Page 39 of Destined to the Lycan
“I did,” he replied with a shrug.
“Why would you do that?” I asked, genuinely baffled.
“For fun? To see your reaction? To test your skills? Or maybe just because I can…” he said in an almost pensive fashion.
He was obviously baiting me, likely wanting to stir an outraged reaction from me. But this male was an apex predator. I wouldn’t give him any reason to get worked up and lash out at me. Although I wasn’t physically restrained in any way, my body felt unnaturally weighed down, as if an invisible force was shackling me to the comfortable padded chair he had settled me in.
Is any of this even real? Am I trapped in another illusion? Is he still testing me?
Too many questions were firing off in my mind. For now, I could only play along and hope to come out on the winning side. Above all, I needed to understand what his intentions were.
“Okay. But that still doesn’t tell me why you took me against my will,” I said carefully. “If you just wanted to test my reactions to your illusions, you could have asked.”
“I will let you take a wild guess as to why I took you,” he replied in a dangerously sweet voice filled with a dare.
I frowned, unsure as to what kind of answer he expected. By the way he had phrased his sentence, he seemed to imply that the answer should be obvious.
“Honestly, I cannot think of any reason why you would,” I said in all sincerity. “I suspect that you already know that I’m sick. My blood is poisoned. If you planned on eating me, it would almost certainly kill you. That could explain why you haven’t bothered—assuming that was your intention to begin with.”
He burst out laughing, the sound full and throaty in a way that I found quite pleasant. If he wasn’t so deliberately intimidating, he would be an extremely attractive male.
“Yes, it is a very nasty poison that courses through you,” he conceded with almost malicious glee. “But it’s no threat to me. I could devour every single morsel of your tender flesh and remain unscathed.”
My jaw dropped as I stared at him.
“I’m what you could call a doppelganger. I absorb the appearance, knowledge, powers, and skills of anything I eat,” Lyall said smugly.
“Permanently?!” I exclaimed.
He chuckled and shook his head. “Some things, yes. But other things, no. However, I’m immune to all poisons. So eating you won’t hurt me.”
He stated that last sentence with an undeniable threat. But my mind went back to the beginning of his previous description of his abilities. If he absorbed the appearance of anything he ate, did that mean…?
“Where’s Remus?! Please tell me you haven’t hurt him!” I pleaded, fear twisting my insides.
His gaze darkened, and his face took on a hungry, almost sensuous expression. The sharp tips of his fangs peaked between his parted lips, and he placed his right hand over his crotch, as if to adjust himself.
“Fuck, the scent of your fear is divine,” he hissed as if he was fighting to keep control over some primal urges. “It was to be expected as your natural scent is also delicious. Even the stench of death clinging to you fails to ruin it. No wonder the pup wants you.”
“Please, tell me he’s alive!” I begged. “Please tell me you haven’t hurt him.”
He tilted his head to the side and studied my face as one would a strange creature that defied logic.
“I haven’t… yet,” he said at last.
A choked sound of relief escaped me. “Then I beg you to leave him be. You already have me. If it’s food you want, then eat me and let him go.”
To my surprise, my offer appeared to anger him.
“Why would I?” he asked in a harsh tone.
“Remus is a good man!” I exclaimed.
Lyall huffed with disdain and waved a hand. “He’s cursed and an outcast. The pup is a danger to others. Even his blood could kill.”
“He’s sick!” I countered, outrage audible in my voice. “It’s not his fault that he was born this way. Despite all the hardships he faced, he still turned into a good man. From the moment we met, he’s been kind, protective, and honorable towards me.”
My jaw dropped, and I recoiled when Lyall slammed both his hands on the arms of his chair, his face twisted with fury.
