The Lycan King's Muse

Ep 7: Looking for a Reaction

I pant like crazy, trying to keep my breathing stable so I wouldn’t feel dizzy so quickly. My calves burn because of the sudden exertion. And my lungs burn even more.

This time, I have gotten past the door of the castle and I storm to the street.

There is a public market that is right in front of the castle. People are surprised when they see me running. Some can sniff my scent and hiss, “Werewolf.” I pay them no mind as I trudge on until I find the walls Lyall was talking about.

I am lucky. Really lucky. Because the gates on the wall are opened. Merchants and what I assume to be hunters are coming in and out of the gate, guarded by lycan warriors.

Not giving anyone time to make sense of what has been happening, I storm through the gates, causing the warriors to look at each other in confusion. I have to push some lycan merchants, which makes them hiss at me.

Fortunately, none of them grabs me. So I can still run without stopping. My destination is the forest just outside of the gate.

“Crazy girl!” someone shouts behind me.

A second later, I hear a deeper voice that sends chills down my spine. “Where do you think you’re going, werewolf girl?” My wolf whimpers inside me at the sound of our mate. But I won't stop.

People are greeting the lycan king but I couldn’t care less because by then I am already inside the forest. Earthy smells find their way to my nostrils again. My vision is set in front of me, my feet are guided by my memory and my sense of smell. I try to keep my breathing steady for this long run.

Another lucky thing for me; this isn’t the first time I have traveled this far into the woods. Ed and I used to run in this forest and occasionally we would stumble upon the lycan kingdom. We have never tried to approach but from the lycan merchants and hunters we interact with, they all say that King Lyall is an Ice King.

My beige dress gets entangled with tree branches a lot, but I don’t stop. Even when I feel a prickly sensation on my barefoot feet, I don’t stop. Because behind me, the lycan king is pursuing me at full speed. He is even faster than Alpha Mason.

I have almost reached the river in the forest when suddenly, a force knocks me from behind. Lyall’s body tumbles me to the ground, causing us to roll on the forest floor for a while.

Once our bodies stop rolling, Lyall uses his body weight to push me to the ground. My head is still spinning from the impact as he pins my arms with one hand above my head. I open my eyes to the green fire in his gaze. His face is so close to mine when he bares his canines to me, blowing hot breaths to my face.

For a moment, I am mesmerized by his emerald eyes. They drown me in a green sea that is so comforting, reminding me of the time I slept in the soft grassy field near my old home. I used to sleep there while I waited for Ed to finish his practice.

The nostalgia makes me forget that there is an angry lycan on top of my body. Lyall presses his face to me, which makes me stretch my neck to avoid it. And that’s exactly what he wants. For me to expose my vulnerable neck, which is a form of submission.

His canines graze the skin of my neck. My panting makes my skin rise and fall. Each time my skin touches his canines, sparks come out and spread to my entire body, paralyzing me underneath him.

On the other hand, he doesn’t even pant. He doesn’t sweat. Instead, he looks perfectly unbothered except for his expression; furrowed eyebrows, flared nose, snarling mouth.

“Where do you think you are going, werewolf girl?” he asks again. His deep vibration sends tingles on my skin. “Do you want to die? I didn’t take you as a stupid person.”

“What do you think I am doing?” I challenge him.

He raises his face so our eyes can meet. His canines have been retracted, but I can still see angry lines written on his face.

“You said,” I struggle to say between my breaths, “I should make you feel. That’s what I am doing now.”

Lyall furrows his brows. It takes him a few seconds to finally realize what I was doing.

I was making him angry.

He looks up in his kingdom’s direction, where I can hear footsteps approaching us. “You ran this far just to see my reaction?” The angry lines on his face have subsided. When he looks down, I see the lycan king I know as his lips tug upward into a smirk.

“You’re amusing, werewolf girl,” he says. His smile becomes a burst of soft laughter. “Keep this up and you’ll win me over.”

I don’t know if he really wants me to win him over or if he is just saying that, so I’d break his curse for him.

“My name is not werewolf girl!” I cry out. Not really sure what has gotten to me, but I even yank my arms to break free from the lycan king. Of course, I fail. My strength is not on par with his. “I have a name, which you didn’t even bother to ask!”

Why am I the one feeling annoyed? I was the one running to make him angry, not the other way around.

“Okay…” Lyall releases me and moves away from me. “What is your name, then?”

“It’s Mars. From Marsha.”

“Hmm… A warrior’s name,” Lyall comments.

“My father wanted a warrior as his offspring,” I don’t know why I am disclosing this fact to him.

“But you decided to be a healer?”

“Yes and no,” I answer, “Yes, because I’d choose to be a healer any day than be an omega. No, because… I am a female so I can never be a warrior.”

He offers me a hand, but I slap it away because I want to stand by myself.

Wait… I just slapped the lycan king’s hand! Oh Goddess…

I dread thinking that Lyall will be mad again. Running away from him is one thing, but slapping his offered hand is like… an insult. After all, I am alone in the woods with this powerful lycan king and some of his warriors are approaching. But instead of anger, I see his smile blooming.

“You know no one has ever dared to do that, right?” I know he is teasing me. And I am not taking the bait.

“I have another reason for running,” I say.

“What is it?”

“To prove a point.” I walk near the river. My knees scrape a sharp rock when we roll over on the forest floor. So, after pulling my dress, I scoop the water and let the cool liquid wash away the blood. “You told me that I am free to walk away anytime I want. But look at you now.”

Lyall steps closer to me. Surprisingly, he tears his shirt and starts kneeling in front of me. It takes me a few seconds to realize what is happening. The lycan king uses his shirt to wrap my minor wounds.

“Do you want me to just let you go?” he asks. His warm fingers wrap around my bandaged knee, sending sparks of fire to my skin, as he looks up to me with his green eyes. My legs look quite small… And I am not a small girl.

“No… I was actually counting on you to chase me. I know you were just bullshitting when you said you’d set me free. You kings and alphas are always selfish like that.”

There, I have said it. I can’t take it back.

Alpha Mason would have flipped if I call him selfish. But Lyall only smirks and casually says, “You’re smart. I like that.”

Is it just me, or do I smell arousal coming from him? My wolf says I am right, but with this lycan king, I can’t be sure.

“So, what help do you want me for?” he asks. Still kneeling in front of me, with his hand wrapped around my leg. I even think his fingers are inching closer to my inner thigh, sending even more sparks to burn my skin.