THE LAST LYCAN KING
2378 Words
Crimson light flooded the ancient temple.
The earth trembled beneath Aria as dust and shattered stone rained from the ceiling.
She forced herself onto one knee, her ears ringing from the explosion.
Everything hurt.
Her shoulder.
Her back.
Her head.
For a moment, all she could see was the pillar of red light erupting from the center of the chamber.
Then...
It began to fade.
The brilliant glow shrank little by little until only a faint crimson mist lingered above the shattered seal.
A silhouette stood where the crystal had once been.
Tall.
Broad.
Motionless.
Aria held her breath.
The figure slowly inhaled.
A deep, steady breath, as though tasting the air for the first time.
Then another.
His fingers flexed.
His shoulders rose and fell.
He was alive.
Very much alive.
The man lowered his head, studying his own hands with quiet curiosity.
His skin was pale beneath the crimson light, crisscrossed with faded silver markings that seemed to glow from within before slowly dimming.
Long silver-white hair fell past his shoulders, matted from centuries of imprisonment.
He frowned slightly, opening and closing one hand.
"...Strange."
His voice was deep and calm.
Not threatening.
Simply... confused.
He turned slowly, taking in the ruined chamber around him.
His eyes traced the broken pillars.
The collapsed ceiling.
The faded murals.
A faint crease formed between his brows.
"This place..."
He spoke more to himself than anyone else.
"...What happened here?"
Aria didn't answer.
She wasn't sure she could.
The stranger took another slow step across the broken seal, his feet crunching over fragments of ancient stone.
His movements were careful, almost cautious.
Like someone waking from a dream.
Then...
He noticed her.
His silver eyes locked onto hers.
Everything stopped.
For several long seconds, neither of them moved.
His expression softened.
Almost imperceptibly.
"...Lyra?"
Aria blinked.
"...What?"
He took another step closer.
The confusion in his eyes deepened.
"No..."
His gaze swept across her face.
Then her hair.
Then her clothes.
A slow shake of his head followed.
"...You are not Lyra."
He looked genuinely puzzled.
"Ashe..."
The name escaped his lips like a memory.
"...No."
Another pause.
His eyes lingered on her face, searching for something that wasn't there.
Finally, he exhaled.
"...Forgive me."
"I mistook you for someone else."
Aria remained frozen.
The man standing before her looked no older than thirty-one.
He glanced around the chamber again.
His brow furrowed.
"The temple..."
"...Why is it abandoned?"
Aria swallowed.
"I..."
She wasn't sure which question to answer first.
"You... you were inside that thing."
His gaze returned to her.
"Inside?"
He looked down at the shattered seal beneath his feet.
Realization flickered across his face.
"...Ah."
He knelt, running his fingers across the broken runes.
His expression became distant.
"They succeeded."
"Succeeded in what?"
He didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he picked up a fragment of the cracked stone.
Ancient symbols covered its surface.
He stared at them for several seconds before quietly setting it back down.
"...How unfortunate."
Aria slowly stood, wincing as pain shot through her shoulder.
"I think you should come with me."
He looked up.
"...Come with you?"
"Yes."
"You probably hit your head."
He blinked once.
"...Excuse me?"
"You've been talking about temples and people I've never heard of."
"And you were somehow sealed inside... whatever that was."
She gestured toward the destroyed platform.
"So either you're insane..."
She hesitated.
"...Or I am."
For the first time since awakening...
The stranger smiled.
It was small.
Almost amused.
"I assure you..."
"I am quite sane."
Aria folded her arms.
"I don't believe you."
"Understandable."
He stood once more.
"You appear just as confused as I am."
Silence settled between them.
Finally, he asked,
"Tell me."
"What kingdom is this?"
Aria frowned.
"...Kingdom?"
"Yes."
He looked genuinely confused.
"The banners are gone."
"The temple is in ruins."
"I cannot determine where I am."
She stared.
"There aren't any kingdoms."
He tilted his head.
"...There aren't?"
"No."
"There are packs."
His brows knitted together.
"...Packs?"
"Of werewolves."
Another long silence.
He studied her face carefully, searching for any hint that she was joking.
Finding none...
He slowly asked,
"...What year is this?"
Aria answered without thinking.
"2026."
The words hung in the air.
The stranger didn't react.
Not immediately.
His eyes remained fixed on hers.
Then...
Ever so slowly...
The color drained from his face.
"...Two..."
He repeated the number under his breath.
"...Thousand?"
His knees nearly gave way.
He caught himself against one of the broken pillars.
"No..."
His breathing quickened.
"...Impossible."
Aria instinctively stepped toward him.
"Hey..."
He didn't hear her.
He stared at the cracked seal behind him.
"...A thousand years..."
His voice was barely audible.
"They kept me asleep..."
"...For a thousand years."
The realization struck him harder than any weapon ever could.
Everyone he had ever known...
Was gone.
Every friend.
Every warrior.
Every family member.
Reduced to dust by time.
His eyes closed.
Just for a moment.
When they opened again...
The grief remained.
Buried beneath remarkable self-control.
But it was there.
Aria watched silently.
She had never seen someone look so...
Alone.
After several moments, he straightened.
His voice had become calm again.
"...Thank you."
She blinked.
"For telling me."
"I... didn't really do anything."
"You gave me the truth."
He looked toward the broken ceiling where rain continued to pour into the temple.
"It seems..."
"...The world moved on without me."
Before Aria could respond—
A sharp burning sensation erupted across the back of her left hand.
She gasped.
"What—"
The molten-red mark flared to life.
The stranger's eyes snapped toward it instantly.
His calm expression vanished.
In two quick strides, he stood before her.
"Show me."
"W-What?"
"Your hand."
She instinctively pulled it behind her back.
"No."
His eyes narrowed—not in anger, but in disbelief.
"I said..."
"Show me."
Something about the authority in his voice made the words feel less like a request and more like a command.
Aria frowned.
"I don't even know who you are."
"No."
"You don't."
His gaze never left her hidden hand.
"But I know..."
"...That mark should not exist."
He took one slow step forward.
"Your hand."
Aria hesitated.
Every instinct told her to run.
But another part of her wanted answers.
Slowly...
She raised her left hand.
The moment the stranger saw the mark, his silver eyes widened.
For the first time since awakening...
He looked genuinely shocked.
"No..."
His voice was barely above a whisper.
"That cannot be..."
He reached toward her hand.
Aria instinctively stepped back.
"Don't."
He stopped immediately.
His eyes never left the molten-red symbol glowing faintly on the back of her hand.
"...The King's Mark."
Aria frowned.
"The what?"
He looked up at her.
"The King's Mark."
"It is a sacred bond."
"It has existed only once in history."
His expression became increasingly confused.
He looked from the mark...
Back to her face.
Then back again.
Finally, he asked the question that had been tormenting him since he'd seen it.
"...Why does a halfling bear my mark?"
Aria blinked.
"A... what?"
"A halfling."
He answered as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"A child of mankind and Lycan blood."
Silence.
Then...
Aria burst out laughing.
He simply stared.
"You..."
She struggled to catch her breath.
"...You really believe all that?"
His brow furrowed.
"You do not?"
"Lycans aren't real."
"They're myths."
"Stories told to children."
She folded her arms.
"My grandmother used to tell me about them when I couldn't sleep."
"So unless you're saying you climbed out of a bedtime story..."
She smiled.
"...I'm going to need something a little more convincing."
The stranger regarded her quietly.
"My name..."
He said at last,
"...is Kael."
"I am the King of the Lycans."
Aria smiled politely.
"Of course you are."
"And I'm Queen of the Moon."
He sighed.
"This is going to be difficult."
"A little."
"A great deal."
For the first time since they had met...
A tiny smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Despite everything...
She had managed to amuse him.
---
Kael turned away from her and studied the broken seal.
His expression became thoughtful.
"The Crimson Eye..."
He murmured.
"It has been destroyed."
Aria looked around.
"The what?"
He pointed toward the shattered fragments of the crimson crystal scattered across the chamber floor.
"The artifact that sustained my prison."
"So..."
She glanced at the pieces.
"I accidentally broke it?"
"You accidentally released me."
Her eyes widened.
"...You're serious."
"I have been serious since I awoke."
She looked from him...
To the shattered seal.
Back to him again.
A horrible realization settled over her.
"The mark..."
She slowly raised her hand.
"You're saying..."
"...this happened because of you?"
Kael shook his head.
"No."
"It happened because of us."
She stared.
"What does that mean?"
His gaze settled on the glowing mark once more.
"Our blood answered one another."
"The seal recognized your lineage."
"My..."
She frowned.
"My blood?"
"I don't have Lycan blood."
"You do."
"I don't."
"You do."
"I think I'd know."
"I assure you..."
"You would not."
Aria opened her mouth to argue again.
The temple violently shook beneath them.
Stone exploded from the ceiling.
A massive pillar crashed between them with a deafening roar.
Instinct took over.
Kael moved before Aria even saw him.
One moment he stood several feet away.
The next—
He caught her around the waist and pulled her clear as the pillar smashed into the floor where she had been standing.
The impact sent a cloud of dust into the air.
Aria blinked.
"W-What..."
She hadn't even seen him move.
Kael slowly released her.
"You should pay attention to your surroundings."
She stared.
"You crossed half the room in a second."
He looked mildly confused.
"...Did I?"
"...Yes!"
"I suppose my body still remembers."
He flexed one hand thoughtfully.
"My strength has not entirely left me."
The temple groaned again.
Cracks spread rapidly across the walls.
"This place is collapsing," Aria shouted.
Kael nodded once.
"The seal held these ruins together."
"It no longer serves its purpose."
Another violent tremor nearly threw them off their feet.
"We need to leave!"
Kael glanced toward the opening high above.
"That is... inconvenient."
"You think?"
"It is rather high."
She stared at him.
"That's your concern?"
"It is the most immediate one."
Aria couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"You've apparently slept for a thousand years, you're talking about kingdoms and Lycans like they're normal, and now the temple is collapsing!"
"...Yes."
"And you're calm?!"
Kael considered the question.
"I fail to see how panic would improve the situation."
She opened her mouth.
Closed it again.
"...I hate how much sense that makes."
Another smile threatened to appear on Kael's face.
He suppressed it.
Barely.
---
The ceiling above them cracked open.
Moonlight poured into the chamber.
Kael looked upward.
"There."
Aria followed his gaze.
"The hole?"
"It is our exit."
She laughed.
"Unless you've suddenly learned to fly..."
Kael walked toward one of the fallen pillars.
It was enormous.
Far too heavy for any werewolf to move.
He crouched.
Placed one hand beneath it.
Then pushed.
The pillar shifted.
Aria's jaw dropped.
"No..."
With a deep breath, Kael lifted one end several inches from the ground.
Muscles tightened beneath his skin.
The silver markings along his arms glowed faintly.
Then—
His strength gave out.
The pillar slammed back onto the floor.
Kael exhaled sharply.
"...Interesting."
"You call that interesting?"
"My body should have lifted it effortlessly."
He looked at his own hands.
"I truly have been weakened."
Aria slowly looked from the pillar...
Back to him.
"You still almost lifted something that weighs several tons."
"Hm."
"It appears half my strength remains."
"Half?"
She nearly laughed.
"What were you before?"
Kael's expression remained perfectly serious.
"...Far stronger."
Before Aria could ask another question—
The mark on her hand suddenly burned.
She gasped.
At the exact same moment—
Kael pressed one hand against his chest.
His breathing steadied.
The exhaustion on his face eased.
He looked at her.
She looked at him.
"...Did you feel that?" they asked together.
Silence.
Kael's eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
"The mark..."
"It is already functioning."
"What does that mean?"
He frowned.
"It would seem..."
"...you restored some of my strength."
"I what?!"
He nodded slowly.
"Only a little."
"But enough that I noticed."
Aria immediately hid her hand behind her back again.
"No."
"No what?"
"I am absolutely not becoming your walking battery."
Kael blinked.
"...Battery?"
"It means—"
"I understood."
He looked almost offended.
"I simply dislike the comparison."
Despite herself...
Aria laughed.
It was the first genuine laugh she'd had since Damon rejected her.
She covered her mouth in surprise.
Kael noticed.
He said nothing.
But something in his expression softened.
Only slightly.
Then—
The entire chamber lurched violently.
A deafening c***k echoed overhead.
The roof was finally giving way.
Kael's head snapped upward.
"We leave."
"Agreed!"
Without another word, he wrapped one arm around Aria before she could protest.
"W-Wait—"
He bent his knees.
Then launched upward.
The stone beneath his feet shattered.
They shot through the collapsing chamber in a blur.
Aria screamed.
Wind whipped through her hair as they soared from one crumbling ledge to another.
Below them, the ancient temple disappeared beneath falling stone.
Moments later—
They burst through the broken roof into the storm.
Rain poured from the heavens.
Lightning illuminated the forest.
Kael landed heavily on the soaked earth, dropping to one knee.
His breathing had become noticeably heavier.
Aria quickly stepped away.
For several moments...
Neither spoke.
Behind them...
The forgotten temple collapsed completely.
Its entrance vanished beneath thousands of tons of rock.
The last trace of the ancient prison disappeared forever.
Kael stared silently at the ruins.
"A thousand years..."
He murmured.
"My kingdom is gone."
"My people..."
His voice trailed off.
Aria looked at him.
For the first time...
She no longer saw a strange man claiming to be a legend.
She saw someone who had just lost everything.
She understood that feeling.
Neither of them noticed the molten-red mark glowing faintly beneath the rain.
As if reminding them...
Their lives had become bound together.
Whether they accepted it or not.
- Writer
