Red eyes burned into me. I shrank away from their intensity. That message, the one that was always there, screamed its wordless meaning at me. I couldn't look at it, not while they secured cuffs and chains around his body.

Darrius wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me to his side. Cerberus gave a low, somewhat halfhearted snarl. "I'm surprised you had us sedate him. I was under the impression your albino was the paramount of obedience."

"He is," I murmured. "His injuries are just making him... temperamental." The lycan growled again at that.

The redheaded king rubbed my shoulder in a comforting sort of manner, not that I paid much mind to it. "You know best. What matters now is you're safe. The palace is surrounded by guards. No one's going to be able to hurt you here."

I nodded. "Thank you. Sorry to trouble you with this."

"It's no issue." He leaned over to look in my eyes. "Are you sure you didn't recognize your attacker? He wasn't a rival trainer or someone?"

I shook my head, avoiding his gaze. "No... I didn't know him."

It was me he didn't know.

Darrius studied me, then pulled me close, pressing a kiss to my forehead. It reminded me far too painfully of Cyrus. "Well, I doubt any of us are going to sleep now. Let's get you something to eat and a drink to calm your nerves."

He turned me away. I followed his guidance, far too numb from stress and panic to resist.

"I'm sorry," I whispered to the drooping lycan. His ears twitched, and I knew he heard. He growled, but it lacked its usual threatening edge. The sound was far closer to a groan of defeat.

***

My eyes were dry. My limbs were heavy with the weight of the day. My head hurt from the mass of thoughts that had rushed through. There weren't any thoughts now though. The flood had passed, leaving a dry riverbed in its wake. My heart was similarly numb. I had been feeling so much in the past few hours, I simply couldn't feel anymore. Now, with the sun just starting to set, I was finally done with the world enough to rest.

The royal palace had spared no expense in the tiniest of details. The furniture of my suite was all finely carved with gold inlays. The curtains were a heavy canvas to keep out the cooling weather while the bedsheets were vividly dyed silk. My robe was a similar material and flowed against my skin as I lay down against the goose feather pillows.

I fell asleep almost immediately.

The room had gone dark when the click of the door opening woke me. My sleep fogged brain tried to process why someone would enter my suite, or even how they would enter. I had locked the door.

The sound of footsteps awoke my tired body with a shot of adrenaline. I sat up, eyes adjusting to the little light leaking in from the moonlit hallway.

I recognized the vague silluette's cautious gait as he made his way towards me, though it was only when he spoke that I was able to put a name to the form. "So you're awake. I thought nothing would wake you after the day you've had."

Mazon Eemeli, the head trainer.

"I know why you're here," I said in a clear, level voice, though my heart raced in my chest. "I figured you would want to finish what you failed the first time."

The elder man gave a short nod. "You're not a stupid girl, which is why I can't let you become queen."

"Why? Because I know the secrets about the lycans, or because you're afraid I'll tattle on you?"

"Both." He stopped at the side of my bed, staring down at me. This close, I could start to make out some of his features, his crooked nose, and the deep wrinkles framing his eyes. "The training industry depends on the masses believing the lycans are mindless beasts. Preene's economy could collapse and politics certainly would. Normally I wouldn't bother with just one girl, but the king seems to have become obsessed with you lately. Of course, I figured out your little secret, how you control the lycans and people." The whites of his eyes reflected the low light. "You're one of those living drugs, a poisonous person."

I stood up. We were so close my nose brushed against his. "I'm cured."

Eemeli laughed. "Blood and death follow you everywhere. You're a child of the apocalypse. There's no curing that." Cool metal touched my collar.

I shoved him, hard. A sharp sting shot up my neck. The elder man stumbled back, dropping the knife. I kicked him in the leg. He fell against the wood floor. The old man let out a breathless cackle as I straddled him, pinning him down.

"You've done this before."

"Usually it's not so personal," I hissed, wrapping my fingers around his throat.

"You're such a terrible liar," he chuckled. "You've got a personal vendetta against the world."

I shoved down and squeezed. "So what if I do? You're top of my list."

He didn't fight back. He just kept up with that horrible, breathless cackling. Even as he gasped for air and choked on his laughter, he didn't stop. I couldn't stand it. I squeezed harder, pushing all my weight down on his throat. Yet he continued. He laughed and choked and gasped.

Then he stopped. But I continued. I stayed as I was, still pushing and squeezing, until his body relaxed and I was certain it would never breathe again.

I got unsteadily to my feet, touching the side of my own neck. The scratch was shallow, just enough to break skin. I couldn't stay here, not with the head trainer's corpse and his words whispering in the air. I couldn't sleep in that bed. I couldn't stand being tangled in the sheets. I couldn't be alone.

I strode out the open door. There were no guards. There were supposed to be guards. But I didn't care. I couldn't care. I was too numb to care.

I jogged down the hallway, encountering no resistance as I made my way out the palace doors. There were guards outside, but they offered no opposition as I paced through the gardens to the stables. I descended down the cement ramp into the dark confines.

Those beautiful red eyes greeted me. They shone, even in the low light, seeming to have a brightness of their own. His white fur glowed in the darkness like some sort of spirit. I let out a sigh and ran to the lycan.

He caught me in his paw-like hands. His furred arms, always so strong, wrapped around my shoulders. The chemical smell had faded from his pelt, replaced by his usual canine musky scent, though it lacked the forest flavors that accompanied it. I didn't mind. Just the smell of his coat alone was enough for me. I just needed my hellhound by my side.

"It's too much..." I gasped into his chest. The air had left my lungs. I was being strangled by my numbness. The stones still pressed down in my gut, but I no longer felt their sharp edges. My world had faded to shades of gray. All I could truly feel was a sense of quiet desperation. It wrapped around my chest, squeezing, crushing, yet not inflicting true pain.

Cerberus was silent for a while. He simply stayed there, allowing me to tangle my fingers in his thick fur and bury my nose to his skin.

Then his grip tightened. I pulled back, looking up at the specter-like face that hovered above mine, intense eyes burning into me. There was that message again, now desperate to be understood. They begged for me to see their meaning, to hear the words they couldn't speak. But I still couldn't, no matter how much I wanted to.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Please... Just tell me..."

He let out a small whine. His paws pressed into my shoulders, pushing me down. Confused, I laid back on the cool concrete. Hot breath flowed over my face as the massive lycan moved over me. The tip of his damp nose skimmed along my neck, tracing the cut of Eemeli’s’s knife. Tendrils of saliva touched my skin as he opened his mouth. Long canines dragged up my jugular. They pressed to the flesh above my collar where the laceration began.

"Cerberus!"

His head jerked back at my scolding tone. His teeth caught on my skin, ripping it slightly. I felt wetness gather on my neck and run down my shoulder. The lycan gave another quiet whine as he leaned down again. His whiskers brushed against my cheek.

"Cerberus, what are you doing?" I pushed against his arms. "Stop... Stop.”

The skin of my neck stung as a wet appendage slid up my wounds, collecting my blood on its textured surface. My nails dug into his biceps. His whines echoed in my ears, accompanying my quiet hiss. His weight held me still as he continued to lap at my wound.

"Blood Eye. Cerberus..." I felt the tears streaming down my face. His tongue was opening the cut more than cleaning it. Teeth pinched the skin, sending a jolt of pain through my neck and arm. "It hurts, stop!"

Jaws clicked shut. The lycan lifted his face. He was breathing hard. His lower jaw was stained with light streaks of red. The albino was shaking, a slight trembling I could feel through the pads of his paws. His eyes, so fascinatingly crimson, rolled back in their sockets.

He collapsed.

"Cerberus! Cerberus!" I cried out, grasping at the unconscious lycan. His full weight pressed into my chest, making it hard to breathe. Concerned whines came from somewhere beside us, doubtless from River and Crimson Claw. But I paid them no mind. "Cerberus! Please Cerberus! Cerberus, wake up!"

I started screaming. Panic flooded my senses. It invaded the numbness, breaking barriers like a tsunami against a seawall. I hurriedly looked over every bandage I could see. None showed any redness, but the majority were hidden from my sight.

"Someone help! Please! My lycan needs help! Someone! Please!"

No one can hear you scream in a lycan stable. I knew that better than anyone. I screamed and screamed until my voice became hoarse and sore. No one answered my call.

"Please Cerberus," I cried, fighting against both my tears and the pain in my throat. "Please wake up Cerberus, you have to wake up..."

But my pleas went unanswered.

***

I woke up to the cold seeping into my skin. My back was stiff from sleeping on the cement floor. I pushed myself up, slowly reaching to touch the side of my neck. Dried blood cracked under my fingertips. The remains of tears stiffened my cheeks. My night robe flowed over my limbs, letting the chilled air to my skin. My arms prickled in protest to the frozen atmosphere that had previously been warmed by the massive animal passed out on top of me.

I glanced around. My eyes found River and Crimson Claw a little ways to my left, both laying down, though they were awake. Their gazes lead me to the creature I was looking for, his back to me, his forehead pressed to the wall.

"Cerberus?"

The lycan responded with a pitiful whine. I rolled onto my knees. My joints complained at the movement, but I continued on anyway, dragging my brittle body across the few feet necessary to reach him. My arms wrapped around his thick mane. I draped myself across his shoulder. After a moment, he relented, allowing me to pull his face to my chest and hug his wolfish head.

"Are you okay?" I whispered into the space between his ears, "Tell me what’s wrong." I didn’t see any red on him. That didn’t mean much. Had the vets missed an internal injury?

“I’m fine.”

That was a lie. My throat closed. He never lied to me. I gritted my teeth as I held him close. I needed my hellhound. I wasn't sure how much more I could take. Facing the trials in Preene on my own was more than I could bear. I was exhausted. I just wanted to leave, to run off into the forest, dig a den, and sleep. But I couldn't, not yet.

If Cerberus wasn’t recovering, he would never survive in the wild. That thought kept me here more than anything else. My promise paled in comparison.

I needed Cerberus's strength. To see the mighty alpha with his head hung low brought me to the edge of despair. I could be crushed by the mountains I carried in my heart.

But I hadn't lost him yet. So long as Cerberus stayed by my side, I could fight through. Even if I had to crawl to the finish, I would. Even if I lost everything else, so long as I had Cerberus, I could make it.

He was the only one I truly had.

I didn't move for a long time. Or it could have been a short time, but it felt like eons to me. I held my guardian’s head close to my heart until my limbs were trembling. Even then I would have held him longer, had my lycan not pulled away, looking down upon me. That message, it was begging, pleading now. Why couldn't I find its meaning?

"Go," he huffed.

"Cerberus..." I whispered. He must have sensed my intention, judging by his change in demeanor.

"Go." This time he added a hint of a growl to his tone. "Warm yourself."

I stood. My entire form was sore from sleep and the cold. I studied the lycan, taking in his hunched form and tail tucked close to his side, before turning my back on him. Another stone in the pile.

"I'll send some food. You should eat... all of you... to stay warm." I said, then ran up the cement ramp into the gardens. I needed a vet to look at Cerberus again; I would summon one once he’d calmed. I could only hope he’d cooperate.

It hadn't snowed, but the world outside was frozen. My footsteps crunched on the stiff grass as I jogged my way to the palace.

Once I stepped into the hallway, I stopped. My shoulders relaxed as the warmth enveloped me. I hadn't realized how cold I truly was. I knew the way back to my suite, but I didn't want to go there, so I settled for wandering the hallways. As much as I wanted to wake every vet and doctor in the city, I forced myself to give him time.

Anxiety knotted in my chest. I hoped I wasn’t making a mistake.

I found Darrius near a balcony on the second floor, admiring the sunrise through the glass doors. The reds and oranges of the sky reflected gold in streaks of his hair. I forced a smile as I stepped beside him. He was quite handsome, in a mischievous, freckled sort of way.

"Hey," I said as a way of greeting.

The king picked up his head, half turning my way. "Hey, you're up early." His eyes scanned over me, his brow furrowing in concern. "You’re freezing. Your fingers are all red."

"Yeah..." I sighed. "I suppose no one's been to wake me yet, seeing as the alarm hasn't been sounded."

Darrius raised his eyebrows. "Why do you say that?"

"I-" I hesitated, choosing my words carefully, "The head trainer came to my room last night. He tried to kill me, but I got the better of him. I've spent most of the night in the stable." I could bear it no more. I felt my resolve shatter, though I managed to reduce my outward reaction to a sharp breath. “My lycan collapsed! He needs a vet.”

Darrius stared down, features blank from my sudden shift in tone. He continued to look my way, even as he called a hidden guard. Once the man left, the king turned back to me.

“Eemelli?”

I nodded.

"No... I don't believe it," the king said, though I could tell by his injured expression he did.

"It's true. It's not the first time either... the bear... I didn't insist on that. Eemeli insisted I do another training demonstration. He didn't tell me I was going to be against a bear."

"I can't believe it," Darrius sighed. He pressed his forehead against the frosted glass. "I've known him for years. He's always been power hungry, but this... is an extreme."

"He told me he thought I would turn the public against lycan fighting."

Darrius glanced my way. "Why's that?"

"Because I know they can talk."

"Right..." He went back to pressing his forehead on the glass. "You wouldn't, would you?"

"Of course not."

"I know that. I know we haven't known each other long, but I know you're a good person. I can sense it. That's why I wanted you as my queen."

I ignored the twinge in my gut. "Speaking of which-" I stepped closer, pressing my shoulder against his. It was hard to concentrate with thoughts of Cerberus plaguing my mind. I pushed them away. “That's what I think this is really about. Maybe if we just get married soon, with a small ceremony, things will settle down."

He turned those gleaming green eyes on me. "Is that what you want? A small ceremony in a few days?"

I nodded. "Very much so."

"Then so it shall be." He reached out, embracing me in his arms. The king was tall enough to comfortably set his chin on my head. "Anything for my queen. This seems sudden, but I really think we'll fall in love."

"So do I."

Mazon Eemeli was wrong. I didn't need my poison to control people. I was cured.