Chapter 9 Beasts And Monsters
CHAPTER 9: Beasts And Monsters
Seraphine's POV
I whipped around at the sound and whatever stepped out of the trees was not a wolf.. not fully.
It was wolf-shaped, yes, but wrong. Too tall in the shoulders and too thin in the waist. Its fur was patchy and filthy, clumped with mud and something dark red that I didn’t want to think about. Its fangs were too long for its mouth, curling out even when its jaws were closed like they didn’t belong there at all.
It snarled lowly and wetly.
The maid screamed again and just like that, the beast chose her. It lunged.
“Run!” someone shouted.
My body reacted before my mind caught up. I stepped forward with my instinct screaming at me to fight, to block it and to tear it apart before it touched her. My hand went to my waist but there was nothing and I froze.
Of course. I wasn’t armed. I wasn’t supposed to be and worse... if I fought, if I used my strength, I would lose my opportunity at revenge permanently.
Damn it.!!
The beast leaped again, faster now with claws tearing into the earth as it went straight for the maid who was closest to the forest.
I moved again but a strong hand grabbed my arm and yanked me back hard.
“Don’t,” Darius snapped. “Seraphine, don’t be stupid.”
“It'll kill her!” I yelled, struggling.
“Run back to the palace. Now. Alert the guards!” He yelled.
There was no arguing with that tone. Before I could say another word, Darius shoved me behind him and shifted.
One blink he was a man and the next, a massive brown wolf exploded into existence, fur rippling, muscles bunching as he launched himself straight at the beast.
The impact was brutal and they crashed together in a snarl of teeth and claws, rolling across the dirt.
The maid was still frozen and staring, unable to move.
“Move!” I shouted, grabbing her arm. “Do you want to die?”
That did it. She stumbled back, nearly falling and I dragged her away from the trees. The sounds behind us were awful... growls, snapping jaws and something screaming in pain... but I didn’t look back.
We ran and by the time we reached the palace gates, the maid was sobbing so hard she could barely breathe.
“Monster,” she gasped. “There was a monster...”
“I know,” I said, pulling her forward. “Keep going.”
She burst through the doors and screamed at the top of her lungs.
“ALARM! MONSTER IN THE FOREST!”
Lycan soldiers came from everywhere, pouring into the courtyard, running toward the forest with nothing but their bodies and some shifted as they ran like it was nothing.
I barely had time to breathe before Aric appeared. His head snapped toward me and our eyes locked. The look he gave me was a furious one.
“What happened?” he demanded.
“There was a beast,” I said quickly. “It attacked near the stream. Darius is fighting it.”
He swore under his breath and turned to the soldiers.
“You. With me. Now.” Then he pointed at two others. “Take her to the throne room. Don’t let her out of your sight.”
Then he was gone, running with the others toward the forest, already shifting as he moved.
The maid sat beside me, wrapped in a cloak, still shaking and she kept whispering the same thing over and over.
“I thought I was dead. I thought I was dead.”
“You’re not,” I said softly. “You’re safe now.”
Two stern lycan guards stood near the doors, unmoving.
Time dragged and minutes felt like hours but finally, the heavy doors opened and Aric walked in first and Darius followed, back in human form, his clothes torn and a shallow cut across his chest already healing.
I stood.
“What happened?” I asked.
“It’s dead,” Darius said calmly.
“That fast?” I blurted.
He nodded.
“It didn’t last long.”
“Soldiers didn’t even get there in time,” Aric added sharply. “Darius killed it before backup arrived.”
Something about the way he said it made my skin prickle.
“It was just one?” I asked slowly.
Darius hesitated and Aric answered instead.
“Yes.”
“And it was a small one,” Darius added. “Young. Barely grown.”
My stomach dropped.
“A baby?” I whispered. “I’ve been here long enough. I’ve lived near forests my whole life. How have I never heard of these things?”
Silence settled and then Aric’s head turned slowly.. not to me.. to the maid and his eyes went cold.
“Why,” he said quietly, “did you take her to the stream?”
The maid shrank back.
“I... I thought it was safe, my king...”
“You thought wrong.”
He moved so fast I barely saw it. His hand closed around her throat and she choked with her feet lifting off the floor with eyes wide with terror.
“Aric!” I shouted, rushing forward. “Stop!”
“She endangered you. Not that I care but wouldn't want your weak ass killed on your first day!” he snarled. “That alone is enough to...”
“I went with her because I wanted to!” I yelled. “If anyone is to blame, it’s me.”
He looked at me then and his grip tightened while the maid made a horrible sound.
“Let her go,” I said with my voice shaking with rage but firm. “Now.”
For a moment, I thought he wouldn’t but then Darius stepped forward.
“Cousin,” he said carefully. “The threat is over.”
Aric’s jaw clenched as he released the maid with a shove and she collapsed to the floor, coughing.
“Get out,” Aric snapped at the guards. “All of you.”
They didn’t hesitate.. the maid was half-carried out but Darius hesitated at the door.
“Aric...”
“Out.”
The doors slammed shut and I was alone with him. He turned on me slowly with eyes blazing.
“Have you and Darius started fucking yet?” he growled.
I stared at him.
“What?”
“You heard me.” He stepped closer. “Or are you still pretending you don’t know what flirting looks like?”
“That’s disgusting,” I snapped. “He saved our lives back there.”
“You spread your legs for whoever plays hero?” he shot back. “Human whore.”
Something inside me broke.
“Say that again,” I said coldly. “I dare you.”
He chuckled darkly like my anger was his sport.
“You forget your place too easily.”
“My place?” I scoffed. “You think you're some kind of a Lycan God? Wake up! You're nothing but a dirty murderous children killing Lycan!”
His eyes flashed red instantly. I didn’t see the attack coming.. one second he was standing there and the next, his hand was around my neck slamming me into the pillar behind me.
I gasped with my fingers clawing at his wrist.
“You will not speak to me that way,” he snarled.
Almost at the same time, Aric gasped and his grip loosened like he’d touched fire and he stumbled back, staring at his hand, then at me…