Alex saw Vasilis briefly in the courtyard later in the day when she took Ariel outside for some playtime. Her heart skipped a beat as she watched his impressive form adorned in warrior garb striding toward her, his expression intent.
He greeted Ariel with a smile before he turned a serious gaze on her. ‘I won’t be coming to our chambers tonight.’
‘I know.’
‘Make sure you stay with Hesta and Carla in the bower tonight.’
‘I will.’
‘I will see you at sunrise.’
Without another word, he grabbed her by her shoulders and kissed her.
She gazed up at him in a daze after he released her. ‘Be careful,’ she said.
A few hours later, she was back in the bower staring out of the window. The full moon would be up soon, she thought, looking up into the night sky. She would be lying to herself if she didn’t admit she was worried. Even though Vasilis had said an attack was unlikely, she couldn’t contain the nagging fear that nothing in life was certain.
She glanced over to Ariel who was sound asleep. Hesta had given her a mild sedative. All human children were on every full moon, Hesta had explained. The human and Lycan adults didn’t want them to witness something they weren’t ready for.
Trumpets blared throughout the castle and Alex jumped in fright. ‘What was that?’ she asked, tossing a sharp glance at Hesta and Carla. They both looked shocked.
‘The castle is under attack,’ Hesta whispered, her expression stunned.
Alex stiffened. ‘What? What do you mean?’
‘Child, we haven’t heard these trumpets in over fifty years.’
Fear raced through her veins. ‘Vasilis told me an attack was improbable. He said the castle hasn’t–‘
‘Calm yourself, child! We are prepared for this.’
Alex snapped out of her dazed fear and ran to the chest by the dresser. Quickly, she lifted the massive lid and grabbed her weapons. She attached her sword on her belt, tucked her dagger in the waistband of her skirt and slung her harness over her shoulder. She turned around and gasped, watching Hesta and Carla shift into their Lycan forms.
What if Hesta was wrong? What if they weren’t prepared for this? She choked back on a fearful sob. What if Vasilis got hurt, or worse, died?
Her tearful gaze fell on Ariel and her legs felt weak. Oh my God! Ariel! What would she do if Ariel got hurt, or worse? She couldn’t even fathom the or worse.
She heard screams, roars and growls rising from the castle grounds outside and her breath came out in short gasps. Howling rose from the distance, getting closer, louder.
The attack on the castle had begun. She watched Carla lift Ariel from the bed and run to the bath chamber.
‘Where are you going?’ Alex yelled.
Hesta placed a taloned hand on her arm and looked down at her. ‘We have secret tunnels beneath the castle and the village. The humans and the children hide there until the battle is over. Come, child. We must go to safety.’
Alex followed Hesta’s towering monstrous form into the bath chambers and saw Carla position Ariel securely on her hip as she pulled a lever with her free hand by the wall. A panel opened revealing darkness. Carla grabbed a candelabra and disappeared into the blackness with Ariel tucked gently under her arm.
Alex gasped, rushing to the entry and peered inside. The glow of Carla’s light grew fainter, but Alex could make out the stone steps leading down. She turned around and stared at Hesta who was grabbing a torch light.
‘Come. We must hide. The master and his warriors will protect us,’ Hesta growled.
Alex couldn’t move. Vasilis was still out there. ‘How safe are the tunnels?’
‘Very. In all the battles the last two hundred years, no one has ever discovered them.’
Alex had made up her mind. ‘Go. Guard Ariel with your life. I’m going to find Vasilis.’
‘You’re mad, child! There are Lycans out there who will turn you to their dark side.’
‘My silver will protect me. Go! Take Ariel to safety.’
Hesta looked like she wanted to argue, but clamped down on her ferocious jowls. ‘Aye. I will take your sister to safety and guard her with my life, child. Godspeed.’
Alex nodded and watched Hesta bend her head as she slipped through the entry. Alex closed the panel behind her and whispered a small prayer, wishing all the children of the castle grounds were safely hidden away.
She inhaled deeply and left the bower, rushing out in the corridor. She froze. Standing before was a Lycan growling at her. Alex wished he were one of the guards or the villagers.
‘Ah, a beautiful addition to our pack. You will come in very handy to our leader. Lord Balkathan is in need of feasting on new flesh,’ he growled in a sinister voice.
At least now, she knew he wasn’t one of the good guys. She brandished her sword before her, willing her fear to go away, and faced him with a bravado she was far from feeling. This was different than fighting a bandit. This man was a Lycan with speed and strength she could never match.
He advanced her slowly and she raised her sword, gripping it tightly. ‘Stand back, beast.’
‘A courageous beauty at that. Lord Balkathan will be pleased once he adds you to his harem. Methinks he will enjoy taming you, wench. You have fire.’ He made a disgusted sound. ‘His last addition to his harem was a snivelling, weak wench. She was insane, constantly scratching herself and trying to take silver to her heart.’
‘Katya!’
‘Ah, so you know of her. Good. You will tell me where she is. We are here for one reason and that’s to kill her. Lord Balkathan does not want her exposing his secrets, you see.’
‘No!’ She brandished her sword again, taking a firm stand. Her silver would protect her and if she calmed down and focused her energies on her target, she could get out of this. Hiroshi taught her to smash through thick planks of wood with her hand. She could do this, she repeated with more confidence than she felt. ‘I’m not afraid of you.’
He advanced another step and then faltered, his head rising as he sniffed the air. Suddenly his expression changed and he growled menacingly. ‘I see I am too late. A shame. Lord Balkathan would have enjoyed your flesh. Too bad I have to kill you now.’ He grabbed his silver dagger from the belt around his waist and raised it as he vaulted through the air toward her.
Alex didn’t have time to decipher his strange words as she immediately dropped to her knees and watched him vault over her head and land behind her. With lightning reflexes, she rose, spun around and plunged her sword deep into his back. He roared with shock as he fell to the ground, transforming into the man he once used to be.
She had to find Vasilis. At the thought of him, she felt a huge wave of feelings pummel her belly. She…she could sense him. She felt him. He was in the great hall fighting three Lycans. Stunned at this brief imaging flashing through her mind, she sprinted down the stairs. Her heart pounded in her throat as she sped past the kitchen through the main hall and stopped before the great hall’s doors. Without another thought, she flung open the doors and ran inside, her gaze frantically searching for Vasilis.
She froze as she saw three Lycans advancing on Vasilis, their swords raised before them. They had him cornered at the far right of the hall. She screamed. Vasilis snapped his gaze to her and roared ferociously.
‘Alex! Run!’
She dropped her sword and grabbed her bow and one of her arrows. One of the three Lycans growled and sprinted toward her as Vasilis’s roar raised the rafters. She released her bow and the Lycan went down.
She was going for another one of arrows when a violent, scorching pain coursed through her veins. She gasped, doubling over, her bow falling at her feet. She looked up in shock as Vasilis fought the Lycan attacking him. With every blow the evil Lycan made with his dagger, Vasilis stopped it with his sword. Terrified, her gaze went to the other Lycan who was advancing her.
‘Don’t touch her, you bastard!’ Vasilis roared. ‘Alex! Run, dammit! Run!’
She took a few unsteady steps back and came up against a tall, heavy armoire. The Lycan sprung in the air and landed on top of it. With inhuman strength, he pushed it forward as Alex screamed, falling back. She landed on the ground with a jarring thud, her breath knocked out of her. She pushed at the armoire trapping her lower body, but couldn’t even budge it.
Frantically, she looked up and saw the Lycan who attacked her had returned to the other Lycan and they fought Vasilis with their silver swords. Alex screamed, desperately trying to remove herself from under her trap. She looked at Vasilis. He gave her an anguished, fearful look and she felt the first spasm of real fear. Oh my God! They weren’t going to make it.
She knew Vasilis wasn’t fighting at his full capacity. He kept looking her way, roaring, distracted by her.
Alex screamed as a shaft of excruciating pain coursed through her limbs. My God! The armoire was crushing her. She felt…she felt like her bones were cracking. Vasilis tossed her a look fierce with worry and one of the Lycans sprung through the air and landed behind him. He grabbed Vasilis by the hair, pulling his head back, as the other Lycan in front of him jabbed the sword from Vasilis’s hand, tossing it a few paces away. Alex screamed in sheer fright, desperately pushing at the armoire. Vasilis had no silver! They were going to kill him.
Her body stilled, growing numb somehow, as a curious feeling invaded her bones. Instinctively, she raised her face and looked out of one of the windows. She saw the full moon rising.
It beckoned her.
Alex couldn’t believe, nor could she stop, what happened next as her body immediately expanded and shifted into a massive Lycan. Fire and ice raced through her veins as her bones grew, her skin stretched. She flung the armoire off her and rose, all seven feet of pure She-Lycan muscle.
She then gazed at the window, threw her head back and released a long, loud, ominous howl. She snapped her gaze to Vasilis and saw the Lycan facing him had his dagger’s tip poised on his neck while the other one held him captive from behind.
But Vasilis seemed unfazed by his pending doom because he kept his gaze pinned on Alex, his expression sheer disbelief.
With lightning speed, she grabbed one of her arrows from the ground and sprung to her bow that was a few paces away. She rose, positioned her arrow and released it into the Lycan who was ready to kill Vasilis. She collapsed on her knees.
She felt another wave of transformation coming on and she panicked, as she stared at her outstretched hands reverting back to their human form.
Vasilis spun around and grabbed the Lycan by the throat, raising him off the ground. He turned his head and growled at Alex. ‘The dagger!’ he roared.
Her clothes lay in tatters by the armoire and she crawled naked to the dagger laying a couple of paces away and grabbed it. She tossed it in the air, Vasilis catching it neatly, before he turned on the Lycan and stabbed him in the gut.
He snapped his gaze to her, breathing hard as he dropped the dagger to the ground. ‘Holy Mother of God!’ he rasped, taking a staggering step toward her. ‘You are my one!’
Her eyes burned and her tears fell. They were alive and judging by the dying sound of battle around the castle grounds, the war was ending.
He shifted in his human form and came to her side, collapsing on his knees. He drew his arms gently around her and held her tightly. ‘Oh my God. What have I done,’ he said hoarsely, his tone thick with emotion.
She wrapped her arms around his waist and closed her eyes. ‘So the legend is true,’ she said brokenly. ‘When you make love to your soul mate, the soul mate turns into a Lycan on the next full moon.’
He sucked in a harsh breath. ‘You knew?’
She nodded. ‘I told you Hiroshi was a very knowledgeable man. He taught me everything.’
He grabbed her face in his hands and stared hard into her eyes. ‘You are not afraid by what you’ve become.’
She smiled tremulously up at him. ‘If I didn’t turn when I did and escaped from the armoire, that Lycan would have killed you. And…and now I can stay with you forever and you don’t have to watch me grow old and die. I love you, Vasilis.’
His eyes glistened with unshed tears as he bent his head and kissed her.
It was late in the day before the castle and village settled from the bloodshed and carnage. Even though the deaths of the villagers and guards were minimal considering they were taken by surprise, it didn’t make it any less sorrowful when the time came to bury them. Everyone thanked the gods all the children had been spared and the secret tunnels had once again survived exposure.
Alex had just returned from spending time with Ariel in the bower. No human children were allowed outdoors today until every last remnant of the attack was cleared. Everyone including Alex had helped and now she and Vasilis lay exhausted in their bed.
‘Who is Lord Balkathan?’ she asked, nestling her head on his shoulder.
‘A very old Lycan, older than me, who turned to the dark side centuries ago. His pack grows in the mountains as he takes more innocent lives every full moon and poisons them with his evil soul.’
She shuddered. ‘Poor Katya. What she had to endure.’
‘She escaped him. She was one of the lucky ones.’ He hugged her close. ‘Hesta is making some headway with her, but it will be a long process before Katya can live a normal life. Her demons are powerful.’
‘Do you think Lord Balkathan will attack again on the next full moon to kill Katya?’
‘Yes,’ he said grimly. ‘For as long as we give Katya refuge, he will continue to attack. She has been with him for two years now and knows things about him he wishes to remain secret.’
She released a shaky breath. ‘How am I going to keep all of this madness from Ariel?’
‘When the little one is older, we will let her decide if she wants to turn,’ Vasilis said, his tone sombre.
‘I hope she turns. Hesta told me her illness will be completely cured if she does.’
‘Yes. Then she will be with us forever. We will not have to watch her grow old and die.’
‘When do you think we should tell her about us? About what we are?’
‘Soon. It is easier for a child to accept it than an adult.’ He held her close to his side, kissing the top of her head. ‘Alex, I thought the legend was a myth, but when I witnessed you turn, I couldn’t believe the woman I loved was my one.‘ He paused. ‘Hiroshi explained to you a Lycan can shift voluntarily in either his wolf or Lycan form whether it is a full moon or not?’
‘Yes. I never really believed him, but I also knew he would never lie to me or teach me something he didn’t believe in. I trusted his teachings on blind faith.’
‘He sounds like he was a good man.’
‘He was.’
He tightened his hold and sighed heavily above her head. ‘To think how close I was to losing you.’
‘Vasilis, do you think your mother was your father’s one?’
‘No. I know my father loved her, but she didn’t love him enough to live. Besides, it’s been two hundred years. My father remembers her fondly and he’s forgiven her for taking her life, but he’s not the broken man I would be if I lost you.’
‘I like your father. He shouldn’t be alone. I hope he finds his one.’
‘Even though my father believes in the legend, he doesn’t believe a soul mate exists out there for him. It’s sad to think he believes he has an eternity ahead of him alone.’
‘You didn’t believe in the legend.’
‘That’s right, I didn’t, but I still fell in love with you. My father will never allow himself to fall in love. He has a strong will and I am afraid he will succeed.’
‘Well, his one is out there. I know it.’
He growled softly above her head. ‘It appears my Amazon has a romantic heart.’
‘I always did. I just never believed I’d find love.’
‘Well, you did. Forever.’
‘I still can’t believe how much coin you paid all the contestants when you cancelled the contest. I still feel guilty about that.
‘Don’t be. We are wealthy beyond your dreams.’
‘I can’t believe we’re going to be together forever. I wonder what the world will be like in five hundred years.’
‘One thing is certain. My love for you will never change.’
She smiled up at him. ‘I love you, Lycan Prince.’
‘I love you, too, my Amazon.’
He rolled over, embracing her body beneath his and proceeded to show her exactly how much he loved her until the wee hours of the next morning.
Coming soon, Lycan King
