Prey Of Lycan Queen Chapter 1


    ~Regan~


    I can''t stand still. The damp dungeon feels like it is closing in on me. My chest is tight as I pace back


    and forth, the flickering torchlight casting eerie shadows on the walls. Zeke sits in a corner, nursing his


    injuries, his face a mask of pain and anger after we tried to break the bars on the cell.


    The steel was spelled decades ago. You''d think it would have worn off by now. But clearly not as I look


    at my hands. The bars are infused with water hemlock and wolfsbane, which causes nasty burns. All


    three of us burned to pieces. My hands feel like rubber because the burns are that deep.


    Lyon stares vacantly at the remains of the curse on the ckened walls. A curse I havemitted to


    memory, not that it has done me any good over the years. However, Lyon is trapped in the confines of


    his mind, staring at it like he can figure out the curse if he stares at it long enough. And the guards are


    useless.


    We can''t evenmand them since my father ordered them not to take our orders. We tried. One


    guard even passed out resisting ourmands and hasn''t woken up. He''sid on the cold concrete


    ground since, bleeding from his ears. He isn''t as old as the two vampires guarding, Elias or us, and his


    healing ability is not as quick as they normally are from resisting ourmands.


    Suddenly, heavy footsteps echo through the corridor. Mchi appears, his eyes wild with fear and


    urgency. He''s been running; that much is clear. He nces around, spotting the guards, who swiftly


    turn to see the intruder. Gnash gets up beside me, growling as his fur brushes my leg. For a few tense


    seconds, the guards stare at him warily. Mchi snarls, "Stand down." Mchi orders.


    "They can''t. My fathermanded them," I tell him, and Mchi curses and shakes his head while the


    guards nervously look at each other.


    "Forgive me," Mchi tells them, and without hesitation, heunches himself at them.


    His movements are swift and precise, like those of a well-trained fighter, and he should be. He trained


    these men, so he ys them like a fiddle, using their own moves against them. Hence, the student


    won''t surpass the teacher in this case. Not when that teacher is of noble blood too.


    I watch in awe as he takes them down one by one as he moves through them effortlessly. A spinning


    kick sends one guard crashing into the wall while another is flipped over Mchi''s shoulder,nding


    hard on the cold stone floor. In a matter of seconds, the guards are unconscious, their bodies sprawled


    across the corridor, except for one.


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    Breathing heavily, Mchi grabs the cor of thest conscious guard, Elias. His face only inches away


    from the guard’s face. "Where''s the key?" he demands. His voice is a growl.


    Elias, bloodied and bruised, manages to wheeze out, "King Theron... he has it." With a furious growl,


    Mchi delivers a knockout punch to his face, sending him slumping to the floor.


    Turning to us, I can see the panic etched on his face when he speaks, "We need to get you out of here.


    Your father has lost his damn mind!"


    My heart pounds in my chest as I step forward, gripping the steel bars of the cell. "What''s happened?


    Where is she?" I demand, my voiceced with the panic that is strangling me.


    Mchi hesitates, his eyes full of worry. "In the town square," he finally answers. Zeke moves toward


    the bars.


    "In the town square?" Mchi nods, ncing up at the bars and at the hinges.


    "Mchi!" He pauses.


    "What''s going on?" I demand.


    "History is about to repeat itself if I don''t get you out of here," Mchi states, touching the bars and


    hissing as he jerks his hands back.


    My grip on the bars tightens, and I can feel the heat from the wolfsbane and water hemlock infused into


    the metal, burning my skin. Gritting my teeth, I ignore the pain, the need to save Zirah, overriding


    everything else when Zeke pushes me aside and grips one bar, and I take the other.


    All I can smell is our flesh burning when the bars finally creak, bending, and Gnash seeing the gap


    leaps through it instantly, followed by Hunter and Shadow. Gnash hesitates, almost as if he is waiting


    for us, but the gap is too small. It is a tight fit for them to escape through.


    "Get to your master," Imand Gnash. "And kill anyone that gets in your way, friend or foe," I tell


    Gnash, and he whines but obeys, darting up the basement steps before tearing off out of the dungeon.


    "


    Quick!" I tell Zeke, whose hands are a bloody mess. Sweat coats him, and his arms are burned from


    leaning on the bars.


    Lyon shoves Zeke out of the way, half his skin remaining on the bar as his hands tear away from it—


    determination on his face. Lyon and I use ourbined strength to bend the bars further apart. The


    strain on our muscles and the burning sensation of the poisonous metal is almost unbearable.


    But we pry them apart just enough to slip through the gap.


    "Zirah?" I ask Mchi.


    "About to be burned at the stake," Mchi states. The news terrorizes me, and my heart races faster.


    My heart races as my brothers and I sprint through the dark, narrow streets, our legs pumping with


    adrenaline. We chase after our wolves, Gnash, Hunter, and Shadow, as they lead us to the town


    square.


    As we burst into the town square, we''re met with a frenzied, chaotic scene. The crowd is packed tight,


    their faces twisted with a mixture of hatred, fear, and excitement. Their shouts and jeers are deafening,


    creating a noise that grates my nerves and fuels my anger.


    We push our way through the mass of bodies, our hearts pounding with desperation as we fight to


    reach the center of the square. The sight that greets us when we finally break through is horrifying.


    Zirah, the woman I love, is tied to a stake and surrounded by menacing guards. The air is thick with


    tension and anticipation, and I know we don''t have much time.


    Our wolvesunch themselves at the guards, tearing through them with ferocious snarls and powerful


    jaws. The crowd gasps and recoils in fear, their cries of surprise and terror adding to the chaotic chorus


    that fills the air.


    "Father, stop this madness!" Zeke''s voice is filled with desperation, his eyes wide and pleading.


    "She''s not Litha! She''s not responsible for the curse!" I argue, trying to make him see reason.


    But my father remains unmoved, his cold eyes locked on Zirah as the mes rise higher. He orders the


    few guards that haven’t run from us to continue, as they douse the pile of wood with fuel, I feel my


    heart stop. This can''t be happening. I can''t lose her.


    My brothers and I attack the guards, trying to reach Zirah before it''s toote. The mes explode, and


    she screams as fire engulfs her legs. Her screams pierce the air, tearing through my heart and


    breaking my soul as I try to get to her.


    Yet amidst the chaos, the crowd breaks, making everyone pause to look as Kelly steps forward, hands


    raised, then another woman, and another, their voices joining together, echoing through the ce.


    They stand around the square, taking center stage, their magic resounding through the air. I watch in


    shock as they chant, their words weaving through the stormy night like a bewitching melody.


    "In the shadows cast by a fire’s glow, where sinners hide, and virtues grow..."


    Their voices grow louder and more powerful with each line, and as I nce at their faces, I realize who


    they are. Right under our noses all this time, they’re the daughters of the original coven. Litha''s Coven.


    My heart clenches with a mix of awe and fear.


    As the coven daughters step forward, one by one, I watch them continue the rites of their mothers and


    grandmothers. Once again, they stand defiant against our father and his tyranny. Their magic is strong,


    and as they chant, I can feel the energy pulsing through the air, a tangible force that makes my skin


    tingle.


    "A goddess of virtues, a high priestess witch, born from mes..." I rush toward Zirah, mes licking my


    skin as I help Zeke with the chains.


    While Zeke and Lyon work to break Zirah''s chains, however, her head falls forward on my chest I know


    we’re losing her. I make a desperate decision, I sink my teeth into her neck, hoping that marking her


    will somehow save her from this fate.


    The taste of her blood fills my mouth, but something is wrong. Instead of the warmth and connection I


    expected, I choke on the metallic taste like its charcoal and burning embers scorching my throat,


    leaving a rancid taste in my mouth. My body is weakening as I realize that marking her isn''t healing her


    but poisoning us all.