Page 21 of The Unwanted Mate of the Lycan Kings (Unwanted #1)

The following day, I wake to the sound of knocking on the door.

“Wakey, wakey!” Shelley’s chirpy voice rings out loudly as she steps into the room.

I sit up in the comfy bed and rub my eyes.

My breath fogs the air in front of me, and I notice the empty fireplace smoldering with the embers of last night’s fire.

She wanders over to me, and Hunter sits up where he is lying beside me and sniffs the air before lying back down. I pat his head. “How did you get in?” I was sure I locked the door last night.

Shelley holds up a key. “Master key,” she tells me, and I groan.

“Please tell me the three kings don’t have one of those.” She gives me a sympathetic look. “Of course they do,” I mutter, tugging the blanket back over me. I swear this place is colder than the caves.

Shelley chuckles, walking closer. “The king wishes to see you.”

“Which one? Asshole one, two, or three?”

“King Theron,” she whispers.

“Ah, the master asshole,” I tell her, and she chuckles.

“He’s not so bad. He’s usually quite nice.”

“He was going to make me pick women to enter the maze of death, I would say otherwise,” I tell her, and she shakes her head.

“He was testing you. Only those volunteer in the kingdom enter the maze. He was never going to let them enter,” she tells me.

“Wait, you didn’t think to tell me this? I could be free and miles away by now!” She cringes.

“I’m sorry. He ordered me not to tell you.”

“Then why were you crying?”

“Because I didn’t know at first, not until Malachi told me otherwise once we got there. I kind of thought you would pick twenty of them.” She cringes, and I raise an eyebrow at her.

“Really? Because I look like a murderer?”

“Well, no, but people change depending on the situation they’re handed, and honestly, if I were in your shoes, I don’t know if I would be brave enough to do what you did,” she admits, looking quite embarrassed.

“So he knew I wouldn’t pick any of them?”

“Yes, he said you tried to save one of the girls in the stables before you entered the maze.” I sigh and nod.

“Great, so I agreed just like he wanted.” I shake my head and climb out of bed, grabbing the fluffy robe, and pulling it on.

“But if it makes you feel better, now you know he won’t risk his people,” she tells me, and I chew my lip.

“But that doesn’t help me now, does it?” She shrugs, glancing out the door, which was left cracked open.

“The king is leaving tonight. That is why he wants to see you. He sent for his sons, too. He is setting rules for while he is away.”

I watch her for a second, wondering if she’ll answer honestly. Something has been eating at me since I saw the darkness flickering in King Theron’s aura. “The king is dying, isn’t he?”

Her eyes widen in shock, and she rushes over to close the door.

“He is, isn’t he?” She chews her lip nervously.

“His sons don’t know, no one does except for me, and he told Malachi last night,” she whispers, looking down at the floor.

“That’s why he needs to choose between his sons?”

“Yes, but no one is supposed to know. If they find out, the surrounding kingdoms may start a war for King Theron’s throne, and if the Vampire Kingdom gets their hands on his throne...” She shakes her head.

“But King Theron has vampires working for him?”

“Yes, but not by choice they’re from the Bloodtaric Kingdom. It’s part of the alliance. He knows they’re traitors and were sent here to report back,” Shelley tells me.

“So why doesn’t he want his sons to know?”

“Because they’ve been at war with each other for years. He’s hoping that this...I can’t say. I’m sorry. Just trust me, what he’s doing is for the best. If you think the lycan kingdoms are brutal, you’re wrong. If the vamps get their hands on his throne before he hands it down...”

“What? Just tell me.”

“Humankind will be enslaved.”

“And they aren’t already?” I laugh. Humankind has been enslaved long before I existed.

“Since there are no lycan females anymore, they need humans to procreate.”

“But even with humans, the lycan blood will eventually be so watered down that they won’t exist anymore. Not really,” I tell her.

“But the lycans and werewolves are the only thing keeping the vampires at bay. Without them, humans will fall into the Bloodtaric Kingdom’s rule, and they don’t need us to procreate, they need us for food!

That is why so many try to flee the Bloodtaric Kingdom and come here.

Humans here donate blood to the Vampire Kingdom monthly, but under King Slavic’s rule, he’ll turn us into incubators and blood bags, enslave us, make feeders out of us and use us for slave labor. ”

My brows furrow. That sounds horrendous.

“I know because I’ve seen the Vampire Kingdom myself.

The humans are kept on leashes, half-starved and tortured.

And the men?” She shakes her head. “Trust me, you think the maze is harsh, in the Bloodtaric Kingdom, everyday you’re in the maze fighting for your life.

I would take my chances in King Theon’s maze any day than end up there,” she tells me, and a violent shiver runs up my spine.

“So you said the king is leaving?”

“Yes, for treatment. And that will be your chance.”

“Chance?” I ask her, and she nods while I put on my slippers.

“Yes, to escape. You’ll have a week.”

“But you just said that the Vampire Kingdom...” she cuts me off with a wave of her hand.

“I know what I said.”

“But—”

“The king has a plan if they fail to marry, and quite frankly, I’d rather his sons not be on the throne. None of them deserve it,” she tells me.

“A plan? What plan?”

“No one knows. I’m not even supposed to know, but the king left his journal open one night. He swore me to secrecy, but if one of his sons doesn’t marry or prove they are worthy, he is stripping them of their thrones, uniting the four kingdoms, and giving all of it to Malachi.”

“Why Malachi?” Shelley smiles, her cheeks turning pink with her blush.

“He is the king’s illegitimate brother.”

“And you and him are—”

She quickly shakes her head. “What? No! It’s not like that...I’m human and a wit—”

“But you like him.”

“He’s sweet.” She shrugs. Maybe because she never witnessed his bad side like I have.

“What will happen to you when the king dies?” She shrugs, “I’ll die without lycan blood, and that’s okay. I’ll finally be able to go home. I’ll be set free.” She smiles sadly.

“You’re not scared?” She smiles.

“No witch fears death. We know it’s not the end.

So I embrace what will come next.” I smile because that is precisely why I don’t fear my demise, any true witch doesn’t fear death because life and death go hand in hand.

For something to be reborn it first must die, and energy never dies, not permanently.

It forms into something else, and that is what we all are, energy. Expansion. Metamorphosis. Limitless.

“Come on, we can’t leave King Theron waiting. He can be quite impatient, and I know he wants to send you into town today.”

“Why?” I ask, moving to put on one of the skirts and tops Shelley gave me.

“For clothes for one. It’s getting chilly at night, even though the days are stiflingly hot.” She sighs.

“Can you come with me?” I ask her, and she nods and chews her lip. “Yes, but whoever’s care you’re under today will also be coming.”

“Whoever’s care I’m under? Can’t I just go with you?”

“It’s part of the king’s rules. Each day while he’s gone, one of his sons will be assigned to you until he returns. Once he does, you’ll choose whose kingdom you go to first.”

“What?”

Shelley scratches her neck nervously. “I’m sorry, but for two weeks, the king wants you to remain here with his sons, just to ensure he can trust them not to kill you. Then when we return, you’ll be told to choose which kingdom to go to first.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “This isn’t happening!”

“That is exactly why you need to run the moment you get a chance. I know the kings will kill you the moment you’re not under their father’s rule.

They can’t kill you here, but in one of their kingdoms, it wouldn’t be hard to make it seem like you ran away or killed yourself.

” I swallow, knowing she is right. I didn’t know I would have to travel between kingdoms.

“So come on, let’s see who you’ve been assigned to first and figure out your next move,” Shelley tells me, and I sigh.

“Hunter, come!” I call, following her out of the room.

The king has a schedule set up on a board when I enter the dining hall, a calendar of sorts, and I gulp back the dread when I see that today I will be with Regan. He does not look happy about it at all as he sits glaring at the board like he could set it on fire if he just glared hard enough.

“Zirah, finally you’re here!”

“Unfortunately! I was hoping she choked in her sleep!” Zeke sneers, glaring at me.

“Maybe if I’m lucky, you’ll choke on that damn ego of yours!” I spit back at him as I take my seat beside King Theron.

“Moon Goddess, why didn’t I make his mother swallow him?” King Theron mutters to the roof as he rubs his temples. I snort a laugh and Zeke mutters something, turning his gaze away, while Lyon looks appalled at his father’s words.

“As I was saying to my sons before you entered, I have assigned each day for the next two weeks between the three of them. Upon my return, and as long as none of them have forfeited the throne, you’ll choose whose kingdom you shall go to next.

Think of this as a trial run, a try before you buy to help you pick which pig of a son you end up with,” King Theron snaps, glaring at Zeke.

“You’ll be with King Regan today. He’ll take you into town to buy some clothes, and you’ll spend the rest of the day and night with him.

Each morning at nine, you’ll be passed to the next. ”

“When you say spend the rest of the day and night, does that mean every second of it?” I question not wanting to spend the night with any of these assholes.

“Precisely. You’ll live like a married couple.”