5 CHAPTER SEVENTY TWO - THE LYCAN CITY. LUKKAR CASTLEVALERIEI did not know the exact reason why it enraged me, maybe it was because Rosalie had been a pain in my ass since the first time I met her, or maybe it was because I knew that she would ordinarily not have me on her mind but chooses to because wanted so much to sleep in my mates bed. Either one or was, I was for sure not going to let her succeed.“Trying to uncover my past? What exactly do you mean?” I asked Reila slowly, half of me hoping that it wouldn’t be as serious as she was making it sound.“I was with my mate a night back at the city’s local market,”—she sat on the arm chair that was pushed to the wall—“he was making some rounds so he told me to accompany him, he said it would nothing harmless so I didn’t have to worry about dangerous fugitives or the whatnot…”She trailed off, clearing her throat and licking her lips. “That’s when I saw a familiar figure, I recognised her immediately of course, frankly she was hard t
THE LYCAN CITY. HIDDEN WOODSFUGITIVE DERONSylria was a lot slower than usual, or I had gotten even faster. I easily caught up to her, grabbing her from behind as she ran and we both tumbled over on the grass, laughter loud and shrill.She kissed me slowly, allowing me to rummage my hands for any openings in her clothing so I slip my warm beneath.She grabbed my wrists, “Nah ah! Let’s do it properly, I smiled.She stood up, taking my hand and leading me in a straight line to where I did not know. It was after a few strides that we got to a small stream. The gravelly bed of the stream was low beneath and the water flowed slowly down a narrow path.“A stream? Here?”“The forest has to sustain itself somehow…” she cocked her her head to one side before starting to take off her clothes.“Wait, you’re not seriously going to—”“Of course I am, and you’re coming in with me!”She didn’t even take the time to fold her clothes before jumping and folding herself into a ball as she hit the water
THE LYCAN CITY. LUKKAR CASTLEVALERIEThe next morning was just like every other, I was actually beginning to enjoy the peace that came with living in the castle. Lukkar grumbled in his sleep when I pulled the pillow from under his head and he nestled in with the duvet.I pulled at one of his dreads, the silver strands of hair had weaved themselves in beautiful patterns to form each dread. He grumbled again and moved his head away when I pulled too hard.I chucked at the childish way he fought for his sleep, opening the curtains and allowing bright morning light to paint the room.“Urghrhgrrgh…” Lukkar mumbled, blinking his eyes open and looking at me. He came back so late last night I had to share the dinning table with only Amin (what a torture) and slept off alone only to wake up and see him on the bed, holding me tightly from behind.“I knew my pillow was gone!” He said disgruntled and I tossed the pillow back at him.“Your kingdom is so… bright and peaceful.”“As opposed to the E
THE LYCAN CITY. UNKNOWNFUGITIVE DERON“Great! Just great!” The noble man barked at his servant, the young boy had just dropped another ceramic plate I guessed.“Do you know how much those cost?! More than your worth that’s for sure!” He barked again.“I’m s-sorry master please forgive my clumsiness…” the boy stuttered as he probably picked up the pieces of the broken plate from the floor.The room I lay in was spacious and vacant, this must have been a guest room. I was as uninvited as an ugly zit on the forehead. I managed to sneak in through the back with the help of ankh and even helped myself to a balanced dinner in the middle of the night. The noble that lived here was generous to himself with his food, in fact, he ate so much and so fast you’d think he could eat a whole feast.When his mate and their toddler son all retired to bed, I was left alone with the servant and we ate the perfect left overs in silence. The servant of course had no idea I was staring at him from across t
THE LYCAN CITY. HIDDEN WOODSSYLRIASaying it was hard to think was an understatement. It was like anything did somehow reminded me of Deron and it was made even harder because my room stank with his scent.The day has passed by pretty quickly with me for the most part rolled up in my sheets, doing absolutely nothing and I felt just as empty.I sat outside my cabin, staring into the nights sky and visualising the two of us dropping from a star like we did in the fare. Nelma played with some large insect a few feet from me, I gave her a mindless prod on her head and she looked at me with an awkward smile.“Where’s pretty boy?” She stood up, looking excited. I winced, I had hoped she’d somehow forget about him the way kids forgot about important things pretty easily, though I wasn’t sure she’d be forgetting about Deron anytime soon—and so wouldn’t I.“Nelma…”“Is he at sleep?” She beamed. Deron almost never slept, it was like he was always planning. Whoever had made him abandon his king
THE LYCAN CITY. LUKKAR CASTLEVALERIEThe little woman must have been a fairy or some other magical entity to have made such a dress in such a short of time. I had Ariel put the dress on a manikin and place it to the to wall of my room where it would be close to the door window so I’d wake up every morning and it would be the first thing I’d see. The dress made the one the Alpha Emeral had gifted me seem like a rag, its fabric glittered with diamond dust and would catch a beautiful rainbow gleam if put just at the right angle to the sun light.I freshened up quickly once I woke, Lukkar had so thoughtfully made me a teapot of sweet tea and placed it on the cabinet. My introduction was merely three days away and I wasn’t confident in my own memory shelf of the names of dead rulers Reila had been trying to teach me for the past weeks.Lukkar hugged me from behind, I had sensed him enter—a sign that I was getting closer to bonding with my wolf—but I pretended not to.“Like the dress?” His
THE LYCAN CITY. LUKKAR CASTLEVALERIEThe door opened and I felt Reilas presence behind me but did not turn back, I was transfixed staring into Rosalies icy gaze.“Your grace… and Lady Rosalie…” I could feel her raise an eyebrow.“Ahh, my time is up.” She said in a tiptop manner, draining the cup and placing it back on the cabinet.“Have a nice day… miss Ariel.” She smiled deviously before brushing past me, her perfume so thick it could choke me and I wondered how she was able to breathe Judy fine with the cloud of fragrance up her nose all day.“What was that about?” Reilas curiosity was something I could tell she was trying to hide but failing to do so, do I tell her about it or not? She was already getting careless with handling my identity, maybe I should keep this to myself.“Nothing important.” I said at once, but even I knew that my very expression spoke otherwise.“Nothing important? Nothing important has you all sweaty?” She asked, walking to my front and my eyes where anywher
THE LYCAN CITY. UNKNOWN FUGITIVE DERON I paid less attention to the possibility of being caught tucked in bed by the noble wolf or his servant, my mind was filled with scenes of Warriors setting fire and destroying the Hidden Woods and Sylria being dragged off into the flames. I could barely sleep but when I did I had a dream that I was torn between saving Valerie from a Hunter or saving Sylria from a deathly Warrior. I couldn’t choose and I woke up when they were both dragged off out of my reach. Jharad had told the Warrior to make their attack during the night of the Queens introduction, my plan was to warn Sylria before the sun goes down, just when I was sure Jharad would not be in the Hidden Woods. If I could warn her and still make it in time for the introduction, I could save Sylria and snag Valerie in one night. The Queens introduction was three days from now, if all goes as I planned I would be out of this kingdom with Valerie in three days time. If all goes as planned. Bu
THE LYCAN CITY. LUKKAR CASTLE.VALERIEThe Tracker seemed to move through shadows, I had a strange feeling in my stomach and I wondered if that was because I was almost raped again or the Trackers magic just gave me a bad feeling.When we stop I'm looking down at two rows of armies, towering wolves that growled softly and foot- soldiers that wielded sharp blades. My insides twisted and I fought back the strong nausea that came over me when I saw the Alpha Emeral.He was cladded in polished armour that gleamed under the soft moonlight."You have something that belongs to me!" He bellowed. My mate wore an identical pair of armour, it was no mistakening that Amin was the giant black wolf that loomed behind him.I easily spotted Sylria, the end of her staff twinkled under the moonlight."If you mean my mate then you are mistaken!""She was given to me long before you found her, she belongs to me!"I spotted My father, hia hard gaze swept over where I watched from the dark and I jerked on
THE LYCAN CITY. LUKKAR CASTLE.VALERIEMost occupants of the castle that were not going to battle had relocated to Rosalies’ mansion at the edge of the kingdom which was farthest away from the possible damage of the war.I watched Sylria kiss her little sister on the forehead a she waved her off with moist eyes. I hoped she would be reunited with the little cute angel, but the possibility of death was still something that frightened me. What frightened me worst was when I learnt the wolf that Hunted me was fighting at Lukkars side.I sat on my bed, Ariel was about departing with the other maids when I told her to follow me.Ariel’s eyes brightened like stars when I told her she was no longer obligated to bring me meals or clean the cabinets.“You can go home Ariel, I’ve owed your parents a lot, this is the least I could do. From today you a free woman and of course your family would still be supported by the Alpha.”But the light in her eyes dropped, she looked at the ground and I won
THE LYCAN CITY. LUKKAR CASTLE.ALPHA LUKKARThe Warriors growled at the strangers, I and Amin walked to the front of the line. The men that stood at the castles gate both looked as nonchalant as ever but when I locked eyes with the taller one I immediately recognised his aura.“YOU!” My instincts were feral, I had waited for the day I would get to rip him apart, the day I would get to complete our fight without him backing out.“Forgive my err, intrusion your majesty but I would not have dared step foot on the royal grounds if I did not bring urgent news.”“The war is coming, we know, all you’ve done it submit yourself for me to tear you limb from limb!” I stepped froward, my wolf angry and ready to come out for the brawl. The other wolf standing beside him took a step back, cowering in fear.“If you would err, just allow me speak.”“You Hunted my luna, almost killed her, I have nothing to hear from you!” i closed the second between I and the Hunter in a second, the power of my wolf f
THE LYCAN CITY. LUKKAR CASTLE. HIDDEN WOODSFUGITIVE DERONMaybe I would have been more at peace if Sylria had never shown up, maybe. But now not only did her presence make me feel slightly giddy inside, but she had also delivered the horrifying news concerning Emeral soldiers matching up the the boarders of the City.I had had to lie on the ground until Nelma had come to help me up, the two females cared less about if I would be able to see again or not. My face was still swollen all over and I could barely see five feet in front of me as the horse galloped on. I held tight to Sylria, she rode the horse and Valerie held tight to me, Nelma giggling excitedly.The certificate was in my hands, my head still ached from the aggressive way Sylria had let out her anger in beating my face flat against the ground. My healing was slower than usual but I could feel my lips repair themselves and lost teeth start to stalactite from my upper jaw.The horse neighed, throwing its legs into the air
THE LYCAN CITY. LUKKAR CASTLE. CASTL E CELLARSFUGITIVE DERONThe cold from heavy shackles weighed my hands down, this was not the kind of fate I was expecting to have. So far no one had said a word to me except for the Warrior that had plotted all this out with Jharad and by his gloating expression he had achieved whatever it was he had wanted to accomplish.A cold bowl of what I thought was supposed to be dark porridge sat beside me in this dirt cellar, I knew it would only taste twice as bad as it looked.Why hadn’t I jumped with her? I still had the ankh on when I saw the glint of the fired arrow but somehow at that only moment I had forgotten about the dark magic that I had in form of a cross hanging from my neck and instead took the poison arrow. Foolish.Still, one question me, who had tried to kill Valerie and why? I was still not clear on what her status was in this kingdom but from the looks of things she indeed was the Queen, the Alphas mate, his Luna. I still remembered h
THE LYCAN CITY. LUKKAR CASTLE. THE GREAT THRONE ROOM. VALERIES INTRODCUTION CEREMONYFUGITIVE DERONJust saying it was hard to breath was more like a revised way to explain it all, not only were my lungs frozen but my entire body had stiffened to stone. I saw her paused too, her arm halfway through a wave and her lips parted. It was like we had gone to sleep and woke up in the same dream, but it was her and this moment was more real than reality. She had evaded one Alpha only to be forced to marry another? I would not all this!I Slung the ankh over my neck, allowing my wolf to take over and I felt the deep cut on my arm heal up before the power of my inner beast took over my being. I towered over the cheering nobles who were probably too drunk to notice the black wolf that loomed within them.‘VALERIE!’ I linked my scream to her before taking the largest leap, she did not move, she stayed still like a statue her eyes shaky as she looked into the orbs of my giant wolf. I pounced on he
THE LYCAN CITY. UNKNOWNFUGITIVE DERONCertain memories flood back into my mind as I stared into Sylrias’ brown eyes. Her body was just highlighted by the moon perfectly but what concerned me most was the imposing staff she held tightly in her left hand. She did not wear any smile, just a nasty look and I could easily spot her ankh so black it would make a shadow seem bright. Why would she bring an ankh and a staff? This was a friendly meet but the glare on her face made me think otherwise.It hadn’t been too long I saw her, but seeing her like this made me question if she still saw me the same way or if she looked at me and all she saw was a stranger.For a moment we both said nothing, I waited for her to make the first words but she seemed to be waiting for me to speak up first too.“Sylria…”“Deron!”We said each others names at the same time.x x x x x x x x x x x x x x xThe streets were more busy than they had ever, everyone in the kingdom spoke about the Queen to be and the fea
THE LYCAN CITY. LUKKAR CASTLEVALERIENever had so many people stared at me like this, stared at me with happy and warm smiles. I had had stares in my life, a lot of stares that usually came with an equal lot of scorn. But today I was the star of the kingdom, nobles flocked around me like I was some rare gem they all wanted to get a glimpse, for the first time I had seen peasants walk the castle halls. I greeted a small peasant family, the man looked a bit scruffy and took only about a second to recognise me before he threw his head down and literally screamed the words, “It’s an honour to be in your presence your grace!”I laughed heartily, waving him off and I saw the surprise on his wife’s face when I said, “The pleasure is all mine.” I gave their daughter a flower from one of the many Ariel had stocked like decorations in my hair, and my heart rose when I saw the long smile that brightened the girls face.Since I told Lukkar the truth about me I had felt freer, lighter and more re
THE LYCAN CITY. LUKKAR CASTLEVALERIEMaids flocked around me like termites around a candle light and their happy faces were a complete opposite of the glum face that stared back at me from the mirror. It was my day, I would finally get to be one with Lukkar, why wasn’t I happy?The air in the room held the fragrance of several different perfumes and face powders, all of which blended together to give a rather pungent smell. When the chattering and occasional dabbing on my face with make- up brushes started to bug me I stood up. They all went silent, most of them were younger than me anyway.“Excuse me I… I think I need some air.” I walked out of my room, my face half painted with power and I proceeded to the garden. I instantly spot Reila, she was with a watering can attending to a small bush of roses.She spoke once I got close to her, “I knew you’d come to find me here…”I shrugged my shoulders. “I’m just not really feeling it…”She turned to face me. “You? Or Valerie?”There was n