Just Lyca Lady

Chapter 2 : Man-Handled

Just Lyca Lady © Copyrighted

The lycan was motionless beyond the quiver of his muscles and the steady deep breaths he took. Was he transformed fully? What about his face--what did it look like? Was it hideous? Surely not...wolves were beautiful, and he was handsome. Mixing the two together would not make an ugly thing, right?

Turn around. I hoped he would somehow hear my silent command, and reveal what he was keeping hidden in the shadows. He knew I had not stopped watching him, so he was keeping his back to me on purpose. Was he ashamed? The man who boldly winked at me could not feel shame over something he could not control.

A loud clang startled me, causing my eyes to dart to the other gate below. The metal was buckled, latch bent and hinges barely held it in place. Once more, my heart had picked up pace, thudding anxiously in my chest. I was not alone in my curiosity.

Everyone went quiet and flocked together like sheep towards the dome, no free space around the structure. My eyes widened when a large creature barreled its body into the gate, sending the frame off the hinges and onto the ground. Dust puffed around it.

"Lady Annalise, we are leaving," said Andrew, keeping his voice low and placing a hand on my shoulder and tugging.

"The theatre, Andrew," I reminded, tone distant as I waited for the dust to fall and the new beast to emerge.

It had to be another lycan--or a very angry bear, but I doubted the latter. That would be quite a coincidence to have two of such a scares creature here tonight...to fight in an arena. No, this was no stroke of fancy luck. This had to be planned. Someone actually hunted down two werewolves and lured them to a cage to rip at one another?

A bone rattling snarl cut the silence, all us sheep watching as the wolf showed itself. Its eyes were ebony, no--they were not simply black. The beast's eyes were soulless. They were awful things, baring a rage far worse than any animal I had seen.

There was no beauty of a wolf nor a glint of attractiveness of a human in it. Unlike the other man, this beast's flesh was not gray. It was mud brown. Strings of foamy drool seeped from its open mouth, leaking between fangs the size of my thumbs. One pointed ear stood tall, but the other had been severed. Fur-less skin wrinkled along its long snout.

Pure beast. There was no man left in this creature.

Raising its nose to the air, the beast flared its nostrils, taking in a few deep breaths. Another growl sounded as if it picked up a scent it did not like. Their senses were surely better than regular humans, so the musky men could be offsetting to it.

The other lycan, Gray I decided to call him, began to ram against the gate keeping him concealed. I looked to him, excited I was going to see the face he was hiding from me. My lips parted and eyes widened. The two were the same as far as species went, but there was a clear difference between them. Yes, Gray's wolf like head was nearly a mimic of the burly beast, but it was Gray's eyes that set him apart.

Liquid silver in color, they were as beautiful as werewolf's baneful element, and they held a warmth to them. There was still a lively soul in there--there was still a man within the monstrous shell. However, there was also a sort of urgency within those eyes. Why was he rushed? His opponent was not going anywhere.

The beast released yet another throaty snarl, drawing my attention once more. Its cold glare had fallen onto me, still sniffing and seeming to hate what he smelled. Wait--was it me? Did the beast despise what I smelled like? I knew for a fact my scent was far above and brighter than the mixture of sweat and ale seeping from everyone else's skin.

"Lady Annalise," Andrew persisted.

"Does it not like the way I smell, Andrew?" I asked.

Hunched over with its elongated, bony fingers pressed into the soil, the beast took an offensive stance. Growling, it tucked its ear back and snapped at the air.

"I think he is planning to-"

One minute the creature was several feet away, the next he had lunged the full distance between the two of us, smashing into the dome. The metal buckled, and I tumbled back into Andrew. Everyone near the beast screeched in surprise and fear, backing away in stumbled haste, as the creature attempted to get a bite out of me.

Luck shined upon me; the beast was just out of reach. A breath I had withheld out of fright felt safe to release as a wave of relief filled me. Though warped and distorted where the creature clung, the cage fulfilled its purpose. I was safe.

The beast went still for but only a moment; rage left its coal eyes, being replaced with contemplation. Could a thing so feral manage to think? If so, what was this monster trying to figure out?

My eyes widened as I noticed the creature flex its hand. Those squares in the cage--they were plenty large enough to shove one of those beefy arms through and grab me. Whirling around, I was ready to flee. But of course, when I was in agreeance to leaving, I would not be capable of doing such.

Following the norm of our species, everyone wanted to be as close to the action as possible, having formed a wall behind me and around the arena. I had not realized just how many drunkards and whores were in this place. Andrew grabbed my hand and attempted to shove us a path through the bodies. My squire was not a weak man, per say; however, he was not a knight for a reason. When it came to asserting himself, Andrew could not even handle me--much less get anyone to move out of his way.

The beast grabbed hold of my cloak and dress, claws easily tearing through and scraping across my skin. Shallow flesh wounds were hardly a worry for me when he hauled me backwards, back colliding hard to the cage. Air rushed from my lungs, my heart throbbed in my chest, and I could not help but hate that my last sight would be that of my gangly squire turning pale as a ghost and hesitantly reaching for me.

Chubby peasants were braver than Andrew as they rushed to my aid, grabbing hold of whatever they could manage to try and pull me from the beast's grasp. So I was to die while being manhandled. Lovely. Just lovely.

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A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! If you did, vote to show your love! Oh, yeah--comments are fantastic to! Happy reading!