Embrace of the Lycan - Chapter 7

Chapter 7
Krisztina sat on the cold floor of the inn, inconsolable. She had no idea what to do. She understood Lucian’s reasons for not wanting her to tell the others. Raze was so protective of Lucian, there would be nothing that could dissuade from heading straight to the castle and pull the place down, stone by stone looking for his leader.

The others all felt the same about Lucian, and would have no hesitation following Raze. What Lucian feared was that they would reveal their secret, their Lycan nature, to the authorities. Krisztina had suspected that there was something different about them all from the first day she met them. She had been hearing the rumours about the fortress for years, but always felt it was far enough away that it would not affect her. She knew that the reason this village was half dead was that over the years, men had been taken from the villages all around the area, and were enslaved at the fortress . She would not be surprised if some of the Lycans staying here were originally from this village.

Krisztina had started to pace the floor of the kitchen, and then decided that she should keep herself busy, and proceeded to prepare the vegetables for a gulyás. Several hours, one stew and dozens of pastries later, she decided to head out to take György his breakfast.

Once outside she ran into Raze. He looked like he wanted to say something but didn’t know where to start. He looked at her face, and saw that she looked extremely tired, and her eyes were red and puffy from hours of crying. This confused Raze, as he had been convinced that when Lucian did not return to their home last night, that he had spent the night with Krisztina. Raze had noticed the way she looked at Lucian – even if he had not.

‘Where is Lucian?’

‘Er... I don’t know exactly. Look... he is a grown man. He will no doubt be able to look after himself.’ She bit a trembling lip, and ran away toward György’s, leaving Raze stood alone.

Once inside György’s house she threw herself at his feet, as he sat in the chair, and wept. He stroked her hair until she calmed down, and waited for her to speak.

She explained about Tibor and his men, and about how they had taken Lucian. She told him about the previous incident in the garden of the inn, and how Lucian had embarrassed Tibor. She also told him that Lucian had instructed her not to tell anyone and she was sick with worry. She did not, however, tell him about their lovemaking.

György listened to her tale, then asked her, ‘How do you feel about Lucian?’

She wiped the tears from her eyes, ‘I love him’.

It was as György suspected. ‘Look,’ he said. ‘There is something about Lucian that you need to be aware of. He is not like other men.’

‘Do you mean the way that his smile sometimes looks kind, sometimes serious, sometimes menacing, but always charismatic? Or did you mean that he appears to be the Alpha of a pack of Lycans?’

György was slightly taken aback that she knew.

‘Oh stop pulling that face old man. You know, you are not the only one who notices things around here.’ She smiled at him, not meaning her harsh words.

‘How do you feel about this … aspect of him?’ György enquired.

She shrugged, not quite sure how to verbalise her feelings. ‘It should bother me I know, but it is a part of him. I don’t think there is a part of him that I could not love.’

They sat in silence, with her head rested once again against his knee. There was the commotion of horses outside a little while later, and Krisztina ran out to take a look. Once again there was an injured man lying outside the door to her inn.

‘Lucian!’ She closed the gap between her and the prone body emerging from the cloud of dust left by the galloping. Within seconds, others were nearby and she led them upstairs. Once again, her healing abilities were required. Lucian was barely conscious, and seemed to have taken a severe beating. There was not a part of his face that did not have a cut or bruise on it. His eyes were so swollen that he could barely open them.

She fought back the anguish she felt at his state, and once again instructed the men around her to help. She ordered some clean cloth and water, and when it arrived, proceeded to gently wipe away as much of the dried blood from his wounds as she could. Once that was taken care of, she went to her pantry and made some more of the same draught and poultice she had given Sabas. It crossed her mind that it might be worthwhile increasing her garden with this lot around.

When she entered the room, he was talking quietly with Raze, who just nodded and left the room. He was reluctant to take the dose at first, but she insistently pressed it to his lips and he soon swallowed the warm liquid. Hopefully it would relax him enough to sleep.

He dozed gently soon after, and she sat and watched over him. She had had to chase a couple of the men out of the room, as they were pacing. She did go down briefly, to speak to Raze, and explain. He was furious with her as expected, but respected that it was Lucian’s decision. She explained Lucian’s previous encounter with Tibor, and what he had said when he took Lucian. Raze told her that when asked, Lucian had not revealed why Tibor had given such a severe beating. Raze left her then, with tears flowing down her cheeks.

The sun had started to set on what had been a very long day, when she saw Lucian’s eyes flicker open. She sat up and stretched, feeling stiff from being sat so uncommonly still for so many hours. She passed him some water and then crept away to fetch him some food. She brought back a broth with, sadly, very little meat in it. On closer inspection of the already vanishing bruises, it would not be long at all before he was back on his feet.

‘This Lycanthropy is quite remarkable,’ she had to exclaim.

He paused from eating a second, and looked at her, slightly puzzled. ‘Most people would see it as a curse, it is a virus after all, and a deadly one at that.’

‘Deadly?’

He continued, ‘Yes. A bite from a Lycan or Vampire more often than not brings death. Few survive, those that do – are changed for ever.’

She asked, ‘Is that what happened to you?’

He shook his head, ‘No, I am quite unique – I was born this way. Viktor kept Lycans, not like me or my men but first generation Lycans, to guard the fortress while the Vampires slept during the daylight hours. These poor souls once transformed by the bite of the first Lycan, William, were never able to resume human form, until death. I was born in human form, with the ability to change into a Lycan. Viktor decided to use me to start a new race of Lycans. Ones that were easier to control.’

Krisztina sat there for a moment, digesting the information. Lucian watched emotions dance across her face, but was not able to determine how this information was being accepted.

‘Can you only change at the full moon? That’s what I have been told.’

He laughed a little, and then immediately regretted it as his cracked ribs protested. ‘Newly turned can only change at a full moon, but those that have been Lycan for some time, can do it at will.’

She thought about all this for a while longer, and then her face altered, and she smiled a sunny smile at Lucian and asked if he wanted more soup.

He was shocked and asked, ‘Is that it? No more questions? Does it not bother you?’

She pulled a face that suggested her apathy. ‘No, I don’t have any more questions, and no… it doesn’t bother me.’

‘Remarkable,’ he replied. He smiled and shook his head. ‘You too Krisztina, are quite unique.’

‘I shall take that as a compliment,’ she blushed.

‘As it was intended,’ he nodded a small bow.

His face became serious. ‘I do have something to tell you – something that was revealed to me by your ‘suitor’ Tibor.’

Krisztina was a little uncomfortable at the word ‘suitor, but curious as she had no idea what she was about to be told.