Page 10 of The Unwanted Mate of the Lycan Kings (Unwanted #1)
The wolf beneath me whines, nudging and licking the side of my neck, while the one laying across my lap with his snout propped on my shoulder lifts his big head.
My eyes flutter open when it starts licking my face frantically like I am its favorite lollipop. Blinking and trying to wake up, I freeze, wondering if he is tenderizing my flesh with his tongue before he tries to eat me.
I push his head away, grabbing fistfuls of his fur, and he whines loudly. His tongue flicks faster across my face, making me chuckle as he covers me in slobber and drool.
“Stop! It’s gross, and you’re making me nervous,” I tell the huge white wolf who had managed to lick most of the blood off his fur coat.
I am grateful he has but also slightly disturbed, hoping the leftovers caking his fur were enough to tide him over and that he isn’t looking for breakfast. The wolf cocks its head to the side, its big red inquisitive eyes watching me as if it understands the words I speak.
The wolf beside me reeks of blood. When the one behind me sits up abruptly, I fall backward from the weight of the wolf on top, his weight crushing me.
The big one snaps at his brother, who yaps and yawns, sniffing my face and nudging me to get up.
Groaning, I grab the side of the wolf on top, pulling myself to a sitting position.
Right now, they seem calm as they continue to sniff and move around me.
“What is it? Was I not tasty enough for you to eat? Is that why you didn’t kill me?
” I ask the big one who sits watching me.
The smaller one nudges my face with its wet nose.
With the three wolves playfully draped around me like this, I can’t believe they are the same monsters responsible for killing everyone who entered the maze last night.
Right now, they seem like oversized puppies.
Looking around, I am still in the maze. Some part of me hoped I dreamed of the torturous night we all endured, that maybe I would wake up in my cave and see Granny crushing her herbs on the rocks or choking me out with sage and lavender that she used to burn every morning.
I hated waking up to those things. Now, I would do anything just to hear the clanging of her smashing herbs with rocks, or to wake up to her chants that annoyed me to no end and always disrupted my blissful sleep.
Instead, I wake in the maze of nightmares, trapped between three gigantic wolves who, for some reason, decided I wasn’t a worthy midnight snack.
Sighing, I try to get up, only for the littlest wolf—who is by no means actually small—to crawl into my lap, wanting me to rub his belly.
Sighing, I give him a scratch, but the wolf tenses in my lap.
A loud whistle echoes through the maze, followed by two more. The wolves grow anxious, and I peer up at the sky to see the sun beaming down on me. It must be around ten in the morning, meaning I got little in the way of sleep considering the sun was just beginning to rise when I passed out.
My lack of sleep is the least of my worries right now. Something has set these wolves off, and if something has made them anxious, it should make me anxious as well. What do these monst er wolves have to worry about with teeth that rip through flesh like a hot knife through butter?
Suddenly, the biggest one stands. Peering toward one of the narrow branches of the maze, I hear his voice ring out loudly. A voice that could not be mistaken for anyone other than King Regan.
“Gnash!” he bellows, and the massive beast of a wolf whines loudly with his tail wagging, wiggling excitedly, almost prancing on the spot. He moves toward the branch of the maze when the small one beside me makes a noise and he suddenly stops.
The wolf looks torn about whether to go find its master or remain here, yet one yap from his brother makes him peer back at us, and he huffs like he is pouting.
“So, your name is Gnash?” I mumble. His tail wags faster, and I wonder what the other two are called. Seconds later, I hear a thunderous snarl from the opposite direction, which has Gnash growling and pivoting to look at another path.
All three wolves stand, all looking in different directions and backing toward me. It doesn’t take long before I hear a loud bang like a gun going off, and the sounds of running and cursing can be heard within the maze.
Wondering what is going on, I get to my feet. My heart thumping in my chest as I stand stunned. The wolves tense, looking at the different entry points. Gnash paces slowly like a predator tracking its prey, and the wolves slowly circle me.
Part of me wonders if they’ll obey their masters and kill me, another part of me worries the kings will be my executioner when they find me. Yet nothing prepares me for when all three kings appear at once, stopping dead in their tracks as they enter the center.
“There you are, boy. Why didn’t you come?” Regan asks, noticing his wolf first. He takes a step closer while Gnash backs up, his wagging tail smacking my legs. Only then does Regan notice me standing there behind his wolf and between his wolf’s brothers.
Regan wears only gray sweatpants and nothing else. Even his feet are bare. Cuts and grazes litter his muscled chest and stomach, no doubt from the thorns and traps of the maze. My eyes trail over him, and I notice the intricate tattoos covering every inch of his arms, chest, and back.
The last time I saw him, he was in a suit that concealed the designs covering his flesh, yet now I can’t tear my eyes from him as I take in the markings.
To me, it appears almost as if they are runes, yet not the celestial or Wiccan kind I am covered in. No, these look like something darker, sinister. Mapped out into his flesh like a road map to hell. Yet, even I must admit that hell looks good on him.
Every piece of this man is hard and defined, like he is cut from the hardest stone and molded into perfection.
Too bad his personality doesn’t match the masterpiece of his body.
No, there is something twisted about this man—something depraved.
His cold eyes sparkle with a promise of the pain he wants to inflict on me.
He did not look happy at all that I am the survivor of the maze.
His gaze tells me that I may have survived his wolf, but I won’t survive these kings.