Chapter two- The rogue king
When I woke up, my body didn't feel as stuffy anymore. That was the first thing I noticed.
I rubbed my eyes and accessed my surroundings. One glance and I could tell that I was away from my pack's territory. Does that mean… I made it?
I sat up and winced as I felt an unbelievable pain shoot up my spine.
"Oh— Fuck!" I cursed as I felt my body automatically force itself back to the ground.
"Oh, you're up. Better not to move, your spine is fucked." I hear a gruff voice nearby. I turn my head and see a man in at least his late thirties, sharpening a knife. He smiled and dropped the steel before standing on his feet. "... Fixed it but you'll probably still feel pain for the next twelve hours or so," he continued while approaching me.
I grabbed onto the grass I was lying on with my weak fist and forced myself to crawl back. Now that I was completely sober, my senses were picking up on inconsistencies such as my clothes… I wasn't wearing my tunic and my long-sleeved shirt. Instead, I was wearing my plain dress and camel jacket. My hair seemed to have been cleaned too... My eyes widened with panic. He couldn't have…
"Don't worry, I didn't fuck you while you were asleep. I was going to… but I don't like my women dirty. Plus, I was hoping to hear you scream when I finally put my hands on you!"
From his cackle and dry yellow eyes, I could tell he'd been in the wild for ages now. He was a rogue, an insane lunatic who would do anything to feel something. A connection he could only feel in a pack.
I scoffed as his eyes ran through my body hungrily, "Even if you forcefully take me it won't do anything. All you need is redemption… A meaningful bond with—"
"— Shut up!"
I felt a rough tug on my chin and the nasty breath of the oldie in my face.
My breath hitched, and the hairs on the nape of my neck rose.
I froze, but my heart wouldn't stop racing, and my legs couldn't stop shaking.
I didn't dare make a sound.
The differences between our strength was massive. I had felt his rough grip before I saw it. How the hell was I to counter that? It didn't help that my opponent was a rogue, there was no talking my way out of it.
"Moon goddess,"
I bowed my head in defeat.
"Why must you be so cruel to me?"
BANG!
I felt thick liquid pour onto my lap and my heart stopped for a moment. In front of me was a tall muscular man with long dirty brown hair and light brown eyes. His face was graceful but… in his right hand was the rogue from earlier who was taunting me. The muscles in his face were scrunched up and his head was bleeding.
"Finally," The man spoke and I felt my body tingle with goosebumps. "I find my kill." With that, he crushed the man's head with his fist and it exploded, leaving behind splatters of blood as he tossed the body aside.
Then he looked at me; His eyes were meager, yet soulful, because of the streak of sharpness his light brown eyes held. He was like a victorious warrior in battle. Bloody, yet graceful. The exact reason I could not bring myself to trust him.
While I was shaken up by the amount of blood on my lap, he seemed at ease, like a king.
"Here," he gave me his hand. The one dripping blood from the rogue he'd just crushed.
Despite that he was looking at me, his eyes were distant. I was distant, and unable to accept his kindness. If he could kill that rogue easily, then I wasn't much of a challenge.
"Do it," I said, and closed my eyes.
I didn't die in the hands of my pack's Delta nor the hands of a hungry rogue, yet I would die in the hands of a fiery warrior? I almost didn't mind it. It was an honor, really.
I heard the sound of hands wiping on a grass which made me smile. He likes to keep his hands clean for each kill, doesn't he?
I exhaled and—
The next thing I felt was me being swept into the embrace of a strong pair of arms.
I looked up into the man's pair of light brown eyes. "W-what are you doing?"
"You can't move, can you?"
"B-but I thought—"
"—That I would kill you?" He scoffed, "Don't flatter yourself, you're not much of a challenge."
Somehow, those words calmed me down. Maybe it was because it reminded me of myself.
In the past, while I was training to be Beta, my younger sister would often come to me begging for a duel and my response would be… The same thing this mystery warrior just told me.
And the reason I said that was because I didn't wish to bring harm to my little sister. Somehow, I felt he also didn't wish to harm me. So I instinctively wrapped my arms around his neck and let him take me away.
As we walked deep into the forest I noticed that animals within three meters from us were moving away, some were hiding. I looked up into the sharpness of the warrior's eyes and saw that he was not hiding his bloodlust aura, which was ultimately clearing the path for us.
As he moved, I noticed how heavy his steps seemed and his eyes… When he stared down at me for the second time, I panicked and immediately averted my gaze.
I hear his chest rumble with indignation, "What were you staring at?"
"Nothing," I made sure to look further away from him, into the pair of land that now stood in front of us.
Built on the land was a collection of interrelated huts which made me wonder…
The warrior was now in halt. Standing… waiting… for something. I wondered what it was.
Seconds later, I heard movements from the ground. There were people coming, in a group.
My grip instinctively tightened around his neck.
"Don't worry, they're my men." He said.
Not far from sight, I saw six werewolves in their wolf form appear from behind the huts and ran towards us.
The moment they arrived, they knelt and bent their head to the warrior holding me.
"King," they said.
I slowly turned to look at the werewolf that was holding me, my mouth unable to enunciate the millions of questions running through my mind all at the same time.
I heard the sounds of bones rearranging. I turned to look, only to feel his large palm cover my eyes.
"Don't move," he ordered.
"But—"
"You guys put your clothes on immediately, I don't want to see any of your sex organs jingling around"
"But king, you never used to care about these things."
"You can walk around naked all you want but not in front of my woman,"
I was shocked by the last piece of information he told them. He was clearly referring to me as his woman! Didn't that mean I was doomed? These people didn't seem like a pack. More like a group of abandoned wolves.
I knew it, my luck would not be that good to be rescued. This man only brought me to be officially used as his plaything. I was basically just a piece of flesh at his disposal.
My heart ached. This was too much for me…
When he finally removed his palm from my eyes, his men were fully dressed in clothing made of animal skin and fur. I was about to say something but he cleared his throat, causing me to turn to face him.
"I…" he whispered, "Mason,"
My lips parted, "Your name is Mason?"
He nodded.
I also decided to go along with it, to postpone my humiliation date. "My name is Lyra," I said.
Chapter three- His cute side Only after being taken in did I fully realize the influence of Mason, the reason why his men called him king. He had forcefully taken authority over thousands of wild rogues outside many packs' territories and have them listen to his orders. Along those many thousands of men, many were loyal to him. This was a phenomenon I didn't expect. In Mason's hut, there were few women who resided there and praised Mason as they dressed me up. "The king is a very kind man!" "Yes," the other woman agreed, "Just like you I was chased from my pack but then, I met King and he took me in. It's been three years and I'm happy living here. It's better than being like a stray dog." "Exactly!" "So… pretty lady, you're going to enjoy living here, just don't betray the king. As long as you don't betray him or do anything to make him angry, you'll enjoy peaceful days here and not have to worry about your life being constantly threatened. Also, you're slightly different f
Chapter four- You're the king's womanFLAPI exhaled as my arrow successfully shot an antelope in its spine causing it to fall to the ground without a struggle. Mason sped past the antelope and I got another bow ready to be engaged.Without fail, I shot down a wild pig in its neck, fatally ending its life.Closely behind us were Mason's men picking up the kills.As we entered a more open field with multiples of deers, I grabbed three arrows and shot at once. Two deers down.Mason and I continued, with me shooting down animals until I suddenly felt dizzy and fell off his back."Lyra!" He cried, and I heard the faint sound of him shifting into his human form. The last thing I saw were his light brown eyes before darkness enveloped my body.***When I woke up, I was in a dim room surrounded by dark curtains. I sat up in bed and breathed deeply.I felt tired, but I couldn't bear the stuffiness of the room. So I took the courage to stand and walk out of the room. As I moved aside the cur
I woke up early the next morning. I kept drifting in and out of sleep. I was restless. As I stood by the bank of the river close to the village watching Cara and some other females draw water for use, I couldn't help but think about what Mason had said yesterday. He had no plans to let me go anywhere any time soon. While I was grateful that he saved me from that rogue, I couldn't be kept here against my will. The Golden Arm pack was my destination. "Boo!" Someone yelled from behind me.I turned around to find Beatrice grinning at me. Seems she had a knack for scaring people because what the hell?"The other girls always scream their heads off when I do this. Yet," she leaned closer to me, her eyes narrowing, "you didn't scream.""I don't scare easily."Beatrice lifted a brow. "Really?"I nodded warily as her scrutinizing gaze turned into a broad smile. She took my hand and moved towards the ladies by the river. "I found someone to tell scary moonlight tales by the bonfire tonight!"
Mason patted my back and handed me a cup of water to drink. I took the cup and drank the water, still coughing, tears in my eyes as I looked at him and said, "w-what?" I don't know why I'm even surprised. The rogues have been calling me the king's woman or Lady with respect. I should have known and expected that he'd make it official and ask me to be his at some point. I was flattered and honoured that he'd want someone as weak as me by his side but I felt nothing for him. Not in that manner. He was a kind man, a warrior who led his people with love and discipline when needed and he had saved my life. That was all. Nothing else. As Mason rubbed the back of his neck, a bit embarrassed about having to repeat himself, I silently prayed to the goddess what he said wasn't really what I heard. I must be dreaming. There was no way he asked me that, right? I wouldn't have to refuse the rogue king and possibly end up dead or hated or something, right? "Be mine, Lyra." Suddenly I lost my
The next time I opened my eyes, it was dawn. There was a commotion outside. I stood up, my bed was soaked in my sweat and my heart ached no more. I walked outside to see guards parading about. "Seeing a beauty this early spices up the morning." I looked to my side to find Mason approaching me. I wanted to look away, run and hide, but he would find that suspicious."Hello Mason," I greeted him, trying to keep the uneasiness out of my voice as he stood in front of me and leaned in. No way would I let this guy kiss me. Hell no!I took a back. He chuckled at my reaction and reached for my forehead to wipe a sheen of sweat. "Did you sleep well?" He asked.I wondered if he was the same person I had overheard last night. " I did sleep well." A blantant lie. "What's with the rowdiness?" I gestured to the guards rushing about.Mason stood beside me. "An intruder was sighted in our territory last night. There's a search," he said with seriousness. "The person had no scent until later but it co
I opened my eyes trying to gauge my surroundings. I used my hands to feel around the place. It was really dark here with no source of light. I had never been here before. During my tour of the rogue pack, there was no place with thick iron bars as this one between my fingers. Was this a part of Mason's territory? Just as I had that thought, it all came rushing back to me. My attempt at escape and the failure that it ended up as. '...when someone told me a scary story about my Luna planning to leave...' Beatrice. Beatrice was the reason why my escape was unsuccessful. She was the one who had told Mason about me leaving. Mason had deliberately hinted at it when he mentioned a scary story. Who else was tagged with such a hobby other than Beatrice? I had never done anything wrong to her or anyone in this pack. I had no idea that she could be so ruthless. It all made sense now. Beatrice had told me right from the beginning not to betray Mason. She told me the previous girl was killed by
"Hahahahahaha."The laughter went on for a while. It was eerie and filled with amusement. It didn't sound quite right, almost like the person producing such a sound had lost his mind. I knew it was a guy from the deep bass in his voice as his laughing filled the dark space around me."So someone was here afterall," I whispered. I wanted to know if he was okay but I stopped myself from asking. The laughing stopped after a few seconds and everywhere became quiet. Rather than the peaceful silence that calmed me, it was unnerving. I waited in the silence, listening for movement and wondering what he was going to do."You listen well," he started. It was a compliment and yet, it felt like I was being mocked. "Considering this is the first time you are hearing from me, you must be quite surprised?" No. I wasn't surprised at all. His breathing had given him away long before Beatrice came in but I would not be telling him that. That last statement of his was a rhetorical question and I wasn'
MELEON'S POVI stared at Lyra's sleeping face and swallowed thickly. Just what was Mason thinking putting her in the same space as me? Was he trying to get her killed? My ears picked up her heart beat. Why was it so weak? It was weaker than normal. I groaned when the blood rushing through her veins pounded in my ears, overtaking my senses. How tempting!Shaking from the amount of energy I was exerting on self control, I shifted as far away from her as I could. It took everything within me to not rush towards Lyra and suck her dry even with the walls separating us. Smelling fresh blood so close by made my vampire half nearly go feral. When I told Lyra I was weak, I didn't mean by hierarchy or physically. I was weak from starvation. Blood starvation. Mason made sure to feed me scraps of meat but he never gave me blood. My guess was he wanted to see how long I could go before I went crazy and tried to kill anything in sight.Getting captured by Mason had been a choice. It was either that