Cursed Lycan's Scarred Mate
Chapter 107: A drastic change

Chapter 107: A drastic change

Sated and exhausted, Vivian didn’t even notice exactly when Caelum had carried her back to bed. She’d immediately fallen into a deep slumber with the Lycan Alpha’s knot buried within her, feeling it subtly pulse within her before it deflated in the next hour and he slid out.

Vivian wasn’t conscious of the loss but her body already whined from his absence.

Much like in the morning when they first mated, Vivian remained boneless in bed while the Lycan Alpha tended to her needs. He cleansed her body with a warm washcloth dipped in water that was mixed with the herbal bath remedies Soran recommended for pain and burn relief of Vivian’s wickan symbols.

Caelum remained within control of his host’s shared mind, refusing to fade into the background so soon.

Vivian had granted him a name just as he wanted.

The meaning was unexpected and he wondered at a choice of names, contemplating whether there was a significant reason behind the name or not.

But his curiosity would have to be reserved for the morning since his content and exhausted omega was fast asleep, not even stirring as he meticulously wiped every inch of her body and dried it off before slipping one of his shirts over her nakedness.

She seemed rather satisfied, a peaceful expression on her sleeping face. Caelum wanted nothing more than to remain under the sheets with her tightly encased in his arms for as long as he wished, but he did not have such a luxury.

He slipped under the sheets behind her, his strong arm wrapping around her midsection to tug her smaller body back against his iron-toned one.

Caelum buried his face in the crook of Vivian’s neck, inhaling the sweetness of her after-scent of mating. It was a scent that subconsciously released from omegas after they’d been knotted—something mixed with strawberry and honey.

Vivian mumbled something incoherently in her sleep, her brows furrowing as it seemed her mind had been experiencing some sort of unrest. Her body convulsed in a strange way and she began to plead for mercy.

Her sudden outburst alarmed Caelum.

In Vivian’s mind, she was reliving the dastardly memory of when Alaric Alessandro Crowley was cruel enough to pass judgement on her for a crime not comitted by her hand. She could still feel the wickan symbols burning just as strongly as when they were first scorched into her skin.

The horror of that moment, Alaric’s menacing red eyes that watched her misery unfold as he burnt each symbol into her body with agonising slowness just to elicit her painful screams, was forever etched in her mind.

She remembered recoiling in fear and pain each time but her arms and legs were subdued by two of his Wickan lackeys, holding her down so that she couldn’t escape. That moment of unjust punishment had become a recurring nightmare since that day, but when she met Ronan and Caelum, it seemed to have stopped.

So why return now?

Was it because she met Alaric again and her mind was forced to remember her suffering under his touch?

Vivian’s body trembled as she fought against the dark Wickans in her nightmare, her screams following through into reality.

Caelum swiftly turned her around in his arms, gently shaking her awake when he saw anguished tears streaming down her face. And when Vivian finally came to, she gasped, taking in a deep breath as if she’d just emerged from under water.

She sat up, prepared to run and escape the nightmare that had her locked in moments ago.

Caelum’s strong arms embraced her from behind, pulling her back onto his lap.

"Breathe, princess," Caelum murmured softly against her hair, slowly releasing his pheromones to calm her down. The pinewood scent filled Vivian’s nostrils, immediately suppressing the adrenaline rush coursing through her body. "It is me, Caelum."

Vivian’s breathing laboured when she heard his soothing voice, her chest rising and falling at a steady pace compared to a few minutes ago. Her body, tense and quivering, leaned back against him and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"You were having a nightmare," Caelum stated, his brows taut with unease. "You were screaming, princess."

Vivian’s shoulders slumped in weariness and she rested her head back against his shoulder. His arms around her never left, nor did his pheromones that were keeping her sane and in control of her own state.

"Do you want to tell me about it?" Caelum asked thoughtfully, nuzzling her neck with the bridge of his nose. It was a gesture used amongst wolves and lycans, an intimate one between mates, to relax each other.

"I was dreaming of the day these Wickan symbols were burnt into my skin," Vivian revealed, feeling more comfortable than before to be truthful and transparent with Caelum. Somehow, it was much easier to speak her mind with him than it was with Ronan. With Ronan, there was always the fear of being judged.

A shadow passed over Caelum’s expression.

He despised Alaric Alessandro Crowley with every ounce of his existence and if it were not for the skirmishes that could spark from the South if he acted irrationally, the Lycan Alpha would have gone straight for the bastard Wickan’s throat.

Still, that limitation didn’t mean that Caelum and Ronan would simply sit by and allow Alaric to remain free of any punishments or judgements.

The moment they returned to Frosthowl Frontier, things would be different and new plans would be set in motion.

"I could still remember his... his eyes... the way they looked at me and his hands... I could still feel the way they touched me," Vivian continued, her nails subconsciously digging into Caelum’s forearms wrapped around her.

The Lycan Alpha wasn’t the least bit bothered by the pain, even as her nails broke the skin hard enough to draw blood. If it would ease her trauma and pain in any way, then he would welcome whatever she did to him.

For the first time in his life, Caelum was at a loss for words.

What could he say to comfort her?

Make promises for revenge on her behalf?

And then never get around to fulfilling those promises?

No amount of sweet words would erase the darkness from Vivian’s mind or comfort her from the mental pain.

There were herbal remedies to give her relief physically, but mentally?

None.

"These scars... will be with me forever; the symbols will always be on my body to remind me of that day," Vivian said in between sobs, trying to gather her wits. She berated herself for still being so weak and shedding tears of the memory.

"Scars are beautiful, princess," Caelum answered, brushing her tears away. "Shattered jewels are more desirable than whole pearls. Do you know why?"

What was he getting at?

Vivian didn’t understand and simply shook her head, burrowing herself back into his arms.

"Shattered jewels have sharp shards with which to pierce me," Caelum spoke in a hushed tone, leaning in close. "The cuts make me feel alive. The pain from them makes me feel human. You are that shattered jewel that reminds me that I am not just a mindless Lycan who cannot feel."

Caelum’s aura seemed to have a drastic change.

The pheromones that he released to initially relax Vivian seemed a bit...suffocating.

Something in him changed in the spur of the moment.

And Vivian had to admit that his words were rather unusual and a somewhat unorthodox way of comforting her. She didn’t know whether she felt comforted by his words or not because the Lycan Alpha was practically accepting and acknowledging the fact that she was broken.

Why did his demeanour suddenly change?

This wasn’t like him at all.

"You say the sharp shards allow you to feel pain? Is my brokenness something that makes you feel alive?" Vivian asked coldly, her gaze hardening ever since his dark words made something twist within her chest.

Caelum’s lips widened with a subtle, sinister smile.

"Yes, I take pleasure in your helpless, shattered state," he confessed, his eyes flashing with the icy blue hue that it did earlier. "That way, you can cling to me and only me because only I can pick up your broken pieces, feel the pain of your cuts, and still hold them."

Vivian’s eyes widened with a mix of fear and disbelief.

What had gotten into Caelum?

She felt a deathly cold chill emanate from him, running through her body like an icy spear.

Something was terribly wrong.