Found by the Lycan King by Natalie Winter

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Zenovia

The dim moonlight filtered in through the window slit, casting a warm glow on the bed. I pulled the sheets closer to me and wrapped myself up in it like a baby.

The sheets were soft, and silky and it felt like I was sleeping on a fluffy cloud.

Wait. I did not have sheets in my wooden cabin, hell; I didn't even have a bed.

Was I dreaming? I groggily tried to feel the sheets, but they still feel very real to me. Confused, I tried to open my eyes and find it to be a nearly impossible task.

And then my head felt like it weighed a ton and as if my body was just waiting for me to wake up, it reminded me of every single body part and how it hurt.

my

hands.

Even moving myself was an effort, but I somehow pushed the sheets away and held my head in The pain was too intense, and I winced a little as my body wanted nothing more than to curl up into a ball and never wake

up.

I heard the sound of footsteps hurrying in and a hand slowly pushed me back onto the bed before I clumsily fell down and smacked my face against the floor.

“You need to rest” A soft female voice reaches my ears. Forcing my eyes open, I saw a blurry outline of a middle-aged

Woman.

"Wh-who are you?”

I asked as she turned to the side and held a glass of water in front of me.

“My name is Maria and I am your caretaker or your nurse, whatever you might deem fit to call me” I gave her a confused look, and I tried to speak, but my throat was parched, so I shakily took the glass from her hand and took a few sips.

"Wh-where am 1?" I managed to ask, and she took the glass away from me and placed it with a soft clink on the bedside table.

"You are at the Skalbeck mansion,” she answered me sweetly but my face drained of all color. Skalbeck mansion.l was in the Lycan King's mansion!!

And with that, everything else came flooding back to me again. A sharp jolt of pain shot through my head as I registered the fact that I was at the house of the very person I wanted to run away from. “I...I have to go.” I said and tried to get up, but Maria shook her head. “You have sustained a lot of injuries and you do not even have a wolf yet. Your healing will take place like a normal human being. So please don't even think about leaving this place”

She said, not in an unkind voice.

But then another voice reached my ears, “No, she is going to try to do the opposite, so don’t bother.”

I look up to see Callahan standing at the door. He grinned as he leaned on the doorframe and waited for the to retort.

But I was too busy examining him. I had not even fought the rogues yet I was scraped, and injured with injuries ranging from mild to severe, making me look like a battered pig, but he was standing there as if he was not even there at the hospital like a s g machine.

He was wearing a simple blue shirt and black jeans, but he looked too d n perfect. My blood boiled at how effortlessly he was smiling at me after killing a dozen or more rogues.

I felt jealous of his strength and of his aura, but there was something else I felt when my eyes took in his handsome features, his angular cheekbones and the way his eyes t le with amusement.

Maria gave him a polite bow and replied, “She just woke up, your majesty. I was about to come and inform you.”

But he only waved his hands off, his eyes never leaving mine, “I've told you a thousand times, not to call me that”

Maria smiles weakly and replies, “I will get her bath ready.”

A bath?

She exited the room, leaving me and him in that large bedroom alone.

I glared back at the man who was yet to enter the room but was simply studying me. He had not said a word to me yet, and did not ask how I was feeling or if I was hurt.

And then I was surprised why I even cared if he asked about my well-being or not.

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Chapter 12

Why did you bring me here?” I asked, recalling the gory light in the hospital or whatever was left of it.

“Where else would you rather be?” He asked me pointedly, and I had no answer to his question. That does not answer my question.” I snapped, and he took a step in, his hands in his pockets.

I subconsciously slink back a little as he took another step in my direction.

"What makes you think I am answerable to you?” Callahan asked in the same voice. He stopped when he reached the edge of the bed and his knees bumped softly into the bedframe.

The memories of the fight rose up in my mind, vivid and visceral, and a frown appeared on my face. “The girl how is she?" I ask, recalling the bloodied hand he had pulled out of the debris.

"Oh. Drusilla? Yeah, she is a bit broken but nothing that can't be fixed,” He answered and kept studying me.

So, he was going to answer me, but only the things he felt were worth answering?

His gaze was unnerving, and I felt trapped in it. My heartbeat quickened, and 1 looked towards the possible exits. There was one behind him-the big door he had walked in through and there were two windows on either side of me.

“Don't even think about it. The window is at a height of about 7 feet and, given your condition, you would only fracture your bones again”

He supplied as if discussing the weather. “Maria is a skilled nurse, and she is helping the others recover, too. It would do you good if you just let her do her work.”

I did not agree with him, nor did I disagree.

“If you think you are doing me a favor by getting me treated, let me remind you that I saved your life back at the hospital”

I speak with my chin

jutting up. 1 did not want him to think that he could just use me as a toy for him to play with and then kill me when he gets bored with me, like a cat would play with a mouse.

He brought his hand to his temple and rubbed a finger across it. “That is exactly what I am wondering about. Why did you?”

Callahan looked at me expectantly, and it felt like he had some kind of power over me. I opened my mouth to speak, but not words came out. Why had I driven the car like a mad lad and squashed the two rogues like watermelon?

The memory made bile rise in my throat that I viciously shoved down. I did not want to look weak in front of him. I was not

a prey.

My brain felt too worked up, so I just blurted out the first thing that popped into my head.

“It is something my mother used to tell me. A true warrior never attacks someone from the back that's only what cowards do. So, I figured if they were playing foul, you can use an advantage too.” Callahan looked at me sharply and he furrowed his eyebrows, but did not speak immediately. He pondered over the response while I cursed myself for opening up in front of him.

Giving him information about myself was basically just handing ammunition to him to use against me.

He waited for so long that I thought he would never respond, but then he slowly opened his mouth and muttered, “And that advantage was? You?”

His words make me bothered all over again. What kind of asshole mocks someone who saved his life instead of expressing gratitude?

However, when I looked at his face, he appeared to be deep in thought. His eyes were darting from left to right, as if he was trying to figure out something.

“Rogues have no honor or ethics. They are just a bunch of brutes who need to be put down.” He mumbled to himself, as if discarding his earlier thoughts and forcing himself back to the present. “So even if you did run them over with my car, which you damaged pretty badly, mind you, I would have just sustained a

scratch or two

Arrogant asshole.

Anger rose up in me again and I wanted to just wipe off that smug look from his face, but I know right now I was too weak to

do that.

“Nice way of saying thank you.” I speak in a singsong voice and the irony of it is not lost on him. He lowered himself onto the bed and sat directly in front of me as he said, “Feisty little thing, aren't you? Enough praises about me. Let us talk about you.”

My anger suddenly vanished and was replaced by fear as he asked, “Let us start with your name. What do they call you?”

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