<i>Zephyrine </i>
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The morning sun spilled across the bed, warming my face until it stirred me awake. I blinked slowly, squinting against the brightness until it dimmed, shielded somehow. I opened my eyes.
Lycannar.
My gods. How could a man be so blessed with beauty that rivaled the divine, and an aura of unmatched grandeur?
He stood at the window, arms folded across his chest. Barefoot, rxed, almost at home.
I smiled faintly at the sight, letting my gaze linger on his bare torso. Only in his trousers, his broad arms and sacred runes were bared, and I couldn’t help but swallow hard.
I loved him. Senselessly. He made me feel peace,pleteness, as though no worry could touch me. At least, that was what I told myself, until the memories of yesterday wed back.
Last night was a blur. I had woken alone, terror clutching my chest with a dread unlike anything I had ever known. Until he came. Until his arms circled me, shielding me. And then, just like that, misery withered into nothing.
“Good morning,” I said softly, still sprawled on the bed, head nestled in the pillow.
He didn’t reply. Didn’t speak. Just stared at me.
A knock came, light but cautious. I turned toward the door.
“Come in.”
Normally, my maids never knocked. But with Lycannar here, they dared not enter unannounced, not after Isolde nearly copsed with shock the other day.
Isolde slipped in with two others, bowing. They opened their mouths to speak, but faltered. Their eyes lifted, not at me, but at Lycannar’s bare chest.
Jealousy, sharp and searing, red inside me.
“We will prepare your bath, mydy. Shall we?” Isolde finally asked.
I shook my head.
<b>15:57 </b><b>Thu</b><b>, </b><b>Sep </b><b>11 </b>
“I will bathe with Lycannar. Don’t worry.”
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They shifted their gazes to him, but he never looked away from me. Atst, they withdrew in
silence.
The room quieted again. I sighed, lowering the nket to rise but Lycannar moved first, startling me. He crossed the space in a breath, sat beside me, and kissed me. Gently, he pressed me back into the pillows, his body covering mine.
His hand caressed my thigh, slow and tender, before rolling me over so I straddled him, breathless from his kiss. His eyes stayed locked on mine. I felt it. The difference in them this morning. Something had shifted.
“I’ve been thinking,” he said quietly, almost as if reading my thoughts. “About your brother.”
My heart clenched. Memories rushed back. I eased off him, tucking a stray strand of hair behind my ear while he sat up.
“You know…” I whispered. “I learned a new truth from someone.”
He stilled, his gaze fixed on me. I hesitated. I wouldn’t name Luna Tahlia yet. Not openly. To all others, she was dead.
“What truth?”
“That… I know how my brother was sold to ckwater.”
“Sold?” His tone sharpened, and I nodded, steadying myself.
“He was wounded, returning home, when someone sold him along the way. I won’t know the full story until he speaks for himself, but what I’ve learned is this. Ka struck a bargain. She traded the life of Varyn Ashmere, my brother, for her five–year stay in ckwater.”
Lycannar stared at me, silent. The air between us grew heavier than stone.
“Who told you this?” His question came low, deliberate.
I swallowed hard. He waited, reading me when I hesitated.
“Go on. Tell me.”
Lowering my gaze, I confessed.
“Luna Tahlia. Of ckbridge Pack.”
<b>15:57 </b>Thu<b>, </b><b>Sep </b>11
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Silence thickened again. I braced for him to ask how that was possible, since she was dead. But no question came.
When I looked up, I was the one shocked. He wasn’t surprised.
“More and more…” he said softly, almostzily. “I find myself admiring you. For being so daring. A woman brave enough to have no limits. That’s you. And I respect you for it.”
A lump rose in my throat.
“You… know she isn’t dead?<b>” </b>
“Predicting death is my curse,” he murmured. “Her death was registered with her pup. The woman I am obsessed with would never let that happen.”
Goosebumps prickled along my arms.
“Lycan.”
“She’s here, in your pack. I can sense her scent, her energy. I’ve known since the day of your ascension ceremony. It’s sharper than you realize. My abilities. Too sharp. Dangerous. So I dull it with potion.”
Words failed me.
He was extraordinary, terrifyingly so. I wanted to tell him how much I admired, loved him but he caught my hand, locking my gaze instead.
“Zephyrine,” he said, serious now. “I have something to ask you.”
I nodded, heart pounding.
“I’m listening.”
“How fast are you?” <fn9281> Latest content published on F?nd-Novel</fn9281>
I froze.
“I can slit your throat before
you blink.”
“How fast… are you?” he repeated, more pointed.
This time, I answered with action. My ws shot out, swiping for his throat but in a blur, Lycannar countered. Faster than anything I had ever seen. In a heartbeat, he was at the window, not even breaking a sweat.
<b>15:57 </b><b>Thu</b><b>, </b><b>Sep </b><b>11 </b>
I went cold.
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Slowly, I turned toward him, stunned by the sheer speed. The agility.
“Lycan…”
“Have you ever been on an assassination mission?” he asked.
I stilled, then shook my head.
“I have onlymanded the Ashmere armies. I’ve led the battlefield.”
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“My father sent me on solo missions,” he said. “I learned to creep silent as death. Before you could blink, your life was gone.”
He moved from the window, closing the distance until he stood before me.
“You don’t have an army. And I lost mine five years ago. The only solution left is to go Both you and I.”
I froze.
“What?”
solo.
“Back in the Lycan Kingdom, I once served as a war strategist. That knowledge can work here if you trust me.”
I hadn’t realized I was holding my breath until it rushed out. I nodded.
“You know I do trust you.”
“I don’t mean to brag,” he said, voice low, “but I am brute force. Faster than lightning. With you as the mind, with maps, gold bars for bribery, and strategy… we’ll sneak our way in. Before they realize it, your brother and us both will be outside the gates. I’ll stand beside you. And I’ll kill. I’ll shed blood for you, Zephyrine.”
My heart hammered so violently I feared it would burst.
Moon wouldn’t believe me because he cared too much. Nyroth would force me to kneel because he cared too much. But Lycannar? Lycannar would kill, because he cared.
I met his eyes, trembling, and whispered,
“You want something in return, don’t you?”
15:57 <b>Thu</b><b>, </b><b>Sep </b>11
He held my gaze, silent. And I knew I was right.
“After your brother is safe,” he said quietly, “I will make my demands.”
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