"Even monsters wear their scars beneath the skin; the fiercest claws often sheathe the most shattered bones..."
Adrianna abruptly got up, teary eyed and panicked. She ran her hands up both her sides, her palm rubbing against goosebumps and frost. She quickly looked around; she was no longer in the cave, rather she was back where she started, back in Ryker's tent.
She reached for the coat lying next to her and tossed it over her shoulders. Seeking warmth, she picked up some logs by the corner and tried to start a fire.
Unfortunately, the moment she had finished setting the logs, she heard heavy footsteps crunching in the snow. In seconds, Ryker's men, led by a fairly tall man, forced their way inside.
Towering over the rest, was their assumed leader, his braided beard was tinted white from the snow outside, and resting on his back was a long double sided axe.
Adrianna took two steps back as the men kept flooding inside, her eyes darted to the ropes they had in their possession.
"W-What are you looking for?" she asked, her eyes now scanning the room for a weapon.
"You know better than us why we're here. Where is Ryker?" he demanded, taking a large step forward.
Her eyes went wide. Had he not returned? How long had she been unconscious?
"Answer me!" he demanded. His men circled around the tent, boxing her into the middle.
"I swear to you, I don't know, he set me on his horse and stayed back to fight-" she was saying but he grabbed her by the hair and yanked her forward.
Bringing her face next to his, he said, "Stayed back? Where? It's been three days!"
"Stop! You're hurting me-"
"Answer the bloody question! Or else..." his calloused fingers trailed from her quivering lip, down to her pulsating neck. He firmly gripped her neck, and whispered slowly, "You'll be passed amongst us all, tied down and bent over and used like a tool until your neck meets the blade of my axe."
Adrianna tried to get away but he tugged harder on her hair. "I-It hurts!"
"Tell me where our leader is, while we're still asking nicely."
"I already told you, he stayed back at the cave, he wanted to protect me!" Saying it out loud, Adrianna still found it hard to process that the arrogant leader of the rebels saved her. It seemed as though she wasn't the only one who found it hard to believe, the unimpressed faces all around her scared the living daylights out of her. Her wolf was enraged, but she was too panicked to move a muscle against them.
"Tie her up," he charged the men. He tossed her over to the eager men; she tried to run but hands came in from all angles pulling her back, tearing roughly... intently into her garment.
"No! Stop!" She cried over their rowdy chants, but they were far too many and too strong. Her hands were tied behind her back and she was forced to kneel. The tall bearded man leaned over, he reached for her chin, but Adrianna spat at him, earning a tight slap across the face.
"You think this is funny?" he grabbed the sides of her face, his nails digging into her skin. He raised her head, bringing her tearful, yet defiant eyes to meet his gaze. The woman had a strong spirit; he licked his lower lip, excited at the thought of stripping her of said will.
"Last chance, tell me where Ryker is."
Adrianna glared, "At the cave, with the stolen rations," she hissed.
A chuckle escaped his lips, "I see there's no saving you." He reached for his belt and ripped it off, letting his pants fall to the ground. Adrianna looked away, but he forced her head back. "Look at it!" he ordered, forcing her to gaze at his hairy cock, pointing at her face.
Adrianna bit back her vomit, appalled by the shriveled thing merely inches away from her face.
"Now open your mouth, and stick your tongue out-"
"I'd rather die!!" she yelled, striking a nerve with her captor. He signaled his men, who quickly pushed her forward, and forcefully pried her lips apart. A wide grin on his face, her captor came closer, his cock leaking fluids.
"Now behave and don't bite-"
His command was cut short by rushed cries from outside; before he could react to the commotion, two men, who stood lookout, hurriedly marched into the tent and made their way to the middle.
Pissed, their ringleader scolded, "Who the hell said you could come in-"
"Ryker has returned!" One of them announced, sending chills down everyone's backs.
*************************************
What was happening? Was this something that only Lycans experienced? Was he in rut? Or had the king suddenly want to move up the mating ceremony? Eira's mind was in a million and one places, as the king's hungry lips ravaged her skin.
But, his ragged breathing, mixed scents and rising body temperature led her to think otherwise. "He's burning up." she deduced, despite the burning sensation in-between her legs.
She punched his back repeatedly, her legs kicking the air, trying to gain his attention, but his focus was solely on ripping her dress to shreds. His scent had changed, it was much harder to inhale, suffocating her, yet it seemed somehow...sweet?
A cool breeze tickled her stomach disrupting her thoughts, she bit her lip and closed her eyes as the king's lips roughly trailed down her abdomen, going lower, and lower until his head was peaking out of her legs.
Her heart raced, when he pried her legs apart, and then ripped away the thin layer of fabric, her final defense against his assault, exposing her gaping core.
For a brief second, he stopped, allowing Eira to hear her raging heartbeat. Her fast panting slowed, and her narrowed vision widened, bringing the chamber into full view. She darted her vision to the black jar of scented oil sitting at the edge of her dresser. The one Thalassa had gifted her earlier.
She shook it's base, rocking the dresser, until the jar was tipped over! She stretched her hand forward, grabbed the jar and threw it at the king's face!
Taking advantage of the split second chance, she kicked herself away and got up. She tried to run, but her knees gave way, forcing her to collapse! "His pheromones, they're too strong!" She inwardly panicked.
She flung her head over her shoulder, to see the king towering above her, blood and oil trickling down the sides of his face.
She crawled towards the door, but the king grabbed her effortlessly by her ankle, then tossed her onto the bed!
"Aaa!" she screamed, as her back crashed against the gift basket from Thalassa, shattering it to pieces.
Eira tried to crawl out of bed, but Kael was fast, he climbed onto the bed, towering over her. He reached for her chest, but Eira slapped his hand away. She shoved her hand in his face, earning a sharp retreat from the king.
He narrowed his eyes at the source foul stench, only to see it was blood.
Blood?
Kael looked behind her bleeding arm, to her bloodied fangs, the pugnant scent of her blood overriding the aromatic scent from earlier.
His hazy vision cleared, he traced his gaze from her mouth down to her shoulders, drinking in the sight of the marks he left behind.
As he watched her pulsating smaller frame, his breathing slowed. Eira noticed his eyes slowly reverted from a bloodshot red to their mesmerizing hazel hue.
She parted her lips, as though to speak, but Kael's head fell to her shoulder. She stiffened, had her blood not been enough to distract him? She immediately disregarded the thought when she heard the king mutter something into her ear.
His voice was so panicked, that she had no idea if what he said was in his native tongue or just an indiscriminate murmuring.
"He still hasn't calmed down." she pointed out, although his body temperature had lowered, his body violently shook, she could tell from his behaviour, that he was currently in shock.
"Is it a bad memory?" she wondered what could've possibly happened to the all powerful Lycan King to have him whimpering over her like a frightened pup.
And yet, despite being barely clothed, scared out of her mind and dripping in blood and oil, Eira reached for his hair and pulled his face out of the side of her neck.
Eira gasped, when she saw the tears falling down his cheeks, and the raw panic inscribed in his widened orbs.
"You poor thing." She found herself thinking, though she felt she was the only person who would've ever thought so about the Lycan King.
Her hands fell to the sides of his face, guiding his gaze to her alone.
And although, Eira knew that the man whom she she held so dearly, was none other than the one who had slaughtered her kind in droves, who bore the goddesse's curse, and was the most powerful man in all four continents.
To her, in that moment, he looked nothing more than a crying child with outstretched hands, seeking warmth.
Guiding his lips to hers, she could not embellish the wish in her heart, "I want to take away this anguish, so you won't have to shoulder the pain this cruel world has once forced me to bear alone. Let me be your warmth." she thought, as she captured his lips in a gentle kiss, tears streaming down her cheeks...