Page 84 of Destined to the Lycan
Blind fury swept over me. I lunged at the male, who moved away at an impossible speed, sending me crashing against the headboard of the bed. He was but a couple of meters to my right. I leapt forward and swiped my claws at him, but once more, he moved at such dizzying speed that it almost looked as if he had vanished and reappeared near the window. He raised a taunting eyebrow and smirked provocatively.
I roared with rage and jumped towards him, hoping to pin him down on the floor before feasting on his face to wipe that mocking grin off. This time, he didn’t just dodge my attack, he twirled out of the way towards the door. I crashed hard into the dresser, my teeth rattling in my head as I slumped to the floor. Pain radiated in my right shoulder, which had connected solidly against the corner of the dresser. I jumped back to my feet only to find the male leaning against the door frame, legs and arms crossed.
“Did that hurt, pup? Such unnecessary violence,” he said with the most disingenuous air of sympathy laced with a hint of disapproval. “You need to rein in that temper, or Amara will choosemeover a mindless animal likeyou.”
Amara!
I knew that name. It awakened a powerful longing and a rabid possessiveness. Enraged, I swiped at the dresser, tearing off part of the wood, and sending the lamp sitting on top flying towards the foul male. He effortlessly sidestepped it, then swiftlybacked away when I started running towards him. A buzzing sound resonated behind him as he appeared to be yanked backwards out of the room. Only once he turned the corner did I realize a pair of bug wings hung from his back.
I didn’t have time to try and make sense of how these appendages suddenly appeared on him. Instead, I burst out into the corridor to find him only a couple of meters away from me. My mouth watered at the thought of his blood pouring down my throat and of the sound of his bones shattering between my teeth while he screeched for a mercy that would never come. To my dismay, just when I would have caught him, the stripes beneath his blue skin glowed brightly, blinding me. The next second, he had vanished, replaced by a giant bat that flew to the end of the hallway. If not for him turning back into his oddly painted human form, I wouldn’t have believed it was truly him who had morphed into a different shape.
This time, he leaned against the railing of the stairs, crossed his legs again, then began to pick at some non-existent dirt under his nails.
“Fight me, you coward!” I growled, my words barely intelligible to my own ears.
I couldn’t recall ever having to use speech with prey. But then, I couldn’t recall ever being able to indulge in the hunt. What vague memory I had of my past awakenings involved some sort of cage that prevented me from answering the call of the moon.
But this taunting, I knew with certainty that I’d never experienced it before.
“You’re not worth my time,” he replied dismissively. “I’ve squashed bigger beasts than you without breaking a sweat.”
You will pay dearly for this disrespect.
Snarling, fangs bared, I dropped to all fours and ran towards him. His relaxed stance as he calmly watched me approach had a red haze of rage descending before my eyes.
“You know, maybe I will kill you after all and turn your pelt into a decorative carpet,” he said pensively as he watched me barreling down towards him.
Moments before I would reach him, he threw his legs over the railing of the staircase and casually slid down the length of the railing to the ground floor.
I growled in frustration before racing down the stairs after him.
“Yes, I’ll make love to Amara on your pelt in front of a fire,” he taunted, his elbow resting on the railing at the base of the stairs.
Images of him rutting over my woman had me foaming at the mouth. I emitted a savage roar and swiped at the male’s face, who was still casually leaning against the ramp. To my dismay, my claws passed through a mirage that vanished into smoke. Then I saw the bat again, flying half the length of the corridor before turning right into an open door.
My heart soared, realizing the foolish male would soon run out of place to flee. He should have exited the house instead of seeking refuge in its bowels. A single thought dominated my mind: catching and eviscerating my prey. I would bathe in his blood and feast on his heart.
The coward continued to flee, leading me to the lowest level of the house. I couldn’t even enjoy the thrill of the chase. He had me too enraged, and the absence of the scent of fear deprived me of that extra jolt of adrenaline. The wretch had no scentat all. He didn’t scream, only mocked and laughed at me.
A triumphant roar bellowed out of me when the fool ran the full length of the lower floor into a dark room at the end. Therewould be no exit, no escape for him. Now came the time for retribution.
I ran on all fours to the entrance of the room, then rose to my hind legs as I filled the doorframe. The male stood with his back to the wall, a defiant glimmer in his red eyes. Only then did it finally register that he wasn’t some powerful sorcerer with glowing runes on his body. He was something else, as per his red eyes and vertical pupils. But whatever he was, his death would come at my hands.
“I will feast on your innards!” I hissed before dashing forward.
The male remained still instead of trying to run away. A sense of doom crashed over me when he gave me an eager, almost victorious smile. Something was wrong, but I was already mid-leap.
Then I felt it.
A tingling sensation washed over me as I crossed an invisible field of magic. A few feet before I would land half-on top of my prey, I crashed into an invisible wall, then fell down onto the stone floor with a loud thud. Half-dazed, I shook my head and jumped back onto my feet only to see the dreaded familiar circle illuminate around me as magical symbols came to life.
“No, Remus. You won’t,” the male said, sounding almost bored. “Enjoy your time out, pup.”
Without another word, he casually strutted out of the room, circling around the magical cage that kept me trapped. I screamed, howled, and trashed pointlessly against it. I knew this magic. I couldn’t remember when or how, but I’d been confined by it before. No matter how viciously I battered the invisible wall, it wouldn’t yield.
I was trapped.
Istirred, feeling like death warmed over, lying on the cold hard floor, my cheek pressed against the unyielding stone. Every muscle felt sore, and my fingertips ached as if someone had attempted to rip my nails out. My eyelids fluttered as I groggily pushed myself up. As the fog clouding my mind lifted, I glanced around the room.
