THE CURSED BOND OF THE LYCAN KING

Kael’s POV “You’re chosen for the sacrifice Kael.” Those words crushed me, and the first thing I felt was cold. Not the kind of cold that bites at your skin and makes you shiver for a moment, but the type that seeps into my bones like it had been waiting for me or like it owned me. The chains shook as the carriage jolted forward again, the iron bit into my wrist. At first, I froze. There was no point moving because I had already tested them twice earlier, and it all bruised my skin. The guards' mocking laughter pierced me so hard, but I didn’t flutter. “Do you still think you can run?” one of the guards asked, but I didn’t give any response. Outside, the winds blew wildly like it wanted to move things from the earth. The sound of the wind alone made people pray, but I stopped praying for a long time. The carriage slid down, but my heartbeat was still racing. We got to the Northern lands, a place where sacrifices like me were sent and never returned. One of the guards knocked on the wooden door, “Hope you’re ready to be sacrificed because your new home awaits you.” The guard let out a dry chuckle. I raised my head up gently, my eyes met with the little ray of light from the carriage window. Everywhere outside was filled with snow that was white, beautiful and suffocating. I gulped, but the saliva in my throat was still tight. I don’t want to give them any reason to think I’ll flutter. I try to stay composed even when I am overwhelmed with fear. I curved my fingers against each other while my fist tightened. “They chose this for you. You didn’t choose it for yourself, so don’t waver,” I murmured to myself. The moment my life crumbled wasn’t when I was chained but when I was dragged out of my home. Earlier today, I heard my father’s voice say calmly, “Kael will go.” I didn’t move at first. A long silence stretched in every corner of the room. My mother couldn’t look at me, my siblings avoided eye contact with me too. Everyone sat still, including the servants. They all stood still like monuments. As for me, I was just there waiting and hoping anyone would utter things like; “Stop it, it’s not him or don’t go.” No one uttered a word, because they saw me as the easiest option, the quiet one, the unwanted son and the one who can’t fight back. But why dad? I asked politely, and my heart began pounding loudly like it already knew the answer before my father said a word. After a long pause, he said just three words, “Our family needs this…. If we refuse, we will lose everything”. My father exhaled deeply. Everything? I let out a humorless chuckle, startling everyone in the room. Just because I’m not part of everything, isn’t it? I turned to look at my mother, and our gaze locked. For a brief second, a flicker of regret, pain, love crossed her eyes, but she looked away immediately. “You should be honored," my mother said calmly. Honored? I asked slowly with tremor in my voice. “Yes… honored to be used as a sacrifice," my mother added. I nodded without saying a word again. I nodded, not because I agree, but because I understand that I was never part of the family, because if I am, they’ll fight for me and I won’t be chosen so easily to go and die. The carriage door creaked open and a cold, sharp, and unforgiving air filled the carriage. “Get out," one of the guards commands. I was still seated with my face down inside the carriage. Dry and rough hands grabbed me to throw me outside, my boots hit sharply against the ground making me sink into the thick snow that covered everywhere. The chains jingled loudly, echoing in the long silence between us. I raised my head and looked at the castle before me. For a second, I forgot how to breathe, and my throat suddenly felt tight. The castle before me was a black stone with craggy towers and edges that almost pierce the sky. It’s not just a building, but a warning, a memory, a grave. The gates creaked open, the sound was low and heavy, like the groan of something ancient that'd just woken up. “Move," the guards pushed me forward. I staggered, but I didn’t fall. Even if my legs were shaking in fear, I wouldn’t dare fall into their presence, because I could see the mockery, judgment in people's eyes that were looking at me. Immediately I crossed the gate and stepped into the premises, loud noises began. “Is this another one?” a voice asked, but there was no response. “He looks pretty small although” another voice chimed in. Pretty and small things break faster though. A sharp, cold, and cruel laughter burst in. Even with all these, I refuse to flutter in their presence. I kept walking with my head high and straight without turning to blink at anyone even when my heart had been shattered. The laughter became more intense, wild and loud, but I didn’t stagger, not even for a second. I know for a fact that they want me to look weak, break, cry or beg, but I won’t allow them to see that side of me yet. The guards dragged me into the big obsidian court. Upon seeing it, I knew it was the obsidian court without being told anything. I accepted my fate to be a sacrifice, so there’s no point for me to stumble. The floor was well-polished with black stones reflecting everything like a dark mirror. The wall was lined with torches that were shaking to light up in the cold. The Lycans filled the massive hall, well seated on high platforms and dressed in dark clothes. Even in the dim lights, their eyes still glowed very sharp and hungry, not hungry for food but for entertainment. “For your viewers' pleasure," one of the guards announced, pushing me forward so I could stumble in the center of the hall. I stood still regardless and bent my head down. A little laughter echoed in the massive hall. “Carry up your face and stand straight,” a voice ridiculed. “Turn around, we want to see the human very well,” another voice scoffed. “I bet he doesn’t know exactly what happened to sacrifices”. People laughed out louder and the whole room was filled with murmurings and whispers from different corners. My fist and jaw clenched, and I didn’t say a word or even bother begging, and they were all infuriated. “He’s so boring… he doesn’t even shake,” a woman hissed. “Oh, just hold on, he will," another voice added. “Whenever they come here, they try to act composed and try not to stagger, but they will beg later on,” another voice responded loudly. When I heard that, I gulped and promised to disappoint them by standing firmly. Suddenly, the atmosphere shifted to something thick, dangerous and suffocating. Everyone turned towards the entrance and I refused to tilt in that direction at first. Something made my instincts scream, “Run,” and I turned slowly towards the entrance. Then I saw him: “The Lycan King, Damien." The moment he got to the entrance of the court, he paused for a second to stare at everyone well seated and the human sacrifice that stood at the center of the hall. Each step he took inside the hall is controlled, calculated, and deliberate. He didn’t force power, but it accompanied him like his shadow. Damien is tall, dark, broad shoulders, with icy eyes. I couldn’t ignore his eyes because it pierced through my skin and bones. Damien’s eyes gazed sharply at everyone in the hall, and it landed on me. My world crumbled suddenly and violently, and it exploded like a bomb in my chest. I began gasping, and my knees bent slightly. What is that? I asked rhetorically. Something like fire burned its way through me from the inside. My throat went dry instantly, and I pressed my palm hard on my chest trying to breathe, also trying to understand everything, but I couldn’t. The Lycan king gazed at me firmly without even blinking, his expression changed instantly to something cold. Anger, confusion, shock, flickered across his eyes. After a long silence, his voice filled with rage cut loudly through the massive hall, “What is this?” There was no response from anyone. He took a step closer to me, my breath stiffened, and my heartbeat raced faster than usual, and pounded loudly. The strange pain I felt earlier returned again even sharper. Why do I feel like I’m being drawn to him and torn into pieces at the same time? I mumbled. Damien’s gaze lingered on me for quite a long time, then he spoke in a low and dangerous voice, “take this human away from my site immediately.” Those words pierced through my bones, leaving me with a sharp pain. “Why did he refer to me like I meant nothing?” The guards walked closer to me, grabbed my hands and dragged me away. I turned backwards, and I saw the same pain I felt flicker across him. When the guards threw me into the darkness of the lower chambers, the thought of what happened in the hall lingered on my mind hesitantly, and that’s when I realized that this is just the genesis of my story.