Breeder For The Lycan Lord

Genesis

MAUDE

“I ask you once again......”

His voice sliced through the silence like a cold knife and the very air around me felt icy. I could almost see my breath misting in front of me. Chills settled deep in my bones.

He grabbed my chin, tilting my face towards his with an intensity that left me breathless. A soft moan escaped my lips and my heart skipped a beat. I couldn’t bare looking into his eyes cause.... it was capable of consuming me or perhaps, tipping me into madness. I didn’t know who this man was, neither have I seen him in my whole life.

I turned my head slightly, but he tightened his grip, drawing my face back to him, even with greater force.

“Don’t you dare look away from me ever!”

“What do you want from me? Let me go!” I cried out in pain and struggled to set myself free but all he did was let out a chuckle that echoed in the dimly lit room like distant thunder.

“Why were you sent here?”

“No one sent me. I am just surprised as you are, to find myself here. I do not know anything and I am not a spy!”

Slowly, his lips curved into a wide grin. Never had I seen a scary smile in my whole life. His was the first and it was a sight I never wanted to see again in my life.

My heart raced as I could hear the darkness in his tone.

“Demetrius sure knows how to send his puppets to test me. How bold of him to send his daughter this time! He must indeed think that you are better than the rest.” He muttered, more to himself, as he turned his back to me.

I couldn’t make sense of what he was saying, neither did I understand what he was talking about. Who is Demetrius? How did I fit in all of this? How did I even get here?

**

Few Days Ago

“Are you.... are you leaving me too?”

I couldn’t imagine those words coming out of my mouth. Never did I imagine I could utter those words, yet here I was forcing out these syllables, not to anyone else but Bernhard, my best friend who had stood by me through it all.

I clung to the hope that it was all a cruel joke, a rumor, a lie but with each second that passed, I felt the cold grip of reality tightening around me.

“I am sorry, Maude but .... I cannot accept you as my mate.”

“Why?” My voice trembled as I tried to hold his hands, but he took a step away from me, causing my heart to shatter even more. “Don’t tell me you believe the rumors now.”

“I wished it was just a rumor but it is pretty obvious that it is not. The signs were there all along, but I was too blind to see it. Your mother, who was believed to be a strong warrior who slayed thousands of men and beasts alike, died while birthing you. Everything and everyone who comes too close to you dies. No one wants to associate with you anymore. I thought the curse on you wasn’t real.

Now...... Lady Vanessa, who used to be your guardian, is dead! What are the chances of it being a coincidence? She was fine after she returned from a journey for so long but a few minutes after you went in to see her when no one was there, she died!” He screamed at the top of his lungs.

“It is just a coincidence...” My voice faltered. I didn’t believe it either. He scoffed and shook his head, maintaining his distance from me. “If the curse was real,....” I wiped my eyes, trying to console myself. “Why then aren’t you dead? You have been the closest to me since we were kids..... why aren’t you dead now?”

“Probably because I am your nemesis.” He spoke and my eyes widened. I was in utter shock and confusion of what he had just said.

“My... my.... my nemesis?” I managed to ask. I didn’t understand what that meant. Rather than utter a word to me, he turned his back and left. I tried to speak, to call out to him but the words died in my throat.

I had woken up that morning with so much excitement and happiness, wanting to find out what the future held for me. I turned eighteen years a couple of days back and that morning, I knew I was going to find my mate.

I had mixed feelings whether my mate would believe the rumors and the lies that I was cursed. I had run up to that mountain that night with so much excitement, hoping to see who it was. My gaze caught Bernhard coming up the mountain too, and I ran to him, to tell him I was there to find my mate.

It took the expression etched to his face before I could understand what was going on.

“Mate.”

I covered my mouth immediately, believing I had made a mistake, but from the look in his eyes and the disappointment etched to his face, I knew I had not made a mistake. He was coming to find .... me.

“Why is this happening to me?!” I crashed to the floor, burying my head in my arms. No one wanted to have anything to do with me. I couldn’t even attend Bernhard’s coronation ceremony today because no one wanted to be with me or be seen near me.

Just then, I sighted Bernhard returning briskly to the mountain and I wiped my tears, excited that he had finally discovered his mistake and wanted me as his own but I stopped dead in my tracks when behind him were a couple of soldiers, marching towards the mountain like they were going to war. My legs froze on the spot as they approached me.

“How dare you!” Bernhard yelled at me, his eyes reddened with anger.

“What... what do you....”

A slap forced me into silence, reverberating across my cheeks, leaving a burning sting and a high-pitched whine that silenced everything around me.

My eyes widened as I looked up at the figure who had slapped me. It was Elder Marcus, Our Alpha (Alpha Rolan’s) Beta.

“How could you, you cursed child? You have been rejected by everyone, yet Alpha Rolan in his kind heart allowed you to stay in his pack? How could you?”

“I.... I ... I did not.....”

“You still dare to lie?!” Elder Marcus charged towards me and in no time, people began to gather and point fingers at me. My heart raced, worry and fear clawing at my lungs.

“You are a murderer, and you know what happens to a murderer.”

My gaze diverted to Bernhard and I could see the worry and uncertainty in his eyes.

“You need to....” I tried to hold him but he crossed his hands behind him, not sparing me a glance. “You need to believe me, Bernhard. I... I did not do that. I did not do anything. I am innocent. I was here all along, i.....”

“The people are counting on you to do the right thing. We all loved the Alpha dearly. She cannot yank him out of our hands and go scot-free. Everyone is waiting for an answer. You are now the Alpha and you have to get rid of all sentiments and treat this like an Alpha would. “ Elder Marcus instructed.

My heart was racing really hard as I stared at him and the moment he looked away from me, I knew it was over.

“For the murder of Alpha Rowan, a father not just to me but to everyone in this pack, you are..... hereby sentenced to..... be stoned....to death.” He pronounced.