MATED TO THE WEREWOLF PRINCE

CHAPTER SEVEN

-YURI HANNA-

Only a small percentage of moonbeams filtered through the thick branches of the ponderosa pines draping the entire alcove, making the dreary route even bleaker. The crickets began chirping and the owl hooted loudly, adding to the dismal atmosphere, but there was no fear on Prince Killah's face as we made our approach to the Bloody Paws pack.

"Are we there yet, Yuri Hanna?" the wolf prince raised a question, barely winking later.

My plodding stride came to an abrupt halt, and I breathed sharply, fighting the snarl in my throat. We'd been strolling for more than two hours, and the prince had been asking me the same question every five minutes, purposefully gnawing at my frayed nerves.

I couldn't tell if Prince Killah was purposefully inflaming my rage or if he simply couldn't stop talking for an hour.

"Annoying royal," a grunt escaped my lips before I shook my head and continued walking, fully disregarding the prince. I couldn't think of anything better than reaching out to Alpha Alva and communicating with her. To be honest, I needed a substitute because I couldn't deal with my subject's peculiar nature.

'A shifter without a wolf. What kind of nonsense is that?' I mentally rasped, recalling our previous talk. I'd never heard of a werewolf born without a wolf before. Aside from Akira and Shin, who were given an anti-lupin by their grandfather when they were children, there have been no reports of abnormalities in our species that I am not aware of.

Regardless of whether the prince was telling the truth or creating an excuse, my choice to resign as Prince Killah's bodyguard had been made. There are far more important things I should be doing than guarding a sissy who I was certain would not assist me achieve my ideal vacation to get away from all the piled-up issues of Bloody Paws.

"Yuri, are we there yet?" the prince, who was trudging like a goddamn snail behind me, inquired again, jolting me out of my trance.

I hid a sigh beneath my choppy breathing and ignored the prince's concern. Pretending I didn't hear anything, I shifted my focus forward, my lips squeezed into thin lines.

Prince Killah, on the other hand, hushed up his fingers and combed his clammy hair backward. As his knees wobbled, his strides slowed. Sweat beaded on both sides of his face as he struggled to catch his breath. Perhaps the prince had no idea walking could be so tough because, in their kingdom, the furthest he had probably walked was the palace garden.

Despite Prince Killah's difficulties, I sensed his incomprehensible look lingering on my wrinkled face, down to my narrowed eyes and stiffened jaw. Due to my short temper, it appeared that the prince was not moved by my demeanor but rather regaled as if he was trying how long I could hold my cool around him.

To test the waters, he asked the same question that angered me: "Ei, man. Are we the—" However, he cut his utterances short as he observed something crawling inside his sweatpants.

"What the hell," Prince Killah murmured as he came to a complete stop.

When I detected the prince had stopped moving, I came to a halt and wheeled around, wheezing, to find out what the hell was wrong with him. "What is it!" I exclaimed as I neared Prince Killah, my heavy footsteps making noise against the crumbling pavement. Despite the hazy background, I could see how the prince's skin turned pallid.

"There's... there's something inside of my pants," Prince Killah said quietly, his emerald green eyes wide.

Rolling my eyes in disbelief, I grumbled, "Then f*****g wear your pants off and take the goddamn thing out!"

Such a wimp!

______________________

-THIRD POV-

Prince Killah inhaled deeply and averted his uncertain gaze. A dreadful memory raced across his head, making him unable to move.

"Do you like my surprise, Prince Killah?" a wicked voice sounded in his ear, followed by a burst of malicious laughter and an image of a terrified little child crying in the middle of his spider-infested bed.

The prince's chest constricted and his stomach wrenched as he began to hyperventilate. His shaky hand surged up and clutched Yuri's arm. "H-help me," he implored in a strained low tone.

Yuri Hanna noticed the shifts in his mood. That whatever was inside his pants had to be unsettling him so badly that it caused his body to grow rigid.

"Oh, for the goddess' sake!" the beta rasped.

Heeding Killah's request, his bodyguard yanked his shirt up and pushed his sweatpants down to the middle of his thighs in quick succession.

__________________

-YURI-

My eyes glinted with delight as I noticed the prince was wearing a boxer. "Simple task, and you can't even do it on your own?" I went on snapping, straightening my back.

Prince Killah showed no reaction to my severe comments since he was still horrified by the small creature rubbing his skin. "Could you please push it down even more, bro?"

My teeth clenched as I looked at the prince, not because he was still calling me a lad, but because I had never imagined undressing other guys until a royal wimp came along. "This is f*****g unbelievable," a roar echoed in my throat, as I went to one knee and yanked Prince Killah's trousers down to his feet.

When I caught sight of a little spider clinging to Prince Killah's upper knee, I immediately peeled off it from his skin, eliciting a relieved sigh from him. I was ready to stand up, snickering when my attention was caught on the legs in front of me. My brow furrowed because I'd seen pairs of the pack warriors I'd trained before, but none had the prince's slender and creamy legs.

My palm twitched as a momentary urge to touch Prince Killah poked my mind, but I swiftly snarled at myself for letting dumb things distract me. I quickly got to his feet, bringing myself up to eye level with the prince. "Here's your villain," I said as I flung the eight-legged insect away, my face expressionless.

The prince forced a grin and mumbled in a flimsy voice, "Thank you."

"Fix yourself, your Highness, and stop being a wus—" I didn't finish my statement when Prince Killah abruptly leaned forward and put his head on my shoulder, startling me.

The atmosphere was eerie, and I stood immobile. The proximity should have enraged me, but something in my brain was not functioning since I couldn't determine whether to push Prince Killah or let him take advantage of my remaining forbearance.

"Yuri Hanna," the prince uttered my name.

"Hm?" I asked hesitantly.

"Spiders are the worst," Prince Killah replied before collapsing and passing out.

In an instant, I grabbed him by the waist, dragging him closer to my body, and expressed, "Spiders? I doubt it if they're worse than I."