Page 96 of The Unwanted Mate of the Lycan Kings
“But you saw it as an opportunity to get one up on your brothers,” I tell him, and he nods.
“I gave my father the blueprints we found in exchange for my kingdom,” Lyon tells me.
“Why did you choose that kingdom?”I ask.
“It was the wealthiest out of them.I wanted to show my brothers I could do better than them.”
“And did you do better than them?Was her life worth your kingdom?”and that is exactly why he is pride, he can’t be outdone, refuses to be seen as less than.His pride and greed were his end, he just didn’t see it until it was too late.
“Of course not, and I’ve lived with that mistake ever since.”
I grit my teeth—so many deaths for self-gain.What a waste of life.
He reaches for my tattered shirt that barely clings to my body.Panic engulfs me.I’ve barely managed to stop them from seeing the markings covering me.I grip his wrist when he goes to peel it off.He looks at me with a confused expression, and I realize I am preventing the inevitable, so I let him go.I’m done hiding what I am.
Yet when he attempts to remove it, his back suddenly arches,and he groans loudly.The noise startles me, and I jump when I see the shower floor turn red and the scent of blood reaches my nose.My eyes widen in horror, and I look at Lyon when his body jolts again.However, this time red and angry lines carve open his chest.Blood runs down from his wounds onto his abs before staining the shower floor red with his blood.
“Lyon?”I murmur in panic, and his back arches again, and he lets out a pained noise and curses.“Fuck!”He breathes through gritted teeth.
“Lyon?”I cry, sitting up straighter and trying to grab onto him.
His pained laugh is heartbreaking.“Regan should have known better.He’s gonna get us all killed.”
My brows furrow.“What?”I ask, but Lyon shakes his head when more lines cut through his stomach this time.
“Regan, he’s wrath.He’s blinded by his fury,” He hisses through the pain when the ones on his chest, which were already closing, tear open again a second later.
“Zeke is a glutton,” Lyon rasps out.“And this will be no different.He won’t be able to stop.He won’t fight him.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Zeke, he’ll let Regan kill him because he’s a glutton for punishment,” Lyon says before screaming when the markings carve from his back, over his shoulder and chest.
Chapter 47
As I wrap my mind around what’s happening, the air freezesin my lungs.Every wound inflicted on Zeke appears on Lyon as well.From what he said, it seems like it’s also happening to Regan.This curse is more than just sharing pain or having their lives bound together.It’s forcing them to experience the consequences of each other’s sins.
My heart races as I realize what’s happening.Lyon’s skin opens up once again.The whip marks covering Lyon’s body are deeper with each strike.Red, angry lines cover every inch of him as Regan loses control.As the shower floor fills with blood, the smell of iron fills the air.My heart races with panic as I watch Lyon’s skin open up repeatedly, and I know I have to find a way to stop him.
I struggle to my feet, ignoring the pain and discomfort, knowing I need to stop this before it gets worse.Lyon reaches for me, but I shake my head.“Stay here.Try to stop the bleeding.I’ll find Regan and Zeke.”
“Zirah...”Lyon groans, making me pause to look back at him.
“I’ll find them.Where would Regan have taken him?”Yet before he can answer, Lyon groans loudly and slumps forward, passing out.Panic shoots through me as I lift his head back to check if he’s still breathing.He is, but that doesn’t help me locate his brothers.I can’t wait for him to wake up, either.I stumble out of the shower, trying tofind my bearings as I search for the two brothers.Turning, I race for the door, slipping and skidding on the floors as I burst into the hall.
I don’t even care that I only havea torn shirt on and the rest of me is bare, not when Lyon and Regan’s lives depend on it.I hate them for what they’ve done, but it doesn’t warrant death.Zeke, maybe, but Lyon?
Glancing down the corridor, I look for any guards, but I find none.I pause, my eyes going to the end of the hall to Regan’s door.
Gnash!Without hesitation, I race toward Regan’s bedroom door and burst through it, stumbling in haste as I search for his wolf.The moment the door opens, I spot Gnash’s white head pop up from where he lay on the bed.
The moment he spots me, he charges at me and pounces, his tongue licking, but he seems weaker, maybe from feeling Regan dying.Grabbing his big furry head in my hands, I stop his flicking tongue from mauling me.“Where is Regan?”I ask his wolf.Gnash whimpers, and I grip his fur harder.“Gnash...Take me to your master,” I tell him.He pauses, then jumps down, looks at me, then takes off out the door.
As I chase Ghash through the dimly lit corridors, he leads me downstairs to the foyer.From the bottom of the stairs, the faint sound of the whip and Zeak’s pained groans filters up through the boards in the floor.They’re in the basement!
As I’m doing my best to keep up with Gnash, the grand entrance doors open, making me pause, and I see King Theron has returned.His face is a mix of concern and annoyance, while I wonder briefly why he has returned early.Shelley and Malachi are hot on his heels, along with another man I do not recognize.
As I stare at the king, I can see something has drastically changed.He is no longer the same haggard man who left here.He almost appears rejuvenated.His walk is different, his skin, even the way he carries himself.
