Page 18

Maximus

I watched Kylie closely after our night of passion, searching for the subtle shifts that came with being mated.

I sensed a change in her that was undeniable.

She adjusted to the weight of being both luna and queen.

By day, she pushed through her duties, which sapped her of her strength.

By night, when we finally retired inside, I saw that exhaustion clung to her.

It was only when we surrendered ourselves to the intimacy of the pack bond that I saw the energy reignite inside her, making her whole again.

Then I had an idea: Kylie needed to build her strength in more ways than just through our bond.

She needed to develop her own strength in tangible ways that she could see progress in.

So I led her to the gym on the compound and showed her the machines.

I instructed her on how to work the weights so she could build strength without hurting herself.

That way, she could carve out a foundation of power she could claim as her own.

Kylie lifted a five-pound dumbbell and asked me, “Are you sure this is going to work?”

It seemed she didn’t have trouble with the five pounds, and I wanted to know where her limit was right now. “It’s possible. We need to do everything we can to build up your strength.”

She lifted the ten, then the fifteen. The struggle was apparent, her grip faltering slightly as she tried to steady the weight.

When she failed to lift the twenty, the reality settled in.

I had a clear measure of her strength. A lycan should be capable of lifting several hundred pounds with ease, yet she was straining at fifteen.

I didn’t expect her to be so weak, and I couldn’t ignore the truth when developing a weight plan with her.

The only path forward was clear. Kylie would have to start small and build herself up gradually.

For a lycan, that process should unfold quickly, as their bodies are designed for immense strength, rapid reflexes, and heightened speed and senses.

Outside of the sharpened awareness typical of our kind, her abilities lagged.

It didn’t make sense to me. She had a lycan present, yet she was incapable of lifting anything over twenty pounds.

There was no change or shift in her strength or abilities, even after we completed the mate bond.

Some unseen barrier was keeping her from reaching her full potential, and the cause continued to elude us.

This worried me because the pack respected strength, and they would not respect a queen who was incapable of projecting strength.

Some pack members were starting to cast wary glances at Kylie as she passed through the halls.

I could see their skepticism lingering as they leered at her.

She held her head high, unfaltering. She offered them the same warm smile that she always did and did not treat them any worse despite their doubt in her.

Her resilience and quiet kindness were strengths in their own right, proving the endurance she carried after everything she had suffered.

However, quiet kindness is not enough to convince a pack to follow you, and I feared it would not be sufficient.

Resilience is strength, but strength is also strength, and that is what the pack wanted.

Kylie had to embody the full strength, power, and command of a lycan, or the pack would tear her apart.

The mere thought sent a growl rumbling from my chest. I would allow no one to harm her, but I had a duty to my kingdom to ensure its survival.

I faced the harsh truth that she needed to be more than just my mate.

She needed to be a queen to the kingdom in every way that mattered.

“Let’s start out small and work our way up,” I told Kylie and showed her how to complete certain workouts.

Kylie crumpled to the floor, exhausted from the strain of this workout.

She was covered in sweat, and her face was pale.

I scooped her into my arms in a panic, but then her eyelids fluttered, and a hint of warmth returned to her cheeks.

I was relieved when I saw the color creep back into her face.

However, I could see the exhaustion in her expression and knew that this wasn’t over.

“Sorry,” she told me. “I feel better now.”

It was my touch that brought her back. Her body drew strength from the connection every time she felt exhausted or drained.

I had seen this look before: the flush in her cheeks, the glow in her skin, the way exhaustion melted away after we surrendered to each other completely.

But this was different. Something was wrong.

If the only way to heal her exhaustion was through my touch or physical closeness, then we had a problem.

What if I were away or couldn’t help her?

Would the pack take the opportunity to get rid of her when she was defenseless?

This was a problem we couldn’t afford to ignore because it went so much further than our bond.

Why was she like this? How could I fix this? My mind whirled with questions, but I couldn’t find a single answer.

I put Kylie in the tub to recover and relax. I hoped that she would fully regain her strength in the soapy waters. My mind churned with the need to restore her lycan strength as I left for the office. There had to be some kind of remedy or technique out there that could help her.

The walk was filled with obstacles and distractions.

My people stopped me at every turn, voicing their concerns, seeking guidance, and droning on about grievances.

Patrol reports came in, detailing rogue movements near our borders; each update I received annoyed me more and more.

When I finally reached my office, I slammed the door shut and sat down.

The relief of being alone was almost too much to bear.

But I had no time to dwell on it as there was work to do.

Eli walked into the room wearing a grim expression. “What’s wrong with you? You’re the only dude I know who has been having sex nightly and looks like that. How are you mad at the world right now?”

I shook my head to hide my amusement. “You don’t understand. Your mate doesn’t need your touch to survive.”

He cocked his head to the side and sat down in the chair across from me. “Wait. What are you talking about again?”

I gave him a rundown of what was going on. Eli listened intently and nodded along, not once stopping me to ask a question. He waited until I finished before breathing deeply.

“Dude… what? How is that possible?”

I thought about it for a long time and sighed. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t think that witch put a curse on her, too, do you?” Eli said, and the way I stared at him had Eli looking off to the side before he answered the question I hadn’t spoken. “She’s a witch. What if she could see into the future and find out who your mate was supposed to be and weakened her?”

It seemed like an answer, but it wasn’t. “No, Kylie said this has always been the case for her. That would mean the witch would have had to go back in time to curse her, and I don’t think magic extends that far.”

He shrugged. “If only that was the case. We could’ve just tracked down Zephyrine and made her undo the damn spell.”

“If only.”

Eli stepped in to help with the research.

We dug through every source to uncover anything that could explain Kylie’s condition and whether a cure existed.

I had never been the best at navigating research or the depths of the internet, so his presence was more than welcome.

Despite his best efforts, no answers surfaced.

There wasn’t a single record of anyone experiencing this before.

It was entirely uncharted territory with no guidance or solutions.

We were left with nothing but uncertainty.

So what the hell was going on with my mate?

“This makes no sense. How can her lycan be this weak if she wasn’t cursed? There is no condition out there that we know about or has been documented before like this, either.” I growled as I restrained myself from throwing the computer against the wall.

“I wish I knew the answer. What has the pack doctor said about this?”

“Nothing. He doesn’t have the answer, either. Kylie should have healed from the injuries inflicted by her father, and that should have been it. Her lycan is just weak.”

Eli growled and stood from his chair. “Don’t give up on her, Max. I know how you think. This has to be part of Zeph’s curse. Don’t discard something just because it’s not working out the way you think it should.”

“What else am I supposed to do, Eli? I have an entire kingdom to look after. If I have to be at her side to lend her my strength through touch, that doesn’t sound like I’m going to be an excellent king.”

He shook his head and sighed. “Why does the kingdom matter when you have your mate who needs you more? You’re doing a damn good job balancing both.”

“I can’t keep balancing both if this keeps going on!”

He walked toward the door and looked back at me with an unreadable expression on his face.

“The Moon Goddess gave you a gift, and you need to treasure her while you still can. If you think this is defining her, you aren’t seeing the bigger picture.

Whether it’s something that will fade away, something you need to work on, or something that she will face for the rest of her life, it doesn’t matter.

You are mated now, and she is yours to love and cherish forever.

” He sighed and walked through the doorway.

“Don’t let your pride get in the way, Max. ”

Pride. Was that what this was? I felt like this would damage my reputation as king, and that’s why I didn’t want a mate who was visibly so weak? The idea of rejecting her came to mind again, and my lycan snarled at me.

No. Mate needs us.

If she needs us to be in constant contact to survive, she could become a liability.