“I won’t kill him… yet,” Aurora appeased her. Satisfied, Melaina turned and left.
Lykos waited for the door to close following Melaina’s departure, before approaching his new-found mate. She watched him, charting his every step, owning his scent, detailing the way his eyes never gave away his next move, noting the silence of his steps. He enjoyed having her eyes on him, even if she were watching him as she would an approaching attacker. Her move took him completely by surprise. He had been too busy relishing their first minutes together, too sentimentally caught in the moment, to see the punch coming.
“You are strong, Koraki.” Lykos rubbed his chin, watching her take a seat on the end of the bed with a satisfied smirk. Moving towards the bed, he gestured to the spot beside Aurora. “May I?”
“You take your life in your hands if you do.”
“Very well.” He smiled and lowered himself to the floor, sitting cross legged at her feet, a deliberate act of submission. She narrowed her eyes at him. He gestured to the cut on her forehead. “Are you well? I heard my beta got a little heavy handed.”
“No more than my pack did with you, by the looks of it. Tell me, was it my father or my brother that broke your pretty face?” she referred to the cuts and bruises covering his face.
“You think I’m pretty?” he asked, his eyes lighting up.
“It wasn’t a compliment, ballbag!”
“Such a way with words you have, I find it refreshing. My injuries are nothing a shift won’t fix.” He rubbed the new bruise on his chin and neglected to answer the question.
“Same here, except I can’t shift, can I? Because you stuck this hunk of metal around my neck,” Aurora snapped. She’d pulled on the thing with every ounce of strength she had. Nothing made a difference.
“All in good time, Koraki. You’re not allergic to silver in the way the rest of us are,” he observed, his now watchful eyes not leaving her.
“Apparently not.” It had been news to her, that she wasn’t affected by silver in the same way other shifters were, but she wasn’t giving big bad the details.
He looked around the room. “I’m not sure why you were brought here when I explicitly stated you were to be taken to our rooms. You will find our quarters much more to your liking, my mate.”
“I am not your mate, Lykos!”
“My name on your lips is pleasing to me, say it again.”
“Are you hard of hearing?”
“I merely wish to hear my mate speak my name.”
“You talk so much shit I don’t know whether to offer you a breath mint or toilet paper!” Aurora huffed and he howled laughing, falling back to straighten his legs out in front of him and lean on his elbows.
“Oh, my little Koraki, life with you will never be dull.”
“What does Koraki mean?” She hated asking, but curiosity finally got the better of her.
Sitting up straight, he reached out a hand to take hers. She snatched hers away, noticing the disappointment on his features. “I have much work to do with you, I know this. I will show you that you’re mine though. We were born to face great things together, Koraki. The word is Greek, my mother was Greek, as am I. I come from the island of Crete. Koraki means raven and it is your name to me.”
“How romantic!” Aurora put both hands over her heart and swooned sarcastically, causing him to laugh again.
She didn’t want to make him laugh, she wanted to make him angry, get him so enraged he’d make mistakes. Mistakes would allow her to get away from him. She studied him hard. He was older than her, she could tell, yet he didn’t look more than a few years her senior. Shifters aged extremely slowly and lived several lifetimes longer than humans. Dark, straight hair fell level with his chin, slightly shorter at the front, but it still hung in front of his eyes. A straight nose and square jaw made him classically handsome. Deep brown eyes smouldered under the hair that hung over them as he watched her inspect him. Okay, she had to admit, he was hot, but she wasn’t about to come down with a case of Stockholm syndrome just because he was good looking.
“You find me pleasing, Koraki.” It wasn’t a question. “Physical attraction is a start. You will get to know me, I will inspire you in the same way you do me, once we know each other.”
“You already inspire me.” Looking up, she smiled widely at him and he returned it readily. “You inspire my inner serial killer!”
His smile dropped and he became serious. “Koraki, let us set things straight. I mean to keep you. For that, I must lay claim to you in the presence of my pack.”
“No fucking way!”
“Wait. Hear me out. It is not my intention to bite you and seal our bond, until you ask it of me. I do, however, need to ensure your safety, meaning that my pack must believe you are mine. They must believe you are to be their queen. I’m asking for your cooperation, Aurora.” The use of her real name somehow told her he was being serious and she momentarily gave him the benefit of the doubt.
“Go on,” she told him.
“I want to introduce you to them as my mate. I know that, at present, this is not your wish, but I intend to win your heart. That is not relevant now. What I am saying is... what I am asking is, that when I introduce you to my pack, you show submission to me.” He hastily put a hand up to halt her outburst. “Without your submission they will not respect you, Aurora. I don’t believe they would go against my orders not to lay hands on you. However, there are several members of my pack who are, shall we say, unpredictable when in the company of a beautiful woman.”
“Translation, you want me to show you my neck in front of your kids, so you don’t get shown up by a woman who knows her own mind.”
“Feisty is not a big enough word for you.” He laughed as though every word she spoke was for his personal entertainment.
“I may be a raven, but there’s wolf blood in me. Don’t expect me to graze with the sheep,” she sneered at him and again, he delighted in her words.
“I would never expect something so feeble and mundane from my mate. You are correct, of course. I wish to maintain my pack’s respect. I also want them to see a strong mate standing beside me. My aim is for them to follow you, as they do me. However, I did not lie regarding the issue of your safety. I need them to respect you, it is vital, but I cannot make them do this. Your submission to your future mate will ensure it.”
“You’re backing me into a corner here.”
She had little choice but to let these people believe she was accepting Lykos as her mate. Without having the freedom of the castle, the knowledge of its layout and a feel for how this pack worked, she was nothing more than a woman being held against her will. It simply wasn’t an option, in her eyes, to stay locked in a room and wait to be rescued. She’s already gained an allay in Melaina, but she needed more than that.
“In return, I will ensure you every comfort you wish. It needn’t be said, that I will honour my promise not to seal our bond until you ask me to.” He paused and they looked at each other for several silent seconds. “What do you say, Aurora?”
“Fine, on one condition.”
“Name it.”
“Take this collar off me and accept the fact that we will never be mated. I already have a mate.” Jax might have been on her shit list but he was way ahead in the race of potential mate candidates than this cock womble.
“That’s two conditions. The collar, I can do. I will never stop pursuing you as my mate. You will see, we are destined to spend a lifetime together.” Lykos stood and held out a hand to her. “Shall we?”
“Now?”
“You’re dressed for it and the longer you are kept from them, the more they see you as a prisoner. It is my wish that they see you are here of your own free will.”
“I’m not here of my own free will!”
“In time, agapi, in time,” he whispered, watching her stand and deny his hand. He reached out, gently taking her hand and placing it in the crook of his elbow. “If not my hand then my arm, Aurora, we mu
st present a united stance.”
She snatched her arm away and fluttered her eyelids at him, an action born of sarcasm she wasn’t sure he understood. She tapped the collar. “Collar first, old man, if they think you’re dulling my powers they won’t believe anything.”
“I can do better than that, Koraki.” He fished inside his jacket pocket, bringing out a long velvet box. Opening it, he revealed a leather necklace with a blue pendant made of swirling lines hanging from it. Lykos removed the collar and replaced it with the necklace.
“It’s silver!” she fumed, when she realised she still couldn’t shift.
“A compromise, if you will.” He gave her a knowing look. “A gift and an insurance policy. The leather hides a silver chain, designed to stop your shifts without any of the pack members knowing. You can easily remove it at any time, I am trusting you not to. But it also means something personal to us, my queen. The symbol represents love, or agapi, in Greek. After we seal our bond, I will have the silver removed.”
“And they say romance is dead.”
“If romance is what you want, romance I can most certainly give you.” He smiled at her and placed her hand back through his arm, leading her from the room.
Aurora’s delightful host (in this case host clearly means psychopathic captor) led her down a winding stone staircase, all the while waffling some shit about his castle and its history. Aurora was only half listening as she padded along beside him on bare feet, having flatly refused to don the heels he produced for her.
Despite her lack of attention to Lykos’s drivel, her eyes were everywhere, taking in each tiny detail and filing them away for later use. She had no intention of sticking around and playing Lykos’s game any longer than necessary, but she saw the benefit in going along with him for now. If she could gain their trust, she could have the freedom of the place and find a way out of it. She’d take Melaina with her if she wanted to go. Hell, she seemed like a clever chick, she might even have some ideas of her own about getting out of there.
They came to the end of the staircase and continued down a long hallway. The stone walls were dotted with narrow windows that once would have contained no glass but were now double glazed. Huge wooden doors welcomed them at the end of the passageway, leading into what Aurora could only describe as a throne room. Seriously, how big was this idiot’s ego?
After a brief pause at the door, where the entire pack waited in line to greet them, more stroking of the alpha’s ego, Lykos lead her through the room. He held tightly to her hand on his arm, showing ownership rather than the protective feeling he arrogantly assumed he was giving her. He nodded greetings, as they passed his loyal subjects, in the way a king would lead his queen. Had Aurora any desire to be someone’s queen, this was how she imagined it would go down. Lykos continued to lead the way up several steps, before turning them both to face the pack. He secured an arm around her waist, fingers splayed on her hip and moved her a step in front of him, bringing her back against his chest. A hush tamed the shifters and all eyes were on them.
“Please, Aurora...” he whispered, feeling her body tense.
Her stomach was in knots, although she was adept at hiding these things, somehow Lykos’s closeness calmed her nerves and she found herself relaxing against him. Unhappy about the unexpected turn of events, she let out a huff, shared only between the two of them and prepared to play her part.
Aurora cast her eyes down and turned her face to the side, exposing the delicate skin of her neck. Her intoxicating scent assaulted him and he wondered if his sudden thirst for a woman he had just met could ever be quenched. In such a miniscule amount of time, with her fierce wildness and unconquerable bravery, she had enraptured him. He knew a bond accelerated a shifter’s natural feelings, but he hadn’t expected this.
Succumbing to his lust, Lykos roughly pulled Aurora closer to him and allowed his wolf instincts to take the lead. He tenderly moved her long hair to the side and buried his face in her neck with a low groan. Her skin reddened with the touch of his stubbled cheek as he marked her as his. She would carry his scent on her skin now, no other shifter would be idiotic enough to challenge him for her. She was his.
His wolf howled silently inside Lykos’s head, pushing for more, demanding they claim her, right there in front of the pack. Trapped in the confines of his human skin, the wolf prowled, salivating for the bite that would bond them, but his appetite was not to be sated this evening. Except for a kiss, a kiss he would have.
The crowded room erupted with cheers and applause when their alpha turned their new queen to face him. Lassoing one arm around her waist, Lykos lifted his other hand to cup her chin, raising her downturned face to meet his. It would seem obvious to describe his triumphant grin as wolfish, but it was the perfect analogy.
Aurora switched off her emotions when he kissed her, pressing his full lips to hers. He plundered her mouth, making the kiss look real and to him, it was. To her, it was merely an extension to the torture she was currently enduring. Nevertheless, she resisted the urge to gag and push him away and just for a split second, she surrendered to him. Pulling away finally, Lykos lapped up the applause for several minutes, never once taking his hands or eyes off Aurora. She grew uncomfortable in his gaze, flicking her eyes to the side and was grateful when, after several minutes, he raised a silencing hand and turned to face his pack.
“Allow me to introduce your queen, Aurora,” Lykos announced and they went wild again. To say they were behaving like a pack of wolves would again seem obvious, but if the cap fits, as the saying goes.
“Enough,” Lykos declared. “Aurora is excited to get to know you all, in time. Tonight, is for celebration.”
“A feast!” someone shouted.
“In our queen’s honour!” another yelled.
Howls and whistles filled the air, while people began moving tables and chairs from the edges of the room. They formed two long rows running along each side of the room with a table placed across the top for Aurora and Lykos. Men and women carrying carafes of wine and jugs of beer appeared and began filling glasses.
“They have accepted you, Koraki, you did well.” Lykos threaded their fingers together and squeezed, affectionately.
“Yeah, so this is all very medieval, should I expect my drink to be laced with wolfsbane before the end of the night?” Aurora warily watched the preparations taking place in the room.
“You are surprised by their quick acceptance of you? Or perhaps, you are surprised by how well I command a bunch of rogues and strays?” he queried, after a brief watchful moment.
“Somehow, I don’t think anything about you would surprise me,” she murmured.
Aurora knew he had taken it as a compliment, rather than the insult that was intended because there was a big, shit eating grin across his face. The fact remained that Lykos hadn’t been at all what she was expecting. He had been gentle, courteous, respectful even. Yet, she was under no illusions that she was the prisoner in his castle.
“Our table awaits, my lady.” He took her hand, refusing to let go when she struggled this time and led her down the steps. Four places were set at the table. Lykos held out a chair for her to sit, before bending to kiss her cheek and taking the seat next to her. He leaned towards her, anticipating her unasked question. “My beta and his mate will take the other two places.”
His answer allowed her to relax slightly, knowing Melaina would be sitting on her other side. Until she saw the female shifter being dragged towards them by the hulking beast who had knocked Aurora out. This was not the Melaina she’d met in her room earlier. A timid, submissive creature had taken the place of the confident and outspoken female. It was plain to see her behaviour was a result of the way this man treated her. The sudden change in Aurora’s body language didn’t go un-noticed by Lykos.
“What is it?” Lykos whispered urgently in her ear.
“Tell him to take his hands off her,” she seethed through gritted teeth. Lykos followed her gaze and his own darkened.
“Axel, that is no way to treat your mate.” Lykos’s strong, assertive voice once again silenced the room. Axel, not relishing being made a spectacle of, dropped Melaina’s arm immediately and his eyes lowered to the ground. “We respect our women in this pack, Axel. They are what make us strong. A wolf who cannot earn the respect and support of his mate is weak.”
“I know, boss, I am sorry,” Axel mumbled.
“What was that? I don’t think Melaina heard your apology?” Aurora couldn’t stay quiet any longer.
If there was a sound that was quieter than silence, it had just descended on that room. The pack held their breath, waiting for Lykos’s reaction to Aurora’s boldness. This was make or break for her and they all knew it. Would their leader be happy with a mate who was openly vocal and not in any way meek? Or would this outspoken, quick-tempered young woman be perfect for him? There were wolves on each side of the fence and they all waited expectantly to view the outcome of her actions.
“You heard your queen, Axel.” Lykos reached out a hand, resting it on Aurora’s. An obvious show of solidarity and support for his mate.
Axel inhaled sharply, having expected a vastly different reaction from his alpha. Straightening to his full height, he looked directly at Aurora.
“My queen,” he acknowledged her and she raised an eyebrow at him. He turned to Melaina. “I apologise, Mel. I should not have handled you so roughly. Forgive me.”
Melaina nodded once but did not look up from the floor.
“Meet his eyes, Melaina. He is your mate, not your alpha,” Aurora told her, using some alpha power of her own. She needed to show this bunch of misfits that she was a force to be reckoned with if she was going to be spending any amount of time here. A gasp went through the room, but Lykos once again backed her up.
“My queen is correct. Mel, you may look your mate in the eye. You are equals,” Lykos reaffirmed Aurora’s words.
Melaina looked up at Axel and Aurora smiled as her back straightened, her shoulders went back and she met his eyes head on. That’s more like it. Her voice was clear and strong when she spoke. “I accept your apology, Axel.”
The Raven Queen Page 10
