NOLA REYNOLDS“K-Kalden?” I croaked, nudging the man who was lying face-first on the castle grounds beside me, motionless, a thick plume of dusk masking his hair and back.I twisted his neck away from the ground carefully, wincing when I realized he’d broken his nose in the fall, the fracture of a bone jutting out of the smooth skin as the wound started to swell, but no blood was pumped from the area.“Help us, please, he- he cant breathe if his nose is swollen shut,” I stammered, pushing my palms out to him as the nursemaids hovered over us, their whitened faces blurring as tears gathered in my eyes and a dull ache started to climb up from the pits of my stomach, hooks of misery sinking into my heart.“Miss Lady, We're going to need you to calm down,” A somber-faced woman with large black and white puppy eyes intoned, the wispy thin strands of her blonde hair matted and secured in what looked like a small bun at the base of her neck so that her head appeared quite triangular.What di
NOLA REYNOLDSThe guards seemed to have taken the cobalt coyote’s offhand comment seriously, because I watched out of the corner of my eyes as the armored men snapped to attention, puffing out their inverted humpbacks before throwing the quiet maidens off to the side a hasty salute, curtseying to Edna and turning around and strutting off without so much as a second look at me.”When would you learn Nola? How many people must die before you learn to get instructions through that thick head of yours?” Sarah screamed, flying from the back where Dennis had been holding her malady down.The maiden’s blue eyes blazed as she stepped up to me and I sized her up tiredly, her words gauging a hole in my chest“Now, Now Miss Oliver, we've been through this before,” Edna cooed, putting her squat frame between our chopstick parameters, her arms shooting out to hold Sarah’s bowing chest backward, away from me as I started on quietly at her.I’d wondered just how long it would take for the news of th
NOLA“However damning your statement was Nola of the wolf Village, I do not think you would have had it in you to kill the Lycan King.” The orange-haired coyote harrumphed, the muscle ticking under her eye vanishing as she stood over me.”I do not believe you have enough brain cells for that Nola, and I said so myself too at the hearing, but Merida wouldn't hear the end of it! Convinced herself it's you the one,” Edna needled, appearing lost in thought for a moment as she scratched at the ruddy square of her jaw, before her pebble-like, settled on me again.“Ugh!” I groaned, pressing my hand to my chest, feeling the thump of my heart heat up the spaces between my ribs as stars broke in my vision again, before the maid servant’s sneering face came into view.Think Farthing child think!The council was quick to respond when Kalden and I made it through the gates, if I didn't know better I'd have thought they were waiting for us! So why didn't they send search teams out to get the King?
HECTOR BAYES“Ughhh!” I groaned, feeling the muscles of my arm shoot up from the dust as I heaved to my side, grinding my teeth when a sharp sucking pain cracked and twisted up my spine.I lifted myself to my feet and took a big, shuddering breath, glancing about the large field with freshly infused wolf eyes, my ears flexing as I caught the swish-swash of the wind whistling through the trees.“Goddammit, Hector, hard bastard to kill aren't you?” I chuckled demurely, groaning again as I managed to take a step forward, my vision blackening for a moment before the litter of bones in the dark, low blades of grass came into focus once more.How long had I been out? I didn't remember much after the attack, the memories of the fight turning to mush and white noise in my head.“Nola? Kalden?” I called, my voice sounding hollow as it came back to me in space before I looked up at the dark, overcast sky to see that the moon had gone back into hiding.They must have already gone back to the cas
HECTOR BAYES“What is it, that I could help you with? Good Sir?” The blue-turbaned trader whispered throatily, the watery film of his eyes fastened on the sapphire studded rings on my fingers that had the defined glitter to them that the dozen on his clawed stubs couldn't quite manage.The trader in the mountain mid-City did not have that many teeth in his head, and I hesitated a moment, before placing my hand gingerly on one of the many heaps of colorfully quilted veils, watching the sparse line of his eyebrows tighten when he realized I was going for the dark-colored silk that had been hidden behind the pile.“T-that’s not for sale y-your highness.” The trader coughed on instinct before his eyes widened with realization and he dropped a hasty bow, the bony shafts of his hand knocking and creaking awkwardly as he hastily slid out the fabric to hand over to me.“Happy we could come to an understanding Monsieur,” I whispered airily, my cheeks lifting with a polite smile as I watched hi
NOLA REYNOLDSI was just thinking how we'll the man had recovered, how fast even, for a wolf that had been only seconds from the cold, rigid fingers of death, as he stood in the fire-lit chambers of my new maiden quarters, the heat of silence leaving the air tense.And then he opened his big fat mouth, he had to, the devil never said thank you if I remembered correctly.“What have you done Nola?” Kalden whispered hauntingly, the drawn lines of his face glazing over as he paced the length of the room, refusing to meet my eye.A flood of rage so strong I could have sworn it was damn near strong enough to wash the mountain city castle away flooded through me so that I clenched my hands to wrists that shook erratically by my side.“What I have done, you insipid snob! It saved your fucking life! Congratulations are in order you piece of shit!” I screamed, shocking him to a standstill as I met his startled expression with a deadly glare.Here I was risking my ass- my hard-earned ass by the
NOLAThe pounding of knuckles on the door to my chamber where I'd been locked in with the Lycan’s best friend sounded almost as though it were coming from inside my head as I locked eyes with the accident man.“Should we answer it?” I croaked quietly, watching the staccato wave of shadows from the stone hearth of the fore place play across his gaunt face before he shook his head slowly.We waited what felt like minutes, but was probably all but five seconds and the knocking had not reminisced, even seeming to me, to increase the longer the knocker stood out there.Had Kalden locked the door behind him when he’d come in? My heart beat wildly in my chest when I realized I couldn't remember, the noises overwhelming me so that I shot my hands to my temples dramatically, before Kalden’s gravelly baritone broke through the beatdown.“Who’s there?” The blonde-haired man rasped, and I noticed that the roots of his hair had grown out. The golden, sunburnt mane was now interloped with black.Th
HECTORI’d been aware that people were gathering long before I drew the council of elders out in the open. It was why I had left the castle gates open behind me. So that the villagers and Highlander could run up the castle hill and see, and hear.And Merida, sweet, sweet Merida. Her blood had flown so sweetly over the length of my arm and face, and the crowd gasped as I tossed her severed head into the dust just outside the hall where I had made sure to stand so there wouldn't be any more stragglers running up behind me.It would have been my thirteenth reason to fly into a blind rage, but I was doing this the nice way, the controlled way a King would, not the Lycan prince maverick I had been all those years ago before the curse.“There,” I heaved, just as the body keeled over, and the crowd scattered around the head, with a lone woman fainting in the frontlines so that she was carted off by well-meaning men.“Mercy your highness! Mercy!” Rudolf screeched as the beefy form of two sol
NOLA BAYESIt had been months since my bonded died, but for the first time since that sordid night, I was feeling confident, happy even.The mountain city troops had grown to staggering numbers in the past months, so I had dispensed a good number of guards to survey the old wolf village.My new city. The King and I hadn't decided on a name yet, but I knew it was going to be soon.We had freed the wolf village captives the next day, after the gruesome war. Alpha Theo’s rescue had been one I handled myself, with admittedly way too much joy than I could think to hide.“R-Reynolds? I-is that you dear girl?” He had rasped, the curved nails of his claws coming through the wrought-iron bars to lace over my hand before I snatched it away, incensed.“That’s Queen of the Highlands to you Alpha Theo, a shame to see you like this I must say, especially with the way you threw us maidens out on our behinds with nothing to our names.” I spouted, watching with a measure of satisfaction when he bent
HECTOR BAYESI didn't want to let her go, Nola, but I knew in my heart that I had to.And she did run, jerking away from my arms, to throw open the underground chamber grates with a strength I hadn't imagined her capable of.I followed on her heels as we ran down the stone slab of stairs at breakneck speed, into the crematorium where Kalden was lying, still as a statue, encased in the frosty insides of a glass coffin.I felt my breath catch in my throat and I paused at the doorway, my eyes widening when I saw the wreath of white and blood-red hydrangea flower bushes decked in small steps around the dias.“Kalden? Kalden, say something!” Nola gasped, slapping open the casing as a whoosh of frigid air swept up from the body, hitting me right in the nostrils.“Hector, you can't do this, I won't let you!” She screamed, turning to grip the lapel of my shirt with tears glistening on her cheeks.I nodded to the mourners huddled off to the side, darting tear-filled looks at us, and they bowed
HECTOR BAYESThe feeling of the dead man’s body as I writhed on top of him had not left my chest as we rode on horseback, into the gates of the mountain city.“Are you alright?” The green-eyed woman who had been watching me since we passed through the gates whispered, clumps of mud and twigs sticking out of her hair from where she’d brushed her face against mine.The porcelain of her high cheekbones was ashen with dust and grime, and the sight of the salt streak of tears dried and flaky sent a pang through my frame.I allowed myself a shallow breath, We had come a long way, the imp and me, and I was almost certain I couldn't have won the war if it weren't for her quick thinking with the sword.God-freaking dammit, Was I alright? I couldn't tell.The singed fur of my son’s corpse weighed heavy on my heart. Or It might have been the hole of my soul sword that refused to heal.I hadn't wanted to kill the boy, the monster, far from it. Saints! Lord knew Japhtar deserved worse for coming
NOLA REYNOLDSThe sound of a woman screaming reached my ears, distorted in the quake that seemed to shake the earth all around us before I realized I was the one who had been screaming.The Lycan’s sword shook in my hands, the weight of the huge beast pressed against it towered over me, the sprain in my wrist threatening to explode through the net work of veins.“Oh, Dear God!” I screamed again, darting away and watching the impaled beast fall heavily to the dust with a rumbling groan, the Lycan following as I clapped cold hands to my mouth to stifle another scream.“What's happening?” They whispered,“By Joves!”“...Do you reckon he's dead?” The hushed voices of the werewolves gathered rose, seeming to come to a standstill with the skewered monsters as they huddled around the intertwined mass of the Lycan and his son, with the silver tip of his sword- MY sword, shooting up from the soaked due of his back.“Hector!” I shrieked, falling to my knees beside him as I watched the Lycan fal
HECTOR BAYESI am halfway across the field when I realize something is wrong.The man on the other end is grinning, the defined barrel of his chest rising and falling with excited breathing as I closed the distance between the two armies.“For the mountain city!” I bellowed, gripping the silver hilt of my sword as I sent the blade flying through the air in a neat arc, slashing the werewolves in my circle as the black goo of their blood sprayed into my eyes, stinging the liquid from them.Why the fuck did Japhtar keep smiling at me?I let my eyes roam over the lot, catching Nola’s tear-streaked face briefly, before the horde of werewolves fighting closed around her and I felt the rake of claws slice across my back.“Eyes in the heavens! Feast on their bones!” Japhtar’s deep voice boomed in the space as I felt the pound of my heart starting to hammer wildly in my ribcages.I snapped my head up to see that the same type of mist that hung over the city walls had climbed to cover the moon’
JAPHTAR“You’re sick Japhtar! That's what you are, a sick fucking bastard-” The maiden rasped hotly and I felt a bitter fork spike through me at her words, only seconds before I let the back of one giant hand rip across her cheek, sending her back into the hay with a loud thump.“Stupid, stupid girl,” I growled, stalking toward her and snatching the porcelain-faced dwarf by the lapel of her gown, raising her until she was suspended in the air, whimpering loudly.“Make no mistake wench,” I wheezed, shaking her roughly, as one would do to a dirty kitchen rag and watching the muscle in her tight little jaw tighten, no doubt holding back her pained screams.“I am not my father. I will not hesitate to snap your pert little neck, doesn't make a difference to me if you're alive or dead wench, pussy’s pussy.” I grinned, letting my eyes roam delightedly over the maiden’s body as I slammed my hairy paw into the crevice between her legs, her ear-splitting screams music to my ears.“And that's on
HECTOR BAYES“What did you just say?” I wheezed, my heart hammering wildly between the cages of my rib as heat rushed to my head and ears.“Y-your highness, I- they saw her, being carted away, over the north of the forest,” Gordon murmured in a mousey voice, and I felt my eyes grow until they were the size of fucking beach balls in my sockets.Japhtar had Nola? How did that happen? Saints! Why didn’t the imp ever listen to me? The irritation building inside me grew until it blotted out everything else as I clenched my fists until they shook lightly beside me.Taking my woman was the worst thing he could have done, and now, I was going to make him pay for it.“Assemble the royal troops, we're going to storm the outskirts.” I gritted, making a few of the werewolves present gasp as they cuddled around themselves before I strode out, Gordon running last me to assemble the troops before I got there and thoughts of the fair maiden swirling in my head.“Your highness?” Sarah whispered as I m
NOLA It was the whirl of the overhead ceiling fan I heard first as I came to, the ache in my temple searing through the balls of my eyes as I allowed my eyelids to flutter open, the memory of what had happened hit me like a freight train so that I let a loud gasp slip.What the fuck was that smell?I gagged, huffing frantically as I struggled against the wires that twisted into my skin painfully, the stench of male musk and excrement sticking to the hairs in my nose.“Oi! I reckon the princess’s awake, get a look at this eh?” A gravelly voice jeered as hushed whispers rose around me, the crooked claw of one werewolf poking the flesh of my hand hard enough thank screamed, tearing my eyes open to see the obelisk of their misshapen faces hovering over me.”Get the fuck away from me!” I screeched, aware that my chest was rising and falling frantically with suppressed pants as I watched the trio throw back their heads and laugh.Shit. How long had I been out? The man with pink eyes. I cou
HECTOR BAYESJaphtar Bayes was in the wild, He’d fled. The bastard.It was lucky that he had when he did, the moon goddess had hidden her silver bulb behind the iron-grey mist that kept as the fight died down around and wearied-looking soldiers from the royal army speared off the rogues that lingered.“After them!” I roared, struggling to my feet as the cobblestones of the ground rose to my vision again before I came down hard, my hand shooting out to strike the pavement, the tremors going through me.I’d been halfway up and on his heels, the ache from the gash in my midriff stinging enough that tears rose in the pools of my eyelids before I yelled for the soldiers to follow him, my heart sinking with each second that passed when I noticed he had run toward the castle.Nola! I couldn't let him make it to the gates even! Not when the stone city castle held the remainder of the survivors that had managed to escape the gruesome war.I straightened with a large inhale, feeling my muscles