Betrothed to Lycan

Episode 5: Jackson showed up...

Jackson's devotion to Clara was ever so slow, confronting Clara with the conflicts embedded in his loyal, detailed eyes.

Not only was he concerned about her life; he was concerned about his own life and position with it. The world of the Cadillac Lycan was lethal not just to her but to him too.

"Clara," he said one evening, his voice low, filled with uncertainty. "I must know what you want. I need to know what you need from me."

Clara looked at him, split between protecting him from the chaos she was about to go into and bringing him beside her. "I don't know," she admitted in little more than a whisper. "I don't know what to do anymore."

Jackson stepped near to her, placing his hand on her arm. "Whatever you choose, I'll be with you in this thing. Just decide soon, Clara. This does not simply go away. And I won't be able to pretend, either, that everything will be alright if you don't decide."

These words weighed heavily in the air between them, an unspoken truth that Jackson could never protect her from everything, and especially not the forces she was up against. She had got to choose between acceptance of fate or starting to combat for her freedom regardless of what part of her had to be sacrificed for ransom.

In that moment, Clara understood that the coming fight would be for not just her life but her very soul.

Deep down inside, Clara flickered her eyes nervously as Luca led her deeper into the show of the pack. The towering stone walls encircled her, and a shiver of dread settled in her belly. Other Lycans gazed at her, their eyes wide with curiosity, disdain, or something altogether more dangerous than either emotion. Luca had promised to keep her safe, but Clara had seen too much to trust easily.

"You're safe here," said Luca, in tones low and hearty, but Clara was not fooled. She could sense the unexpressed tension that can be heard humming beneath the surface of the pack. She was an outsider, simply human, in a world full of strong, ancient creatures.

The laughter and big conversation ceased as they entered the main hall. All eyes darted to Clara, sizing her up with preditory gazes. The pack was a motley crew, and it brought together great and small, all touched by the same primal aura as Luca's. But behind that power, Clara sensed something darker-something that belonged not to her world.

A tall lady, with exceptionally piercing blue eyes, glided forward, her rancid cold essence scintillating like ice, and a markedly charismatic personality.

"This is Lena." Luca's voice was more serious. "She's one of my most trusted advisors."

Lena narrowed her eyes a little as she assessed Clara. "You will learn quickly that you're not given any trust, human," she said, her voice carrying an edge that made Clara shiver.

The chatter in the room quickened, and Clara's heart began to race. Oh, there was an atmosphere of tension that one could cut with a knife in that hall. This was no longer just a captive; she was a part of their world now, whether she liked it or not.

The days melted together for Clara as she struggled to adapt to this strange and frightening realm of the Lycans. Every nook and cranny of the pack building bore knowledge--knowledge she doubted she was ready to unveil.

She was taken to the training grounds by her bosun, an enormous portion of a garden where the Lycans molded their power. This bout, they told her, would merely be a display of might to showcase the might of the pack over its enemy. But Clara sensed it was much more than that.

In the center of the ring, two of the pack stood bare, in front of each other. The crowd gathered around them, popping their knuckles and crackling with satisfaction, watching with anticipation. From the vision rotating in front of her, Clara choked up as one of the Lycans invoked himself. A broad creature with dark hair and amber eyes.

It was at once, bone popping, muscle popping fur bursting forth from his skin. His eyes, once human, now wild in their rage and hunger.

Nothing Clara saw could compare to what she witnessed. The Lycans were merciless, with each blow intended for maximum pain. Blood dripped in parentheses, dirt blasted as the two whipped each other with claws and teeth. The pack howled in simultaneous approval, their voices entwined in one big unica.

Clara felt the food climb up her throat. This wasn't just practice; it was a changeover ceremony to establish the superiority and reminder of their control by subordinating another.

Luca stood beside her, an object with gazes fixed on the fight without attachment or any intensity. "This is how we survive," he said in a soft voice. "Weakness has no place here."

Clara looked up at him and felt a chill up her spine. She could always think of Lycans as simply wolves and beasts that come in packs. But now-this she understood- the Lycans were much more than that: they were the rulers and conquerors, and the world they lived in was set on bloodshed and utmost domination.

But all these were the beginning of the struggle.