51 -- A Scare.

Surely, this had to be a lighting trick. Something her mind conjured to make her think she looked like the spoiled princess so she'd relieve herself of the heartache while thinking that she could be Laura.
None of this made sense.
Panicked, Lily swept her paw across her vanity, surprised when she upended the table with a shocking amount of strength that she had never possessed.
Okay, she needed to sit down for a bit and think. Yes, that was probably just it. Her mind was putting her in the werewolf Princess shoes so that she could dream up a life with Nicholas. That'll never happen.
She closed her eyes, counting to five before reopening them. She could see her eyes grow darker and she gave another shout when her back cracked and she was forced to bend over from the pain.
Her mouth ached, her head ached, her whole body was on fire and it kept getting worse. Her spine was bending and contorting itself. If this was what it felt like to transform, she didn't want any part of it.
She shuffled to her bed, hunching over at the flood of pain that immediately assuaged her as she moved. She had read somewhere that heightened emotions somehow triggered a transformation but she was very sure that it wasn't meant to be on her. She was a Kayaan, their commander. She wasn't a werewolf.
Nothing made sense to her. She dragged her paw over her face and screamed in horror when she saw that her hair had been replaced by a shaggy mane. Something was very wrong with her.
She was just getting up again to stare at herself when her body folded into itself, snapping at once and causing her to scream loud in pain as she crumbled to the floor. Her joints twisted in on itself and she screamed out again, regretting why she had barred her doors from the inside when loud knocks came from outside.
She wanted to shout and tell whoever was outside the door to break it down, right then she needed all the support she could get, something to explain things to her, but the only sound that came out from her was a loud growl.
"Commander?" She could recognize Keem's booming voice as his large fist kept banging on the door. Lily whined as her skin grew more slicked and painful, the fur were growing out rapidly and she could feel an itch settle over her skin.
She was going mad with this feeling and she wanted out of it. She looked down at her paws and feet and saw that they were completely hairy. She gave another shout when her neck snapped straight, causing her to see stars.
She tried to lift herself even with the blinding pain but her hand crushed her bed frame as she used it for a support to stand. The crumbled wood pieces lay there, telling her of her strength and she realized that she couldn't see anyone in this state, lest she hurt anyone.
"Commander? Is everything alright?" Lily tried again, hoping that he'd hear her words clearly this time, instead of the animalistic sound that came out of her previously.
"Go away! I don't want to see anyone." She shouted and it felt like her words came out clear, if you don't take into account, the drool that dribbled down her jowls.
Commander, just open the door for a minute." This time, she was sure that it was Ralph on the other end and she grew more restless, causing the change to come drastically and for her to fully turn.
She could hear the sounds of the crowd that already gathered outside her doors and she felt a red mist start to cloud her sight. Giving a loud growl, she jumped out of her room, to the open floor window and out to the forest.
Anywhere but far away from her people.
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Nicholas strolled into his new study, shutting the door and locking it. He was proud to see that his men had gathered during the short time that he had told Gaston to gather them. They all huddled together, far away from the doors and eavesdropping ears.
Gaston called for a hush once Nicholas walked to their midst, putting a stop to all the excited chatter and causing everyone to turn their focus to Nicholas and himself.
Nicholas started speaking, "I'm sorry for calling you out of your beds so late especially after the festivities." The began to grumble and turn down his apology, as they were always ready to receive any call from him, but he hushed them and continued speaking.
"Some of you want to go back to your beds or back to your cups. Some of you want to even go back to a pair of spread thighs..." They all laughed at that."But what I have to say to you all now is of utmost importance. I'd try to say things as quickly as possible."
He pulled out the parchment that he had hidden in his banyan and spread it out on the table before him, lifting his lamp close to the table and ushering his men closer to him, till they all hunched over the table.
"I got the werewolf Princess to grant us access to any ceremony or ritual that would go on with the werewolves from now on." There were confused faces and some even stared at him in question, wondering what use the information he had just shared was to them.
He smirked. "All ceremonies, including their prayers and celebrations." They still continued staring at him, "Rituals and the Mating season."
From their clueless expression, it was very obvious that they didn't know what it meant. Nicholas sighed, frustrated with their slowness to think. Until he remembered that he hadn't known anything like that until he saw the book in Lily's library.
Lily.
Immediately as her face appeared in his mind, he shook it off, forcing himself to focus on the matter at hand. Gaston was currently explaining what the mating season was, his men looking more skeptical and confused with every word that came out of his mouth.
Nicholas placed a hand on Gaston shoulder, pausing him so that he would explain in detail for his men. "The mating season happens on a full moon. It's like their breeding time. Their eggs are in full eagerness to mature and bring forth pups who are strong and who won't cause any trouble to the mother during birth.
"In other words, this is the easiest way for any female to ensure that she'll definitely conceive and that there won't be any complications during her term."
I had finished my diatribe and my men looked more confused.
"Pardon my question, My Prince. But how exactly does this have anything to do with us, Your Highness?" Reverlorde, a man of forty two that had been with my men since I was a teenager, spoke up. Voicing the thoughts of the other men and Nicholas watched as they all nodded in sync. 12
"I found a book in the Kayaans library that talked about their mating process. They go through a whole lot rituals till the moon is at its peak and then, the females can be mated with any male."
He could see a few brows squint and he amended. "Any make of any specie." Shocked gasps filled the room and they all started to speak at once.
"Why would we want to mate with those vile abominations?" Reverlorde asked.
"Because then, we can create the strongest force every known on this earth. The hybrids. Just imagine our cunning spirit and swiftness coupled with their strengths and senses. Imagine having hundreds of people who can do our bidding. We're be the most feared species. And also the most powerful."
Reverlorde stared at him, a look in his eye and Nicholas knew that he was wondering when he had gotten this manipulative and scheming. He himself needed to know that answer.
"But how did you get the princess to allow us partake in this season?" One of his men asked.
Nicholas flushed when he realized that Laura would be so angry if she woke up with her memory of this night intact. He tried not to show his worry and answered him. "Through trickery, of course. The princess thinks that I'm with her simply because of her charm and she doesn't know better. So we'd take her kingdom from right under her delirious gaze."
Nicholas nodded at his men, walking towards the door without another word.
"That's all for now. We'd see again tomorrow."
And with that, he left them there and walked to his room. Not the room assigned for him and Laura, but his assigned room since he first came here.
He wasn't about to take his marriage to Laura seriously.
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He didn't sleep in Laura's Chambers since they got married. She had been seeking his presence but he continued to turn her down, giving credence to his busyness by always staying in the study.
Laura had started to piss him off. She kept clinging to him and asking to be left alone with him in private. He was glad that Gaston didn't take orders from anyone and that he wouldn't do it.
Currently, she had just asked him to join her for breakfast, but he had turned her down flat and now, he watched as her skirts swished around her ankles, the doors closing behind her. He sighed, resting his head on his table and grunting when he heard Gaston laugh.
"She's really something, isn't she?"
Nicholas just grunted and went back to planning what he had been planning. His father had yet to reply to his messages and he took comfort in knowing that his father would come running once he saw his handiwork the next day.
The preparations for the sacred ceremony had been going on for over four days. Laura thankful didn't remember anything about that night and he as well didn't hint about her agreeing for his men to go there and 'watch.'
He continued to watch as the grounds outside were littered with lanterns and different barrels of ale. Paints were scattered on the grass, and they had hung lilies over every tree. The women partaking in the ceremony had started weaving crowns of rose and placing them on their heads to show that they were going to be there.
It was a fun thing for his men to watch them and pick out the women that were going to carry their children. He had tried to caution his men on so many accounts, so that they won't make his plan to be known.
He had been thinking of what to do with the men who planned to attend. He couldn't kill all of them because that would be too tiring for him and he couldn't just tell them to stay away. That would give more suspicion to him.
He had to find a way to get them out of the ceremony so his men can do their jobs for them. Perhaps, he could drug them? That would be a mass issue and he didn't think he could handle the repercussions if perhaps a person died.
An idea quickly came to him and he called for Gaston.
"Tell all the men that I'd like to see them before the ceremony tomorrow."
"All of them?" Gaston stared at Nicholas skeptically, wondering what he had up his sleeves.
"Yes, all the men. Calling for only the ones going to partake in the ceremony would be too suspicious. I'd lock them up till the ceremony is over, no hitch."
He looked up at Gaston, watching as he smirked and made a beeline for the doors. Nicholas leaned back on is chair and laughed. Things were finally falling into place and soon, everything on this earth would be under his control. His and his alone.