Lake Nuron

--The Nydisian Kingdom, Eraregord, Othes Forest--

Katherine could feel the warm breeze of the summer sun brush against her skin.

She was slightly awake but her eyes remained closed. She began thinking of what Lucian and her talked about last night and truthfully, she was genuinely worried.

Worried that she was supposed to rule a kingdom full of all these creatures yet she was nothing but ordinary.

When she first arrived at the castle a week ago, she was adamant about returning home but the more time she spent at the castle, unknowingly the need to stay there grew.

Katherine was still dazed with sleep but the sound of gnawing skin kept disturbing her sleep. Slowly, she opened her eyes and saw Lleweelyn feeding on what looked like a deer.

There was something in the way he fed that frightened her. His eyes were filled with hunger and with blackness and only the rim of his natural red eye colour could be seen.

Katherine started to feel uncomfortable as he fed to the point where the deer's head fell off. She gasped when she saw that Llewellyn kept feeding even after the poor deer had lost its head.

There were root-like veins around his eyes that squirmed continuously as he fed while his claws already started to top the animal in half.

Katherine looked over and saw quite a large piece of deer meat being heated over the fire. She slowly sat up feeling a little bit disoriented from the sight she had woke up to.

Lucian dropped a piece of cooked meat on a leaf and placed it in front of her. "Thank you," Katherine muttered.

Katherine thought her heart was going to leap out of her chest when Llewellyn looked straight at her. He looked terrifying, your worst nightmare kind of terrifying.

His mouth twitched up into a smile as the veins in his eyes slowly started retreating. "I didn't know you could feed on animal blood," Katherine stated while taking a bite of the cooked deer meat. All that followed was a chuckle in response to her comment.

Now that his eyes were back to normal, Katherine felt more relaxed. She turned around to see Lucian naked and bathing in the sapphire blue lake.

His eyes were closed as he ran his hand through his onyx black hair, the muscles on his shoulders flexed ever so slightly as he brought his hand back down to scoop water in his hands.

His tight and firm chest muscles stood proud and without slack. His abs followed with the v-shaped curve of his pelvis and the remainder of his lower half was submerged in the water.

Her cheeks reddened at the sight of his body, it was as if the moon goddess herself sculpted his body with extreme care.

Katherine's eyes wandered when she caught sight of a black ink spread out across his back. She quickly tore her eyes away when she realized she was staring at him.

After a while, she finished eating the meat and Lucian had come out of the water while Llewellyn was going in.

"Did you finish the food?" Lucian said without looking down at her. She nodded feeling too tired to speak. Although she didn't like the silence that followed.

She stood up and walked over to stand beside the damp and shirtless man. "Did you enjoy yours?"

He probably ate while she was asleep seeing as Llewellyn threw the remaining bits of the deer into the fire.

"I don't eat animals," Katherine looked up at him in curiosity and as she was about to query Lucian, he spoke again.

"I'm a hybrid, animal blood isn't enough for me," Katherine's mouth shaped an 'o' in realization.

Being a hybrid made Lucian stronger in every way but it also meant things like stronger cravings and a specific need for human or pixie blood, a vampire's main diet.

When Llewelyn had come out of the water, he and Lucian walked off into the forest. Last night, Llewellyn had found traces of someone following them. He tried to track it last night but it was futile, the prints eventually became less visible.

Now that they were out of sight, Katherine used the opportunity to undress and step into the sapphire blue lake.

She had expected the water to be cold and unwelcoming but instead, it was the opposite. She had originally thought the water was shallow as it reached Lucian's lower waist but for Katherine, it reached just above her bosom.

As Katherine began to wash up, she couldn't help but feel someone was watching her, the same as last night. She used one hand to cover her chest as scanned the area, "Hello?" After deeming that she was alone, she finished washing up and began to dress.

Katherine was seated next to the fire hoping the heat would aid in drying her skin. She parted her hair through the middle and when she turned to the side, she caught sight of leaves shaking.

She sighed when Lucian and Llewellyn appeared in front of her and grabbed their things and put out the fire. "Let's go, if we move quickly enough we'll be able to get there before sunset," Lucian said as he stepped in front while Llewelyn and Katherine followed closely behind.

They had been walking for several hours now with the occasional small talk but Katherine wasn't paying attention until the topic of wolves came up.

"We should go to the infernal lands, the alphas would give out their best men to the army," Llewellyn suggested.

"I don't want to deal with a question of loyalty when it comes to the throne or their pack," Lucian said as he swerved slightly to move away from a branch. "Our army should be strong enough with or without the wolves, depending on the wolves is a sign of weakness."

The wolf packs in Nydisia occupied the infernal lands, even though the alphas and their packs were still under Nydisia's rule, it was their territory.

"What if they pledged their allegiance to you?" Katherine asked as she jogged slightly to walk right behind Lucian.

"It's not so simple, wolves share a bond with their packs," Llewellyn explained as he walked slowly behind Katherine.

Katherine frowned and asked, "Can't you challenge their alpha?" Directing her question to Lucian.

"As an alpha wolf, yes, but it is not ideal," Lucian did not see it as necessary to do so. A pack is more than just warriors, there are some women and children who need the safety a pack can provide.

Lucian began to think through the possibility of using wolves, however, not those in a pack. "I'll send out an official decree to have all the rogues rounded up,"

Katherine thought back to when Jason, one of the guards at Lady Morgan's manor, told her stories about rogue attacks on his pack. "But rogues are dangerous," Although Katherine never had an encounter with one, the idea of rouges didn't sit well with her. Jason had told how the pack he belonged to, sent out warrior wolves to hunt a rogue that killed a guard roaming the perimeter.

"I don't remember asking your opinion," Lucian's harsh eyes briefly glanced at Katherine before walking ahead.