Saving the Last Lycan King

Chapter 3

Liam

My whole body ached when she turned around and left me. I had become accustomed to being alone after so many years in the tomb, but as soon as her presence disappeared, my whole being yearned for the warmth she eluded. Even though my body and mind felt numb and sore, I felt more alive now than before I was locked in this cave. She made my heart pound faster, the blood in my veins flow and my skin tingle. She was everything I had ever dreamed of and more.

I wandered around in the cave, glancing over my belongings and wondered briefly if I should just go after her. I wanted to, believe me, but she promised me that she would come back for me. I found my journal and decided to write about this day, the day I was freed, the day I met my forever. The words came quickly and my hand swiftly moved over page after page, filling them with my thoughts and the longing I already felt. Lastly, I tried to draw her face out of memory, perpetuating her beauty as best as I could. She wore the strangest set of clothes I had ever seen on a woman and I wasn’t exactly sure of how much time had passed since I was buried. For a woman to wear a man’s shirt and very short pants, I would say a lot… I had seen her legs and bare skin in several places, and I couldn’t help but think that other men must’ve seen her like this as well. The thought was not appealing at all. She was only mine to cherish. It’s not like I haven’t seen a naked female body before, because as a Lycan, it was fairly normal to be naked, both men and women. I just never looked at them with the longing I felt when I looked at her. A tiny, but perfect human.

Her scent was still lingering in the air and it was very distinctive on the sheepskin where she rested. I leaned down and took a deep breath of air, trying to breathe in and remember every single fraction of her scent. The forest in the spring, sunshine in the rain, home. Her scent was very complex and consisted of faint fragrances of lavender and lilies, but those three things were the ones that made me recognize her as mine. Could she smell me too? I took a whiff close to my armpit and scrunched my nose when the smell hit me. No wonder she left so quickly. I smell like a carcass left to rot. With a quick glance in the handheld mirror on my desk, I noticed how my hair and beard had completely changed my entire demeanor. I looked old and like a beggar living in the streets. I needed to clean up, shave and cut my hair before she came back.

With the mirror resting against a small stack of books and an old knife in my hand, I mentally prepared myself for what was about to happen and tried to think of my old hairstyle. Normally, my brown hair would only reach my ears in soft waves and my beard replaced by stubbles, but I wasn’t able to shave properly, so the knife would have to do for now. I took a lock of hair between my fingers, held the knife against it and hesitated before the knife did its job. One lock fell, then another and another one. I repeated my movements with the long and wild beard that covered most of my face. Glancing at my new reflection in the mirror, I welcomed the new look, even though it was still a little rough on the edges.

I had barely realized how much time had passed since she left, but I managed to fall asleep before sunrise. I woke up with a shock as I heard the ground over my head crumbling beneath somebody’s weight. A brief second later, her heavenly scent filled my entire being, making me calm down immediately and stand up to head towards the hole.

“Hello? Are you awake?” Her sweet voice whisper-yelled and my entire being buzzed with warmth as I jumped up on the table to help her down. To my surprise, she handed me a rather heavy and soft bag, making a frown appear on my forehead as I wondered what it could be. She gazed down at me and after putting the bag down, I gestured for her to come down as well. Her legs were bare again and they dangled into my face as her behind came first down the hole. I grabbed her by the waist and slowly hoisted her down, making sure her feet were standing on solid ground before I released my grip on her.

“What is all this?” I asked her and pointed towards the bag she was dragging further into the cave. She untangled some bands and started to pull out a rather large assortment of things.

“Oh, I didn’t know what you needed, so I just brought a bunch of stuff.” She explained and I looked closer at what she had unpacked. She stopped in her tracks and turned around to face me again, holding something in her hands.

“You cut your hair and beard.” She stated more than asked and I nodded, looking at her eyes roaming over my face. ”I like it, but maybe we should trim the edges.” She practically giggled as she opened the small container in her hands, revealing a pair of shiny scissors and a comb. I was just happy she liked my new appearance.

“Sit down, please.” She gestured for me to sit down on the chair and I obliged with a nod. Her soft fingers worked on my hair and beard, as she made sure everything was to my liking, and once she was finished, she held up the mirror for me to see. I looked like me again, but my eyes kept drifting up to her warm blue eyes gazing down at me with a look that I couldn’t quite decipher. She cleared her throat and put the mirror down again, before she handed me a soft cloth and started to pour some water into a bowl she found.

“You need to washup, you. Ehm.” She started, but I couldn’t help but smile as I interrupted her.

“I smell like a dead man, I know. I’m surprised you even came back.” I used the bar of soap she had given me, making it wet before rubbing it over my skin and rinsing with the cold water. She was sitting with her back to me the whole time, and once I was finished, I noticed a pile of clothing neatly stacked on the chair I had sat on earlier. The clothes were different from what I usually wore, but it was okay.

“I’m decent again.” I told her and my heart raced inside of my chest when she turned around, nervous about her reaction. Her eyes widened and her lips parted slightly as her eyes looked me up and down, but she was allowed to do that whenever she wanted to.

“You clean up nice, Your Majesty.” She said with a breathless smile and she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and nodded slowly. For some reason it hurt a little for her to use my title. With the connection and the bond we shared, I would only settle for any endearment she would find proper or my name. I would love to hear my name on her lips.

“Please, don’t be so formal. You’re the only one in the entire world I don’t want to use my title, not ever.” The blush that crept onto her face let me know that my words had the intended effect. Even though I was indeed a king, I could never be above her in status. We would always be equals, because together, we counted as one entity. “Please call me Liam.”

“Okay, your-, I mean Liam.” She mumbled out, testing my name on her tongue and I enjoyed how it sounded from her lips. It sounded sensual, but in an unintentional way. After a moment of silence, she cleared her throat. “Look, we need to get you out of here, because our cab will be here in a matter of hours.” She explained as she walked through the cave, admiring my things.

“So what is your plan, Sophie?” I asked her, finally testing her name on my tongue and she stopped in her tracks, turning around to face me with reddened cheeks.

“I need you to act like my perfect boyfriend, who’s picking me up before we go back to London...” Oh, I loved her plan already.

“I can do that.” I tried to sound as confident as possible as I gazed back at her and she smiled back nervously. Once we had gone over her plan a couple of times, we packed the bag with some of my belongings from the cave. Not that I wanted, or needed to bring anything with me, but Sophie was almost sad to learn that I wanted to leave it all behind. I tried hard not to take in her fine curves as I hoisted her up through the hole, and I took one last glance into the cave that had been my home most of my adulthood before I pulled myself up through the hole. To freedom.