The Vampire King's Mortal Mate

The Happy Prisoner

The forest had gone quiet since he had made his request with the other lycans retreating into the shadows. The only indication of their presence became their beating hearts which had slowed considerably with their restrained aggression.

He looked around, trying to provoke any sort of interaction as he wasn't comfortable with the silence, his long black hair flying in the air as he spun his head about suspiciously.

"I demand to see Badar", he yelled into the night as tears stung his eyes. He had endured far too much pain to be stopped here and now, it was either they took him to see Badar or he would fight every last one of them to get there.

Taking on the pack of lycan warriors lurking in the shadows promised an outcome which looked rather bleak for him. Judging from the sizes of the first two lycans who had attacked him, he knew they were worthy opponents. It seemed they had been watching him for a while, they looked ready to repel whatever assault he may mount.

" My parents were members of your pack, prime Lycans who would give anything to defend the honor of being a lycan. You owe me this", he shouted again into the cold forest night. His chest rose and fell, he was in too much pain, however, none of it was physical.

Tears now flowed freely from his eyes as he cried, staring this way and that for any source of encouragement from the warrior Lycans but none came. He stared back at the boundary lands from where he had just come, he would die before going back there. He was going to die here tonight and he was going to take as many of them as he could with him.

Spreading his hands, he nudged the furry companion within him, letting the reigns of restrain he had clung to all this time go gradually, beginning to yield to the beast within him.

"Turn and you will die where you stand", a large grey furred lycan stepped out from the shadows behind him, growling aggressively as he approached. The heavy thud of his footsteps suggesting his weight, he was much larger than the others. The other lycans had followed his cue, all baring their teeth as they stepped out of the shadows, ready to attack when their leader ordered it.

Erik restrained himself for the second time tonight, he was a powerful lycan but definitely not powerful enough to take on a lycan this size and the others and be successful. He stiffened as the large lycan approached him. He had a deep white scar running down the left side of his face, starting just above his eyes and running downward over the entire length of his muzzle.

He had scars which were visible even under his thick mat of fur, Erik's keen eyes observed. This Lycan had definitely been in his fair share of fights and would put up more of a fight than the trees and wild beasts that Erik was used to training against, much more of a fight.

" Kneel", the lycan barked aggressively, pointing his sharp claws at Erik. Erik instinctively fell to his knees and put his hands up for good measure, surrendering to the authority of the Lycan standing in front of him. The show of submission had seemingly convinced the lycan that he was giving up for real.

He had stopped growling and kept peering at Erik, as if trying to determine if his attempt at surrender was genuine or all a ruse. He seemed satisfied with his observation as he allowed himself change back into a man, his fur transforming to human skin. He had brown long hair and his scar had remained, an ever present mark of obvious white, running down the right side of his face.

His eyes were red and bloodshot from how much lycan aggression he had struggled to contain. The default nature of a lycan being to attack first and ask questions later. He seemed more reasonable than the rest, explaining why he was in charge around here. He reached into the bushes and retrieved clothes which he wore as quickly as he could, the others did the same, trusting their leader whose judgment had deemed that Erik wasn't going to be much of a threat.

Erik observed them closely, allowing his senses soak up as much information as he could about them.

"Restrain him", the leader commanded, ordering no one in particular. One of the Lycans had stepped forward, Erik had just noticed he was holding chains.

Could it be they had intended to apprehend him rather than kill him all along?, why had they attacked him in the first place if the had intended to restrain him? Why waste all this time if they could have apprehended him immediately?.

The lycan warrior approached with the chains and chained his arms to his body with both arms crossed on his chest. Another chain was bound to his neck, it had several short sharp spikes on the insides which served to ensure that he didn't attempt to turn while he was being led to wherever it was they were taking him to.

He offered no resistance as the chains were being put on him, instead, he gazed intently at the lycan leader who was a little distance away from the group, looking into the forest, he seemed pensive and lost in thought. Erik had never seen a lycan his size, if he had, he probably would not have been foolish enough to come out here tonight.

He was suddenly thankful he had resisted the urge to turn earlier as the outcome would have bordered on the suicidal.

"What do we do with him, Boris?", the lycan who had volunteered to bind Erik asked as he tugged at the chains, securing them to ensure he couldn't get rid of them easily.

Erik observed the one called Boris closely as he turned, he probably could have attempted to take these other lycans on if he wasn't here. Boris flashed angry eyes at him as he turned.

" Get him in the cage, we ride for Ogrin", commanded Boris in response to the lycan's question. Ogrin was the seat of power for Badar's pack, the principal authority in these parts. There were mainly three Lycan communities in these lands, ruled by three of the most prominent and powerful Lycans; Arthur, Badar and Gerald.

Boris suspected that Erik's appearance in these parts had been mainly because of Badar's close ties with his parents, the two prime Lycans who had been killed by Aldrich Bloodtooth. The boy by reason of his birth, was a prime lycan as well and rightful ruler of these lands. Badar had merely stepped in as he was the strongest lycan in the pack after the passing of Erik's parents. Arthur commanded the largest pack in these lands and had suspected that Badar was still partial to Erik's parents and had placed Boris in Badar's courts to keep an eye on things.

Erik had made his move and it had coincided with Arthur traveling to the conclave. Boris sensed that there was something at play and wondered if Erik wandering into lycan lands and disrespecting the grounds of his exile was even a coincidence at all.

Erik being a prime lycan; one of the Lycans who had elder blood flowing through their veins couldn't meet his death at the hands of lycans of his ilk, it was against the law. However, Erik didnt seem to know that and there was absolutely no need to give him an edge by letting him find that out.

The lycan who had just bound Erik nudged him forward, away from the boundary lines and deeper into Lycan lands. Erik felt the cool breeze of freedom caress his face, he had stood at the boundary lines countless times and wondered what the view beyond these trees would look. He had grown accustomed to the limiting views of the huge tree barks and had grown accustomed to seeing each and every one of them over time.

He was in chains but felt an unusual happiness at being led beyond these trees. He had yearned too long to experience this, and tonight he had been given that chance.

They walked for a while until they reached a clearing in the woods, it looked like they had been camping here for a while and were waiting for him to make a move. He could make out a couple of horses, most of which were saddled. Their number matched the number of Lycans he could see, however he could see two other horses which weren't saddled.

They were yoked to a carriage, this was the cage Boris had referred to earlier. He had guessed right, they were not prepared to kill him tonight and it showed in the level of preparation that they had undertaken to take him prisoner. From the number of lycans who had come, the chains and now the cage pulled by the two horses.

Nothing had been improvised, everything looked planned and arranged for bringing him into custody. He reasoned that if the objective had been to kill him, they would have sent far fewer Lycans. There were currently nine Lycans standing all around him, excluding Boris of course.

His thoughts were interrupted as he was nudged towards the cage with his chains rattling as he walked. He would rather be in chains and be on lycan lands than spend one more day as an outcast. Again, he offered no resistance and followed obediently till he had entered the cage and it had been secured.

Boris had mounted his horse and peered suspiciously at how easily Erik had yielded to the leadings of the Lycans who had bound and directed him towards the cage. He was being treated like an animal and he hadn't even objected, not once.

The dynamics of power within the Lycan community as a whole was very delicate in these times and the complication of having a vengeful prime lycan brought back into the fold could potentially have disastrous consequences. He thought about Badar, wondering for the second time tonight if he had hand in any of this.

He had heard rumours of Badar leaving instructions with the warrior Lycans who patrolled the border lines to make sure Erik was fed and even though the rumours had not been backed with any solid evidence, there was some semblance of truth to them from what he was seeing.

An exiled lycan suddenly breaching territorial lines and asking for Badar by name, not willing to fight despite being born to one of the most violent bloodlines in lycan history. He was a prime lycan and no prime lycan would ever be happy to be subjected to these demeaning conditions. He was chained like a dog and there he was, content and pliant.

There had to be more to this than met the eyes and he would find out for his sake, for Arthur's sake and for the sake of the peace in the realm.

"Hyah", he shouted, spurring his horse into a canter.