Page 106 of The Unwanted Mate of the Lycan Kings
“Get them out, and I’ll consider giving you an out.You fail...the Lycan species will be erased.”
Regan hesitates for a moment, his body rigid with tension.I try to reach out, my wispy, ghost-like hands grasping at the air, attempting to touch his shoulder, to do something.But my fingers pass right through him, leaving me with a hollow, helpless feeling.
Regan growls, his face contorted with determination, quickly helping my granny and setting her free.I can feel my heart pounding,wishing I could help, wishing I could be more than just a silent observer in this nightmare.
Suddenly, the scene shifts, the cold dampness of the cells fading away.I blink, disoriented, finding myself in a new room—a grand throne room, adorned with dark banners and a heavy air of authority.Regan is now standing before his father, their tense conversation already underway.My presence feels even more intangible here, like a whisper on the edge of a storm.I try to move closer, my hands still reaching, but all I grasp is emptiness.I’m here, watching, unable to intervene, unable to do anything but witness.
King Theron sits on his throne, his gaze sharp and demanding.He leans forward, his eyes narrowing at Regan.“The oracle escaped, but the daughter is dead!”Regan says, his voice shaky but trying to appear confident.
“I said to bring me their bodies.If she escaped, where is the baby?”Theron demands, his voice cold and unyielding.Regan falters, trying to find an excuse for not having my body.
Suddenly, the doors are kicked open, and everyone’s attention turns to Queen Electra.She storms in, clutching a bundle of fabric in her arms, tears streaming down her face.
“You bastard, you cruel bastard.Sending your son to kill an innocent child!”she screams.
Regan looks at his mother in panic as she thrusts the bundle into his arms and then slaps him.
“You’re just as bad as your father!”she yells.Regan looks confused and shocked that his mother hit him, even though she was there when he set them free.Regan looks down at the baby in his arms.He realizes that it’s not Litha’s daughter, but another baby.The tiny body is pale, with a stillness that could suggest illness or perhaps a natural death.He glances up at his mother, understanding dawning on him—she was trying to protect him, to give him a way out.
Zeke sputters and staggers forward.“No!”he gasps, but Regan pulls the bundled-up baby away before he has a chance to see for himself.
“What have you done?”Zeke chokes, thinking that Regan has killed their mate.
“I did what I had to for my kingdom,” Regan states.
King Theron laughs.“And that is why you’re worthy of the king’s throne.So, son, how will you prove your worth?”he asks, turning to look at Zeke.
Zeke staggers back, clearly disgusted with his brother and his father, while Lyon looks on the verge of being sick.“No...I will kill you for this,” Zeke threatens.
“And kill yourself.Remember whose lives are tied to mine, Zeke,” Regan snarls back, looking at Lyon and then Zeke.“Blood is thicker than water.”Regan states.
Chapter 52
Finally, the last vision comes, and a wave of déjà vu washesover me when I find myself standing in the city center.
The city center is packed with a frenzied crowd, their faces twisted with hatred and fear as they watch Queen Litha—a witch’s high Priestess—being dragged to a pillar.They chant for her death and chant for the end of the bloodshed and war that taints their kingdom.
As the flames lick up the stack of wood to her feet, Litha’s eyes remain defiant.Her gaze sweeps over the three kings before settling on King Theron.Her voice, though strained by pain, rings out with eerie clarity.
By the flame that consumes me, I curse you all with the seven sins that taint your souls!As I burn, so shall you burn!
Her words hang heavily in the air, her power infusing them with an undeniable weight as thunder rolls across the sky.It’s as if the end of time is coming.The crowd recoils, their excitement dampened by the palpable energy that surrounds Litha as she speaks.
Turning her gaze to King Theron, she smiles.It’s an unsettling sight amid the flickering firelight.“To break the curse, you must find the oracle.Kill the oracle, and the seven virtues will be revealed.Only then will another female lycan be born,” my mother warns as her dress suddenly catches fire.
Theron laughs.“You think you can curse an entire species,Litha?You’re powerless, or you would have escaped.You’re no witch.No real witch ever burned at the stake.”
Litha laughs at his words, but I find myself almost unable to watch.The scene is horrific as her legs burn, but she does not stomp her feet or scream.Instead, she lifts her head to the sky and smiles.
“You’re right.”
King Theron huffs with smug satisfaction while the flames grow higher.Sweat beads on my mother’s face, neck, and chest.Her pain is visible, and her breathing becomes labored.
When she speaks, her pain cracks and splinters her voice.“Witches don’t burn at your stake...not unless we choose to.”
Theron’s manic laughter cuts off.Murmurs break out when the sound of eerie humming charges the air.Then my mother’s chanting surrounds us.
In the shadows cast by a fire’s glow, where sinners hide, and virtues grow.
