Page 61 of The Unwanted Mate of the Lycan Kings (Unwanted #1)

The next vision I am shown, I find myself in King Theron’s chamber.

I take a deep breath, my eyes fluttering shut as the vision envelops me.

I can feel the familiar pull of my ancestor’s magic, the essence of my mother’s memories mingling with it, but there’s something else too—a thread of power that seems to stretch beyond them, connecting to something I can’t quite grasp.

It’s almost as if the memories I’m seeing have been woven into the fabric of the coven’s magic itself, preserved not just by my mother and grandmother but by the entire lineage of witches that came before me, giving me a glimpse of a past that wasn’t my mother’s but of them, of the Lycan king’s.

“How am I seeing this?” I whisper, my voice trembling as I find myself in a scene my mother wasn’t present for.

I understand how I can see my mother’s and grandmother’s memories but not theirs.

A voice echoes in my mind, one I don’t recognize, though distant and faded.

“Our magic is not bound by the limits of what we know, child. It reaches into the past, into the very essence of those who came before us. The memories you see are not just your mother’s, but the collective memory of our coven and of time itself, the whispers of the past that have been passed down through the ages. ”

My eyes widen as the realization settles over me.

The visions I’m seeing aren’t just my mother’s memories—they’re of time itself, showing all events leading to her death and the ramifications of after.

It’s a gift, but also a burden, to see the truth of what has come before, to understand the choices and sacrifices that have led us to this point.

The room is filled with tension as he stares down at his sons, Regan and Zeke, who were forced on their knees by two burly guards. The flickering torchlight casts eerie shadows on the walls, making the scene even more sinister.

“I have never questioned my family’s loyalty more than I have over the last few days.

First your mother tries to set them free, and then I hear from the guards and Lyon about your betrayal.

” Theron’s voice is cold and emotionless when he turns his hard gaze on Regan.

“But right now, I’m questioning whether you’re even worthy of a place in my kingdom, let alone the fucking throne.

” His eyes move to Zeke. “But as my sons, I will offer you a chance to prove yourself.”

Regan clenches his fists, his anger palpable as he glares at Lyon, who has his eyes downcast next to his father’s throne.

Without warning, Theron places a knife to Regan’s neck, his voice dripping with malice, making Lyon gasp. Zeke looks at his father in bewilderment.

“Choose, Zeke. Your brother’s life or the baby’s. From the information I’ve gathered from the guards, you and Regan were overheard fighting over Litha’s spawn.” Zeke hesitates for a moment, glancing at Regan, who swallows hard.

“Why should I care about a baby?” Zeke replies, but it’s obvious to me that he’s trying to mask his concern, or maybe he’s trying not to draw his father’s attention to me being his mate. Mate —as that word comes to mind, it burns my soul.

“That’s not an answer, Zeke,” Theron snarls, sliding the knife down Regan’s chest. Regan growls but holds still, and I can see the fury in his eyes as his father carves a line, blood gushing and spilling on the floor.

“Of course, I choose my brother. Blood is thicker than water.”

Theron’s eyes narrow, gauging Zeke’s reaction. “Is that so? Well, in that case, Regan, it’s time for you to choose where your loyalty lies.” Zeke glances at Regan, who clenches his teeth.

“Kill the baby and the hag,” Theron orders. Zeke tries to get up, but his father’s eyes cut to him. “If you don’t. You are both banished from the kingdom. Bring me their bodies when you’re done.”

“Father...” Lyon stumbles forward, looking at his brothers in alarm when Theron turns on him. “Would you like to share a cell with your mother, Lyon? Are you planning to disobey me, too?”

“I’ve done what you asked of me!” Lyon snarls.

“Yes, you have, but at what cost? You still betrayed your family. You betrayed your brothers by coming to me.” Lyon guiltily looks away, and Theron turns his attention to his sons.

“So what will it be, Regan?” Theron demands, turning back to Regan.

Regan nods once, and Theron nods to the guard holding him.

Regan then stands, turns on his heel, and walks out the doors while Theron smiles cruelly.

***

The next vision twists and warps and materializes around me.

And I find myself once again forced to follow Regan.

He goes to the dungeons, and I feel sick watching all this play out.

So much heartache and betrayal, and as I come to learn in this one, it’s all for nothing.

So many lives were lost in a war over the selfishness of one man’s infidelity. King Theron.

There, in the cell beside Regan’s mother, is Litha.

She stands under the bars of the window, gazing out at the moon, her eyes close as the moon lights up her face.

My granny sobs beside her, shaking her head and clutching me.

“What’s done is done,” Litha tells her mother.

“You don’t need to do this, there is another way. ”

“No, mother, there is no other way. I’ve seen it,” Litha tells her.

“Seen what?” Regan demands, and his eyes go to his mother in the cell beside Litha.

“Fate!” Litha says coldly at the moon. Upon seeing Electra, Regan freezes in place, seemingly shocked by the state his mother is in.

“Regan,” his mother whispers, her voice weak and scared. “You must help them. Your father is planning to kill them.” Regan says nothing, but his eyes go to Litha in the cell beside his mother.

Electra gasps. “He sent you to do it...” Electra shakes her head, and Regan clenches his jaw. Yet as the vision plays out, I come to learn the true extent of Theron’s cruelty.

Queen Electra could not bear the thought of Litha’s fate and tried to save her, but King Theron stubbornly refused to admit his lies, so he locked his wife up.

Queen Electra explains this to Regan. She says the only thing Litha was guilty of was admitting one of her coven witches was having an affair with King Theron and was plotting to kill her.

His infidelity and her desire for a divorce set everything in motion.

This was not over some war between families, but his father’s inability to accept responsibility.

“If you kill the oracle and the baby, you will be no better than your father. Don’t kill your mate. Is that regret you can live with?” Electra asks.

“You know?” Regan asks.

“Yes, Lyon realized he made a mistake. He didn’t realize she was his mate until after he came back with your father. Lyon came to me and asked for my help to get them out. I tried, but—Well, you can see where that got me.”

“I was never coming here to kill them. I was going to run with them,” Regan tells his mother.

Regan opens the cell door, and Litha stands defiantly inside, her arms protectively around her baby.

“Litha, we have to go!” Regan urges, his eyes wide with desperation.

Litha shakes her head, her eyes filled with a deep, weary sadness. “It’s too late, Regan,” she says, her voice barely above a whisper. “You should have kept your promise. You should have set us free when I asked.”

Regan steps closer, his voice pleading. “Litha, please, I can still get you out. We can still make it.”

“No,” Litha says firmly, her gaze steady. “I can’t cloak us anymore. My power is fading, and I won’t risk my baby. I won’t risk her life for a promise you already broke.”

Regan’s face falls the weight of his failure evident in his eyes. “Litha, I’m so sorry...”

She looks away, her expression resolute. “Sorry won’t save us now. Go, Regan. Save my daughter while you still can.”

“No, it’s not too late we I can still get you…” Litha cuts him off.

“King Theron blames me for exposing his affair and putting a stop to the queen’s quiet assassination. He will stop at nothing until I burn.”

Resigned to her fate, Litha closes the cell door and locks herself back in. Electra begs her to reconsider and to run with her mother. Litha just looks at Regan.

“Save the oracle, and you’ll save the last female lycan,” Litha continues. “Set them free, and I’ll consider giving you a chance to break the curse I’ve placed on your kind, on your family.”

“Curse?” Regan asks.

“Yes, your kind has proven that you do not deserve mates, so I’ve taken them away. No female lycan will be born again until the curse is broken.”

“Wait, what do you mean? He’s setting them free like you asked,” Queen Electra says, and Litha looks at her through the bars between them.

“Mate bonds are sacred, granted by the moon. They are meant to be protected. Your kind has proven that they do not deserve mates. So I’ve taken them.

Your sons failed to protect theirs, my daughter.

Your husband disregarded his. When I burn, take note that the lycan race will lose their chances of ever finding their mates again or fathering a daughter until the curse is broken. ”

“But you can reverse it?” Regan asks.

“I can...but I won’t. My people died, and my kingdom fell. And so will yours,” Litha states before wandering back to her steel bed and taking a seat.

“Get them out, and I’ll consider giving you an out. You fail... the Lycan species will be erased.”

Regan hesitates for a moment, his body rigid with tension. I try to reach out, my wispy, ghost-like hands grasping at the air, attempting to touch his shoulder, to do something. But my fingers pass right through him, leaving me with a hollow, helpless feeling.

Regan growls, his face contorted with determination, quickly helping my granny and setting her free. I can feel my heart pounding, wishing I could help, wishing I could be more than just a silent observer in this nightmare.

Suddenly, the scene shifts, the cold dampness of the cells fading away.

I blink, disoriented, finding myself in a new room—a grand throne room, adorned with dark banners and a heavy air of authority.

Regan is now standing before his father, their tense conversation already underway.

My presence feels even more intangible here, like a whisper on the edge of a storm.

I try to move closer, my hands still reaching, but all I grasp is emptiness.

I’m here, watching, unable to intervene, unable to do anything but witness.

King Theron sits on his throne, his gaze sharp and demanding. He leans forward, his eyes narrowing at Regan. “The oracle escaped, but the daughter is dead!” Regan says, his voice shaky but trying to appear confident.

“I said to bring me their bodies. If she escaped, where is the baby?” Theron demands, his voice cold and unyielding. Regan falters, trying to find an excuse for not having my body.

Suddenly, the doors are kicked open, and everyone’s attention turns to Queen Electra. She storms in, clutching a bundle of fabric in her arms, tears streaming down her face.

“You bastard, you cruel bastard. Sending your son to kill an innocent child!” she screams.

Regan looks at his mother in panic as she thrusts the bundle into his arms and then slaps him.

“You’re just as bad as your father!” she yells.

Regan looks confused and shocked that his mother hit him, even though she was there when he set them free.

Regan looks down at the baby in his arms. He realizes that it’s not Litha’s daughter, but another baby.

The tiny body is pale, with a stillness that could suggest illness or perhaps a natural death.

He glances up at his mother, understanding dawning on him—she was trying to protect him, to give him a way out.

Zeke sputters and staggers forward. “No!” he gasps, but Regan pulls the bundled-up baby away before he has a chance to see for himself.

“What have you done?” Zeke chokes, thinking that Regan has killed their mate.

“I did what I had to for my kingdom,” Regan states.

King Theron laughs. “And that is why you’re worthy of the king’s throne. So, son, how will you prove your worth?” he asks, turning to look at Zeke.

Zeke staggers back, clearly disgusted with his brother and his father, while Lyon looks on the verge of being sick. “No...I will kill you for this,” Zeke threatens.

“And kill yourself. Remember whose lives are tied to mine, Zeke,” Regan snarls back, looking at Lyon and then Zeke. “Blood is thicker than water.” Regan states.