Lycan's Affection

Eleanor felt her knees buckle under her, her chest feeling strangely constricted. The tears flowed even harder, and she brought her knees to wrap around her. Her hands in her hair. It hurt. It was strange, but it hurt. Badly.

But it was selfish too. Like the way she had hurt Conaan all through, but felt weirdly abandoned mow. She felt strangely...heartbroken.

Conaan's eyes thinned as he watched the moon. It was alone, the night blanketed in a darkness far too bleak for the stars. And it felt the same with his heart.

He closed his eyes, sniffing a little. It helped with the tears sometimes, through the years, but not tonight. Tonight he felt like he had just gotten his heart broken all over again.

"You should give her time."

He sighed, already knowing the voice. "How much more?"

Meredith shrugged as she walked forward, then extended her hand to hold to the railing of the round floating hut. It was located in the large royal gardens, and it was Conaan's place to hide.

When the loneliness caught up with him. When the weight of being King caught up with him.

"As long as she needs, Conaan. She is...I am not sure. Conflicted."

Conaan turned to her, his eyes a little blurry because of the single tear that pooled under his eyes. "Does she not feel my affection enough?"

"On the contrary, she feels it too much. Maybe way too much. She probably feels it like a burden. A burden she is not sure what to do with."

"You are not suggesting I leave her, are you?"

Meredith shook her head. "Eleanor is my queen. The only Queen, I will, regardless of what happens here, recognize."

Conaan swallowed. "Then tell me."

Meredith pushed her hair back, then gave a small sigh. "If everything I heard was real, and true, Eleanor never got to get over the heartbreak. None of us, including her, can deny what she felt for the werewolf. She never got to forget it the proper way. She never got to properly heal from the betrayal. And there is the home she never stayed in. The people who are not sure of her. The man she should have loved instead. There is the guilt, the feeling of not quite deserving you."

Conaan took in a deep breath, his chest heaving. He felt tight instead. To him, Eleanor did not need to do much. She only needed to be here. With him. He could trade everything for her. Everything.

He swallowed, his fingers tightening around the bamboo rails that surrounded the hut. He said nothing, his chest heaving.

"I saw the desperation in her eyes, Your Highness. To grasp onto something. I may not understand why she refused to let you get rid of the wolf, but...think of how long it took you to be able to push the pain behind you. How long it took you to stop merely existing."

Conaan still said nothing, letting her words sink. She gave a small smile, then placed her hand on his shoulder.

"I believe you are even wiser than King Javier was. And Eleanor would eventually come to you. With or without the mate bond. She was capable of loving Alexander without the mate bond. If you have to rely on it, Conaan..."

"Then, I will always be beneath him."

Meredith smiled. "I hope it works out. For your Highness. And Her Highness."

Conaan didn't say anything else, and she slowly moved her hand, then removed the jade ring from her finger. "I always thought of giving it back to you. I believe the right owner will come for it soon enough."

Conaan stretched his palm, then carefully accepted the ring. It was still just as beautiful, and he swallowed, feeling his chest open up with more emotions than he knew how to contain. Feeling wasn't his forte, and he had only let himself feel for a limited amount of people.

But what they made him feel...what Eleanor made him feel....

Meredith slowly walked away, leaving him alone again, the ring clasped in his fingers.

"Brandon?" Eleanor called as she emerged from her chamber, her eyes reddened to a dark hue, her hair falling simply over her shoulder.

"Yes?"

She swallowed. "Where is..." She felt her voice trail off. She couldn't even bring herself to call his name. "His Highness?"

Brandon shrugged. "In his gardens. I think he wants to hide. For now, at least."

Eleanor swallowed, her hand clenching into a fist. "I need you to find something out for me without his knowledge."

"Without His Highness knowing? But..."

"Please. It is extremely important."

Brandon simply nodded, then walked forward. "What is it?"

Eleanor swallowed, then pushed her hair back, her fingers clawing at the strands. "Earlier when my uncle came, he started to say something, but...it got lost in the argument. I need to know the full story."

"Yes?"

"It is about the death of King Javier. Some things do not add up. My uncle had started to say that he used a fake illness as a ploy to get Conaan to marry Esmeralda out of pity. But if he was never ill, how did he die shortly after that?"

Brandon's brows furrowed. "I think he was..."

"You and I know how strong the royal lineage of the lycans is. King Javier could have been immortal if he so wanted. And if he had really severed my mate bond, he would not have been despaired by it, enough for his health to deteriorate that way."

Brandon swallowed, his brows furrowing. "You want me to keep this away from His Highness? He would hate to not know."

"It would...be too much for him to know. He is already dealing with so much."

Brandon looked at her meaningfully, then gave a slow nod. "I will investigate Anderson."

Eleanor nodded, then started to turn away.

"I don't know what happened but..."

She stopped in her tracks.

"His Highness has his birthday by the end of this week. Two days away. I am not sure what it means to you, but...I just thought you should know."

Eleanor blinked hard, then nodded. "Thank you for telling me."

He gave a small smile, before he walked away, his hands clasped behind him.