Saving the Last Lycan King

Chapter 6

Sophie

I had barely had time to understand what he had just told me before the sound of breaking glass rang loudly through the car, making it slowly come to a stop. A scream left me involuntarily, both because I was surprised by the sound, but more importantly because of the arrow sticking out of the poor driver's neck.

“WHAT THE f**k!” I screamed out loud as my fingers desperately searched for the seatbelt so I could unfasten it. I wanted to get out of here fast, but it felt like my body was moving in slow-motion.

“Get down!” Liam yelled as he ripped my seatbelt open and pressed me down to the bottom of the car, covering my body with his giant one. My heart was racing and it felt suffocating to be squished in an uncomfortable position, but I was so scared that I couldn’t protest. I could hear my heart thrumming in my ear and our raspy breathing, but apart from that, it was completely silent.

Drip, drip, drip. What was that? Was it gas dripping from the car? No, that couldn’t be. Did I pee myself? It wasn’t unlikely, honestly, but it didn’t feel like it. Drip, drip, drip. I turned my head a little, but regretted it as soon as I saw the poor driver's profile with the arrow protruding from his neck. The dripping sound came from the point of the arrow, as blood slowly dripped from it down onto the giant armrest between the front seats. I could smell the warm blood, I could smell death and it almost made me want to puke.

“It’s okay, stay down for me, will you?” His calming voice sounded just beside my ear and it somehow made me breathe a little slower, feeling how his very presence covered me with a protective blanket. “I won’t let anything happen to you, okay?” I dared not look up at him, but nodded my head. I had hair in my eyes, stuck to the wet trails of tears down my cheeks and my hands were trembling so much that it looked like I suffered from low blood sugar levels. A soft click from the door sounded and I realized Liam had just left the car, leaving me completely alone. Stay down, stay down, stay down. His words echoed through my brain, making me repeat the mantra again and again until he was back.

When nothing had happened for what felt like a long time, I gathered the courage and slowly rose to my knees to glance out of the window, but nothing in particular sprung into my eyes. Everything around the car seemed ordinary. As I glanced out the window, the door behind me flung open and I almost jumped on the seat from the shock. Liam looked at me, seemingly unhappy that I had disobeyed his instructions, but it was quickly replaced with a concerning look instead.

“I didn’t mean to scare you, are you okay?” He asked me softly as he reached out a hand and pulled me out of the car. I glanced around us, scared that someone would jump out from behind a tree.

“I’m… I’m okay, I think,” I said distractedly, as my eyes kept searching for another archer. What was that even about? Only a sick person would shoot anyone with an arrow? “What happened? Who would do this?” The questions flew out of me, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear the answers, if he had any. He kept his hand on one of mine while he pulled out my bag from the bottom of the car, before he started to drag me further down the road.

“Can you walk? We can be there in a couple of hours if we walk fast.” He tugged at my hand when I nodded and my feet moved on their own as I followed him, like a loyal puppy following its master.

***

Liam

I hated that she had to experience this and this was most definitely not what I wanted to put my mate through, even before she had decided whether she wanted to be with me or not. They had only sent one archer, as if expecting that he would be able to take me down on his own. The poor driver’s life ended too soon, but I was relieved that it wasn’t my beautiful Sophie. I wasn’t ready to loose her already, not ever.

She didn’t speak much, but followed closely behind me the rest of the way. It seemed that she had calmed down a little since her heart wasn’t beating as fast as it did when I helped her out of the car. My eyes scouted the area around us as I tried to make sense of where we were. It was obvious that everything had changed… A lot. The houses we passed seemed more sturdy and the roads were covered in a molten, stony substance. The once beautiful landscape and forest was gone, replaced by a bare and dusty surface. If my sense of direction wasn’t completely off, we should just head a little further to the west.

I glanced down at Sophie walking next to me. Her delicate hand was still in mine, but it seemed she only did it because she wouldn’t bother to let it go. Did she hate me now? I had barely been out of the tomb for more than a couple of days and they were already hunting me, hoping to finish off the last surviving specimen of a forgotten species. Her updo wasn’t on top of her head any longer and it was now bouncing on the crown of her head, more messy compared to this morning. Her shirt was wrinkled and the white fabric had obtained a few blood splatters on her right shoulder. I tore my eyes away from her, hoping that she wouldn’t dwell on the fact that I had just stared at her and tried to focus on the road ahead of us instead.

“If we cross this field here, we’ll be there soon, I promise.” I told her as I pointed to the left. A small ditch beside the road separated the field from where we were standing and I held out my hands to help her over it, making sure that she wouldn’t slip. The silence from her was bothersome, but understandable and I hoped that she would open her mouth when she knew we were safe again.

After another thirty minutes of walking in under the scorching sun, I noticed a familiar stone fence with wide metal gates towards the road. A smile found its way to my lips, happy that the place was still standing, but I still felt a little nervous, praying that whoever lived inside would still shelter us. Sophie was gawking around, watching the house carefully through the gate, but didn’t go far away from me. Just as I was about to open the gate, the door of the house slammed open, almost making the door fall off its hinges. A small and sturdy man strode down the stairs, glancing down at the gate before walking closer in quick steps. He had curly, gray hair and an uneven mustache, and his brown eyes were framed by round glasses.

“In troubled times, find me here. I’m grateful to find the friends I hold dear.” I bowed my head as the words left my lips. Sophie was staring at me curiously, but I didn’t stand up as I waited for his response. After a minute, I heard something click and I raised my head to see the man pulling the gate open with a nervous smile on his face.

“Your Majesty, come in.” He bowed back at me as he held the gate open for us. Relief flooded through my body, knowing that a short stay here would both give us a much needed break from the hunters and an advantage for our future travels. He closed the gate behind us and guided us towards the door where an old, slender woman stood with a shocked expression on her face.

“Your Majesty, please enter our humble home. What can we do to help?” The woman said while dropping a curtsy.

“Thank you for providing shelter at a much needed time. If it isn't too much trouble, we could both need a bath, fresh clothes, something to eat and a decent sleep.” The woman nodded her head and snapped her fingers twice, making two maids appear through a door to the left.

“Everything will be ready in a minute, please follow me and I’ll show you to your chamber.” I gestured for Sophie to walk first and followed close behind as the woman guided us up the stairs and down a corridor. The house still looked familiar, but slightly changed, probably with time, and I noticed several paintings mama Rosalie had painted when I was a small pup. The woman suddenly stopped in front of a door and unlocked it with an old metal key, gently pushing it open.

“I’ll leave you to it then, Your Majesty. Everything should be to your liking. Do you need me to send a maid up to help you with your bath?” She asked me with a polite smile and I shook my head quickly, not wanting to make Sophie uncomfortable, but as I took in her upset expression, she already looked uneasy with the whole situation. With the woman gone and the door shut behind her, I was just about to release a deep breath, when Sophie finally opened her mouth.

“Don’t expect me to wash you, Your Majesty…” She scoffed and then went into the bathroom and slammed the door shut. I chuckled with myself after a second and my beast was prancing around, enjoying how our little mate was feeling jealous, thinking of another woman touching me.