Chapter 38 Ch 38

"Oh my God," I breathed as the lycans collided in the driveway of Danny's house.

Their massive bodies slammed together, sounding like a clap of thunder. While I watched in horror, Tandan sprinted around them to get to me. He took me into his arms.

"We have to go," he told me.

I lifted my watery eyes to look at him. "What? We can't leave. This is him. This is Basileus."

"Obviously!" he hissed. "He's going to kidnap you again, Lee! Do you have any idea what he might do to you?"

"He's had the chance to hurt me. He won't—"

"I very distinctly remember his claws lancing open your abdomen. The only reason you're fucking alive is because Angelica healed you."

"He won't hurt me!" I insisted. My gaze flickered back to the lycans who were circling each other, occasionally lashing out.

"You have no idea what his intentions are for you. Think, Rylee. Use that big damn brain of yours. What would he want from you?"

Pursing my lips, I let my eyes still on his. The dark depths of his irises could so easily pull me in.

"It has to be Matt," I said. "He must still be in there. Maybe he has some clutch over Basileus and he's using it to cling to me."

"That sounds batshit crazy, you know that?"

"Well, do you have any better ideas?"

"Yeah." Tandan grabbed my hand. "Let's get the hell outta here."

Yanking my hand out of his, I hissed, "So he can chase me across the state again and kill more people?"

"As long as it's not you," he said, "I don't care. As long as it's not you."

My heart melted for a moment until Angelica appeared beside us. I jumped.

"Now isn't the time for fighting," she told us. Looking at Tandan, she sharpened her voice. "Or running."

Tandan blew out a sigh and rolled his eyes. "He's going to hurt her, Angie. What else would you have me do?"

"He won't hurt her," she assured him. "Your mate is very smart, Tandan. I believe she's right. The vessel Basileus is using has a connection to Lee. He might be using that connection to keep himself alive. The longer Basileus is in control, the farther the vessel's conscience fades."

"Matt is fading away?" I gasped.

A murderous snarl drew our attention to the lycans. Basileus had the gray lycan trapped beneath him. He snarled down at his victim again. Finally, the grey beast showed his neck so Basileus would leave him alone. Once he'd stepped away from his victim, the lycan shifted back into his human form. Peter stood before his king, totally naked.

"Si vous voulez fuir," he said, "fuyez chez nous, Alpha." (If you want to flee, flee back to our home.)

Basileus growled viciously but didn't turn away. It was at this moment Tandan took my hand. I grew warmer just at his touch, so I couldn't help but lean into him.

"It's up to you to stay or leave," he whispered.

While I continued to watch the massive lycan squabble with his Beta in French, I shook my head. "We would never get away, Tandan. He will track me down. And we need to figure all of this out anyway."

"Okay," he acquiesced. I glanced curiously up at him. "Then you have to promise me you won't let him boss you around. If you want to stay, you need to use your control over him."

"Me? Take control of the king of lycans?" I scoffed. "You better cross your fingers on that one, buddy."

He growled lightly at me, just in disapproval, but Basileus' head snapped in our direction. My stomach dropped. Basileus turned away from his Beta to stomp towards us. I jerked my hand from Tandan's and tried to shoo him away.

"He's gonna kill you!" I hissed when Tandan stood his ground.

"All he can do is try."

"Tandan! Damn it, back down!"

Basileus' glowing blue eyes locked onto my mate. His jaws parted to elicit a warning snarl. As I thought it might be over, that Tandan would be devoured, Angelica stepped in front of him. She took his hands and touched his face.

"My sweet boy, please. Go join the others," she said. "I will stay with her. Something must be done about their miscommunication and I know a trick or two. But you can't be here to distract her."

"I'm here to protect her," he snapped back.

"But you forget she also wants to protect you. If you are occupied with getting in between them, she won't be able to focus on her work. She will not be harmed. So you must wait with the others."

Basileus had stopped his parade in our direction and now stood, watching me and the other two. Tandan glanced at me. I nodded, eyes sweeping shut for a moment. When I opened them, he was walking towards the others clustered around the garage. He made sure to leave a wide berth between him and the king. Basileus was closer but Angelica was even closer. She placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Would you like to be able to understand and speak the King's language?" she asked me.

"Of course," I replied. Wouldn't we all? But it didn't seem like I would be able to learn French instantly. Angelica, however, was very good at proving me wrong.

"Excellent."

She placed one of her hands over my throat and the other on top of my head. This was easy for her since she was several inches taller than me. I watched her close her eyes, breathe deeply through her nose, and mutter something unintelligible under her breath. My trachea tightened and my tongue spasmed. For a moment, I thought I had stroked out.

Angelica said, "All done."

A knowing grin lit up her face as she stepped away. I continued to stare at her in alarm and confusion.

"She has given you the gift of tongues," spoke a deep, rumbling voice. "A relatively easy gift to attain, but always costly."

My head cocked up. Basileus was now only a short distance away. I couldn't comprehend that I just heard him with understanding.

"You will now be able to communicate with me," he added. "Speak, little pup."

"H-hi." I blinked dumbly.

He smiled in a wolffish kind of way. "Hello."

"Um...Basileus or Lycan King...can I ask you something?"

"I imagine you have many questions."

I nodded, bound to muteness by my shock.

"I would like to go somewhere private," he said with a peeved glance at Danny and the others. "All these little werewolves annoy me."

"I-I don't know if that's a good idea," I told him.

"Why not?"

"They're expecting you to abduct me again. Besides, they want answers too. We are curious about you."

He rolled his eyes. "Alright. Let's sit then."

"Sure."

I couldn't help but smile giddily to myself. People would kill to have a conversation with Basileus, but he chose me. It was far above my capacity to understand why I was his captive but I had no problem using his attention to my advantage.

We sat down in the grass beside the driveway. Basileus couldn't cross his legs like me, so he sat back on his haunches like a wolf. That position did, in fact, make him look like a huge wolf with a prehistorically broad face.

"Start with your questions, little pup."

"Okay," I said nervously. There were so many places I could start. "Why did you come back now?"

"It wasn't my choice," he responded. His glowing eyes held my gaze. "Nature decided. Nature knows all. It dictates when wolves meet their mates and when the king returns. Obviously."

"Alright...did you choose the body you took?"

"No. I imagine there are many descendants I could have had. If I'd had my way, I would have preferred a French-born."

"So nature put you in this body too?"

He smiled again. "You're learning."

Blushing, I looked over at Angelica who listened from where she leaned on a nearby tree. "Um, right. Basileus, what do you intend to do next?"

"I haven't received any guidance yet, except from my Beta. He's not always helpful though. I am waiting for a clearer path to follow."

"What about France?" I inquired. "Don't you want to return?"

"I will always long for my homeland, little pup. This does not mean I belong there anymore. If Nature brought me here, I suspect this is where I shall rule from."

"And you intend to rule the world of wolves?"

He leaned forward like he was going to tell a secret. "I have been ruling the world of wolves all along, from afar."

"Where is afar?"

"The celestial realm, of course," he said with a wolffish chuckle. "Your ancestors have left you all desolate with no sense of culture or identity. You have all forgotten where you come from. If you knew your past, you would know where you are going."

Aside from feeling ashamed at not knowing hardly anything about my own kind, I felt a ping of curiosity.

"Celestial realm..." I dwelled on it for a few seconds. "What was it like?"

"That is for you to find out when you get there," he said. "What else would you like to know?"

The obvious seemed to become relevant again, so I asked, "What is your relationship to me? Why do you keep following me?"

"You are asking the right questions now." Basileus grinned. "This vessel, the human body I took, has a very strong devotion to you. I do not know why. I see that he is not your mate."

I followed his gaze to where Tandan stood with everyone else, his hard glare set on Basileus.

"My guess?" he continued. "He was in love with you. Humans are fickle. They come from the apes, who can be smart but also are quite stupid. Apes do not know how to work together productively. They mate with whoever is around rather than using reproduction as a means of benefit. Lycans could not create tools and use them, but they knew how to work together, strategize, and build ranks of power.

"Regardless, this vessel is just like the rest of his kind. He follows his instinct and feelings—his 'heart.' And I think you were his heart. His body was so connected to his heart that now it remembers you and doesn't wish to be apart from you."

I felt tears prick my eyes. How could I have been so stupid? I never should have been his friend. If I had been stronger, I could have stopped from leading him on. Then the king of lycans would not be suspended by his vessel's obsession—or crazy love—for me. Damn it, Matt. A few tears leaked from my hold as I lifted my head.

"But isn't he also part wolf?" I asked. "Or lycan?"

"Oh, yes. Many descendants of the ape mated long ago with lycan descendants. Since they lost their grip on identity, they were willing to reproduce with anyone. My vessel only needed to have an ounce of lycan lineage to be used."

My cheeks flushed. "Well...is he still in there? Can Matt still occupy that body with you?"

"The human soul? Yes. He is a part of me now."

"Good," I couldn't help but say in relief. "What about fading? Angelica mentioned that Matt might be fading away. Is that true?"

"In a sense." He took a deep breath. "He will never leave me, nor I him. But it is inevitable that I will become the more dominant conscience. Those first few times we met, when I took you, he won dominance over our body. Then I grew stronger and beat him down. We will always be together, however."

"So you can't move to a different body? And he can't either?"

Basileus stared down with sadness on his face. "No, we cannot be separated. It would kill us both."