Found by the Lycan King by Natalie Winter

Chapter 7

I found myself on a hospital bed covered in bandages. My head felt heavy, and so did every part of my body.

1 looked around and realized that it was some unfamiliar hospital. I tried getting up from the bed but could not.

My eyes wanted to rest and so did my body, but I did not want to stay here. I wanted to go to the human settlement soon enough. Either the Lycan king of Sid would find me, and then I would be doomed.

So, I gritted my teeth and pulled one of the tubes attac

to my hand away.

“I would not do that if I were you,” a voice spoke to me as I looked at the door. A woman in her thirties parted the curtain with her head and poked her head in.

"About time you got up, sweetie,” she said and entered the room. It was nothing fancy, simple white walls and almost no furniture except a few machines that were beeping, a small cupboard by the door that hopefully led to the bathroom and pale white curtains.

My head felt dizzy, and I grabbed it between my hands, tugging at my hair.

"Where am 1?” I asked, and she replied, “At the Nightfall pack hospital. You were brought in injured and bleeding by the Lycan King himself.”

I blinked.

Suddenly, the events of the day came rushing back to me. I recalled everything that had happened with vivid clarity, the way my step family had turned my father against me, the way Sid had chased me through the forest like a predator and the way my father had agreed to get rid of me as if I meant nothing to him.

But my thoughts flitted back to the golden eyed Lycan king and how he had held my gaze through the blinds back in the school.

Why had he looked at me like that? A small shiver ran through my body when I recalled how I had slammed against his car and he had carried me into his embrace.

His hands felt like iron rods to me, reinforced with concrete, but somehow he had not crushed my little frame and carried me safely.

I shook my head. Why was I replaying that incident in my head?

The nurse checked the machines all around me and scribbled something on her notepad.

"How soon can I leave?” I asked, and she ignored me while still scribbling on the paper. Feeling annoyed, I spoke again. “I want to go.”

She did not look at me but continued, “You have dislocated your shoulder, you have a few bones fractured and are pretty much torn and shredded like cheese through a grater. And I also noticed a lot of scars and injuries on your body that did not. stem from this particular accident.”

I looked down at myself. She was talking about the numerous scratches and wounds I might have received while running

from Sid.

“I...I don't remember” I lied. I did not have the strength to tell details of my life to a random stranger.

“I am not talking about those recent scratches and you know that.”

I bit my lip nervously, trying to not recall my horrifying past. Luna Celeste would torture me and punish me for the silliest of reasons, like if her tea had gone too cold or if the bread in the sandwich was limp. My body was covered in so many wounds that it took an awful lot of time to heal.

I tried to pull the sleeves of the gown they had put on me and muttered, “I just want to leave,” I repeated again.

The nurse looked at me pointedly. “If you think you can run, let me tell you this hospital is in the middle of nowhere. So, if you do not want to return here with more injuries, I would advise you to stay put...”

She spoke and then muttered a word under her breath, “Traitor...”

Her voice had lowered, but not so much, and I had heard her call me a traitor. Not that she had taken any real effort to hide

it.

Wait.

Why was she calling me that?

At that same time, the curtains parted and the Lycan King stepped in. He was wearing casual clothes, jeans and a white button down. His eyes met mine and held my gaze as he took a few steps forward.

Chapter 7

I realized the way I had been sitting wearing nothing except the hospital gown that was way too short for me. It had ridden -up my thighs, so I quickly pulled my legs close and smoothed the dress, trying to pull it down my legs.

He noticed my unease and looked at the nurse. “How is she?”

"King Callahan, she will take some time to heal but she will be up and running in a few weeks...” then she looked pointedly at me, “That is if she does not try to run away or interfere in the healing...”

A few weeks? My eyes went wide. And just how had she known I wanted to run away? Was my intention and body language

that clear?

I was beginning to hate the nurse already.

Callahan looked at me again, and his hand seemed to go to his chest. A slight wince appeared on his face, but he hid it quickly.

Was he ill too? I shook my head.

What happened to him was none of my concern. Had he not bumped his car into me, I would not be here. I tore my gaze away from his face and looked at the nurse, hopefully for answers.

"Since you do not want me around, I will take your leave and not let you waste your time on me.” Somehow, it felt like she was trying to keep me in this wretched hospital. I hurriedly tried to get down from the bed to show that I was fine, but the moment I stepped down, a wave of dizziness hit me.

I would have crashed into the wall if not for a strong pair of hands snaking around my waist and breaking my fall.

I suddenly felt short of breath and everything looked blurry to me. But despite that, my body did this weird thing when he touched me.

I felt small tingles of spark when his hands wrapped themselves around my waist. There was only the flimsy material of the gown between his hands and my skin and I suddenly felt aware of how my little frame fit in perfectly in his hands, of his corded muscles and ripped physique that stood like a barrier between me and the floor.

And I hated what I was feeling.

Lycans, werewolves all were the same. They used you and then discarded you. And he was the King of those wretched beasts. How would he be any different?

So I began to thrash around, trying to get away from him. But his hold on me was firm. And even more tingles went up my spine when he tightened his grip and my body was pressed against his own.

Not wanting to give in to what my body was feeling. I sharled at him. “Let me go” and began trying to claw at his hands. However, he only looked at me as if I was some feral cat.

King Callahan pinned me to the wall, his strong and muscular arms holding me in place as he looked me in the eye. “I like your fighter spirit. But even the best warriors need to rest.”

Had he just complimented me?

His voice was deep and resonant, and every inch of his being exuded confidence. My throat suddenly felt dry and I could not get a word out because I feared I would sound like a bleating goat. There was a reason he was called the lycan King. His gaze was mesmerizing, and his golden eyes shone in the afternoon light that filtered in through the window, making them shine. But his touch was unlike anything I had ever experienced before.

Not that I had any experience in that department to begin with. And the scent of his cologne was making me giddy.

I was too enraptured by his allure to react, or specifically, the way his body was pressed against mine. There was a weird. fluttering in my stomach and my brain was suddenly coming up with scandalous thoughts involving him.

However, he took my lack of speech as hesitation, and continued,

"You have to get strong first. Once you are healed, you are free to go. And you are not healing....." He trailed off and looked down at me, his eyes slowly traveling down from my face to the rest of my not so plump body.

It was unnerving to be scrutinized by his gaze and my brain reminded me once more that I was wearing nothing except the short hospital gown.

Chapter 8