Bullied Mate Of The Lycan Kings
Chapter 48

Lily's

POV

I could not remember the last time I laughed this much.

Oh, I did. It was with Ren, I thought as Chelsea and Rhea giggled about something else that I might have smiled at if I had been paying attention. "Hey, are you alright?" Rhea asked me, putting a gentle hand on my shoulder and I nodded with a smile, for the first time believing that it was true. "I'm okay. I promise."

"You kind of zoned out just now, didn't you?" Chelsea added, observant as ever and I shrugged, embarrassed to explain that the reason I had zoned out this time had nothing to do with what happened at school but because I was thinking about Ren. My heart clenched for a second as the memory of his livid face flashed in my head.

"I just wanted to say you missed the best part of the story. Tell me where you stopped paying attention so I can give you a recap." She added and I smiled, heaving a sigh of relief and was about to answer when Rhea's phone beeped and she looked at it and proceeded to look at me.

"What is it?" I asked and there was a knock on the door almost immediately.

Was my mother back from work?

I looked at the clock in my room and shook my head. She wouldn't be back for a couple of hours at least, not that I would even know since we had not really spoken much in the past few days.

I missed her and even though she would never understand why I was choosing to go to Shadow Cove Academy, I had decided to accept that she was not saying it out of spite but because she truly cared for me and wanted what was best for me.

"It's Ren. He's downstairs." Rhea answered, raising her phone and showing me his message and my heart immediately skipped a beat when I saw his name.

It reminded me that if I had not blocked him, perhaps I could have been the one to receive the message.

"Can he come in? I can tell him to go if you are not comfortable with him here." Rhea said but I shook my head immediately.

"It's fine. I'll go and open the door. Will you guys be fine here?"

"Sure." Chelsea answered and pulled Rhea's ear which made the latter roll her eyes and glare at her.

"I'll bite you." Rhea growled and Chelsea smirked, looking at me.

"She's going to keep me entertained. You have nothing to worry about," she answered and I nodded, heading out of the bedroom and as I walked down the stairs, I could not help but feel ashamed, unsure of what I was going to even say when I got downstairs. Unsure of how I was going to face him.

He had been the very first friend that I had made besides Bia and it had been at the one place that I had believed it was impossible for anyone to want to be my friend, especially at the Academy.

And time and time again, he had proven that he was genuinely a good person, just looking out for me, but what had I done in exchange? My paranoid self had convinced me that Ren was obviously like everyone else and I had resorted to blaming him for every bad thing that had happened to me since our paths crossed, without even stopping to think about the fact that Ren was not that kind of person.

Now that I was in a better headspace, I realized that blocking him without even asking if he knew anything about what had gone down at my house was immature and foolish. And how could I have even thought for a split second that Ren was aware of what was going to happen to me in the studio. How could I believe that he'd be in cahoots with Aiden?

I should apologize. He's probably sick of me and sick of my hot/cold way of treating him. He's probably just here to get his sister and yeet out of my life.

Yes. That's what I'll do. Apologize.

Heaving out a huge sigh, I finally arrived at the door and hesitated.

What if that's really what he came for?

Perhaps I was overthinking this but I didn't think I would be able to take it if he was just here for his sister because Rhea had told me that they had made plans to go somewhere.

He had every reason to be sick of my constant accusations and want nothing to do with me anymore but it hurt to accept that it might even be possible that he didn't care for me anymore. This may be the last time I ever see his face. I better make it count.

Swallowing an anxious breath and practicing how to even start an apology, I opened the door and was about to speak but Ren pulled me into his arms before I could even get any words out. "God, Lily," he rasped, kissing my temple and rubbing my back.

I had no idea that I needed him to hug me and the fact that he was even doing so, that he was not pulling away from me made me break down into tears, a heavy weight lifting off my shoulders.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Ren." I whispered, tears pouring down my cheeks, an ugly sob leaving my throat. He pulled back and shook his head immediately.

"No no no," he said vehemently, his eyes piercing and desperate, "you have nothing to be sorry about, Lily. Nothing. God," he sighed.

I wiped my tears and finally got a good look at him.

"Ren!" I gasped. "What happened to you?!"

His usual beautiful clear skinned face was bruised up. There was a cut on his lips and a swollen bruise forming on his left brow and my eyes widened in shock, my hand raising shakily to touch his face and dropping back to my side. "Were you mugged?" It sounded even ridiculous that someone like Ren would even be mugged but it needed to be asked.

"No."

"What happened, then?"

A painful smile cracked his lips and he took my hand that was resting softly on his cheek and kissed my knuckles, obviously stalling.

"Tell me," I whispered.

His eyes found mine again and he sighed tiredly. "I picked a fight."

Huh?

I shook my head in disbelief. Ren picking a fight sounded unbelievable. He was probably the calmest, most unproblematic guy I knew. He had to be joking.

"I picked a fight with Aiden, Sebastian, Hanz and every other guy that may have been involved in hurting you." He added and my jaw dropped to the ground. "W- why would you do that?"

"They hurt you."

"Y-yes. But you didn't have to take it that far."

Aiden was his friend. His best friend! Friends don't beat each other up for outcast girls. Why would he go through the trouble? This could potentially cause a rift in their friendship. If it hasn't already.

He shook his head, flashing me a dimpled smile. "You don't get it, do you?"

I swallowed, momentarily mesmerized by the beauty that was Ren Hawthorne. "Get what?"

Leveling me with an intense gaze, he said, "I'm starting to find out that when it comes to you, I'm willing to do anything."

A shiver slithered through my spine at the genuine intensity in his eyes. I hated the way my heart lighted up at this because clearly, he must have meant it in a platonic way.

He chuckled and took my hand, shutting the door and leading me into my own home. Still speechless, I allowed him to lead me into the living room. My fingers were linked in his and he wouldn't let me go even when I showed him to a couch. "Let go," I tugged. "I need to get a first aid kit."

"You don't have to," he said, his grip tightening. "I'll be good as new in a few hours anyway. They're just flesh wounds."

"Ren," I persisted. "I want to do this. Let me take care of you."

"Where's the kit?" He sighed, accepting defeat but still not letting go of my hands.

"In the kitchen. I'll go-"

He rose from the couch and began tugging me towards the kitchen.

When I tried to release my hand, his grip only tightened.

"It's going to sound crazy but I'm scared, no, I'm terrified that if I let go, you'll slip from my fingers and get hurt again."

The intense look in his golden brown eyes, the scrunch in his brows. He meant it. He meant every word he just said.

I hated how my heart skipped and I just dropped my gaze and continued heading to the kitchen cabinet where I knew my mother kept the first aid box to distract myself.

He could not have meant any of what he said in a romantic way, right? Platonic. Platonic. This is all just platonic. Friends tell friends this all the time, right?

Shaking my head, I rose on my tiptoes and tried to reach for the handle of the cabinet and I sighed, remembering how I should have just gotten the stool that I usually used to reach up there but had been too flustered to remember that. "Let me help you with that." Ren said gently behind me and I gasped at how close he was behind me, the deliciousness of his scent of oud and bergamot, filling my nostrils as he reached for the cabinet handle to bring out the box.

He set it on the counter in front of me, spun me around and lifted me onto the counter, sitting my a*s on the cold quartz top. He stepped between my legs, his hands on either side of my hips and I hiccuped, heat rising to my cheeks. "This way, you don't have to stress those pretty little tiptoes of yours."

Of course. He was just being thoughtful. This was platonic as usual.

I hated how badly I wanted to kiss him.

But all I did when he handed me the box, eyes on mine, was give him a shy smile.

I cleared my throat. "Let's get you cleaned up."