Mark of the Lycan Queen

Chapter 10. An odd feeling

TAHLIA~

My heart pounded like the thunder of war drums as the intense standoff reached its boiling point. I felt like a mere pawn, one caught in larger, elusive circumstances.

Leona's intervention had brought a momentary pause to the escalating tension but the situation was still overwhelming, and I struggled to grasp it whole.

“Stay away!" Archibald's voice roared, attempting to assert his dominance, yet Leona stood her ground, her gaze fixed firmly on him, leaving me wondering why she had chosen to help.

He was the king. So this fight of hers was already over even before she walked in.

So why?

"You need to stop, Archibald!" she thundered again, standing resolute in the distance, her hands clenched tight. "You must listen, even if it's something you'd rather not hear."

He turned away from me, his anger blazing like wildfire as he charged a few steps toward her and I feared what he might do in his unchecked rage.

"I listen to no one," he snarled, his voice dripping with fury. "I am the king!"

His furious words thundered through my chest, echoing like the rumble of a storm.

Yet, undeterred by his authority, Leona's eyes blazed with matching intensity. "And I am your blood!" she yelled back, her words echoing through the darkened woods. "Your sister, damn it! You can't ignore what I have to say."

My throat tightened at her revelation, instinctively gulping down the lump of fear.

His shoulders stiffened, and for a moment, it seemed like her words struck a chord. "I only listen when I deem it right! I don't need your talk right now; you've always been weak.”

How could a person harbor so much rage, even against his own flesh and blood?

There was a slight emotion that crossed her eyes – pain, I suppose, and so I knew I was in grave danger if Archibald ever turned back to me.

"Call me weak, but she is your hope, Archibald! She is your only hope!" Leona's breath raged as she yelled, her eyes boring into his. "And you’ll regret it if you dare to harm her!"

“You defend her, yet I see no reason to think so,” he groaned.

“That’s because you refuse to see it!”

“Are you seriously going to stand in front of me and argue with me about who has lost their sight? You dare say that to my face, sister?”

“You're consumed by rage, and it clouds your judgment. Ria wouldn't stand by it and you know it!”

I couldn't place anything anymore.

Not even the words I hear meant something. They all lost meaning, and somehow, Leona's words hit a nerve, and Archibald's rage intensified. "Stay away,” he warned. “I shall end this here."

A volcano heat – that was the only way to describe the extreme temperature coursing through my bones when he turned back to face me.

His blazing red eyes locked onto mine, and it felt as if my bones were melting away as he began to take measured steps toward me. The heat was so suffocating it was so hard to breathe.

I stood there. Rooted.

Unable to move or speak…voiceless. I was paralyzed by the intensity of what was about to befall me. I couldn't tell what he would do next, and that terror gripped me tightly.

I watched the last chapter of my existence unfold before my eyes, shrouded in darkness and despair – a fate I do not understand. Yet, fate, in a surprising twist, came again.

"Ria had that pendant with her way before!" Leona’s voice boomed, her revelation catching Archibald off guard.

He halted, the rage in his eyes momentarily replaced by confusion. "What do you mean?" he demanded, his voice still seething but tinged with uncertainty.

I for a moment found myself catching my breath.

Harsh it was, the air itself.

“The pendant…” Leona's voice rose again. “It was found on her because she had it with her way before, not because her attacker left it behind. You would've known that if you had paid close attention.”

His jaw tightened, and doubt flickered in his eyes. The veil of rage seemed to waver as if he was caught between the storm of his emotions and the possibility of whatever truth lies in Leona’s words.

But none of these made any sense to me. Who was this Ria, and how had she come into possession of the broken pendant?

“Leave,” he requested, his voice laced with frustration and confusion, turning away to face the still lake.

"I won't leave her alone with you in this state," Leona said firmly. "You need to calm down and think rationally."

“I said leave!” he bellowed, his voice echoing through the night woods, and every creature yet to leave the area vanished at that moment.

“Both of you, leave!"

Despite the fear that gripped me, an odd feeling tugged at my heart, urging me not to abandon him. But Leona's grip was firm yet gentle as she took my hand, pulling me away. "Come on," she whispered, her voice urgent. "We need to go."

I stole one last glance at Archibald, his imposing figure facing away from me. The soft yet compelling whispers of Leona nudged me to comply, and I reluctantly followed her lead, only to turn and lock eyes with the red-haired male, Fenrir, I remember.

His presence seemed to have gone unnoticed until now.

There was an emotion in his eyes, something that made me pause for a second, a flicker of something that seemed strangely familiar, but I quickly turned away, unable to fully comprehend it at the moment.

Questions flooded my mind, each one a riddle without an answer. The loudest of them – What was the Lycan King after?

The answers eluded me like shadows slipping through my fingers.

Eventually, we returned to the bedroom, and I winced as I twisted my left arm, seeking relief from the pain. My eyes fell upon the bruised mark around my wrist, its intensity making me feel as if my blood could spill forth at any moment.

The gemstone bracelet seemed to have bored its mark on my feeble flesh from the grip of the King.

“Wait here," Leona's voice came, and I lifted my head to look at her. "I'll go get some cream for that," she indicated, seeming to have caught sight of the bruises, but before she could leave, I spoke up.

“What happened back there?" My voice trembled slightly as I brought myself to ask, barely above a whisper.

Leona's concern was evident in her softened eyes. "I'm sorry you had to go through that," she said, her voice gentle. "But you need to know that Archibald has been through a lot, and he's not himself lately."

"No, that's not what I want to know," I rephrase my question, feeling a deep yearning for the truth. "What happened on that lake on the night of the Blue Moon? It's been three months since the blue moon, so why would he think I was there? And who is Ria?"

Leona's sigh held a weight of emotion. "Ria is Rhiannon, the Lycan King's mate," she began, the words heavy with significance. "She was attacked at the lake on that night."

A chill may have run down my spine at the revelation, but it still didn't explain why the Lycan King would mistake that I was at the lake that night. "So, where is Ria—Rhiannon now?" I asked, hoping she would have a better hand at explaining the situation to me.

“She's dead," Leona's voice echoed solemnly, the weight of her words pressing down on my heart like a heavy rock. “She died from the attack.”

The crushing truth left me speechless, and my mind spun with the enormity of the revelation. What was really happening here?

My thoughts were a tangled mess of confusion and uncertainty.

“Uhm… I’ll go get the cream," I heard Leona say, but I couldn't find the words to respond as she turned towards the door.

“No," I blurted out suddenly, my voice surprising even myself. Leona halted, her expression confused as she looked back at me.

“No. I don't need the cream," I said.

That wasn't what I needed at the moment.

I felt lost and overwhelmed, uncertain of my own desires and feelings. What I needed was time to think and make sense of the swirling chaos around me. "Please, leave me be for the moment," I requested, hoping for some space to collect my thoughts.

Leona observed me for a moment before nodding. "Alright," she said gently before closing the door behind her.

And just so, I was alone.

My hands instinctively moved to push my hair backward, but I paused halfway, my fingers lingering behind my head as I exhaled deeply. The situation had become increasingly confusing, and I couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to the Lycans' attack on our pack than I knew.

Was there a connection to me?

No. No, that couldn't be. I had never even met a Lycan until the attack.

I walked towards the open window, the cool night breeze grazing my worn-out face. I looked out at the glimmering lights of the Lycan city, and my hand found its way to my pendant, clutching it gently.

I stood. Perhaps for a few minutes or more.

The double doors suddenly creaked open, pulling my attention away from the cityscape. I braced myself to ask the intruder to leave, but my breath caught when I saw who it was—Fenrir.

He was perhaps the last person I had expected.

Leona or one of the ladies I had thought.

I wasn't certain of what to say so I just watched him walk in, but then, I couldn't help but feel a strange unease as the door closed behind him, or perhaps it was an instinctual reaction from my wolf.

It was odd, which pushed me to speak up.

“Why are you here?" My voice was firm, my head tilting slightly.

Fenrir seemed unfazed, his demeanor composed. "Not to worry, Leona said you were bruised, so I brought you this," he explained, holding up a small object in his hand.

As he took a step forward, an instinctual impulse compelled me to retreat, and I found myself involuntarily stepping back. His movement halted abruptly, as if he sensed my reluctance, his eyes locking with mine.