My Sweet, Tyrant Lycan Mate

Chapter Thirty-Three

– A Past So Haunting

Zack’s POV

I spent all of yesterday and today preparing for what seemed like a huge leap forward in uncovering a horrible truth. After the doctor confirmed that the little girl was going to be sent to The Garden, Max’s father, Miles, helped me with getting paperwork together to pass the inspection gates.

I was so exhausted from the Fire Wolf burning non-stop and all of the preparations that I passed out in bed. I was hoping to use the downtime to spend time with Lily, but I could hardly keep my eyes open.

When I fell asleep, I was thinking that it was going to be another dreamless night. It had been for the longest time, even after meeting Lily.

But tonight was different. It was like I was receiving another message from those who watched over me. It had a hell of a way of delivering it, too.

When I opened my eyes to the dreamscape, I looked around to gather a sense of where I was. The room was painted in a delicate, very light shade of blue. The walls also had fluffy clouds painted on the walls with picture frames of a family.

My family.

I looked up to see a face I hadn’t seen in a long time–the face of my mother–smiling down at me with love in her eyes. I tried to speak but all I could say were incoherent babblings.

I’m a baby here… But why?

As I tried to reach for my mother, I started to feel a hand wrap around my neck and a lack of oxygen entering my body. My vision was fading and I began to cry.

She must’ve been crying, too, because I felt water drop on my face.

However, it all stopped, and slowly, oxygen began to enter my body again. My vision came back and my mother was cradling me against her chest as she wept softly.

“I’m so sorry… I’m so sorry… I can’t do this…”

For reasons unknown, my mother tried to kill me. I blinked my eyes at her a few times as my crying subsided, and she smiled at me through her tears.

“I love you, Zack. I love you so much.”

Then the dream shifted to a complete nightmare.

The dreamscape warped to when I was 10 years old. Specifically, to the day my mother died. I only remembered because of the sea of black I was surrounded in.

Lycans from across other packs came and mourned the passing of my mother; all of them wearing black as a sign of death, sadness, and anger. Even the sky above us was blotted out by thick grey clouds, almost as if a storm was approaching.

To this day, I still have no idea how or why my mother died. It was all kept a secret from me.

Then, the lycans around me, some of who I called friends and family, all shifted into completely different people. They turned into werewolves from rival packs–those who sought my blood.

They chased me for miles on end as the world around me was set ablaze. The screams of the lycans perishing in a bloodthirsty battle that no one was prepared for sent shivers down my spine. It also caused me to wake up in a cold sweat.

The day after my mother died was the day that the fate of the lycans descended into chaos and ruin. My mother was like a shield–she protected anyone and everyone even if they weren’t her own.

After I lost her, the rival werewolf packs became fearless and relentless about trying to take my life for my blood. In that month alone, there were 20 attempts on my life.

At the time, all of the werewolf packs were following the orders of the Mad Alpha–Charles. When word spread about my mother's death, he ordered all of the hits on me. Everyone knew he was crazy about wanting to remain in power and that he would do anything he could to achieve his goals.

But my mother entrusted my young life to 10 pre-selected lycans of our pack. They were the best, the strongest, and also just as fearless.

She knew that her death was inevitable and she believed that I was going to be the key to making things right one day.

We spent weeks running, fighting, and hiding. At 10 years old, I was still strong enough to hold my own, but my protectors wanted me out of the fight as much as possible. They wanted to uphold the promise they made to my mother.

But wherever we went, the Mad Alpha always found us somehow. Anywhere I went, I was always running into someone that worked for him.

It was an endless game of cat and mouse until they backed me into a corner I couldn’t get out of. They humiliated me, wounded me, and tried to strip me of the person I was.

That was when I started making changes.

I knew I needed to be fearless, strong, and cunning if I had any chance of saving my people. And my Fire Wolf knew that, too.

They thought that they won. And at the time, I thought they did…

I rubbed my hand down my face and soon felt a gentle hand caress my arm. I look down to see Lily’s concerned eyes.

She sat up on the bed and raised her hand to my cheek. I leaned into her touch.

“Zack… what’s wrong? Is everything okay?” Her voice was gentle and soothing.

“Bad dream…” That was all I could manage to say.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

I shook my head no.

Lily gave me an understanding look as she softly kissed my lips. She took me into her arms and I laid my head on her chest as she stroked my hair gently.

When I looked into her eyes, it gave me comfort. There was nothing but love and tenderness; reminiscent of how my mother used to look at me when I was little.

It reminded me of how my mother always wanted me to be more of a protector and a leader, not a soldier on the frontlines. Although I didn’t agree, I understood where she was coming from.

I started to doze off as Lily continued to stroke my hair. Tomorrow, I knew that I was going to find something that’d test my morals.

Whatever choice I make… It needs to be the right one.