Page 33 of The Unwanted Mate of the Lycan Kings (Unwanted #1)

“I guess that is one thing my father is correct about. He can’t give us away or bribe us a bride. The only way is to force their hand—to force your hand.” Regan exhales.

“Well, since I now have to worry about a curse that apparently will make me choose your very friendly, so much more desirable brother Zeke, I would like to hear the details of this curse, so I can weigh my options.” I chuckle, and he raises an eyebrow at me.

He watches me for a second, then his face hardens, his eyes darken, and his aura slips out and turns sinister. My stomach drops, and I swallow, suddenly wishing I never asked.

“I’m cursed to kill every woman I sleep with. So in other words, I’m cursed to be alone.”

“Cursed to be alone?” I ask, and he nods.

“Yes, every woman I have been with, I’ve killed. So finding a woman that doesn’t fear me is refreshing.”

“But don’t all curses have loopholes?” I question knowing they do. He just needs to figure out what it is.

“Look at you, an expert on curses.” He rolls his eyes. “You’re right though, there is a loophole. I just stand no chance of finding my mate. The witch made sure of t hat!”

“So you just have to find a woman who loves you to break it? Well, fuck. You’re definitely screwed, sorry, but I think you’re destined to be alone.” He catches the hint of playfulness in my tone and smiles weakly.

“There are no lycan females left after the curse, so you’re right again. It’s impossible. I am destined to be alone or at least celibate.” He laughs.

“Wait, so you just can’t have sex with them?” Regan raises an eyebrow at me.

“You find that amusing?” He growls.

“I find it amusing that you think I would choose Zeke. If I pick you, I will never have to worry about being raped since one of your father’s rules is I can’t be killed.” I laugh. “So, in my eyes, that just makes you my prime candidate.”

Regan chuckles. “Just because I can’t fuck you without killing you doesn’t mean you’re completely useless to me in that area,” he states. My laugh cuts off, and I look at him.

“Are you sure you don’t want to run now?” he purrs, gripping my hips. His eyes move back to my chest, and they flicker. His hand twitches on my hip when he grabs my breast again, making me gasp.

“Regan?” I snap, but it seems almost like he can’t control himself, and I notice Gnash jump off the bed and move closer.

“I don’t want to hurt you. But you forget, human. I can’t fuck you without permission or, in my case, without killing you, but you can’t refuse our touch so long as it is above the waist,” he whispers, brushing his thumb over my nipple.

I clench my teeth, looking out the window, intent on not being present if he’s going to grope me. “You said you wouldn’t touch me.” My voice shakes as I stare at the window.

“You should have hopped off my lap when I gave you the chance,” he growls then grinds his teeth together, making me look at him. It seems like he’s trying not to touch me, but he’s just lost to his lycan senses. His eyes flit to mine.

“But just because I don’t need your permission doesn’t mean I don’t want it,” Regan murmurs, moving his hand and gripping the armchair. His claws sink deeply into the fabric.

“Go, you can use my shower, but if you run, I will chase you,” he states, looking at the fireplace while I stare at him.

“Hurry up before I change my mind or lose control.”

Climbing off his lap, he points toward his bathroom.

I nod, about to go shower, when I pause.

“Can I go grab some clothes from my room first?” Regan nods once, turning his gaze to the fireplace, his demeanor changing.

I’m tempted to glance at his aura, wondering if it would give me any insight into the rapid change in his mood.

Walking to the door, I pause, imagining that Zeke is lingering in the hall.

Something tells me he is watching and waiting for his next opportunity to get rid of me.

Glancing over my shoulder, I spot Gnash sitting on the edge of the bed looking expectantly at Regan, who has turned his gaze to the raging fire burning the thick logs in the fireplace.

An unreadable expression is now on his face, as if he is deep in thought.

Swallowing my fear of Zeke, I grip the door handle, but Gnash’s bark makes me stop.

“Then go with her!” Regan snaps, and Gnash immediately jumps off the bed and rushes to my side.

Meanwhile, Regan doesn’t even look in our direction.

Having Gnash with me, I feel a little more confident stepping into the long corridor.

The moment I do, I notice my nagging intuition is spot on and that my hesitation wasn’t unwarranted.

Zeke is standing in the doorway to his room like he was waiting for this exact moment.

It’s almost as if he also knew I would have to go back to my room soon, but judging by my clothes, it isn’t a big assumption.

If a psychopath hasn’t chased me down the hall, I never would have left the room in these clothes.

He smirks and pushes off the wall. “I was wondering when he would get rid of you. Regan was never one for keeping company,” Zeke sneers.

“Alive at least,” he adds with a laugh. He takes a step toward me when Gnash growls and steps around me.

Zeke’s steps halt immediately as he eyes the massive wolf.

“You can’t protect her all the time, Gnash.

It’s only a matter of time before I end her miserable, insignificant life,” Zeke tells him.

He then swiftly turns on his heel and walks into his bedroom.

I glance down at Gnash, my fingers brushing through his fur gently.

He lifts his head and licks my fingertips, then he turns to look behind us.

Regan stands by the door with his arms crossed.

“Well, hurry. I won’t stand here all day, and I can’t babysit you every second,” King Regan says, his tone colder than when I was sitting in his lap, almost as if he were an entirely different person.

It makes me wonder how many sides there are to this man or how many personas he hides behind.

Though it is clear to me now, my unexpected prior visit this morning caught him off guard because he seems quite aloof again.

“Human, hurry up! Always so fucking slow.” Nodding, I move toward my room, step inside with Gnash, and close the door. Moving toward the mirrored dresser, I grab the chair and prop it under what is left of the door handle, I doubt it will hold, but hearing it fall over will give me a warning.

“Is he always so confusing?” I ask Gnash, who whines at me. I shake my head and sigh before deciding to quickly shower in my room. Suddenly, Regan’s offer to use his bathroom doesn’t seem so welcoming.

I pick a long-sleeved black dress with clingy fabric, and I know it will amplify my curves, but when the sun rises to its highest point today, I will swelter in the thickly woven material.

Hearing a whimper, I glance down at Gnash, who is watching me.

“Come on,” I tell him, wandering into the bathroom.

Gnash lies on the bathroom mat while I strip my clothes off.

I take a cold shower, unwilling to fiddle with the taps more than needed.

By the time I get out, my lips are tinted blue, my teeth chatter, and my entire body is covered with goose bumps. But I am clean.

I dry myself and pull the dress on before using the towel to dry my hair.

Once I’m dressed, I check to make sure no part of the outfit is see-through.

Convinced I’m fully covered in every aspect, I timidly open the bathroom door.

Relief floods me when I notice the bedroom is still empty, and the chair is still propped under the handle.

Gnash instantly moves to the door and scratches at the wood, wanting to go out.

Chuckling at his eagerness, I pull the chair away and follow him back to Regan’s room.

However, the door is now closed. He must have gotten sick of waiting—or babysitting as he calls it.

Walking out, I notice both Zeke’s and Lyon’s doors are wide open and they are nowhere to be seen.

Stopping at Regan’s door, I peer down at Gnash.

Should I knock? He should be expecting me, but it feels wrong to just barge into his room like I intended to do before.

My life isn’t in danger, so would it be considered rude now?

Gnash decides for me and scratches at the door, whining loudly, when it is suddenly ripped open by Lyon.

He smiles, yet it’s more predatory than pleasant.

Not expecting him, I take a step back when he opens it wider, revealing Zeke sitting in an armchair by the fire.

My fingertips instantly seek Gnash at my side.

He sniffs the air and licks my hand before grabbing the hem of my dress in his mouth and leading me into the room.

Zeke sits sideways in the armchair with his legs over the arm of it, and Hunter lays beside him on the floor. My eyes go to the collar around his neck and the leash in Zeke’s hands.

Zeke yanks on the leash and growls. “Get up and I will put you in your cage!” Zeke warns his wolf, who tried to stand. He immediately sits down and rests his head on his front paws.

“Don’t worry, human, Regan said we can’t kill you—not on his watch. He’s scared of losing his precious throne!” Zeke taunts, and I glance up at Lyon beside me. He smirks, wandering off and falling onto Regan’s bed and making himself at home.

“Where is Regan?” I ask.

“I’m right here.” His voice behind me makes me jump as he steps out of the adjoining office behind what looks to be a bookshelf. I peer past him, and he shuts the door just enough so I can’t see in. “Let’s just get this over with!” he snarls.

“Get what over with?” I ask, confused.

“The date, of course. What else? Or have you already forgotten the rules set forth by our father?” Lyon laughs.

“No, but you two shouldn’t be here,” I tell Lyon and Zeke as Regan blatantly ignores me.

“The rules state we had to take you on a date, never said we all couldn’t be present, and seeing as Regan doesn’t have proper social skills, we thought we’d supervise.”

Regan growls at Zeke’s words but doesn’t confirm or deny what Zeke stated. “I’m sure we’d manage on our own.” I look at Regan, hoping he will ask them to leave.

“You caught me off guard this morning, and I am still a man, human. Now sit down and be quiet. I have to work.” He then walks off toward the fireplace, which is now out, and by the look of the wood, someone doused it in water.

He grabs some device from the coffee table and aims it at the wall, which then opens up to a screen.

He turns it on, and I see it is a TV. I have heard of them, seen pictures of them, and Shelley even showed me how to use the one in my room, but I prefer books or even the old solar radio Granny found while scavenging in abandoned towns.

She rarely let me listen to. She was always paranoid that leaving it on would get us caught, and that someone would pick up the frequency.

It was old and had some handheld device that could speak to other people.

Granny whipped my butt really well that day.

She caught me playing with it, and I was talking to some lady who wanted to know where I lived so she could bring her daughter to play with me.

I’d been so excited to have someone to play with that I told her I lived in the cave with the rainbow on the side.

Granny and I painted it using crushed flower petals and rock when I was ten years old.

That day forever haunts me. I even have a scar on my left ass cheek where a piece of the willow branch broke the skin after she broke it over my backside. I never touched it again without her permission after that day out of fear of that damn branch.

“There, watch the movie!” Regan snarls, pulling me from my thoughts, and Lyon snickers.

“Such a romantic, brother.” Lyon laughs.

“Rule is, I have to plan a date. Nothing says I have to stay and endure it.”

“I think you are missing the concept of what dating is.” Lyon chuckles.

Regan shakes his head. “Just watch her for me. I have work to do,” Regan snaps and wanders off back to the concealed office, yet he leaves the door slightly ajar, just enough that he can see out.