Lycan Warrior (2 page)

“I did not spread rumours. I mentioned the obvious. You accomplished what no other has ever done.”

Her shackles rose. “I escaped from that demon’s prison and I’m automatically labelled a spy?”

“That demon happens to be your grandfather.”

“A fact I only discovered last week! My mother kept that information from me.”

“Nevertheless, we do not know what Balkathan has done to your mind. He is a powerful vampire who can manipulate thoughts, control minds. Your own mother possesses those powers, so you know what he is capable of.”

She choked back on a rising sob. “You don’t know anything about me.”

“I know you were his prisoner for two years and escaped without so much as a scratch.”

Without a scratch? Her anger dimmed and she fell silent, thinking about those terrifying nights when Balkathan’s wolves had picked her from the harem and had brutally raped her. She thought how she had fought back until Balkathan had deemed her an unsuitable mate for his wolves and had sent her to isolation. For months, she was kept in a dark, filthy cell with very little water and food, and ants everywhere, crawling on her face, her skin, her head.

Katya couldn’t remember isolation too clearly because that was when she had gone mad.

“I escaped with scratches invisible to the eye. Scratches that will never heal,” she said numbly. Damn him for making her remember.

“I have my reasons for being sceptical,” Malek said grimly.

She recalled what her mother had told her. “It has something to do with your brother,” Katya said. She noticed him visibly stiffen.

“Aye,” he responded.

Katya wanted to ask him more, but he flicked his reins and his horse galloped to the front of the caravan. She gazed at his broad back as he talked to Nolan and Falk, his men nodding in response.

Unbidden, a strong sense of curiosity welled in her breast for the fierce Lycan warrior.

Chapter Two

It was nearing nightfall when the caravan drew to a stop and Katya gave Malek a questioning look.

“We camp here for the night,” he said brusquely, dismounting from his horse.

The terrain was a dry, flat land with mountains in the far distance and a wooded area to the left. Katya slid off her horse and stretched. They’d been riding for hours and she was happy to walk. She saw the mountains on the left and narrowed her eyes, her Lycan blood stirring with rage. Balkathan’s lair was just behind those hills, and she growled softly under her breath.

“Milady, are you all right?”

Gasping, she spun around and saw Ortega watching her with a careful glint in his dark eyes. “I’m…I’m fine. Bad memories,” she replied.

Grim-faced, he nodded. “I understand, milady.” And he strode away.

Katya glanced around the camp and saw the rest of the guards unpacking crates and setting up tents. Nolan caught her eye and she saw him fashioning a corral of sorts for the horses.

Her stomach gave an involuntary jolt as she rested her gaze on Malek. He was kneeling next to a stake, hammering it into the ground. He stopped his actions midair and slowly turned his head, his dark stare meeting hers. Warily, she approached him.

“This clearing is to your liking?” he asked once she neared him.

“Yes.”

He returned to his task of setting up the tent, stretching one corner before he attached the loop to the stake. His body stiffened and he gave her a dark look. His expression was a mixture of irritation and annoyance. “Is there something you require?”

She glanced at all the crates around him and frowned. “Can I help? I know how to pitch a tent.”

His mouth tensed. “You can set up the inside once I have this up. Your cot is in that crate over there.”

“I can set up your cot as well. Where is it packed?”

With his bare hand, he smashed another stake into the ground and Katya gasped. He was obviously angry and she couldn’t fathom why when she was just offering to help.

He stretched another corner of the tent. “I will not be sleeping in the tent with you,” he said. “I will be standing guard outside.”

Her eyes widened. “You won’t sleep?”

“Nay.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Do not worry about me. I will close my eyes during the day on horseback.”

Katya looked around her, splaying her hands. “What possible danger is there out here?”

“Do not be fooled by the quiet terrain. There are bandits living in these parts who do not take kindly to strangers, especially bandits who fight with silver. I should have this tent set up in ten minutes.”

He was obviously dismissing her and Katya tensed with frustration. Spending any time with him was exhausting, she thought as she stalked away.

He was always so tense around her and the increasingly strained energy between them was becoming almost unbearable. What had she done to make him dislike her so? She knew it couldn’t only be his mistrust of her. Surely, at the back of his mind, Malek must have reasoned that when her mother’s mind powers had cured Katya of her madness, she would have detected any hold Balkathan may have still had on her?

Katya made her way to the small woods and looked around for a secluded spot where she could relieve herself. She chewed her lower lip, looking back at the camp. If she didn’t want to expose herself to the men, she needed to go deeper in the woods.

After a few minutes, she found a thicker area of trees. She felt behind her waist for the fastening on her pants and tugged. Nothing. She tried again, this time pulling hard at the odd snap. Gritting her teeth against nature’s call, she gave the snap another yank. Katya released a frustrated breath, realising too late she should have asked her mother to show her how to get out of these pants.

She gasped as a pair of hands pushed hers aside and slid beneath her waistband. Memories of Balkathan’s wolves dragging her into the shadows rose to the surface and she growled ferociously, spinning around, her hand raised and ready to punch whoever was behind her.

Malek caught her hand in midair. “Be still. What the hell are you doing?”

“What the hell are
you
doing?” she asked, glaring up at his dark expression. “And why are you here? I need my privacy.”

His expression was grim. “I already told you not to be fooled by this quiet terrain. I do not want you venturing off into the woods alone.” He paused, clenching his jaw. “I was trying to help you get out of these blasted trousers. Turn around. I almost had it.”

She pursed her lips, realising she had no choice. She
really
had to go. Scowling, she turned around and stiffened the moment Malek touched her. She closed her eyes against the unfamiliar warmth of his hands. The only touch she had known from men was violent and Malek’s gentle touch was alien to her, stirring her Lycan blood. Reluctantly, she had to admit she liked it.

“My mother gave me these pants and I’m not familiar with the fastening,” she explained, her voice sounding strained to her ears.

“There. It’s done,” he said, his tone curiously hoarse.

Slowly, she turned around. “Thank you.”

Malek cast a dark glance around the area. “This place looks safe enough, but I won’t be far.”

“I hope far enough so you don’t see me,” she murmured. His expression revealed nothing and he turned away. She bit her lip. “Malek.” Slowly, he turned to face her, his expression guarded. “I’m…I’m sorry I tried to hit you,” she said quietly. “It was a reflex of my last two years with Balkathan’s wolves.”

A shutter fell over his face, masking his emotions. He ran a dark gaze over her face, his eyes flickering over her mouth. Nodding brusquely, he turned and walked away.

Quickly, she went about her business and then went back to the camp when she saw him standing near a large tree. He eyed her briefly before he abruptly turned and strode back to the tent he had been erecting. She made her way to him as he was tightening the ropes.

“Are those trousers all you packed?” Malek asked, not bothering to look up. “Do you not have any riding gowns with you?”

“No.” Katya’s face flamed. “Don’t worry. I think I figured out the fastening. You won’t have to undress me every time I need to go in the woods.” Malek snapped his head up, staring at her oddly and she flushed, realising her choice of words insinuated an alarmingly intimate position between them.

Clearing her throat delicately, she went to the crate containing her cot and began pushing it toward the tent’s opening. Malek immediately appeared by her side and lifted the heavy crate as if it weighed nothing more than feathers.

Her brows rose in surprise. “I can do that,” she stated. “Since I turned into a Lycan two years ago, my speed and strength is that of ten men.”

“I am aware of that,” he said brusquely. He bent his head slightly as he went through the opening of the tent and she followed him in. He looked around the small enclosure and gave her a hard look. “Where do you want it?”

She pointed to a corner on the far right as she tried to ignore the nervous flutters in her stomach. His immense presence filled the tent’s interior and she couldn’t tear her focus away from his handsome face. “Over there. Thank you.”

He nodded and deposited the crate on the ground. Straightening, he gave her a hooded look. “I trust this tent is to your liking?”

“It’s fine. Th-thank you.” God, he confused her. In one moment he was harsh, bordering on rude and in the next moment he was gallantly lifting her crate and enquiring politely after her comfort. She watched him stride to the opening. “Malek.”

He stopped and turned around, regarding her silently.

“If we’re going to spend the next week together,” she began stiffly, “can we at least try to get along? I…I would
like
us to be friends.”

A momentary flash of surprise entered his face, but it disappeared so quickly she wondered if she’d imagined it. Without saying a word, Malek turned abruptly on his heel and left her.

“So much for my olive branch,” she murmured.

* * * *

Friends! Was she mad? Malek recalled her warm flesh when he’d unfastened her trousers and he was immediately aroused. Damnation! The last thing on his mind was friendship.

He growled under his breath as he toured the camp, making sure everything was in order. Spending all this time with her was going to be worse than he thought. The tension he’d felt the first moment he set eyes on her last week was mounting, and in disgust he realised that tension now rested in his loins.

He knew firsthand the immense power of Balkathan’s mind control, and until he knew he could trust Katya, he could do nothing about his attraction for the dark-haired beauty.

* * * *

Alone by the side of the camp, Katya nibbled on her bread and glanced at the guards having their dinner. She caught a few of them casting surreptitious glances her way and she wondered if Malek had poisoned their minds against her. She saw Malek off to the side. He was all by himself, occasionally casting a dark look her way.

He couldn’t have made her feel like more of an outcast. She pursed her lips and tore her gaze from his. He should have been grateful to her for embarking on this journey with them. She was the only one who knew where Balkathan’s lair was. Instead, he treated her as if she was a pariah.

Anger welled in her breast and she rose abruptly from her boulder. Katya tossed the remaining food from her plate on the ground, knowing a wild animal would appreciate the bread and beans, and marched to her tent. From the corner of her eye, she saw Malek rise abruptly.

Inside her tent, she placed her plate on top of a box and went to her bag.

“You barely touched your food,” Malek said behind her.

She didn’t believe for a moment he was concerned about her appetite. Without bothering to turn around, Katya reached for her small satchel of soap. “I’m not hungry.” She heard Malek growl softly.

“A Lycan is always hungry. You must eat.”

Angrily, she spun around. “Well, maybe I’m not like all Lycans. If you bothered to get to know me, you’d know I was born human with my mother’s vampire blood in my veins before I turned into a Lycan.”

Malek frowned at her bag. “Where are you going?”

“To bathe before bed.”

He grimaced. “I will come with you and stand guard.”

Her shackles rose. “No, you won’t. Your duties to protect me end where my privacy is concerned.”

Malek’s jaw tightened. “I gave the king my word I would keep you safe.”

“And I’m grateful. However, I don’t like to bathe with an audience,” she said, gritting her teeth.

“You will have your privacy. I will wait behind the trees.”

Chapter Three

Malek heard her humming a soft melody and tightened his jaw. A few moments later, he heard a splash. She was in the water—naked.

Damnation. He was supposed to be protecting her, not entertaining thoughts of ravishing her. He heard her moan and his gut tightened. The wolf in him was going wild. It wanted to join her, touch her, and caress her.