CHAPTER 16

Lucas stared at the plate of food in front of him. He was going to get nowhere with his original plan if she kept this up. Her holiness was still sitting down almost regally, staring at him with those pure milk white eyes of hers. "I am deeply sorry for the chaos my people have caused."
Lucas held back the urge to snort and leaned back against the pillows instead. "My journey here was not easy." "I am aware, we deliberately made it so." "We?" "The other witches and I. We didn't want to be disturbed, so we decided to make it hard to get here."
She shifted, leaning towards the table to grab a grape. "So if you wanted to get here, it would mean you really wanted to get here." "I see." She popped the grape into her mouth, eyes flickering upwards to meet his'. "I am ready to hear whatever you have to say, my Lord."
Lucas pursed his lips, eyeing her. "It wasn't the witches alone that tried killing me on my way here. There were also some werewolves. They didn't want me here. They must have thought I was betraying them."
Lucas winced as he remembered the sharp teeth of the werewolf digging into his skin. The wolf had all but growled threats at him, warning him to turn back or face a fate worse than death.
Lucas pressed a hand against his side. He had killed one of his brothers. He would never forget the look in the wolf's eyes as he realized he was dying. It was something that would haunt him for the rest of his life.
The fact that the witches gave him more problems gave him cause for alarm. "Your people, put a spell on me that made me want to kill myself and when I managed to get out of that illusion, they began using charms."
Lucas could see Her holiness's lips lift up ever so slightly and he grinned. "Is that pride I see?" "I am honestly sorry for all you went through, but it does give me great joy to know my people are strong."
A sharp pain shot through his side, reminding him that he needed medical help. Lucas would rather die than show weakness in front of her.
He held his side, grinning at her. "The wolves are strong too, you know. We aren't entirely all that bad." She laughed, picking up another grape. "And yet, they had to rely on a so-called gifted one." Lucas didn't respond, pressing his hand down on his ribs to curb the pain.
He probably shouldn't have broken a rib to escape that ditch, but it seemed to be the only reasonable thing to do at that time. Now, he feared it was making him look weak in front of her. And weakness was the last image he wanted to project.
Her eyes dropped to where his hand cupped his ribs, her gaze becoming curious. "What happened?" "Oh no,this was done by me. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place and something needed to be done."
Lucas shrugged, removing his hand. "Turns out, my makeshift solution only made it worse." "Ah, I see." Lucas just smiled at her. "You have many questions, my queen. What makes you hesitant to ask?"
Her holiness shifted forward, her robes shifting with her. Lucas noticed how it glimmered then, almost like they had caught moonlight and sewn it into the dress.
"How could you tell?" Lucas poured a glass of wine for himself. "Your disposition. It was one of excitement. Like you are surprised by the fact I made it here." "I am actually, we very rarely get visits."
Lucas smirked at her, downing the wine in one gulp. "I wonder why." Her holiness simply smiled, looking at him with an expression he couldn't decipher.
It had taken him a long way to get here, and he wasn't about to go without fulfilling his plan. He grabbed a chicken leg off the table, biting into it with relish.
Her holiness stared at him. There was something about werewolves she admired. They had a stubborn determination to get whatever they put their mind to. It got them killed more often than naught, but it was still admirable.
She looked to the side to see one of her maidservants standing off to the side. "Should we prepare a potion, my lady?" Her holiness shook her head. He was doing the no harm by being here. And she was sure he wasn't stupid enough to attack her in her own abode.
Lucas lifted his head from his plate, eyes narrowing. "Witches have a link, too?" She blinked, steeling herself to project a nonchalant disposition. "I have no idea what you are talking about."
Lucas just laughed, pointing to his ears. "I could detect a frequency. And frequencies that low mean links." He suddenly sat up straight and her holiness could see why wolves were called Alphas.
She suddenly felt small and insignificant. And she didn't like it. "So pray tell. What did she tell you?" The maid in question had started shaking, fear entering her eyes. Her holiness could smell it too, and she was sure Lucas would too.
She was proved right in the next second when he laughed and got to his feet. The maid immediately bowed low, lowering her head. The alpha stood over the maid, and the smirk on his face had her blood cold.
"She asked if a potion should be prepared. She is only afraid, my Lord. We have never had a wolf of your caliber around these parts in a long time." Lucas's head lifted and his eyes met hers. "And what was your answer?"
"She said no." The maid answered, shaking like a leaf. Now that his aura was back to normal, Her holiness hated the way he made her feel. She was sure she could do damage that he could only dream of, have powers that he could never even think of replicating. But in that very moment, he had made her feel insignificant.
Lucas rolled his neck, feeling the eyes of her holiness bore into his back. He hadn't meant to use his Alpha aura, but they gave him no choice. He looked down at the maid, noticing she was still shaking.
He crouched down to her level and cupped her chin. Pulling her face up to look at him, he gave her a reassuring smile. "I am not going to hurt you." She nodded, still shaking.
She doesn't feel like a witch.
"Are you a halfling? Half witch, half..." "Human. She is half Human." Her holiness responded, making him turn to face her. "I guessed so."
The girl is still shaking, Lucas. Are we really that scary? Even her holiness has a more...calmed aura.
I think she is just naive. She must not be a witch of high power if she is working as a maid.
She looks so young and fragile. Like we could snap her between our teeth.
Behave. We are not here to find trouble. We are here to make a deal.
And how are you so sure they would agree? If their people are causing havoc outside these walls without their knowledge, What makes you so sure these ones aren't exactly like that?
What are you saying?
I don't trust them. At all.
We don't exactly have a choice. She is the only one who can help us right now.
Are you sure about that? Did you check?
Shut up.
His wolf did shut up, grumbling as he did so. The maid was staring up at him with a different look in her eyes. He let go of her chin, getting to his feet. Bending down, he put his hands under her armpits and lifted her up.
"Go and do your job." She nodded, nearly scampering out of the hall.
Her holiness watched him as he retook his seat. "You had her enraptured." He didn't answer, picking up another piece of chicken. "You have this look when you talk to your wolf." He looked up at her then, brows raised in question.
"You look lost yet found." Lucas laughed, spitting bones onto a saucer. "He wouldn't like that." Her holiness knew it was possible to speak to a werewolf's wolf while they were still in human form.
"May I speak to him?" Lucas gave her a look, but his eyes turned the most bloody shade of red she has ever seen. It reminded her of war and fire. She swore she could hear the screams of fallen victims and the smell of burning flesh tickled her nostrils.
Just who was this man? "I want you to know something, Queen Jezebel." He leaned forward, reaching out to grab her robe. He tugged her into her and a gasp left her mouth. "I do not, under no circumstances, trust you. If it weren't for Lucas here, we wouldn't even be here."
"Your women, or whatever you call them, made my way here hell. They broke everything they could get their filthy hands on and when I recovered, do you know what I did?"
She didn't want to know. The look in his eyes was taking her back in time, to a place where she wished she could never return. A place where she was bathed in the blood of her sisters. He smiled like he knew it.
"I killed every single one of them I could. Do not underestimate me, Your highness. You are stronger than me in ways which I do not know, but be rest assured I would bring you down if it comes down to it. I would, or I would die trying."
He leaned back, letting go of her robe at the same time. She couldn't find it in her to speak. He picked up a glass of wine and he brought his head back down after throwing it back, the red in his eyes was gone.
Lucas knew his wolf could be a bit terrifying. He sometimes got scared of him too. But looking at the queen now, he feared he had done too much and ruined all their chances.
I didn't ruin anything. You are overreacting. I just gave her a warning.
Her holiness cleared her throat, getting to her feet. "I am sure you are very tired after your long journey. Thank you for your audience. I shall escort you to the room prepared for you now." Lucas glanced down at the still full tray of food and was about to open his mouth when she spoke again.
"Oh no, we recycle the food here. We convert them into energy to use for spells. Sometimes we create quick energy boosters with them, since spell casting takes up so much of our mana."
Lucas nodded, standing up. "In that case, lead the way." She led him out of the room, taking him down the hall. Something about the atmosphere made the hair on his neck stand at attention and he rubbed his forearms.
"I am terribly sorry. We casted spells around the place. I didn't know they could be harmful to a werewolf." "I am not harmed. I am just uncomfortable. May I ask what they are for?"
Her holiness nodded, throwing the arm of her robe over her shoulder. "They are majorly energy boosters. The ones I mentioned earlier. They are so we can never grow lethargic in the case of an ambush."
She moved her hand over the wall, making it split in half. "This way please." He nodded, taking note of the path she was taking him through. "Some are also because of intruders. They can only be disabled by me."
They got to a room that had sunlight, which was weird because they were sure they were underground. "It is an illusion." She said, smiling softly. "It feels almost like the real thing, doesn't it?"
He nodded and she bowed down. "I hope you have a nice rest. If you need anything, simply ring the button close to the bed." With that and a swish of her robes, she left him alone.
Lucas looked around the room, instantly feeling at home due to the cozy nature. He glanced at the bed, the look almost inviting him in.
But he knew sleep should be the least of his problems. He had to make a plan. And considering how things were looking, he didn't have much time.