THE LYCAN PRINCE AND THE SLAVE

Chapter 10

Nathan swept Lizzy in his arms hurriedly, his eyes landing on the red spots on her arms and face. Nathan felt a pain pierce his heart as he looked at her unconscious self. He released a low groan as he walked out of the backyard, leaving the hive. At that point, he didn't care if anyone saw him with a maid in his arms. He was too worried about Lizzy. His heart thumped against his rib cage. He felt strong urge to break the house of the Jack's, but he restrained his lycan. He couldn't cause yet another commotion like this. He promised himself he would be a good Prince, for his mother.

But his feeling and protective nature for who his heart was craving superseded whatever promises he made to himself.

Reynolds quickly got down his horse, immediately he sighted Lizzy in Nathan's arms. Reynolds attempted to take Lizzy from his arms, but the Prince released a loud groan, so loud Reynolds stepped back.

"Open the doors to the hives. Release the bees." Nathan ordered in a deep tone, as he fitted lizzy on his horse.

"My lord?" Reynolds was scared. The Prince was literally ordering him to shed blood. If he released the bees, surely the bees will fly all over, possibly enter the Jack's Household first and sting them a thousand times before coming to the outer world.

"Release the bees." The Prince was firm on his tone, it didn't give room for argument.

Reynolds realised that he had to be very smart about this. It was either that, or the people were going to be faced with a calamity. Who knew how far these dangerous bees will go too?

"Nathaniel, please think this through. The bees may become violent and end up stinging the rest of the people. We will have more casual cases. "

Nathan's cold eyes looked as though he would end Reynolds life. But he couldn't. He needed him, more than he wanted to admit.

"Allow me to take her, please. This will stir up a talk, my Prince. Please."

Seconds passed before Nathan closed his eyes in defeat. He couldn't argue with Reynolds. He knew Reynolds had his best interest at heart. He sighed, a clear indication of defeat. Reynolds carefully took the unconscious Lizzy from Nathan's arms before placing her on his horse.

He felt Nathan stare at them. "I shall ride first, my lord. "

Nathan's heart clenched as he watched Reynolds ride away fast. He mounted his horse and looked at the Jack's household. He wasn't surprised to find Annalise by the window, staring down at them with a sour look on her face. Nathan stared at Annalise, with so much hatred, she felt it burn her skin.

She had done the last this time, there was nothing she would do to amend their relationship.

Nathan wasn't the one to let go of things. Annalise knew that. Nathan would surely express his reply in time, and it wasn't going to be funny.

Nathan rode fast after Reynolds. They were going to visit the Head of Royal physician. He couldn't take her back to the Palace like that. If he did, she wouldn't get proper medications. Nathan prayed that the physician was available seeing as word wasn't let out before their arrival.

He found Reynolds horse already in the physicians compound. This is among the reasons why he liked Reynolds. Not only was he efficient, he understood him to a particular level.

"My Prince." Faith, the royal physicians wife greeted. She was carrying a basket of medical ointments. The Prince merely acknowledged the greeting, he was in a haste to be by Lizzy's side.

"This way, my Prince." Faith walked ahead, guiding him to the rest. The royal physician, James was paying attention to Lizzy's breathing.

"How is she?" Nathan asked, as he bounced from one foot to the other, anticipating the response from James.

"She needs a few leaves in her system, but other than that, she is fine. Her lycan is strong, my Prince."

Nathan breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Ointment will be applied on her stings, to ease the pain. "

Nathan nodded. "Proceed with the treatment. "

James was conscious of the Prince. He was scared of administering any treatment in front of him. He didn't know the Prince cared for anyone other than his parents like this. So, it was a shock to see Reynolds in his premises today. He had no idea, they had knowledge about where he lived.

Reynolds noticed Jack's nervousness and decided to call the Prince out.

"Nathan, a word?"

Nathan nodded. With one last look at Lizzy, he followed Reynolds out.

" Nathan..you should return to the Castle now. "

Nathan didn't bother answering, he just stared at him and waited.

"The king will be back and its almost time for lunch. This will raise questions. "

Nathan didn't care whatever his father would think. "I do not care, Reynolds. I am not leaving her side."

This statement hit Reynolds. It just confirmed his suspicions. He was scared the Prince was developing feelings towards her. He didn't want a situation where she would reject him and mate another. A normal lycan who knew her mate was out there would do that.

"You..have feelings for her." It was a statement of fact made as the result of the colour of plain truth in the Prince's eyes. Nathan's eyes widened a bit, his blues becoming a bit darker as he understood the statement Reynolds directed at him. He knew he desired her but he hadn't yet realised that he liked her.

Nathan was in shock. He knew it was true. What he felt was close to that. He didn't know that a mateless male will have the opportunity to fall in love with another lycan or another female for that matter.

"My Prince, you love her."

Nathan kept his head low, in surprise, trying make sense of this situation. He wasn't mated to her yet but his heart yearned for her.

Just then, Jack appeared. "Her breathing is stronger, her heart beat is stronger. She will be fine when she wakes up. All she needs is rest."

Nathan nodded. "We shall take her back to the Castle."

Jack nodded. Who was he to object to the Prince's demand? "Yes, my Prince."

Nathan gathered Lizzy in his arms, feeling her warmth seep through his skin. His racing heart calmed down a bit as he felt her softness against his heart. He walked out of the house, as he stared at her beautiful face. She was still beautiful, even with the bee stings on her foreheads. Dare he say it added to her beauty?

"Reynolds. " He called.

"Sire?"

"Take her..carefully."

Reynolds nodded before taking her away. Nathan watched as Reynolds placed her on the horse. "Ride first. Take her to my chambers, Reynolds."

To say Reynolds was surprised was an understatement. But he simply nodded before ridding away carefully.

Nathan went back to the house to speak to Jack.

"You shall be rewarded handsomely. But remember, what happens in the castle, remains in the castle. It shall not be discussed with anyone, not even other royal members."

"Yes, my lord."

Everyone knew not to mess with the Prince. Jack, of course, didn't want to be on the Prince's bad side, especially when he appeared to have a soft spot for the lady.

"You shall be invited to the Palace when your expertise is needed. "

With that, Nathan walked out of the house and mounted his horse. He rode his horse in a normal speed, his heart calming down by degrees now that he knew Lizzy was a bit better, but he would prefer it if she would be awake. His eyes would be satisfied looking at hers. He needed her existence in his heart.

The Palace guards opened the gates and showed respect as the Prince galloped inside. Nathan wasn't in his right state of mind. His lycan was still unhappy about the turn of events. His lycan itched to go back to the Jack's and take down their buildings, strip them of their title in the society and turn to maids.

He walked to his chamber in a haste, his heart desiring to be with Lizzy. When he arrived, Reynolds had already laid her on the Prince's bed.

"You're dismissed. Make sure no one steps into my quarters. "

Reynolds anticipated this. He knew the Prince will be closed off again. For some reason, he wished for Lizzy to be awake. For when she was around him, his moods seemed to evaporate into thin air.

When Reynolds took his leave, Nathan noticed that the dinning in his outer room was arranged, the dishes neatly arranged. It was a composition of breakfast that he had missed and lunch.

Nathan removed his outer clothes and sat to have breakfast. He didn't have much appetite and disliked the food for it get cold.

He sat at the foot of the bed and watched Lizzy, as she slept. He wrapped her lower half with the comforter. He did his best to restrain his lycan from jumping on her, to satisfy himself. His human form wasn't letting it happen. His lycan ached for pleasure, his human ached for love and comfort.

.....

Lizzy woke up in discomfort. She was hot and enclosed in a tight space. She slowly opened her eyes, allowing herself to get familiar with the surroundings. She had seen this place before, this was the Prince's chamber.

She couldn't remember how she got here, all she knew was...

Lizzy suddenly grew aware of the thick arm that dropped across her stomach, in a protective stance. Nathaniel was laying on his stomach, his face at the side. Lizzy didn't know how to feel about it. She was sure she left his room yesterday. She knew she couldn't give herself to him that fast.

She frowned, trying to remember what happened when she felt a sharp pain on her forehead. She groaned out loud enough for the Prince to wake up.

She was shy to look at the Prince, especially when she didn't take her bath recently or cleaned her teeth. She avoided his gaze at all costs. She couldn't place her hands on her head, because she was binded by the Prince's arms on her, so she kept still and waited.

"You're awake." A whisper from the Prince. Lizzy felt the sensations of the whisper oenebtrate the left side of her body.

When Lizzy didn't respond, Nathan sat up, detaching himself from her before inspecting her stings. It had gone down by a lot, but the red spots were still visible.

"How are you feeling?" Nathan asked in a quiet voice.

Lizzy raised her hands, gently touching her forehead, analysing the painful bumps on her skin before writhing in pain.

"I can't.. remember. "

Immediately she said that statement, the events that occurred came back to her in a flash. She remembered being summoned by the Queen in the early morning, before she started preparation for breakfast. The Queen had instructed her to go to a certain household and show the ladies how to bake a soft bread.

Lizzy couldn't object. She wasn't privileged for that. So, she obeyed and departed in a coach, in front of the castle. Upon reaching there, her heart almost gave out when she realised where she was. It was the Jack's. Without a thought, she knew she was here to be punished. She expected them to give her a thousand chores but they only had a chore for her. They requested that she bring in jars of honey from the hive at the backyard before breakfast was over.

They gave her no gloves nor protective gown. Instead, Annalise pushed her inside before leaving her there. The bees were all over her in less than a second, protecting their honey from the intruder. Lizzy didn't know how she did it, but she managed to run out without any bee latched on her skin. After that, she couldn't remember much.

And now, she was here. It didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened.

Nathan had figured out and came after her. Her heart warmed at the feeling. The big bad lycan, coming for her. Only her. Her lycan was pleased, so was her human self, so much so that she couldn't control the words that left her mouth.

"I give you my consent. I agree to your desire."