Chapter 3. The Lycan King

Miatta's POV

The route to the Red Bone Pack was rough and full of itchy grass. I was dragged on mercilessly and was not allowed a moment of rest.

I was supposed to be an alliance ‘gift’ but the way I was being treated made me rethink what I had agreed to. I tried to act brave for as long as I could pull it off but soon, I grew tired and slumped to the floor helplessly.

“Get up, bitch!” The man I was beginning to think was the Alpha’s Beta bellowed at me harshly.

Whether he was referring to my gender as a female wolf or merely calling me names, I could not decipher because all my brain cells were exhausted from carrying me on so far. I cared less about what they called me and more about my condition.

“I can't. I'm exhausted and I am also very thirsty,” I weakly replied, tasting the dust of the earth.

Salt bugs flew around my face, attracted by the salinity in my sweat. I was too weak to swat at them and so I laid down, unwilling to get up.

The man marched up to me and to my surprise, burst into a peal of mocking laughter.

“Did you hear her, men? She is very thirsty. I think we should give her some water, isn't it?” His sarcasm dripped off every word he uttered.

They cheered loudly like cavemen, clamouring for some action.

He left my side briefly and returned with a small bowl filled with liquid. 

“Take; drink,” he directed, shoving the bowl under my view.

He withdrew at once, grinning widely. The liquid was a bit milky with some dirt at the bottom. When I shook it slightly, the chalky particles rose to the surface and a funky smell filled the air. It wasn't water I had been given.

Alarmed, I spilt the contents of the bowl and its wasted droplets went in different directions. The entire troop of lycans sniggered wildly, some hooting and howling in intervals. 

“Why, princess, don't you like the taste of lycan urine? Quite judgmental, if you ask me,” he jested, picking up the wooden bowl.

He passed it to a foot soldier and seizing me by my tresses, pulled me to my feet.

I felt the ache from my head down to the tip of my toes. I was the maleficiary of their mockery and I had nowhere to hide from the shame.

“Next time you want water, princess, you just let me know,” he sneered and pushed me onward.

The keeper of my chains tugged me along and the journey continued. I kept my mouth shut this time, keeping my thoughts to myself and suffering in silence.

We walked up hills and tramped through valleys, never stopping, never resting even for once.

The Lycan Alpha was at the head of the queue, his minions following after him obediently.

There was no one else like me, no other hostages apart from me and I was partially thankful for that. I had paid the price for my pack’s freedom and I wanted no one else to share in my forced martyrdom. 

When it seemed like I would finally collapse and die, I saw a trail of smoke rising from a point in the distance. I zeroed in on my hearing abilities and I could hear people laughing, women, to be precise. It could only mean one significant thing; we were in Red Bone territory.

***

Lucas's POV

They had returned - my father and his army - and from the sound of it, they had been victorious. Father was constantly bent on widening our territory and increasing our military power as well. He was power hungry and thus, garnered more enemies than friends.

He was wary of everyone including me and it had led to him murdering my mother, the Luna in a fit of rage. I had not forgiven him but I had learnt to move on regardless of the stigma his bad reputation hung over my head.

I was his son, after all, his only heir. Although I was capable of holding my own, he had forbidden me from fighting in the recent war. He was ‘protecting his heritage’ according to him.

I left the privacy of my room to welcome them and the villagers had assembled too, singing the praises of our warriors. The outcries of exultation filled the air and soon, the courtyard was full of people.

Suddenly, a horn blared shrillingly, announcing the arrival of my father, the Lycan King. He was also Alpha but he preferred to be referred to as royalty, his pride unquantifiable.

The people split into two, creating a path for their king to come through and as soon as he has begun his walk of glory, the villagers resumed their cheering in honour of my father. He was a proficient warrior and his wolf had fur as black as tar, his mere shapeshifting compelling his enemies to surrender before the fight even began.

“Welcome home, Father. I see that you are victorious again. The pack has missed your protection.” I turned towards the crowd and yelled at the top of my voice: “Long live the Lycan King!”

“Long live the Lycan King!” the pack echoed vivaciously.

“Long live the Red Bone Pack!”

“Forever and ever!” 

Father glanced behind him, gesturing for something to be brought to him.

His Beta, Logan bowed reverently and jogged to the back of the queue at once. He returned shortly with someone, a young woman who looked drained of her essence. She moved under the chains shackled to her wrists and ankles and collapsed at my father’s feet, bone weary.

The latter raised a meaty fist and the noise ceased in all directions. Everyone was curious to know who the stranger was but no one was as curious as I.

She was lithe, built like a chap but no lads I knew let their hair grow as long as hers did. The tip of the ebony hair tickled the swell of her butt and it shone in the sunlight. 

Her face was to the ground and her tresses spilt down her back in its glorious mass.

Father wrapped a handful of her hair around his knuckles and revealed her smeared face to the rest of us.

I almost heard her collarbone resetting with the force behind his maltreatment of her and I winced on her behalf.

Murmuring broke out again amongst the people and it took Father raising his arm again to silence them. 

“My family,” Father addressed the crowd, “this is Princess Miatta of the Black Fur Pack. She has been gifted to us as a sign of the promise of the alliance I extended towards them. Do we accept her into our midst? What shall we do with her?”

Immediately, suggestions began to fly into the atmosphere, gradually at first and later in a heated manner.

“Feed her to the scavengers of the air!”

“Gorge out her eyes and make her dance for us!”

“Render her a sex slave; she is of no use to us!”

The cruel suggestions from the crowd made our captive cringe in panic and she shuffled her legs in defiance, wishing to escape my father’s clutches. Insulted by her audacity, he swung the back of his palm across her face and she fell to the brittle earth again, no longer moving.

I feared for her life but I dared not stand up for her to my detriment. Besides, I didn't know her well enough to run to her defence. He let go of her hair and her limp body sagged unceremoniously.

“I have decided,” he started when the noise had died down, “to let my son make this big decision. If he indeed is to be Alpha someday, he will have to start learning to make some difficult decisions. Go ahead, son,” he urged me and I could hear them chanting my name.

I raised an arm and the noise faded out immediately. 

“Thank you, Father. If I may suggest, I say we keep her until we find something useful to do with her eventually. She is more beneficial to us alive than dead.”