Page 29 of Destined to the Lycan (The Shadow Realms #3)

“You would give your life for a dying female you barely even know? Do you think yourself so fucking special that you could survive such a journey? Do you really think you are the one meant to protect her?”

“I do not think myself particularly special,” I replied carefully, baffled by his irrational anger. “But I’m definitely determined to see this through. Amara is my Twin Flame. I’ll do anything to save her.”

“You don’t even love her!” he snarled, further increasing my confusion at his odd reaction.

“You’re correct. I’m not in love with her…

yet. But I care deeply about Amara. My physiological responses to her may have been the initial draw, but the past few days in her company were enough for me to know that we’re indeed fated, and that I will fall madly in love with her.

I’ve never met such an amazing soul in my life or one whose mere presence makes me happier. ”

To my dismay, his fangs descended, and the longest, most vicious claws I had ever seen extruded from the tips of his fingers. By the furious way Lyall was staring at me, I believed he was fighting the urge to lunge and tear me to shreds.

What the fuck is going on?

After what felt like far-too-many seconds, Lyall appeared to get his emotions back under control. Although his fangs remained visible, his claws receded back to a more normal nail length. They remained still a little pointy but not dagger-sharp as they had previously been.

“If you truly care about her, then you will leave her to me,” he said in a mysterious tone, his gaze intense.

I recoiled, my movements restricted by the paralysis he still had imposed on me.

“What?!”

“I can keep her alive,” he continued, eyes locked with me.

My heart leapt. Doppelgangers didn’t lie. Could he possibly help save her?

“You can cure her?” I asked, the hope audible in my voice.

It faded almost instantly when Lyall hesitated before shaking his head.

“I cannot cure her,” he said carefully. “But I can neutralize the poison whenever it resurfaces. Amara could lead a long and safe life. You cannot make the same boast. Unlike you, nothing in these woods or throughout these mountains can harm me, and therefore anyone under my protection.”

“Not even Ranael?” I challenged.

Once again, he hesitated. He lowered his gaze as he reflected on his response before locking eyes with me again.

“Ranael could never get to me unless I allowed it,” he finally replied.

I wanted to pry further, but the expression on his face made it clear I wouldn’t get any more information as to the potential outcome of a confrontation between him and the demon wolf. Anyway, that was the least of my concerns. All that mattered was my mate.

“You say you could neutralize the poison killing Amara. And after that? Will she be able to go back to her old life?” I asked.

“No. She will have to stay with me,” Lyall said, lifting his chin with a subtle hint of defiance.

A powerful wave of jealousy crashed over me, and all of a sudden, everything became clear.

His anger whenever I professed my devotion to saving her and how we were Twin Flames.

The almost evil smirk that stretched his lips once he noticed I finally understood his intention to keep my woman for himself angered me.

“You can’t have her!” I snarled. “You may covet her, but Amara is mine! She’s my Twin Flame not yours .”

“A Twin Flame that you are allowing to die,” he spat back while taking two angry steps towards me. “Amara has seven days left to live, eight at the most. You will never get to Ranael in time!”

“You imply that you care for her and yet you detain us here, delaying us further? How about you help us instead?” I shouted back.

“And deliver her to you?” he replied in a disdainful tone.

It was my turn to look at him with contempt. “Based on your previous comment, I assume that you’ve tasted her blood, which allowed you to experience the wonder that she is, all her memories, and all her past experiences. And yet, you will let her die if you can’t have her?”

“ I am the better choice!” he shouted, slapping his hand on his bare chest. “I can be everything that she wants or needs.”

“You can be an illusion of what she wants!” I countered. “Fate chose me for Amara. Your soulmate is another that you shall meet in time.”

Lyall huffed, but I didn’t miss the glimmer of pain that flashed through his eyes.

In that instant, a part of my anger towards him gave way to a sliver of sympathy.

I didn’t know what he was, but I suspected that, like me, he was an outcast among his peers.

Loneliness cut deeper than the sharpest tongue from those who belittled us.

“If you love her, you will put her welfare before yours,” I said in a gentle tone. “If Amara was not my Twin Flame, I would reluctantly step aside and let you look after her. But Fate paired us. No one can ever love her more than I will, and vice versa.”

“Like hell you would!” Lyall hissed. “You would cling to her even at the cost of her life, just like you are right now!”

I shook my head. “Like you, I do not lie. I will always put my mate’s happiness before my own. In fact, I suspect that you’ve already made that same offer to Amara, and she declined. Just so you know, had she accepted, I would have honored her wishes, wrong though they might be.”

“And you expect me to believe that drivel?!” Lyall challenged.

“The Weaver is never wrong, Lyall,” I said calmly. “If you were the solution, she would have sent Amara to you, not me.”

To my shock, Lyall released a savage growl and lunged for me.

Paralyzed, I stood helpless while he painfully fisted my hair on my nape, yanked my head back, and buried his fangs in my exposed neck.

I gasped at the sharp pain. I knew his people possessed a venom that numbed the point of puncture and could even put their victim in a state of euphoria that encouraged them to submit while having their deepest thoughts and memories plundered.

He afforded me no such courtesy.

He wanted to hurt me and was doing a great job of it.

But I couldn’t hate him for it. A doppelganger’s bite allowed them to know a person even more intimately than they knew themselves.

It was like having spent a lifetime with that person.

His feelings for her weren’t superficial.

If I was already this crazy for my woman by just spending a few days by her side, I could only imagine how much more potent his affection for Amara had to be after he shared such a deep connection with her.

I hissed when he brutally pulled his fangs out of my neck tearing some of my skin in the process.

He took a few steps back, staring at me with an anger that bordered on hatred.

And yet, I didn’t miss the hurt, sadness, and even resignation in his eyes.

Once again, he appeared to be battling with himself not to give in to his primal and violent urges.

“I could kill you, right here and now, and make this entire discussion moot,” he said in a dangerously low voice.

I swallowed hard, the movement making my puncture wound sting in my neck. I ignored the sliver of blood that trickled from it as I slowly nodded.

“You could, and there’s obviously nothing I could do to stop it. But if you do, Amara will know, and she will never forgive you for it,” I said in a reasonable tone. “You could choose to help us instead. And she will be forever grateful to you.”

“I don’t want her gratitude,” Lyall spat. “I have no use for it.”

“But you also don’t want her to die,” I replied matter-of-factly. “Her happiness is in your hands. It’s up to you what happens next. Your choice to make.”

That last sentence appeared to strike a nerve. I wondered if my mate had made a similar comment to him.

His shoulders slouched, and he appeared defeated.

That took me for a loop. This vulnerable reaction from such an intimidating, powerful, apex predator seemed impossible.

He turned to look at the open door of the cabin behind him.

Bitterness, anger, and sorrow flashed in quick succession over his otherworldly features.

He glanced back at the ground then appeared lost in thought. I bit back the urge to try to further convince him. My gut told me that he had already come to a conclusion—and a positive one for us—but needed a bit more time to make his peace with it.

“You must counter the poison killing her,” he said at last in an almost emotionless voice, his eyes still lowered.

“In many ways, you are Ranael’s son. A tamer version of his snake’s venom runs in your veins.

You’re letting her die by denying it to her.

It is too weak to cure her but concentrated enough to extend her life for a few more days. ”

I froze, my mind reeling. Obviously, I had always known that my blood, seed, and other bodily fluids contained some form of poison due to Ranael.

But never once did it cross my mind that it could be the same as one of his two venoms. If the bite of the Cursed Demon Wolf’s snake tail could neutralize the poison currently coursing inside Amara’s veins, then I could potentially do the same for her.

“Are you telling me to give her my seed?” I exclaimed, still stunned.

To my shock, Lyall bared his teeth at me, every single one of them lengthening into sharp daggers while his features twisted into a terrifying demon, ready to kill. In that instant, I genuinely believed he was going to tear me to pieces.

He was truly in love with Amara and couldn’t stand the thought of another’s hands on her.

Time stood still while Lyall battled his inner demon.

I lowered my gaze so as not to provoke him further.

He was breathing heavily, his fingers twitching with the urge to stab me with their vicious claws.

Although he didn’t retract them, the doppelganger finally took a couple of steps back, his features still twisted with fury.

“Fail her again, and there will be no end to the torment I’ll inflict upon you, pup,” Lyall hissed, his voice sounding almost doubled. “Do not travel the woods tonight. Sleep here and leave at first light. Follow the blue trail to the path.”

“What blue trail?” I asked.

He stared at me with something akin to hatred but didn’t respond. The lightning stripes under his skin began to glow, and he shifted into a giant bird I had never seen before and took flight. Moments later, the illusion faded.

Gone was the lush forest all but hugging the cabin. Instead, I was standing in front of a cave in a clearing. Our two horses idled nonchalantly outside. But the scent of Amara hitting me hard was all that retained my attention.

I shouted her name and ran into the cave.