The Lonely Lycan Alpha Queen

Chapter Seven

UNKNOWN POV

I was awakened once again by my tiger counterpart. What had caused him to wake me yet again and so soon after the last time?

Images flickered through my mind’s eyes, but I forced them away.

Why?

Why did he suddenly feel the need to reconnect with me?

He has been in control since that day, so why now?

That scent.

That scent was back and causing him to rouse me. Why?

What did it have to do with me?

I just wanted to remain in the darkness devoid of thoughts and emotions.

What was that smell?

I tried to force myself to see out of his eyes, but I remained in the darkness.

It’s such a sweet scent, was it a flower?

Why would a flower awaken me?

The images began to take hold again.

So much death.

Everyone is gone, all but me. I’m alone in this world. Why would I want to be a part of it?

I can’t do this… Do you hear me beast? Let me go back into the darkness and sleep.

He roared; I heard it for the first time in who knows how long. Was he trying to lead people here to kill us? That might actually be a good thing. I could live in the void forever then.

That smell just kept getting stronger but there was a new scent with it. What was that smell and again, why do I care?

I forced myself back down into the depths of our being.

He could deal with this, it doesn’t concern me anymore, not now that I have lost everyone.

Dad, Mum, sisters and brothers. Uncles, aunts and cousins. Friends, neighbours, our whole streak. Gone. They are all gone.

Let me go too, beast. Yes, darkness come take me.

MALIKA’S POV

I growled at Ward. I didn’t mean to, and I don’t know why I did it. He looked at me shocked.

“I’m sorry Ward, I’m not sure what is wrong with me. My Lycan is pushing me to keep going and I can’t seem to stop her.”

He frowned with concern. “OK Mali, but we need to be really careful.” I nodded and we started to walk further up the mountain.

The scent kept getting stronger and before long we started to see caves up ahead.

There were quite a few of them. Some were shallow and you could see the rock wall at the back and others seemed really deep and all you could see was darkness.

We cautiously made our way to the first cave entrance. This one was not very deep, a quick glance inside showed nothing but rock and dirt.

That sweet scent started to become intoxicating. “Can you all smell that?” I asked quietly. All four guards looked at me strangely.

“What do you smell?” Evander asked, which made me realise that they were not smelling what I was. Was this just because a Lycan’s sense of smell was more acute or was this something else altogether?

“So, none of you can smell that sweet scent? It’s really strong but I can’t work out what it is, perhaps a flower or a fruit of some kind.” I said with a shrug.

A quick glimpse at their faces told me all I needed to know. They did not smell what I could smell.

Ward came over and pulled me off to the side away from the others. “Mali, I don’t know how to put this so I’m just going to say it. I think you are smelling your mate.”

I took a step back like he had slapped me. That one statement both confused me and excited me.

“That’s impossible, Ward, I’m the only surviving Lycan. How can I possibly have a mate after all these years?” I said, shaking my head.

If I am being honest, I had started to wonder the same thing but I kept rationalising that it was just not possible.

“Mali, what if the goddess saw your loneliness and decided that she would give you a mate of a different species…” he stopped to gauge my reactions, but I just stared at him.

“What if she gave you a mate who was also the sole survivor of his race, someone who could fully understand the loneliness and pain you try so hard to hide from everyone else?”

His face showed me that he had seen through my mask. He and Karla knew me the best out of any living person, of course, they had seen past my mask.

“I think it would be best if you took the lead from here on out Mali. If he really is your mate and he is feral, we would be seen as a threat,” Ward said quietly.

Did I really want to continue? Did I really want to find out if I actually was smelling my mate? Could I cope with the thought of being mated to a different species? Most of all, would I be able to bring him back from his feral state?

I took a deep breath and released it slowly. I nodded to Ward, and he moved aside, allowing me to pass. He links the others to let me go first but doesn’t tell them why, though I am sure they too suspected, since they are all mated wolves.

I allowed my Lycan to come forward in my human body since her sense of smell was even stronger than mine. She scents the air to ascertain which direction and in which cave we would find this enticing scent.

We moved quickly, finding a winding path and headed further up higher into the mountains.

Finally, we stopped in front of a huge dark cave. The scent was so strong I had begun to salivate.

I turned and noticed the others were standing further down the path. Ward nodded encouragingly. I took a tentative step towards the cave and then another.

Step by step, foot by foot, I walked towards the scent. As I reached the mouth of the cave, I stopped and examined the area.

Along with the sweet scent, I picked up another scent, it had a metallic note to it… blood. It must be from his latest kill, thankfully it didn’t smell like a shifter.

I took two big steps into the mouth of the cave and allowed my eyes to adjust to the dim lighting. This cave was huge, and I could see bones and other debris littered around the edges of the cave.

Even with my highly enhanced Lycan eyesight, I still could not see the back of the cave. I took a further step and a deep growl reverberated around the cave, stopping me in my tracks.

My heart was racing like a freight train. I strained my eyes but saw nothing. I stood completely still and focused on listening for any sound of movement.

Thump, thump, thump, thump.

I heard the sound of large paws on the dirt floor but still could not make out any movement.

The paws continued to come toward me and finally, I locked eyes with glowing blue feline eyes.

The beast stopped moving, I could hear it scenting the air and a low rumble came from within its chest. This was not a warning nor a threat, it actually sounded more like a purr.

I still could not make out much of the beast standing and staring at me. I very carefully took another step forward and quietly spoke “I am not here to hurt you; my name is Malika. Can you understand me?” I asked.

The bright blue eyes moved as the beast tilted its huge head to the side.

He takes another step forward and his face is illuminated by a small shaft of light coming from the rocky ceiling. His huge face is white with black stripes, his muzzle is caked in dried blood and his bright blue eyes stare at me intently.

“Mate” I whispered. It tilted its head again and took another step forward, its stare was intense, and I was barely breathing.

Its eyes started rapidly shifting between bright blue and vivid purple, the same purple colour as my Lycan eyes.

It started sniffing the air again and its gaze shot towards the cave entrance. A massive roar was directed at the entrance and suddenly the beast turned and took off back deeper into the cave.

I turned and saw my guards standing at a distance but in direct eyesight of where the beast had been previously standing.

With a last look back into the cave, I turned and walked back out to my guards.

“We need a plan. I am not leaving this kingdom without my mate, and I think we are going to need to sedate and transport him. He may be feral now, but I saw flashes in his eyes that made me believe I could bring him back.” I stated.

Their mouths dropped open and I just shrugged. “OK, let’s get going to see Frank and then I need to get back and get things organised,” I said as I started heading back down the path towards the bottom of the mountain.