Page 16 of The Unwanted Mate of the Lycan Kings
The wolf looks torn about whether to go find its master or remain here, yet one yap from his brother makes him peer back at us, and he huffs like he is pouting.
“So, your name is Gnash?”I mumble.His tail wags faster, and I wonder what the other two are called.Seconds later, I hear a thunderous snarl from the opposite direction, which has Gnash growling and pivoting to look at another path.
All three wolves stand, all looking in different directions and backing toward me.It doesn’t take long before I hear a loud bang like a gun going off, and the sounds of running and cursing can be heard within the maze.
Wondering what is going on, I get to my feet.My heart thumping in my chest as I stand stunned.The wolves tense, looking at the different entry points.Gnash paces slowly like a predator tracking its prey, and the wolves slowly circle me.
Part of me wonders if they’ll obey their masters and kill me, another part of me worries the kings will be my executioner when they find me.Yet nothing prepares me for when all three kings appear at once, stopping dead in their tracks as they enter the center.
“There you are, boy.Why didn’t you come?”Regan asks, noticing his wolf first.He takes a step closer while Gnash backs up, his wagging tail smacking my legs.Only then does Regan notice me standing there behind his wolf and between his wolf’s brothers.
Regan wears only gray sweatpants and nothing else.Even his feet are bare.Cuts and grazes litter his muscled chest and stomach, no doubt from the thorns and traps of the maze.Myeyes trail over him, and I notice the intricate tattoos covering every inch of his arms, chest, and back.
The last time I saw him, he was in a suit that concealed the designs covering his flesh, yet now I can’t tear my eyes from him as I take in the markings.
To me, it appears almost as if they are runes, yet not the celestial or Wiccan kind I am covered in.No, these look like something darker, sinister.Mapped out into his flesh like a road map to hell.Yet, even I must admit that hell looks good on him.
Every piece of this man is hard and defined, like he is cut from the hardest stone and molded into perfection.Too bad his personality doesn’t match the masterpiece of his body.No, there is something twisted about this man—something depraved.His cold eyes sparkle with a promise of the pain he wants to inflict on me.He did not look happy at all that I am the survivor of the maze.His gaze tells me that I may have survived his wolf, but I won’t survive these kings.
Chapter 11
Zeke staggers forward, stopping as he takes in the scenebefore him.The confusion is evident in his features as his eyes go to the wolf beside me, then to me.
He also has gray sweats on with a black tank top.He isn’t covered in the same ink.His markings look more like tribal designs down his arms, but they have the same runes look as his brother.It’s like the runes blended and morphed into the tribal pattern that covers his arms.
The third brother, Lyon, catches my attention.He’s dressed in jeans and a shirt, though it is drenched in blood, making me wonder what trap he stumbled upon within the maze because I only stumbled across a few traps, though I am grateful I did by the state of him.He has a huge cut across his chest that has sliced through his shirt and across his chest.
They all stand there, glancing at each other and at their wolves at my feet.Lyon tilts his head to the side, while Regan still looks at me in shock.
His shock soon dissolves when he smirks.“Out of all them that entered, of course, it had to be you that lived,” he sneers, his eyes flickering dangerously with a predatory glint.“Maybe I will get to have my fun destroying you after all.”He chuckles darkly.
King Zeke growls, eyeing one wolf in anger.“You hadone job, Hunter, and you couldn’t even complete it.You useless wolf!”he snaps.
“None of them did.Doesn’t that make you question why?”Lyon asks, his eyes roaming over me from head to foot as if he is looking for what is so special about me.
Well, I’ve pondered the same thing since the moment my eyes opened this morning, so if he figures it out, I hope he lets me know.His words seem to go unnoticed by his brothers.
Glancing down quickly, I make sure my arms are still covered, remembering Malachi’s comment about them hating witches, and one glimpse of my skin and I might as well pick my pillar to burn at.
Maybe the fates don’t hate me after all because my arms are still covered, and no breeze moves across my back, so I know it is covered too.There are no markings on my exposed legs, but they are painted in blood and dirt.
Regan takes a step into the center toward me, and the wolves tense, their eyes going to their masters.Zeke watches his brothers, his head turning from side to side in some silent challenge, and all their eyes fall on me.
My heart thumps erratically at the sudden attention, much preferring their wolves’ growling and sharp teeth to the predators that now watch me.Within seconds of the silent, nervous glances they send each other, all three rush at me.One of the wolves lunges at Zeke’s face in my defense.
King Zeke moves quickly, diverting the attack, but judging by his shocked gasp, he clearly did not expect the wolf to react this way.The wolf latches its powerful jaws around his arm, and its sharp teeth rip through his flesh while he shakes his head viciously.
Zeke roars, shaking his arm furiously before punching the wolf.Still, the wolf hangs on, biting down harder.Regan and Lyon freeze and back up as the other two wolves snarl and snap their mighty jaws at their masters in warning.
A sickening crack sounds, followed by a yelp, and the wolf attacking Zeke hits the ground.Zeke swings a swift kick tothe wolf before his enormous body flies toward me.
A whimper escapes me when I see the wolf skidding across the ground and stopping a few feet from me.He whines and tries to get up before collapsing again.
The other two wolves snarl louder, and I notice Lyon back up and put his hands up in surrender.“Settle down, boy,” Lyon tells the wolf, forcing him back while Regan growls at his wolf, Gnash, who is facing off with him.
“Fucking try it, Gnash, I fucking dare you!”Regan snarls at his wolf.Zeke curses, examining his arm where his flesh looks like it has been torn apart.Blood gushes out of his arm, dripping from his fingertips and spilling onto the grass below his feet.
“Hunter!”he screams, stalking toward the injured wolf, and my eyes widen when I see him raise his fist.The wolf shakes his head, getting to his feet, just as I stupidly grab him and yank him back.
