Nicon

IV

IV

FOR THE SECOND time that day, Nicon was impatient, his wolf's nerves affecting his own. He hadn't been aware of how much time was passing until the large clock high on the wall behind him chimed three loud notes, one toll after another.

Mere seconds after the last chime, the doors burst open and Killian stood there, his chin held high and a proud grin present on his face, an unconscious girl held loosely in his arms.

"I have brought her back. Syd left to talk to the girl's mother and convince her that her daughter is safe. She needs medical attention if she is to live." Toward the end of his update, Killian's eyes drifted down to the bleeding female. Her left wrist was clearly broken and her legs were covered in blood.

The air was thick with the stench of blood. "Place her in a cell. If she makes it through the night, she will be executed."

"But, —" Killian's protests were cut short as Nicon met his guilty stare. "Yes, Your Highness."

Nicon was left in silence as the heavy doors closed behind Killian.  Nicon's mind held the still image of the girl. Her dark hair contrasted greatly against her skin, barely sun-kissed, but a tanner shade than normal village members. His wolf's agitation only grew now that the girl wasn't in the room, and Nicon's beliefs grew stronger. He couldn't have a human as his mate. How could a creature so formidable be mates with one so weak?

Hesitantly, Nicon rose and silently made his way down the lavish hallways to the underground level where the prisoners were held. Recently, the more dangerous rogues that Nicon had found circling the compound were executed, so the prison was oddly quiet.

The stench of blood and putrid flesh was common, and it only amplified as Nicon traveled down the thick stone staircase, guided by bright torches lining the walls. He mindlessly hummed a tune, the sound uncanny as it traveled through the prison. He didn't need to ask his guards where they placed the girl; his sense of smell was so strong he would be able to find her from from outside the castle.

Momentarily, he paused in his footing and cut short his melody. What was he expecting to do? Claim her as his mate and his Queen? She was a feeble human, the most shameful creature. It would bring dishonor to Nicon if he chose the girl over his title, his men would surely riot and the Shifter world would no doubt fall into chaos.

Her slow heartbeat was enough to draw the King from his thoughts and toward her cell.

"Why? Why did you bring me here?" Nicon was startled at the softness of her voice, surprisingly gentle for someone who had just been taken against her will, but then again it could be sickness from the extent of her injuries; she didn't have long left.

Her eyes seemed to drift aimlessly around her surroundings, and not once did she meet Nicon's inquiring gaze. "There is a world shadowing yours that you do not know of."

"The Shifters."

He raised an eyebrow and stepped out of the darkness, so that he was standing directly in front of the girl. "How are you familiar with that term?"

"The man who carried me." She was cradling her broken wrist in her lap and her eyes danced around in a frantic manner. Finally, Nicon realized the girl could not see him clearly, if at all.

"In this world we are bound to another for eternity, we call them mates, derived from soul mates. Regrettably, you are mine. We are not complete without each other."

If she could see the man apart from his dark silhouette, Elysie imagined that the man's face would be pained with regret. "I don't feel anything," she spoke curiously.

"If I mark you, you would feel a pull." For some reason unknown to him, Nicon felt wholly comfortable talking to the near-dying girl leaning against the thick prison stonewall. "But I will not mark you."

"Because I'm human."

"Extraordinarily mundane."

"I'll be left here to die, then?" she had expected death from the moment she was running from the wolf, and frankly, she had started to crave it. Elysie had suspected death would be less painful than suffering in a cell.

"You crave death?" the man questioned. He hadn't ventured into her mind, she was a human, he wouldn't be able to penetrate such beings, but her thoughts had echoed in his mind almost as if he was thinking them himself.  They were already much more powerful together than he had ever imagined mates could be, and he had not even claimed her.

Elysie decided not to ask him how he knew that. "I don't want it to mock me. Can't you just kill me yourself?" Something in her had snapped, being locked up in a small cell with no sight, no legs, and one less arm.

"Your life may be worth something yet. Your fate will hang in the balance for another day."