Enslaved by the Lycan

Chapter 04

The sound of the horses' hooves striking the ground was deafening, a constant rhythm that seemed to mark the end of my world. The man behind me, his chest as hard as a rock, prevented me from turning around to see the flames. His heat was suffocating, but the cold I felt inside was far worse.

"M-my mother..." I found the courage to speak as tears streamed down my face. "Y-you killed my mother," I said, a little louder.

At that moment, I could feel hatred rising through my body. The tears fell again and I sobbed. I choked, gasping for air. He didn't answer. He simply continued guiding the animal deep into the forest, as if my pain were merely an insignificant noise.

"Let me go!" I screamed, beginning to struggle against the iron arm that held me. "You monster! You said you would save her for last, you promised!"

He pulled the reins hard, making the horse stop abruptly in the middle of a dark clearing. The silence of the forest was terrifying. He dismounted with an agility that made me nauseous and, immediately after, yanked me down from the saddle, setting me on the ground.

My hands were still tied behind my back, the rope burning my skin with every movement. I could barely keep my balance, but my hatred was stronger than my footing. I tried to lung forward, using my body as a weapon, slamming my shoulder against his chest, trying to kick him—trying anything to hurt that man of marble.

His men stared at us, their eyes moving between the two of us. They seemed confused about what to do now that I was trying to hit their King, or whatever that piece of s**t was to them.

"Why did you do it?" I wailed, my voice breaking. "She was the only thing I had! You destroyed my life! Kill me too, you coward! Go on, get it over with!"

He didn't move. He stood there, motionless, watching me stumble and nearly fall because of my bound hands. I kept screaming, spitting words of hate, wishing he would suffer every drop of the pain I was feeling. My throat burned, and I couldn't stop sobbing.

"Shut up, Juno," he said, his voice low and dangerous.

"No! I won't shut up! You are a demon! I hope you—"

He lost his patience. In one swift movement, he grabbed my shoulders and pinned me against the trunk of a nearby tree. My bound hands were crushed between my back and the rough bark. I opened my mouth to scream again, but he was faster.

He tilted his head and kissed me.

It was a brutal kiss, charged with a possessiveness that left me breathless. There was no tenderness, only the impact of his lips against mine, violently silencing my despair. My whole body jolted, and for a second, my brain shut down. His heat was suffocating.

When he pulled away, I was panting, my lips tingling and the hatred in my eyes even greater. He let me go, stepping back, and the sound of metal slicing through the air echoed. With a quick flick of his dagger, he finally cut the ropes at my wrists.

"I didn't kill your mother," he said, his voice cold, as I massaged my wounded wrists. "I got her out of there before the first torch fell. But if you want to see her again, you’re going to have to learn how to be mine and how to obey me."

I was about to snap back, but a horrifying howl ripped through the air, coming from somewhere very close. The King froze, his eyes shifting from silver to a glowing gold. He stared into the deep darkness of the forest and growled.

"Stay behind me," he ordered, drawing a longsword I hadn't even noticed before.

"What is that?" I whispered, fear once again taking the place of my hatred.

"Rogues," he replied, without taking his eyes off the shadows. "They think I am weak because I came to claim you. And they’ve come to finish the job your village started."

Immense figures began to emerge from the darkness. They were nothing like the King; they were mangy, gaunt wolves with patchy fur and eyes red with pure madness. The stench of rot they exhaled made me take a step back, bumping into the trunk of the tree.

There were five of them. They growled in unison—a sound that vibrated deep within my bones.

"Stay still, Juno!" he shouted, and before I could even blink, the first wolf lunged.

In the blink of an eye, the man beside me vanished. The sound of snapping bones and expanding muscle filled the air. In his place, the Lycan emerged. He was monumental: a black wolf of impossible proportions that made the outcasts look like pups. His golden eyes burned like embers.

His ten men changed as well, transforming into large wolves, but none could compare to his imposing presence. The King leaped into the middle of the outcasts with devastating fury.

The fight was a chaos of teeth and torn flesh. In the midst of the c*****e, one of the outcasts—taking advantage of the moment the King was finishing off another—sprang onto his back. I saw the fangs sink deep into the Lycan’s black shoulder, tearing away a clump of fur and flesh. The King let out a howl of pain that made the ground tremble, but he swung his body violently, crushing the intruder's skull against a rock.

I blinked, horrified, and pressed my hands to my lips in shock. The bark of the tree scraped against my back, and I trembled, ready to cry. Seeing that giant wounded in such a way undid what little courage I was still trying to maintain.

In that second, something strange happened to me. My chest burned. It wasn't fear; it was an urgency, a violent impulse that made me take a step forward without thinking. My hand reached out toward him, my heart screaming that he couldn't fall. I felt an invisible connection pull at me, as if his life were tied to mine by a thread I couldn't cut. My breath hitched in my throat from pure concern.

"You're hurt..." I whispered, my feet carrying me toward him against my will.

The King returned to human form on his knees, panting. His shoulder was an open, ugly wound, blood streaming down his bare chest until it stained the earth. He was completely naked—as naked as the day he was born—but he didn't seem to care. His skin glistened with the sweat of the fight and blood that wasn't his own. Even wounded, his presence still filled the entire space.

He propped himself up on one arm, bleeding, and looked at me. That golden gaze was possessive and victorious, even in pain. He noticed. He saw that I cared for a second.

Reality hit me like an electric shock. The impulse to protect him vanished, replaced by a wave of self-loathing. I recoiled two steps, feeling hatred burn again—stronger than before because he had made me feel that stupid worry. How could I care about the monster who had destroyed my world?

"Why didn't you just die?" I spat the words, hugging my own body to stop the shaking.

He gave a lopsided smile, despite his paleness, and ignored his own nudity as he tried to staunch the blood from his shoulder with his hand.

"We need to go," he said seriously, looking at the others. "I don't want her staying outside the pack lands for long."

"Your injury. You won't be able to lead the horse," I said.

He laughed, amused.

"I am a Lycan King, little rabbit," he murmured, his fingers finding my hips as he placed me back on the horse as if half his body weren't covered in his blood and the blood of others.

The heat of his hands on my hips burned me. Even injured, he lifted me as if I weighed nothing. The hot blood dripping from his shoulder stained my pajamas, sticking the fabric to my skin. It was disgusting. It was the blood of a monster, but the metallic scent mixed with the aroma of the forest made me dizzy.

He mounted right behind me. His chest, broad and sweaty, pressed against my back. I could feel every one of his muscles, every heavy thud of his wolf heart.

"Hold on," he ordered, his voice vibrating against my neck.

The horse took off. The biting night wind whipped against my face, but I could only feel the suffocating heat of his body surrounding me. I wanted to jump. I wanted to fall and run until my feet bled, but his arms were like steel chains.

"You're going to faint," I said through gritted teeth, feeling his weight increase slightly against me. "Your blood is staining everything."

"Let it stain," he whispered, his warm breath giving me shivers of hatred. "Now you have my mark on you, Juno. Inside and out."