Cursed Lycan's Scarred Mate
Chapter 35: Danger up ahead

Chapter 35: Danger up ahead

While Avery was preoccupied with her fascinations with the horse, Vivian seized the opportunity to engage Ronan in conversation. She sneakily crept up behind him, intending to startle the man.

Ronan sensed her sly approach immediately, a smirk forming on his lips. His gaze shifted to the side, anticipating her attack, but he pretended to be engrossed in securing the backpacks on the white horse’s saddle.

What are you doing, little wolf? Ronan questioned internally, intrigued by Vivian’s sudden antics.

When the she-wolf drew closer as stealthily as possible, Ronan pivoted on his heels and swept her up, picking her up from the waist in one swift move. She gasped in surprise, her hands flying to rest on his shoulders.

"Thought I wouldn’t hear you?" Ronan teased, a sly and satisfactory grin plastered on his expression while his eyes flashed an amber glow. "You shouldn’t sneak up on a Lycan, little wolf."

Little wolf...it’s his Lycan. Vivian deduced, surprised that Ronan allowed his beastly half to take control.

The she-wolf giggled a mirthful laugh and playfully struck the Lycan Alpha’s shoulder for him to release her.

"Not letting go," Ronan’s Lycan said confidently, securing her with one arm under her buttocks while the other hand perched on her waist. "Little wolves that sneak up on big bad Lycans should he be punished."

Vivian pouted her lips innocently.

"I wasn’t sneaking up; I just wanted to surprise you," Vivian insisted. "Can you please put me down now?"

"Don’t want to." Ronan’s Lycan flashed a wolvish grin.

Vivian sighed in defeat, "Then I suppose I’ll just speak from here. I wanted to ask about what you went to investigate yesterday evening. I know...it wasn’t something trivial."

The Lycan Alpha’s eyes smouldered, becoming intense.

"It’s nothing. You don’t need to worry," he answered sharply, betraying the usual charming tone he used with Vivian. "You’re safe with me, my little wolf."

Although not pleased with the diversion of the topic, Vivian nodded understandingly. She still couldn’t quite dismiss the possibility that Moonborn wolves might have brazenly crossed the river in pursuit of her.

The Lycan Alpha finally set her down on her feet, his hand loosely resting on her waist.

"You look beautiful in this outfit too," Ronan’s Lycan complimented, anticipating the habitual shy pink shade that often painted Vivian’s cheeks when she was embarrassed.

The she-wolf flushed.

Ah, there it was.

Such a pretty colour against her creamy, fair skin.

Ronan’s Lycan couldn’t resist leaning down and kissing over the pink shade staining her cheeks, savouring the way the colour deepened after his lips touched her cheek.

Cute little wolf. The Lycan Alpha thought.

"Your turn," Ronan’s Lycan demanded, pointing to his own cheek with a mischievous smirk.

Although shy, Vivian gripped onto his shoulders to leverage herself enough to reach him and placed a soft kiss on his cheek. Her lips lingered there longer than necessary before she stood back fully on her feet and looked away.

"I’m not doing that again." Vivian remarked bashfully.

"Oh but you will, little wolf," Ronan’s Lycan teased again. "I always get what I want."

"I can scratch and bite too, you know," Vivian stated with a challenging glint in her pretty emerald eyes, holding the Lycan Alpha’s gaze confidently.

Ronan’s Lycan smirked devilishly, his hand gripping her chin possessively as he forced her to look up at him.

"And you’ll crawl and beg too, sweetheart," he promised shamelessly, eliciting another blush from Vivian, who withdrew after his lewd declarations.

"Let’s get going," he said a moment later. "We shouldn’t leave Clawveld too late. Can you ride a horse, little wolf?"

Vivian nodded and replied, "I can. It was the only thing Dane taught me to do."

And there it was again. The unwanted mention of her bastard ex-mate.

Ronan, can we kill him if we ever meet him? The Lycan consulted his host, determined to punish Dane for his despicable ways.

Agreed. Ronan replied earnestly, yet another matter he could wholeheartedly agree on with his beastly half.

The Lycan Alpha assisted Vivian and Avery in mounting the black horse, ensuring that everything was secure. A moment later, he mounted the white horse.

Simultaneously, they both snapped the reins and rode out of the stables to the departure gates of Clawveld.

Much like when she rode on Ronan’s back in his beastly Lycan form, Vivian enjoyed the thrill of sweet freedom the spring zephyrs granted her. Avery appeared rather overjoyed as well, her eyes beaming with excitement while she sat in front in the saddle with her aunt behind her.

After departing from Clawveld, they rode into another stretch of dense forestry. The winding paths and clustered trees were challenging terrain for their horses to gallop through; hence, they were forced to reduce their pace and allow the horses to navigate at a slower speed.

For some uncanny reason, Avery constantly shifted in the saddle, her gaze darting about their surroundings. Vivian was suspicious of her niece’s behaviour but assumed that the child was simply unaccustomed to travelling in this way and may have been uncomfortable.

Meanwhile, Ronan suddenly experienced a strange, painful, and throbbing pain in his joints. A peculiar scent, not belonging to Wickans or Shifters, assailed his senses.

The force of the pain grew more unbearable by the second, much like needles pressing into his bones.

Suddenly, Avery hopped off the horse. The child tumbled, but she regained her balance quickly and bolted off into the side path they were on.

"Avery?!" Vivian shouted after her niece, confused as to why the child would suddenly run off and hurt herself.

Ronan’s vision blurred and his sense of smell—his most heightened sense—faded into a cloud of confusion, which left him disoriented and vulnerable.

He could barely make sense of the situation or acknowledge that Avery had run off.

The moment Vivian pulled back the reins of her horse to halt the animal and unmounted it, two figures concealed in black cloaks with hoods over their heads emerged from the dense bushes and seized her.

Vivian struggled against them, but their hold was stronger than what she was capable of fighting against.

"Ronan!" The she-wolf yelled the Lycan Alpha’s name in distress.

However, Ronan’s consciousness faded and his body slipped out of the saddle, plummeting to the ground.