The Lycan King's Muse

Ep 48: First Instinct

My first instinct is to turn to Sky to warn him, to tell him to run. But before I can do that, Lyall has lunged at the boy, pushing Sky to the wall across from him so hard that the walls cave in.

Instinctively, I jump back from the scene. My back hits the sink as I keep both of my hands in front of my stomach.

Why is this happening? I have never seen him transform before. I even thought at some point that Lyall couldn't transform because of the curse. Yet the creature in front of me, is unmistakably, undeniably, Lyall. He is holding Sky by the neck, pushing the boy to the wall even more.

Sky's lips turn to blue, and his face is getting red. He tries to make Lyall let go of his neck, but his strength as a boy cannot be compared to Lyall.

The shadows under them dance in the air. Sky's red eyes glow as those shadows turn into giant hands that force Lyall to let Sky go. The boy lets out a screeching sound that gives me chills deep in my bones.

"You think I would come here unprepared?" Lyall's voice is hoarse, but it definitely can make an entire army turn cold on their feet. "I have dealt with dark magic too many times than anyone ever has in their lives."

Dangling on one of Lyall's hands is a pendant shaped like a half-moon. It's made of gold, with lots of intricate details that are covered by his fingers. The pendant glows so brightly, very contrasting with Sky's shadows.

I know then that the pendant is the one making Lyall invisible to Sky's magic.

"It cost some fortune and some... sacrifices," Lyall keeps his tone low and his strength on Sky's neck never weakens, "But once this pendant is created, no dark magic can get ahead of me."

Sky begins to claw at Lyall's hand. Red has painted the boy's entire face, which means he is suffocating. Sky also lets out a gurgling sound from his small throat.

With the pendant, Sky is only a small boy in front of a full-grown lycan warrior. Lyall has strangled him to the point that Sky is tiptoeing on his toes to keep his neck from being broken.

"I have stopped using it ever since I locked Adina in that tower. But her puppet never ceases to amaze me," Lyall continues, "I can live with a few of her puppets around me in the kingdom. But you, I will not tolerate."

He strengthens his hold on Sky's small neck, as he says, "I killed you before. This time I will make sure you stay dead." His voice is laced with a hateful growl. It's like the sweet Lyall I knew of is gone, replaced by this cold, full of hatred, Lyall.

"A dark creature like you doesn't deserve to exist!" Lyall roars to the boy. Aggressively. Ferociously. Like an alpha wolf who has just defeated his enemy. "And you think you can take Mars away from me? The one person I have begun to care about in years?"

What?

Did I just hear what I think I just heard?

"Adina has gone too far this time," the lycan king growls, "You can wait for her in the pits of hell where you both belong!"

With a struggle, Sky's face turns to me. His red eyes glimmer with tears as Lyall chokes him. I can see a faint bluish hue appearing on his lips.

Those eyes... it screams silently to me.

My mind can't think of anything at the moment. All I have within me is my motherly instinct. And no matter how Lyall painted Sky as an evil creature... the moment I look at that pair of red eyes, the moment I look at his face.... There's no way he is the monster Lyall was talking about.

Monsters are more likely nurtured, not born or created.

I run to grab Lyall's arm first. It's futile, but I use my strength to try to make Lyall let go of Sky, anyway. "Lyall, please," I beg the lycan king. "He's just a boy. He wasn't trying to harm me."