Page 41 of The Lycan King's Captive

As anxiety threatened to overwhelm me, I stood abruptly and went to the bedroom, where I changed into jeans and a T-shirt. I scraped my hair back into a ponytail and retraced my steps through the suite. I needed fresh hair. Walking often helped me clear my head. As I moved through the living room, I caught my reflection in a mirror.

The woman who stared back at me looked a lot different than the woman who dined with Cyrus last night. There was nothing regal about my jeans or makeup-free face. Without Cyrus’s finery and fancy gown, I was just…me. Ordinary.

Even if Cyrus and the other lycans accepted my child, I could never be Cyrus’s queen. I would never be anything other than his concubine, and that was unacceptable to me. Role playing at dinner was one thing. Living out that role on an everyday basis was another.

Tears burned my eyes. Before I could watch them fall, I left the suite and made my way downstairs. Fortunately, I didn’t see anyone as I navigated the mansion’s labyrinthine hallways, and I made it outside without incident.

The rose garden was truly lovely, but I hardly noticed the flowers as I strode up and down the manicured paths. I was so engrossed in my thoughts, I didn’t realize I’d left the garden and wandered onto a wide expanse of lawn until I was on top of it.

I gazed around. This was the spot where the helicopter had brought Cyrus and me to the mansion. If I’d been smart, I would have refused to leave the aircraft. I would have insisted on the pilot flying me as far away as possible. Somewhere like the moon, maybe.

“Abby?”

I turned to see Celeste approaching. She was beautiful as always, with a serene smile on her face. Kirnan was with her. But he wasn’t smiling.

On the contrary, he looked much the same as he had when I first met him in this very spot. He stared at me with cold, emotionless eyes.

Ice slid down my spine.

“Is everything okay?” I directed my question to Celeste even as I kept my gaze on Kirnan’s.

“Of course,” Celeste said, her voice soft and refined as usual. But there was something…off about her smile. It was just a little too big. It got even bigger as she tipped her head to the side—a wolflike gesture I’d seen on more than one canine over the years. “Did you enjoy your stay?”

“What?” My heart started to pound. I took a step back. I hadn’t missed the past tense in her question.

Growling to my right stopped me in my tracks. Slowly, I turned toward the sound. A wolf with dark fur crouched in the shadow of the mansion, its golden eyes fixated on me. Rolf. I recognized him even in wolf form.

“I asked you a question,” Celeste said, and now her voice was hard. The change in tone was even more jarring because it slipped from a mouth still stretched in a menacing smile.

I swallowed. “I don’t know what you mean.”

She motioned to Kirnan. “That’s all right,” she said as he stalked forward. “You will.”

I turned to run just as Rolf pounced. Paws struck my side, sending me flying. I hit the ground shoulder first and rolled. Before I could recover, rough hands grabbed me and hauled me up.

I opened my mouth to scream, but Kirnan was fast. His fist flew, clipping my jaw.

I went flying again.

And everything went black.

20

CYRUS

I couldn’t return to Abby fast enough. I finished my work in record time and practically ran up the stairs as I made my way to her suite. I probably looked like a lovesick fool, but I didn’t really care.

Because I loved her. I’d loved her for a long time, but last night had brought my feelings into undeniably sharp focus. The only thing left to do was tell her.

I arrived at her door at the same moment Garrick did. We both stopped.

Because her door was open.

My gut clenched. Abby was a private person. It wasn’t like her to leave her suite wide open.

A deep sense of foreboding filled me. I shoved into the room with a racing heart. “Abby!”

Garrick was hot on my heels. He was saying something and it took a minute for my panic-soaked brain to comprehend it.

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