoulder. For a full minute, there was no movement and then without warning. Juan threw his arms around Ryker and embraced him.

I watched the interaction with wide eyes and I could hear Juan repeating the same words over and over again “thank you. Ryker's eyes met mine and he had a look that clearly told me “this is what I was talking about!

Juan released Ryker after what felt like hours and cleared his throat. “I apologize for springing on you like that but you have no idea how grateful I am.”

“What happened to her?”

“I don't know,” his voice was hollow. “The physician said that she was weak and he couldn't hear the baby as usual. He was able to stabilize her and-" he trailed off with a sigh. “Thank you. I don’t know how you knew but thank you because if you didn’t warn us then she could have lost the baby."

“I'm just relieved that I could help. How is she?”

“She's good, she is resting. The babies are fine too.”

“Babies?” I asked and he nodded.

“Ryker was right, she’s having twins. The physician said he could hear two heartbeats.”

We stayed with Christine for a while and kept an eye on her for about half an hour. Ryker was the first to leave, he made an excuse about having something to do and walked off. I watched him go with a sigh because the entire time we sat with Christine, he barely even looked at me.

“Are you going to go after him?” Juan asked and I turned to him. “It's clear that something happened.”

“I just didn’t understand and I didn’t support him when I should have,” I said softly.

“l am assuming this has something to do with the witch,” I turned to him sharply and he laughed softly. “I am many things, Camilla, but stupid is not one of them. Ryker has been acting weird ever since Reina died. He went back to her death spot, he found the doll, which I am assuming you know about now. It isnt difficult to put two things together and know that whatever happened out there has something to do with this.”

“l just don’t see how Reina’s powers could be used for good. I don't get it. She was evil.”

“She was yes,” he paused before adding. “But Ryker is not. He saw the baby dying and he helped us. Reina would have killed it. You just have to trust him.”

“I do trust him, with my life even.”

“Then tell that to him because right now, he probably feels like you don’t”

Without another word, he turned back to his mate. I knew he was right and that was why I rushed to my feet and went after him. I followed his scent all the way to our room. He was shirtless and had his back to me. He didn't acknowledge my presence but that didn’t deter me.

“I should not have been on the defensive when you told me,” I said loudly but he still didn’t turn. “You were right, you have supported me at every turn, even when I didn't deserve it and I should have awarded you the same decency. I don't understand what is happening and I seemed to forget that neither do you. You need someone to help you navigate this and I am willing to be that person.”

I waited for him to speak but he didn’t.

“l was a terrible mate and I am sorry but we can do this together if you would let me,” he still didn’t acknowledge my presence and I was tired of waiting for him so I stormed over and stood in front of him. “Why aren't you-"

My words died on my throat when I saw his eyes. They were pitch black, there was not even a sign of light in them. I couldn't even see my own reflection in them. It was him but not him, I felt shivers run down my spine. I knew this wa the embodiment of whatever power was inside of him. I could feel it despite him not doing anything and I couldn't imagine how he felt with it inside of him.

I suddenly felt a new wave of guilt for not supporting him earlier.

“Ryker,” I probed and he slowly turned his head to me. He fixed his eyes on me but it was like he was seeing through me and not looking at me. “What's going on? Why are your eyes like that?”

He just smiled, a dark and wicked grin. “Hello, Camilla.”

0

CAMILLA'S POV

I tried to hide the fear that crawled up my throat but it proved difficult. Shivers ran up my spine because that voice, I was cold and it sounded like death itself. Still, I squared my shoulders and gave a small smile.

“You're the one inside my mate,” I said simply and Ryker- he- shrugged.

“I'm not inside of him, I am him. He is just refusing the bonding process but it won't take long now,” I watched as Ryker took a seat at the edge of the bed. “I am not all that evil, even though you would never believe that.”

“You don’t know what I believe.”

“I do, actually, Ryker has only scratched the surface of my powers. I can see auras but I can also tell when people are being truthful and when they are not. I can also sense emotions of sorts and I can see your distrust. You don't like me very much.”

“I don't like the idea of you, yes, but I trust my mate and I know that you cannot make him into what he is not” Ryker laughed. It wasn't his usual laugh, there was something dark about it, something almost sinister, it had my ski crawling and it made the room feel almost colder. He had an amused grin on his face and his brows was cocked as if he was mocking me.

“I have no intentions to change him,” he said. “I only bring out that which is buried beneath. You have this misconception that dark magic is evil, but it is not. I simply draw from what you are. I break down walls, I pull down the pretense and I show what truly hides beneath. You cannot fight yourself, Camilla.”

“You made Reina bad.”

“Reina was a power hungry witch who wished she could be the goddess. She wanted the power over life and death, she wanted to rival the goddess and I gave her that. I gave her exactly what she wanted. I did not make her into anything”

I frowned. He seems genuine but then again, I didn’t know what I was talking to. It could have been lying to me, it could have been trying to deceive me and make me trust it. I wasn’t sure what I could believe, especially considering that it came from Reina. Nothing that came from Reina could be trusted.

“Why did you choose him?” I asked finally.

“I didn’t, she did. She gave me away. She knew she was going to die, everything comes with a price, especially magic, but you would know all about that, wouldn't you?”

I kept my expression stoic. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“Oh, Camilla, dont play dumb. You healed those people at your own detriment. You gave up your powers to save your daughter and to save yourself, the spell over your other child's powers were broken.”

“How do you know that? My life had nothing to do with Audrey's powers.”

He chuckled. “There is a lot you are yet to learn, Camilla. Have you ever asked yourself what the consequence for your daughter coming back was? You were to lose your life but you didn’t. What do you think was taken instead?”

I couldn't respond because the honest truth was that I didn’t know what to say. My powers were taken, that was the price, he was trying to rile me up, that had to be it. Nothing else was amiss. Everything was fine and Aurora was alive He was just trying to send me into a panic.

“I don't want to talk to you anymore, just leave my mate alone,” I spat and he sighed.

“I tried,” he shrugged. “I already told you, I cannot just leave him. I was given to him and we have to merge. I am his until the day he draws his last breath. If you want to get rid of me then you have to kill him.”

“You're lying.”

“Suit yourself, but I have no reason to lie. Your mate now has powers, Camilla, I would have expected you to be happy for him, or did you enjoy being the only special one?”

I knew he was trying to rile me up and I should have ignored him but I couldn't help myself. “That isn’t what this is about!”

“Isn't it?” he mused. “The merging has already started. I guess you will get to see what kind of man your mate truly is”

Before I could say anything, Ryker's eyes closed. I stood there staring for a full minute waiting to see if anything was going to happen but there was nothing. One minute, his eyes were closed and when he opened them, he was himsell again. He looked a bit confused and disoriented.

“When did you get here?” he asked but I couldn't respond. It was clear he didn’t know what had transpired in the las few minutes. “I sat down to rest my head for a second and now you're here. Did something happen?”

CAMILLA'S PON ) ) ) oo Co ) None of what Ryker said made sense to me and the more I tried to make sense of it, the more it felt like my brain was being fried. I opened and closed my mouth a few times trying to make sense of what he had said but I got nothing. After a long two minutes of silence, I let out an exasperated sigh.

“What do you mean by you saw their life force?” I asked slowly, not sure if I wanted to hear the answer or not. “How does one see that? What the hell is going on?”

“I don't know,” he sounded just as confused as I was and that made me even more worried. “Something happened tc me, I don’t know what it was but I feel different. I could see her child dying and I could see the darkness that was inside Riley.”

“What darkness?”

I was having a migraine already and he hadn't even started explaining. I ran my hands through my hair trying to get semblance of sanity but it wasn’t working. Ryker dragged me over to the nearest bench and all but pulled me into it. He ran his fingers through my hair until I had calmed down considerably and it didn’t feel like I was about to go insane.

“I'm sorry,” I mumbled after a beat of silence. “This entire thing is just very overwhelming. Now can you please explain and start from the beginning,” he seemed hesitant to do that. I crossed my arms over my chest and looked a him despite the fact that he wasn’t looking at me. “Ryker, what are you hiding?”

“When we killed Reina, she did something,” he began slowly and my spine straightened. “I started having these dreams after of this darkness, it would speak to me. It felt evil, like death itself”

“That was why you asked Juan to go back there with you,” I deduced and he nodded. I tried to hide my annoyance that he hid this from me so I cleared my throat. “What else has been happening? What did you find there?’

“I found one of her dolls but it was of me. Don’t ask me how I knew, I just touched it and I did. I think she planned to die there and whatever she was working with, whatever magic she had, it came into me. I know it sounds insane but Audrey confirmed it too.”

This had my eyes widening and I shot to my feet. “Our daughter knew?”

“Please calm down,” his voice was soft and patronizing. “I didn't tell her, she told me. She said the dark magic was inside of me.”

“You didn’t think to tell me about that?” I asked and his face fell. “Why wouldn't you tell me about this? It could be dangerous for her to know. What were you thinking?”

I didn’t want to yell at him but the thought of Audrey knowing and having to hold this secret to herself was mind blowing. She was a child and she already had so much to worry about. The last thing she needed was to panic about the newfound dark magic that her father had. At least Ryker looked guilty.

“I didn’t want to tell her, Camilla, she just knew,” he whispered but that didn’t make it any better. “I'm sorry for not telling you. I wanted to but I couldn't. You were happy and for the first time, there was peace. I wanted things to go back to normal.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “You have Reina’s magic. There is nothing normal about that. Do you remember what she did with it?”

“I remember, but I also know that Reina was a terrible person. I don’t think the magic in itself is inherently bad. I haven't felt the urge to do anything bad-"

“Yet,” I cut him off and he frowned. “Don’t look at me like that, you don’t know what is coming.”

“Can you try to trust me at least?” he sounded a little annoyed. “I pulled out whatever darkness Reina had planted inside of Riley today and I might have just saved Christine's child. This could prove to be a blessing. So far, it has been of help to us.”

“It's dark magic, Ryker,” I deadpanned.

“I don't think magic is inherently dark or good. I think it matters how the person uses it,” I snorted and this seemed to annoy him even more. “Is it the magic you don't trust or is it me?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Do you believe that I can’t handle this?”

Yes. “That's not what I said.”

“Your wall is down,” I rushed to check and sure enough, in my panic, I had forgotten to put up my wall. I opened my mouth to apologize but he held up a hand to stop me. “l would have loved to know that you at least supported me