Mine At First Sight
Chapter 9 - Oh Brother

▪️E D R I C▪️

The night air puffed out of my mouth like smoke. My breathing was deep and shallow while I quickly ran through the forest, heading towards the Soljord Mountains.

Lenna’s beautiful face against the window had burnt itself into my mind when I left the castle.

She was all I could think about lately.

The scent from her skin almost drove me mad at times, testing the limits of my self-control.

Before leaving her bedroom, I had held her face and looked down into her mesmerising purple eyes. I wanted to tell her how proud I was of her for all the work she had been putting in, and I had been so close to admitting such.

It was amazing how much she had grown over these last few weeks.

Without even realising it, my admiration for her increased with each passing day. It was at a point now where I could not look at her without feeling some sort esteem.

Regrettably, I had yet to voice such.

The need to fervently express how far I was willing to go to keep her safe had been on the tip of my tongue. However, I withheld my confession, for it sounded much too affectionate in my head and I could not have her misinterpreting my words.

I thought back to the incident over two weeks ago, when she had her menses.

Knowing that she was not pregnant for that werewolf had stirred something primitive deep within me. Dare I say out loud, that I was pleased that she was not carrying his wretched pup!

At first, my thoughts had shocked me.

Lenna should not be affecting me in this way. Yet, for some unknown reason, she was.

By the Gods!

The scent of her blood seemed to bring out new parts of me, parts that I did not know even existed, and I wanted nothing more than to pounce and claim her as my own. My inner beast did not seem to care that she was human, for there was a power within her that called to me.

When the distinct scent of Lenna’s menses first hit me that morning, I thought I would go insane as I paced about my room, clawing at the walls. As luck would have it, I had some business to attend to with Abidan in terms of securing some of the upper central plain borders.

As such, I was able to escape being around her. While many would call me a coward, I knew that if I had stayed, I would not have been able to hold back from kissing her.

Unfortunately, within two days, we had completed our task.

As soon as we had made it back to the castle, I immediately locked on to her scent and found her in the library. Standing by the door as I looked up at her, I inhaled large gulps of air laced heavily with her fragrance.

It had driven me absolutely mad!

If I were a weaker Lycan, I would have grabbed Lenna right there and then and taken her against the bookshelf, marking her as mine, and she would have loved it!

I did not know how I did it, but I managed to keep myself in check.

Thankfully, none of the other Lycans seemed as affected by the scent of her blood. Especially the twins Asger and Balder, for she was never out of their sight. But that was why I had initially chosen them, for they had remarkable discipline and control over their primal urges.

Not to mention, the brothers experienced no sexual attraction towards others, making them the perfect guards for Lenna.

Of course, I was not blind to the stares of longing from some of the other male Lycans. In particular that of my younger brother Eginhard, who had seemed to form some sort of friendship with her.

Nonetheless, it was easy to see the way in which many of the males noticed Lenna’s beauty as well as her sinful body. But, out of respect for me, they would not pursue their own urges. Which was a good thing, for it would have surely caused a civil war of some kind, had they overstepped their boundaries.

I would have to brace myself for her next monthly bleed, curious to see if I would react the same way. Even though a part of me knew that I would, once I could control myself, everything would be fine.

Confusion clouded my mind as to why I seemed to be the only Lycan that was so ensnared by the scent.

Ghaffar and Faeda had picked up on my mood swings, but of course, I told them nothing. I had an idea what Faeda would say, and I was not about to break my own rule because my body and nose seemed bewildered.

I had rationalised these bizarre feelings as a simple result of wanting something that was new and unfamiliar. In time, this fixation would pass, and I would return to my normal self, instead of pining after a human.

Albeit, an incredibly beautiful and powerful one.

Fuck! I prayed for strength.

In terms of asking her to call me by my name, I had blamed that on my befuddled state of mind. After all, what other reason could there be?

At first, I had told her to address me as Master Edric, but hearing her say the word Master stirred my beast. The image of her being tied up as I roughly took her from behind had briefly flashed through my mind, causing me to scowl.

Unfortunately, having Lenna say my name was just as dangerous.

It was obvious that we both seemed to affect each other on some inexplicable level. The physical attraction between us, though not blaring obvious, was there nonetheless.

I did not need to use my enhanced abilities to see that I interested her, the way a man would a woman. Especially with the way she would tense whenever I invaded her personal space, or how her body shuddered when my lips touched her neck.

Lenna wanted me, and the thought made my cock twitch.

My heightened senses had picked up the scent of her arousal, to which my own body had immediately reacted. Just remembering how hard I had gotten had me stifling a groan.

Had she been a Lycan, I would have thought that the Gods had fated us to be together for I would not have hesitated to claim her as my own. As much as I wanted to curse her very existence, even I could not ignore the pull between us.

Either way, the Gods were playing some form of cruel game.

The way in which Lenna could sometimes sense my emotions, particularly my anger, surprised and agitated me. The mention of my older brother’s name in the library had infuriated me so much, she had nearly choked on my energy.

From that moment, I knew that I needed to try and keep myself from lashing out around her. The last thing I wanted to do was to hurt Lenna. So, I vowed to be careful, at least until she learnt how to properly block the energy of others.

Drengr and Klaus had instructed me that Lenna’s abilities were growing stronger each day and that we needed to keep an eye on her.

I had to be honest with myself. Seeing her on the ground, convulsing, tonight had disturbed me greatly.

Snarling, I forced myself to return to the matter at hand.

Glancing at the sky, the first quarter moon stared shamelessly back at me. This meant that there was a week until the next full moon. But, as my ears twitched listening to the noises of the battlefield ahead of me, the sounds and smells of the werewolves could not be mistaken.

How was it that they were even able to transform ahead of time?

As I burst through the clearing on a hill, I saw that the Lycans had everything under control.

Crouching on the incline, I observed that the attacking werewolves looked different, their facial features almost deformed in places. Not to mention, they did not have the same resolve as those we had fought last month, their strength was nowhere near the intensity that we had previously seen. Though the fact that they were able to shift at all was still of great concern.

Sniffing the air, I growled, the scent of Einarr close.

Knowing that the Lycans did not need me, I ran off after my brother. Keeping on high alert, I sped through the trees, following his trail which was strangely beginning to dissipate in the night.

“Brother!”

A loud shout suddenly filled the air, causing me to abruptly stop.

I turned towards the sound and was forced to immediately jerk my head back. I moved just in time to avoid the tip of an arrow as it shot past the side of my face.

What the fuck?

How had I not heard or smelled him this close to me?

Snarling, I grabbed my double axes from the holster across my back and levelled a glowering look, “What sorcery are you playing at, Einarr? What trickery is this?”

A large black Lycan stepped out from behind a nearby tree.

His appearance was almost identical to mine. The Malvar bloodline was strong, resulting in all the male Lycans being born with pure black fur.

The only difference between us was our eyes.

Where mine were grey with flecks of green, Einarr’s were a bright amber colour. Although, in his Lycan state, I noticed that his eyes now had a red tint to them which had never been there before.

This was the first time that I had seen him in years.

My frown deepened as I watched my brother stalk towards me. It was in that moment that I noticed just how much bigger he had gotten since we had last fought, and I was curious to see what his human form looked like.

Hearing his voice caused my chest to tighten.

“There’s no trick, brother, I’m just using the gifts provided to us by this world. You should know, you’ve found yourself one,” Einarr said while lowering his bow and arrow.

My entire body tensed at his insinuation.

“Oh yes, I have a few purple-eyed individuals of my own. Unfortunately, a lot of their magical knowledge has been lost over time. But, as you can see, they’ve remembered enough for what I require of them, and together, their magic is quite potent. After all, I’ll need a strong army if I intend to reclaim what’s rightfully mine!”

Growling, I retorted, “You know very well why father did what he did!”

Scoffing, Einarr’s upper lip curled, “Please! Claiming that I was unstable like Eberhard should have been seen as something good, not feared! That man was a mighty warrior!”

“Who killed thousands!” I snapped, my hands gripping my axes tighter.

“Perhaps, yet I don’t see anyone rushing to undo the laws that he put in place. The Lycans still enslave the werewolves and humans. Tell me, brother, why is that, huh?” Einarr questioned, his tone mocking.

I had no answer for him, for I myself had never really agreed with the enslavement that occurred throughout the empire. However, it was what I had been taught, and so it had continued under my reign. Though the treatment of werewolves, and particularly that of humans, was less brutal than it had been in the past as I had seen to changing a few things.

Tilting his head to the side, Einarr sneered, “But thanks to the mad King, the descendants of those who escaped his reign are strong and very large in number. I’ve rallied many of them under my rule, and they now call me King!”

“Then why not just be the King beyond the mountain? Why bother to return here at all? Anyone listening to you would swear that it was you alone who suffered! I didn’t take anything from you! You act as though I wanted to be King!” I huffed out, the words bitter on my tongue as I continued, “Did you actually think I wanted Caelina?”

“Of course not! You are incapable of loving anyone but yourself! When she and the cub died, you did not even have the decency to mourn her properly!” Einarr roared at me.

Turning my weapons in my hand, our eyes remained locked, “How could I? I knew the child she carried was not mine!” I paused, knowing that my revelation shocked him, “And even if I wished to mourn her out of respect, it would have been hard to do, seeing as you murdered our parents soon after!”

“They deserved it, for judging me without even giving me a chance,” his voice full of venom.

“I never wanted to hurt you, Einarr, and the fact that you didn’t give me a chance to fix things wounds me to this day–”

“Lies!”

“It’s true!” I retorted. “As soon as I officially became King, I had planned on giving the crown back to you! Mother and Father wouldn’t have had a say and you and Caelina could have been together. I know, I should’ve told you of my plan, but every time I tried to talk to you, you always brushed me off.”

I knew that my revelation shocked Einarr from the way his brows creased, his eyes widening briefly before a glower returned to his face.

He huffed out a bitter laugh, “You’ll just say anything to make yourself seem innocent, won’t you? But the fact of the matter is, you stole what was rightfully mine, Edric, and I will be taking back the Malvar Empire!”

Tired of his inability to see the truth, I spat, “Over my dead fucking body!”

“That can be arranged!” Einarr smiled menacingly and took a step back, his ears twitching. “I’d love to stay and catch up, but I believe that our time is up. You’ve not seen the last of me, brother…”

With an intent to kill, I lunged towards him.

Simultaneously, I sensed the movement of something nearby, before twenty werewolves jumped out at me.

It seemed that whatever Einarr had used to distort his scent was being used on the werewolves as well. Of course, they were easy to handle, but by the time I had decapitated the last one, my older brother was nowhere in sight.

Fuck!

Throwing my head back, my throat ached as I roared my frustration into the night sky.

“I can’t believe that there are others like Lenna out there,” Drengr said, his voice laced with curiosity, while we sat in the council chamber a few hours later.

Nodding, Klaus added, “I always wondered what happened to those who had fled the empire during King Eberhard’s reign.”

Rubbing the temples of my head, I let out an exasperated sigh, “It’s obvious now, that not only does Einarr have an army of werewolves, but humans with magical abilities as well. Of course, now that we know that enchantments are at play, it makes sense where the werewolves’ increased strength came from.”

“Dark magic that be!” Odun’s nose turned up in disgust as he continued, “You can tell by the uncharacteristic ways in which their bodies moved. Not to mention the creatures we fought tonight; utter blasphemy I tell you!”

Abidan spoke up, “Agreed, being able to transform outside their moon sequence impacted their bodies in a way I can’t even begin to describe.”

I placed my elbows on the table, resting my chin on the back of my hands, “What about the one in the dungeon? Were you able to get any other information from him, Odun?”

The Lycan warrior shook his head, “Unfortunately, no. But from what Drengr and Klaus have deduced, he was definitely altered somehow.”

It had been almost a month since the werewolf had been captured, and we had been observing him in his human form. It had been a challenge, trying to learn as much about him as we could without killing him. We were all curious to see what would happen as we got closer to the next full moon, eager to see him shift.

“Yes,” Klaus stroked his beard, “and now that Einarr has exposed the existence of other humans like Lenna, it’s clear to me that magic was most definitely involved.”

There was a question lingering in the back of my mind.

I could not help but wonder if my older brother had an army of Lycans as well. If Einarr was indeed working with Lycans, it would only be a matter of time before they showed up, and may the Gods help us, I hoped they would not be enhanced.

“We need to tell Lenna,” Faeda voiced, forcing my attention to her.

“Are you a mad woman?” Ghaffar retorted, “I heard about what happened earlier, what if this sends her into another convulsion?”

“Might I interject?” Abidan asked, before proceeding, “I think that Faeda might be on to something.”

Shaking his head, Ghaffar waved a finger, “Now now! Let’s not forget what she told you all, how she felt pulled towards the Soljord Mountains. It seems to me that Einarr found her, instead of the other way around, no? What if they can feed off of her energy, then what? I mean, the lands beyond those mountains were never that fertile, but with this new information, who knows what they have been brewing these last few years.”

“First of all, the Lugarhou’s unusual strength had manifested before Lenna even arrived!” Drengr stated, sitting up more attentively, “I’m positive that, whatever Einarr has planned, our empire can handle it. Although, I do fear that you may be right in them sensing her, as she has been practicing her own magic a lot lately.”

“Well, we can’t just get rid of her!” Faeda’s face contorted, her eyebrows arching.

“We’re not sending Lenna anywhere!” I ground out, a snarl escaping me.

Everyone at the table stiffened slightly as they all turned to look at me. Their gazes were intently focused on my face, though Klaus’ one good eye seemed to twinkle knowingly.

“The King is right; she must remain here with us. Being at Edric’s side is the safest place for her right now. But I do agree, we need to tell her everything that is going on. I think the knowledge would help Lenna focus even more, especially if she knows what’s at stake,” the elder Lycan commented.

A smile formed on Drengr’s lips, “Too true. If there’s anything that I’ve noticed about that young human, her discipline and commitment to growth is unlike any other’s I have ever seen. Had I not known better; I would think her a Lycan.”

Odun grunted, “Hmph! She lacks the strength! What if they had attacked the castle? She wouldn’t be able to defend herself!”

“Then perhaps you should teach her a few moves, Master Warrior,” Faeda said with a big grin.

“Blasphemy! I do not train humans!” His brow creased as his frown deepened.

Shrugging, Faeda countered, “No, but some of our warriors do. After all, do we not wage human against each other in friendly combat sometimes? I know that Suvarna has been giving Lenna some lessons on hand-to-hand combat from the fighting style of her island.”

“Come again?” I jerked my head in her direction. “What do you mean, hand-to-hand combat? Why am I now hearing of this?”

“I thought you knew?” Faeda replied innocently.

Slanting her head, she looked at me with wide innocent eyes, knowing fully well that I did not have any knowledge of such.

“I did not!” My nostrils flared as another growl escaped me.

“Relax, there’s nothing to worry about, Edric. You know of the fighting style that the women of Suvarna’s tribe teach their daughters, so that they would not be defenceless. Besides, with this rise of Einarr’s threat, perhaps Lenna may even be able to put some of the moves that she has learnt to good use,” Faeda continued, trying to lighten the mood.

Realising the truth of her words, I relented.

After all, what Lenna did in her free time was up to her. Though, since I had no idea of this extra training, I could not help but silently wonder what else she might have been up to, and not knowing unnerved me.

Where Lenna was concerned, I found myself wanting to know absolutely everything.

“Should we send for her then?” Drengr asked.

I nodded with a frown.

A few moments later, Lenna entered the room.

My scowl deepened, as I watched the material of her white tunic tip cling to her upper body, while her dark leather pants encased her thick legs. Her dark curly hair was fixed in her usual braided hairstyle, and my fingers itched to loosen each and every one.

Dazed by my thoughts, I shook my head and pressed my lips into a thin line.

Faeda seemed to notice my distress and raised an amused eyebrow as she smirked. Glaring daggers at her, I silently dared her to say something, before she bowed and looked away, the corners of her mouth twitching.

Brooding, I sat back in silence, and let Klaus and the others converse with Lenna while she stood next to me.

Out of the corner of my eye, I stole glances at her ever so often. I noticed the way her hands clasped tightly in front of her, her thumb trailing over one of the white patches in particular.

This I had come to realise, was something she did to calm herself. I also noted the way her facial expression changed while she internalised all the information.

It was clear that Lenna was slightly terrified.

When she was permitted to speak, her words shocked us all, “I want to go to the dungeons to meet the Lugarhou. Perhaps being in his presence, I may be able to learn something that may be useful to you all.”

“Absolutely not!” I shouted, slamming my hand on the table, causing Lenna to involuntarily flinch.

Clearing his throat, Klaus nervously claimed, “I fear that she may be right, my King. The creature is secured, no harm will come to her. I believe that it’s worth trying, we have nothing to lose.”

As much as I wanted to, I could not argue with the elder Lycan’s reasoning and so, begrudgingly, I agreed.

Lenna then clasped her hands behind her back, her voice soft yet steady, “Master Odun, in terms of needing to gain more strength. I would be most honoured if you could teach me a thing or two about defending myself. Eginhard had invited me to come see him train, but I have yet to make it down to the training grounds to watch.”

I could feel her eyes shift to me, and I gritted my teeth and remained silent.

“Are you really coming to observe the young Prince train? Or are you perhaps hoping to ogle him and the other topless Lycan males like some of the silly female slaves do?” Odun muttered with a huff.

Not fazed by the irritable Lycan’s response, she smiled, “I would be coming to watch the training. In one of the books that Master Drengr gave me, I read that through enhancing my physical capabilities, I could possibly improve my magical abilities. I know that I could never match the stretch of a Lycan, but I’m pretty good with a bow and arrow, and could probably take down a human and werewolf or two, if needed.”

Odun narrowed his steel blue eyes at her, “Hmph! I’ll be the judge of that. We have training starting shortly, perhaps I’ll see you later and you can show me what you know.”

Seeming to take her time to choose her words wisely, she enquired, “If Einarr has teamed up with werewolves and humans, does that mean we’ll be doing the same?”

Everyone’s eyes widened slightly at her question.

In the deafening silence of the room, Lenna fidgeted, appearing to understand that she had overstepped an invisible line.

“Everyone out!” I roared, and as Lenna turned to leave, I growled, “Not you, human...”

With the room empty, I pushed my chair back, the sound seeming to echo against the walls while I stood tall, towering over her.

“Work with werewolves and humans?” I asked, pushing her against the edge of the table. My hands moved to rest on either side of her hips, trapping her while my face leaned forward, “Why would you think to even suggest such a thing?”

Stammering Lenna replied, “I meant no disrespect, Your Majesty.”

“What have I told you about using my name?” I breathed out harshly, my nostrils flaring.

“Edric,” her hands grabbed the edge of the wooden table, causing our fingers to touch. “I only asked in that, if Einarr is doing such, we would need to match his numbers.”

“Let me and my Lycans worry about such matters. You on the other hand, have more important things to worry about,” I stated gruffly.

Nodding, she said, “I understand and I promise to make you proud.”

“Is that so?” I taunted, my tone purposefully sarcastic as I continued, “I admit, I am curious to see what your werewolf has taught you.”

“So, does that mean you’re allowing me to train?” Lenna asked, her smile lighting up her face while her entire body relaxed

“It would seem that it’s inevitable now.” I muttered and watched her grin widened, forcing me to growl out, “Don’t look so smug.”

Shaking her head, she insisted, “I’m not! I smile because now I don’t need to try and think of a plan to beg you to train me.”

At her confession, I could not help the breathy laugh that escaped, “Beg me huh?”

“Or annoy…” Lenna’s sweet voice was playful as she added, “I know that my incessant ramblings irritate you.”

“Is that so?”

Nodding, she reached up to tie the lacing of my top. As my slave, the action was innocent enough. But for some reason, it felt more intimate than it should have, and my body tensed as I waited for her to finish.

When she patted my chest, my throat rumbled and I had to briefly closed my eyes while taking a deep breath before leaning away from her.

Refocusing my thoughts, I dismissed her, instructing her to go about her day, and that I would send for her later.

Lenna’s purple eyes were unusually bright and full of merriment while she bowed before leaving. If I did not know any better, there was a slight skip in her step as she walked out of the room.

What the hell had I gotten myself into?

Tilting my head towards the ceiling, I inwardly groaned, “Fuck…”