Chapter 2. Necessary Evil

Growing up, stories about the Lycans were all I heard when parents wanted to scare their children to obedience.

They said they were horrible, huge creatures that resemble wolves. That one could see the evilness from their bright eyes that could assault anyone that would stare at them. Some even claimed they could manipulate people.

They were bigger, faster and quicker than anyone. And they used that power to dominate lands and conquer territories that weren’t theirs. People called them savages, some even proclaimed them as the devils in wolf form. That they were just another form of Rogues that found their own organization and leader. So when I woke up in a room that was dimly lit, I immediately thought of the worst.

I gasped and sat up on the bed, realizing I was not wearing the same clothes I had worn the last time. I was in a silky white night gown that went down to my knees and elbows. I also had patches from the wounds I knew I had from the last beating I got from the House. I stared at the deep cut on my fingers, realizing it had healed completely. It was my punishment for trying to steal food when I missed a meal after I passed out from getting beaten.

I roamed my eyes to my sitting form on the bed, realizing I wasn’t feeling the same pains I had been dealing with for the last couple of days. What happened? The last time I checked, I could barely feel anything but pain.

I traced a finger on the wound I knew I got from the slap yesterday, from where the blood trickled from the top of my forehead, but my hand stopped. It wasn’t there anymore.

“Who gave you all those wounds and bruises?”

I flinched when a deep booming voice suddenly rang around the corners of the room. My eyes widened when I saw the very man I last saw before I fell unconscious.

The Lycan King is here.

As I remembered, he was tall, built, had the darkest hair, and the most compelling presence. He was leaning on the wall where a shadow only casted on his figure, making me see soft silhouettes of his built form as he watched me.

I looked into his eyes, expecting the same bright golden orbs I saw last time. But all I saw were the most gorgeous pair of hazel eyes. The blue and green fighting over the colors in his irises, defining his sharp and manly features even further.

The lycan king may look beautiful, but his presence didn’t feel like it as it exuded all over the room.

He felt deadly.

My attention went to his fists, noticing how they clenched on his sides as he continued watching me.

“I asked you a question,” he said, his deep voice more raw and hard this time.

I swallowed, feeling how dry my throat was.

“I-I…ah,” I opened my mouth, now staring into his surprisingly deep natural eyes, so contrasting from his wolf’s bright golden orbs.

“P-people f-from the House,” was all I managed to say.

I could feel my wolf stirring, even speaking slowly at the back of my head. Purring at the presence of her mate, but I couldn’t feel any welcoming warmth from the human form of my mate.

“Who brought you here?” He asked, sounding intrigued suddenly. But his reaction kind of irked me, snapping me out of the trance from my sleep, shock and unearthly emotions from the matebond.

He’s really asking that? He’s the reason why my life was ruined! His kind killed many people including my father! Why the hell am I holding back and submitting to him?

“You're the one who bought me along with some other girls for your messed up tradition,” I gritted out. My anger was coming back to me; all the hatred and blaming I wanted to throw at the king of the creatures that ruined my life came to me with all force as I stared at the man I hated since I knew of his existence.

My sudden change of tone appeared to take him by surprise, making him take a step closer. I could feel his presence getting bigger, his Alpha and King aura exuding with every movement he makes; and I don’t know if I was just still all weak because of the injuries and the matebond, or he’s manipulating me, but I felt myself holding my anger in a little.

“The House? From the Underground?” He asked again, instead of reacting to my words. I frowned up at him, irritated at how he still surveyed my body as if he still wanted to know how I got the wounds and bruises I had. As if he cared.

How could he?

“That is none of your business—oh, I guess it is. Because you allowed all of these to happen to your so-called people! And now you brought me in this messed up tradition you have!”

That seemed to snap him out of his oddly concerned streak.

His eyes brightened a bit as they looked at me with danger. “That messed up tradition saved our species.”

And those words coming from his regal mouth completely burned whatever submission that was forming in me.

To hell with his excuses!

“Your species. You killed so many people just to get their territories and people. And you call that saving?”

I flinched when he suddenly took another step towards me, his jaw tightening at my harsh words.

“You don’t know anything, so keep your mouth shut.” I heaved deep breaths, getting all worked up at how I intensely wanted to scream at his face but held myself in. I hated how I was containing my anger once again because of his commanding presence. I hate being controlled, most especially by creatures like him. “You insinuate that what you do is a necessary evil,” I spoke more calmly, but my temper just dangled on the corner of my tongue. “But that necessary evil killed my father, the only family I have, and took me to that whorehouse where the worst days of my life happened. How do you expect me to just shut up?”

I expected another comeback from the king, to defend what they’re doing, but the slight changes in his eyes was all I saw before he stepped back into the darker corners of the room again. Casting only slivers of light around his regal face.

Tensed silence filled the air between us as no one spoke. Until…

“I do not want anyone to hear about the matebond. You tell anyone about it, and you’ll see what kind of evil I am.”

Lia, my wolf, whimpered at the harsh and cold tone of the king towards us. Those hazel eyes of his watched me, but specks of gold dominated in his irises this time, as if he was fighting off his wolf from appearing. The lycan king started walking towards what looked like a door on the side, not sparing me a glance as he took long strides. And with one sharp move, he was out of the door; his dominating presence that I had only realized was nothing as heavy as I ever felt before, had gone away.

I clutched my chest, feeling the hurt of my wolf from that encounter. ‘Go to him. Speak to him nicely. He didn’t reject us.’ Lia, my wolf’s desperate plea rang around my head.

I’ve never heard her speak before, except yesterday. And if she speaks like this all the time, I don’t ever want to hear her.

“He might as well have rejected us here and now,” I said, slamming away my wolf to the back of my head.

She groaned and whimpered, knowing how close to home my words were. He basically said he didn’t want the matebond. He didn’t want to acknowledge it. So why didn’t he just reject me once and for all?