The Ruthless Lycan King's Virgin Mate

#Chapter 10 Kiss

Harper’s POV

With a quick click of the button, I blackout the torch in fright, and grab Dylan’s hand unconsciously. My eyes scan our surroundings, desperate for a place to hide. Even in darkness, the moon shines a soft light that I’m thankful for, and it illuminates a small pit near where we’re standing.

“This way.” I whisper, pulling him towards the descending ground. It's damp, muddy and overwhelmed with weeds, but it will do. However, I make it but an inch till I’m lugging what feels like a boulder, unmoving. I turn back to Dylan, confused by his lack of haste.

He frowns. “A King does not cower,” he grumbles quietly, clearly talking to himself.

“Dylan, we must hurry!” I stress in a hushed voice.

But the man seems caught up in his own thoughts, “What the hell. This is madness.” I watch him expel a defiant huff, running a hand through his hair trying to contain his frustration as he continues muttering. “I do not live in a shabby cabin. She shouldn’t be living in a shabby cabin. No one should be living like this.”

No matter how hard I pull and tug, the statue of a man won’t move. I can’t make sense of what he’s on about, and Erin’s footsteps that near only increase my anxiety. Finally, I turn to him, folding my hands in prayer, “Dylan please, please just crouch down and let’s hide in this pit for just a moment!”

My body deflates as he snorts in clear refusal, declaring he’s always a warrior in direct combat, not a deserter who hides.

However, just when I think we will be found, I watch a visible frown showcase itself on his lips. Dylan unnaturally stiffens in contrast to his relaxed dominant nature, and I see sweat glint off his forehead as if he is exerting some form of force without moving at all.

His movements are jerky and uncomfortable to watch, but suddenly he deflates in a massive expulsion of air and his body crumbles forward onto me!

Ack!

Unable to support his masculine body I’m easily tackled, and the two of us tumble roughly into the pit in a chaotic jumble.

When my back finally hits the floor of the pit, I all but have a moment to gasp for air till Dylan collapses on top of me in perfect alignment. Unprepared, his lips smack into mine, the weight of gravity forcing us into an unplanned kiss!

We’re both silenced by our intimate connection, whilst Sara releases a girlish scream of excitement in my head. ‘Oh my god! Oh my god! Harper you haven’t kissed anyone in all your 18 years of life! But now you’ve been kissed twice in the span of just a few days, one being with such a handsome man!’

I’m too dazed to reply to her, all I notice is the erratic beating of my heart in this abnormal circumstance. But what I do find strange is that it doesn’t seem to be just my heart beating this fast, I seem to be hearing the rapid beat of another heart. Is it Dylan’s heartbeat, or is it just an illusion?

Subconsciously my head tilts towards Dylan’s heart, trying to find a better position to confirm my suspicion.

I nearly jump as he moves out a reach, stiffly pulling himself to a stand, and silently putting out a hand for me to take. Still in my haze, my head tilts back to stare at the handsome man standing in the darkness, the moon blessing his pale sharp features with a magnificent glow.

Dylan suddenly clears his throat, and I snap out of marveling and take his hand that helps me stand. “Erin’s left,” he indicates factually.

I nod, aware of the hint of awkwardness between us as we try to fill it with useless small talk. “Oh good, guess we should head back then.” I say, stating the obvious.

“Yeah, let's.”

Just as I grab the final piece of corn and the two of us turn to leave, some of the weeds and corn stalks rustle ahead, and out of the crowd of corn jumps out Erin with a triumphant grin, “Ha! I caught you!”

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I nearly jump out of my skin, and immediately flush with fear and embarrassment. She must’ve hidden and waited till we let our guard down and revealed ourselves.

“How shameful! Stealing from your own family’s cornfield? Hmmm, tut tut, what a horrible person. Wait till father hears about this.” Erin taunts maliciously.

Then an even grander conniving smile bears on her lips, as she seems to deliberately say, “But for your sake, and because we are sisters, I’ll give you a heads up. Father has decided to have the four most popular, most powerful and most handsome alphas in the pack be the judges of the pack’s maid selection competition.”

In an instant, I can sense my face losing all color in reaction to Erin’s announcement. “You mean…?”

She's eager to confirm my fears. “That’s right, it will be your four previous mates who all rejected you,” she mocks me for her amusement, “Do you really think the former mates who once all rejected you without hesitation will let you pass the pack’s internal maid selection competition and pick you to be our pack’s maid representative?”

In a complete state of alarm, it’s like I’m heaving a mountain upon my chest with each erratic breath I try to take. I’m surely finished. Erin telling me this news is no different than her telling me that I’ll be expelled from the pack. I’ll end up a rogue after all. No way my former mates will pick me.

My eyes turn to Dylan, ready to accept defeat. However, when I glance over to Dylan, he appears to be in an even worse state than myself. Whilst he still maintains his commanding stature and outer appearance. Something flickers behind his eyes that make them appear unfocused and withdrawn. As if he’s suffering from some form of internal pain.

“Dylan… you alright?” I ask softly, ignoring Erin’s presence for a moment.

He eventually does speak, but slowly, in a deep voice that sounds baffled, “I’m actually not even the first m…? But the fifth?!!!...”

I’m confused, and of course so is Erin. But she completely dismisses his strange statement, continuing to berate me with horrible taunts. Enjoying her endless mocking fest. Till Dylan once again interrupts.

“What if Harper ends up winning?” Dylan’s imposing tone wipes the smirk of her face in an instant.

“What?” says Erin, taken aback by his towering presence.

“I said that Harper would win this competition.” his icy glare then deflects to me, a subtle jerk of his head clearly indicating that he’s expecting me to back up his statement with my own words.

The expectation that I’m capable of holding my own gives me a sense of encouragement that I’ve never experienced before. I aim to make him proud, for putting his trust in me. And so, my mind works back to all the moments Dylan has appeared strong, powerful and confident, and I try my best to copy his mannerisms.

Even Sara tries to help, calling out commands like a war general, although with a very high-pitched voice:

‘Chin up!’

‘Back straight!’

‘Arm’s apart!’

‘Puff up that busty chest!’

‘Stand tall!’

‘Uh… but I’m not tall enough…’

‘On your tiptoes then! Hump hump!’

I follow her commands best I can manage. Slightly wobbly on my tiptoes I prance forward like a male peacock. With an audacious puffed chest and sore chin that’s pushed to its limits.

‘Give her your best girl! Go on!’ cheers Sara.

“I am going to pass the maid selection competition. And eventually I’ll become the Lycan King’s personal maid!”

Erin is clearly stunned and overwhelmed by me and Dylan’s combined forces. She just huffs in annoyance and turns to leave. Whilst forgetting to even take the corn in my hand.

When she’s finally out of sight, all the false confidence in my body dissipates like a deflating balloon. I can’t help the shy embarrassed smile from flitting onto my lips, and my gaze flutters upwards to Dylan.

And although he scoffs, something tells me that hidden in the darkness, a faint proud smile sits upon his lips.

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The ringing is torture.

On and on it goes till I blindly lift a hand, casually searching about its position before turning it off.

Ring! Ring! Ring!

I groan, again shuffling beneath the covers to find the second alarm, disarming it, and rolling back over.

Ring! Ring! Ring!

Ring! Ring! Ring!

Ring! Ring! Ring!

I jolt awake in annoyance, both sleepy and stunned to find several rows of alarm clocks sitting orderly at the foot of my bed. I count more than a dozen, each one going off chronologically. And that's when a pair of feet step into view.

The figure approaches and leans over my cozy bed, and my eyes slowly drift upwards to meet Dylan’s handsome gaze. He’s staring down at me with focus as he speaks in his deep, soothing yet serious voice, “Your training starts today.”