Cursed Lycan's Scarred Mate
Chapter 78: The truth about the massacres [1]

Chapter 78: The truth about the massacres [1]

Vivian never expected that Ronan would finally come to terms with his Lycan half so soon. What had changed over night when he was stubbornly objecting to every advance she made towards him?

Hauling herself up on her elbows and shifting until she was straddling Ronan’s torso, Vivian tilted her head to the side. Curiously, her gaze bore deeply into his, wandering beyond that cold facade he erected around himself.

Ronan, on the contrary, was quite satisfied with where she boldly perched herself with all her nudity on display for him to ogle appreciatively. Her azure silver hair fell over in waves over her chest and down to her thighs.

Ronan didn’t shy away from resting his hands on her hips, massaging and kneading the softness there. It was a habit he developed, almost as if his hands understood the tensions in Vivian’s body and were determined to relieve every ounce of strain from her.

"What changed your mind, Ronan?" Vivian asked sweetly, her voice honeyed and soft, much like the smile she looked at him with. "I want to know why you didn’t object this time. Was it because I was too persistent and made you frustrated?"

That wasn’t even a fraction of the truth. Persistent? Frustration? Sure enough, the she-wolf challenged every sense of self-restraint and attempted measures against his temper, but she was in no way forceful.

If anything, he welcomed her persistence, if there was any. Because in the end, without her insistence, he knew very well he would never concede to his own attraction and feelings.

However, his Lycan’s words rang freshly in his mind: fill her with our seed.

Ronan reckoned he might earn himself a merciless slap across the face if he presented that crude reason to Vivian.

Was it finally time to share the truth with her? Was it finally time to speak about the massacres Moonborn committed?

A part of Ronan feared how Vivian might react to that revelation. Considering the fact that she shouldered the burden of her brother’s crimes and believed she was deserving of such dark retribution from Estwood Coven, what would she think if she learnt why he despised Moonborn?

Ronan’s hand trailed up the side over her waist, his knuckles brushing over her belly, journeying higher to the valley between her breasts until his palm settled on her cheek.

Vivian welcomed the contact, growing accustomed to the small affectionate gestures she received from Ronan.

"There is something I wish to tell you, sweet little wolf," Ronan spoke in a tone lower yet deeper than usual. "But I want you to promise me that once you hear what it is, you will not blame yourself or begin to question your origins. Promiseme," he urged, his hand resting on her hip tightening.

Why would he demand such a promise from her? It was strange, yet Vivian didn’t question it and simply nodded in agreement.

"I promise," she made her pledge, taking his hand and placing it over the left side of her chest as a means of reassurance or like swearing and oath. "I promise I will not blame myself or question my origins."

Inhaling a deep breath, Ronan’s hand fell back to perch on her waist again. Vivian remained straddling his waist, but she bent her body forward until her chest was pressed against his body, laying flat against him and her ear rested against his chest.

Ronan’s arms enclosed around her, his chin atop her head, while his fingers carded through her hair soothingly.

He began to relate the events of the massacres vividly from memory.

Over a hundred years ago, in the independent Northern territory, Frosthowl Frontier of the Lunaris Beast Empire, various conspiracies ensured to cripple the reigns of power held by the Wolfsbane Clan.

Since the dawn of the Lunaris Empire, dominated by predatory feline shifters, the Wolfsbane lineage has always resided alongside them as allies and military resources.

Bound by mutual respect, the Wolfsbane Clan acted independently without domination from the feline shifters. They operated under their own banners, only providing military support in exchange for financial sums to the Lunaris Empire when needed.

Thus, in honour and respect of the Wolfsbane Clan’s loyalty and might, the clan was granted a rank of dukedom with influence within the Lunaris Empire’s royal court.

The Wolfsbane Clan was exempt from royal decrees and orders as they fortified the Frosthowl Frontier and subjugated enemy invasions into Lunaris on numerous occasions.

Lunaris, sharing a respectful friendship with the Wolfsbane Clan, sought ways to medically suppress the rabid instincts of Lycans, who were unfortunate enough to have never had their curses broken.

Tragically, such Lycans always ended up harming or eating their fated mates when the hour of absolute frenzied craze arrived to take control of them.

Understanding the dangers and risks of allowing purebred Lycans to run wild, Lunaris offered captivity to rabid Lycans with the permission of the Wolfsbane clan.

Thus, the rabid Lycans from the side branch of the Wolfsbane clan were held under captivity and watch of Lunaris while a team of specialised feline shifters researched ways to alter the deviations and late defects that occurred in rabid Lycans.

They assumed the curse cast upon Lycans was but a myth and that science would resolve the complications that the Wolfsbane Clan struggled with.

Yet at the same time, the military forces under the Wolfsbane clan were in a state of unrest due to invasions from various wolf packs.

And when Moonborn dared to cross over the borders of ShadowFall, poisoning the waters the Lycans residing there drank from and the forest they hunted in, the Wolfsbane clan fell into a critical state.

The Frosthowl Frontier was left nearly defenceless, with many Lycans dying from incurable poisons like Moondbind Draught and other deathly concoctions.

With the aid of other packs, Moonborn stormed through the Frosthowl Frontier, slaughtering many of the weakened Lycans mercilessly in their path.

Neither Lycan children nor the elders were spared from the hands of death.

The Frosthowl Frontier, a stretch of snow lands, was painted in blood until not a single patch of snow was visible.

"There was only one thing Moonborn and other packs united under the Moonborn banner were determined to do," Ronan related with anguish in his voice, his eyes narrowed with aged hatred.

Complete annihilation of the Wolfsbane lineage, which posed a threat to them for centuries.

If there was ever a time in her life that Vivian experienced pure anger—not sorrow or anguish but seething anger—it was now.

Listening to the events of the massacres her pack’s ancestors committed, she immediately sat up on his torso, and her pretty emerald eyes, which usually shined softly, blazed like flames of green.

She could feel the anguish and devastation in Ronan’s words as he related his clan’s history. The Lycan Alpha’s amber eyes seemed to waver ever so slightly, holding back years of suppressed sorrow.

While the history of Moonborn’s invasion into the Frosthowl Frontier had been passed down through generations in her pack, the records and events were fabricated to show that Moonborn and the packs united under them were the victims of cursed Lycans.

Ronan would have assumed her anger was for a pitiful show, but when actual tears pricked the corners of her eyes, the Lycan Alpha gazed wide-eyed.

Was she shedding tears for him? Did she actually feel that pained by what was done to his clan? How was he supposed to relate the rest of the story if it made tears stream down her face?

No. This isn’t what he wanted.

He despised seeing her cry.

Sitting up, Ronan cupped her face and brushed her tears away with the pads of his thumb.

"I’m sorry," he apologised sympathetically, his expression pained with worry. "It wasn’t my intention to upset you with this story or be the reason behind your tears. Please don’t cry, princess. I don’t think I can stand it."

The sight of her tears made his chest tighten and twist painfully.

"No," Vivian said firmly, shaking her head. This time, she cupped his face. "I’m not crying because I’m upset. I’m crying because I’m angry, Ronan. Angry for what my ancestors did to your family. Angry for the lies I was taught about us being the victims. Now...now I understand why you were rejecting me."

This was the moment Ronan feared. It was never his intention to cause misunderstandings. While it was true that he was sceptical because of her family lineage, he didn’t want her to know that.

It might have been selfish on his part, but he didn’t want her to despise her origins and blame her heritage or regret why she was born in the Moonborn pack.

As for Vivian, she knew she had no right to blame Ronan for rejecting her due to her bloodline. Anyone in his position had every right to do so.

If anything, she was impressed that the Lycan Alpha had come to trust her despite the horrors her ancestors unleashed on his family.

How strong did this man have to be to have set such differences aside and accepted her? To make love to her when she was a daughter of the enemy he despised?

Did she truly deserve any of that?