Mine At First Sight
Chapter 14 - Inside Out

▪️L E N N A▪️

“Fuuuck!” I screamed, startling myself awake.

The dark duvet was bunched and twisted haphazardly around my waist. I sat up and shivered as my stiff nipples grazed against the material of my cream-coloured, thin strap night gown. My skin felt flushed and clammy and while I shifted around, the dampness of my underwear flustered me.

“Relax yourself, Lenna, it was just a dream,” I muttered, trying to forget the disturbing images.

Before I could even gather my wits properly, my chamber doors burst open, banging against the stone wall. In rushed Edric and Eginhard, their brows creased.

No doubt my scream had woken them.

Gulping, my eyes widened as I stared at their sleepy faces, their dark hair tousled, each wearing only a pair of long, dark-coloured silk pants. Edric’s long hair in particular was very dishevelled, and he ran his hand through it so that it did not fall in his face.

Tearing my gaze away from their bare muscled torsos, I quickly shot a glance towards the window. The darkness outside indicated that there was still some time before we needed to rise.

“Are you alright?” Eginhard asked, concern etched on his handsome face.

Suddenly turning to face him, Edric growled, his voice low as his nostrils flared, “She’s clearly fine, now get out!”

“But Lenna–” he started to argue.

“I said out!” the Lycan King enforced through a hissed whisper.

Eginhard gave me a look that said ‘I tried’ before he shook his head and grumbled his defeat as he left, closing the door behind him.

Licking my lips nervously, I grabbed the sheets and pulled them closer to my body. Edric slowly walked towards my bed, my eyes drawn to the way his muscles rippled, almost hypnotising me with every step he took.

“What were you dreaming about?” Edric asked, his hands clenching at his sides.

“Who says I was dreaming?” I deflected, while gripping the duvet even tighter.

Stepping closer, he said, “From the way you screamed…”

It had been over a week since Edric had shifted for me by the lake.

Almost every night since then, I had been having the most erotic fantasies about the Lycan King. Needless to say, during the day while I tried to study, I often found my mind drifting, thinking the most impure thoughts.

It was hard to erase the view of his naked body from my mind. The way he stood in front of the lake, the night air blowing through his long hair. The image, I feared, would forever be engrained within my memory.

“Lenna…” Edric’s voice broke through my reverie as he sat on the edge of the bed.

“Sorry, it was just a silly dream, I can barely remember it now,” I lied.

There was no way I was going to confess that I had been fantasising about him! I would rather die than admit such a thing.

What had started off as us hunting together in the forest, ended up with me on my back on the forest floor. His lips attached to my neck as my legs wrapped around his waist, the sound of his name echoing through the trees as he claimed me, his thick manhood stretching me to the point where there was pleasure mixed with pain.

I could still hear his deep voice, whispering things in my ear before I realised that my focus was faltering.

“Can barely remember huh? Is that why your pupils are dilating? Or the fact that the scent of your arousal, that hit me in the face as soon as I entered the room, is even stronger now?” Edric countered, his left eyebrow raised.

At his bold words, I lowered my gaze and unconsciously clenched my thighs.

Feeling the bed dip as he moved closer, my eyes widened, wondering where he was going. Before I could contemplate what was happening, Edric was sitting up against the headboard and I was straddling his lap. His large hands rested on my thighs; my own fingers were gripping on to his shoulders.

His eyes darkened, while his hold on me tightened, “Your sense of duty and honour is so damn intoxicating! I swear, there’s just something about you that I can’t seem to understand. It’s almost as though your body calls to mine.”

While he spoke, his hands slowly moved higher, his fingers pushing my nightgown up, exposing more of my thighs to his view. I did my best to suppress the shudder that I felt creeping up my spine, not wanting him to know just how much his touch on my skin was affecting me, though I knew that he could smell how aroused I was, but I had no control over that, so I tried to act as confident as I could, given the situation.

“That must anger you, being attracted to a human…” I said while a small smile tugged at my lips.

“It infuriates me…” Edric confessed; his gaze locked with mine.

He growled low in his throat. His hands reaching my hips, he pulled me forward even more. The evidence of his arousal wedged between my legs caused me to moan softly. Berengar had been big, but Edric, he was massive, and a part of me wondered if I could take him.

“So, what are we going to do about it?”

Edric seemed shocked by my response; the quickening of his breath was hard to miss. Feeling another burst of courage, I decided to press my luck and continued speaking.

“I mean, I can keep a secret if you can…” I teased, while grinding my crotch against his.

I did not know what possessed me to say such a thing, but the words were already out before I could take them back.

The way his chest vibrated as he rumbled beneath me caused my arousal to surge. Hearing him breathe harshly ignited my body and inflated my ego.

Chuckling softly, I said, “You know, when I first came to the Lycan region, if someone had told me that I would be straddling the King almost six weeks later, I would have never believed it. It was one of the things I was upset with my father about, as I thought you were going to use me as some sort of sex slave.”

“Really now?” Edric mumbled against my skin as he leaned forward to kiss my throat.

Nodding, my breathing came out in short pants, “Yes, but then in the carriage, you told me that you had never slept with a human, and had no intentions of ever doing so–”

“Perhaps I spoke too soon…” he said as he cut me off.

Edric’s hands gently pushed and pulled on my hips, dragging my crotch over his erection. It was such an amazing feeling as he moved me over him while pushing himself up against me. With his teeth, he pulled down the right strap of my nightgown, exposing the top curve of my breast.

From the way his fingers dug into my skin, I just knew that a bruise would form later on and I found myself liking the idea.

“Edric…” I rasped while pushing myself against him.

“Lenna…”

He groaned low in his throat, feeling my nipples rub against his chest through the material of my night gown. The sound he made aroused me even further, causing me to completely forget everything that was going on around us.

But, as usual, he had to spoil it by saying something stupid.

“Did you put some type of magic spell on me?” Edric asked before gently biting at the skin of my throat.

It was as if he had dumped a bucket of cold water over my head.

To suggest that he could only be attracted to me because of magic was insulting. Why did he always have to open his mouth and say something foolish every time we were together.

My eyes popped open as I scoffed, “If I could control my magic, the last thing I would use it for is to bewitch you. But if you need to delude yourself to deal with your emotions, by all means then.”

Raising his head to look into my eyes, he asked, “What does that mean? Emotions…”

“It means I know you, Your Majesty…” I purposefully used his title as I spoke, “You want me to think that you’re this big bad heartless monster. You try to come off as if you don’t care about anyone and that you have no heart, but I think you have the biggest one of us all.”

“Lenna…” Edric’s voice dipped as his body stiffened, his hands ceasing my hip’s movements.

“What, am I lying? Do you not think I see the way you gaze at me when you think I’m not looking? You forget that I can sense emotions, I can feel your desire!” I huffed out in annoyance while trying to get off of him.

His fingers dug into my skin even more, “Where are you going?”

“The sun is rising, you need to go on your morning run,” I motioned to the burst of light that was beginning to peak over the mountains.

So lost we had been in each other’s presence, that we had not realised how much time had passed. My body was trembling, begging for release and I wanted, no, I needed to put some distance between us.

“But we’re not done speaking,” Edric claimed, his brow furrowing.

“Is that what we were doing? What more is there to say?” I lashed out, annoyed at how my body craved him, “Are you going to kiss me? Touch me? Fuck me? If not, let me go, I have to go study and train.”

I ran my hands fully through his hair, as I pressed down onto his hardened manhood, intent on overwhelming his senses so that he would let me go.

It was obvious to me that Edric would not make any other moves on me, so I wanted to drive him to his limit, forcing him to push me away. Moaning softly in his ear, I sucked on his earlobe before I rubbed my face against his beard and pressed my lips against his neck, my tongue sneaking out to lick his skin.

I was stepping over a line I knew I should not be crossing, risking punishment.

“Lenna…”

The way he groaned my name softly caused my inner core to clench.

“Lenna what?” I asked, while continuing to kiss his throat. “Tell me, Edric, what do you want? Lenna, stop? Lenna, give me more? Tell me…” I challenged while pulling my face back to look into his eyes.

“Damn you!” Edric snarled while abruptly pushing me off of his lap.

Falling onto my back, I raised myself up on my elbows while watching him stand up. I allowed myself a few seconds to rejoice in my victory before I got off the bed as well.

“Where are you going now?” Edric asked.

“To get myself off in the shower, now if you’ll excuse me,” I bowed, then headed towards the bathroom.

Happy that he did not try to stop me, I entered and closed the door behind me. Exhaling, I locked it, then proceeded to quickly remove my nightgown. Stepping into the shower, I sighed softly as the warm water caressed my skin. Lathering up my body, I closed my eyes and allowed my hands to wander between my legs.

I silently wondered if Edric was still in my room.

Leaning my back against the stone wall, I began to touch myself, not surprised by how sensitive and swollen I was seeing as my orgasm was already so close. With just a few strokes against my clit, it would not take long for me to reach my climax and I focused on the sensations that were coursing through my body.

Arching my spine, I moaned out my pleasure loudly.

Edric let out an animalistic roar before I heard my chamber doors being slammed closed.

Over the next few days, I had done my best to avoid Edric as much as I could.

I had used the excuse of my menses to lock myself in my chambers, stating that the cramps were very heavy this month.

What had started out as a few days quickly turned into weeks, as Edric stated that my services were not needed during dinner. We saw each other in passing, but other than a tense, casual exchange of pleasantries, we had not spoken since that day.

It was as though I were no longer his slave.

Every time I saw Edric, those captivating grey-green eyes of his would stare longingly into mine, even though his face was set in a hard scowl. There was an irresistible connection between us, calling from the inside out, pulling yet repelling at the same time.

I was sitting on the floor of my bedroom, in front of three different books.

“It’s been almost seven weeks now, Lenna! I swear to the Gods, you’re as stubborn as he is, probably even more so if that was even possible!” Eginhard sighed while sitting next to me.

“I’m not…” I grumbled and turned the page.

“You two should just make up and kiss already,” he playfully said, while bumping his shoulder into mine.

“Hey! I thought you came to help me practice? I need to work on my blocking techniques,” I complained, my face scrunching up with worry.

The last time I had seen Tharun was almost two months ago.

I had not been back to the dungeon since, as I wanted to make sure that I could properly block the energy of the werewolf. Since then, I had been training and studying from sun up to sun down.

After the intimate incident with Edric, I had completely buried myself in my work, pushing myself harder than I ever had before.

With my resolve fuelled, I found myself growing stronger and more resilient with each passing day. I noticed that my hands would glow more often, though I still had no control over it. But it was progress nonetheless.

Eginhard’s voice pulled me from my thoughts.

“Of course, I’m here to help you! Our nightly training sessions are the highlight of my day! Whether it’s hand to hand combat or just helping you block my energy, I enjoy all of it. Buuuuut I wouldn’t be a good friend if I didn’t try to assist you with your messed-up love life, even if it involves my older brother. I want to see you happy.”

“Assist with my love life? I thought you liked me? Why are you trying to palm me off on your grumpy brother?” I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye.

“What man would not like you? If my brother was not in the picture, I would definitely try to make you mine, but it is clear that the Gods have other plans. Besides, I think it’s cute that you two like each other actually,” Eginhard chuckled at his words.

Muttering as I violently closed one of the books, “I think you’re confused, because I don’t like him and he sure as hell doesn’t he like me.”

“Oh, come off it, Lenna! It’s not polite to lie to your friends.” He cocked his head to one side as he added, “Come on, admit it.”

Growling softly, I slammed closed another book, “Alright fine! I like your stupid big-headed brother, happy? But he doesn’t like me back, so just leave it be…”

“He likes you a lot,” Eginhard said, “more than he cares to admit out loud.”

Closing the last book, I stood up and moved towards the doors that led out to the large balcony, “Sure he does…”

“If it makes you feel any better, if I had to lose you to someone, who better than the King!”

Eginhard’s response reminded me of what Berengar had said and even though the Lycan Prince smiled brightly at me, his tone had been serious.

As I focused on him, I wished that I could have returned his feelings for me as I was not a fan of having feelings for a man who could barely stand the sight of me.

I could acknowledge that both Eginhard and Berengar would make perfect partners. These two men, whom any woman would be happy to be with, were interested in me. Yet, I had to have feelings for the grumpy Lycan King who did not know how to express himself.

What a fool I am, I silently scolded myself.

Edric was untouchable in so many ways, not just emotionally, but physically as well. He was the Lycan King, and by law, I could not be anything more than a mistress to him if we ever decided to go down that path.

Following my lead, Eginhard got to his feet as well, “I bet when you use your powers you can sense him pacing about the hallways at night. I mean, let’s be honest, one doesn’t need to have magical abilities or Lycan senses to know that something is going on between the two of you. Your absence from the dinning hall has been noted, some of the humans think that you’re pregnant for him and that’s why you’ve been hiding.”

Rolling my eyes, I adjusted the sleeves of my tunic, “Don’t remind me, Suvarna has been filling me in about the various ridiculous rumours that have been fluttering about the dining hall. My personal favourite is that I unlocked my powers and turned myself into a flower by accident.”

The Lycan Prince chuckled softly.

Not giving him a chance to come back with whatever witty reply he had planned, I got into position, “Enough talk of this, time to train.”

“Yes, my Queen,” Eginhard said with a slight bow, before getting into his stance.

Ever since I had told him about the incident by the lake, he had been constantly teasing me, saying that it was only a matter of time before Edric and I got together. He had argued that I was already sleeping in the chambers meant for the Lycan Queen.

I grumbled while beginning to focus on my energy, “I told you not to call me that!”

With my arms raised in front of me, palms facing forward, a sudden burst of light expelled from my hands, knocking Eginhard off his feet. My body felt as though it were on fire as I stood momentarily transfixed. Staring down at my glowing hands, my gaze then shifted to Eginhard who was gawking up at me with eyes wide open.

“Holy shit! That was awesome!” Eginhard exclaimed as he jumped up and ran over to me, “Can you do it again?”

“Erm, I don’t know–” I began to say, before Edric burst into my room, followed by Klaus, as well as the other high-ranking Lycans.

“What hell happened? We all sensed a powerful energy,” Edric demanded, his eyes immediately taking in the fading glow of my hands before locking his gaze with mine.

Eginhard excitedly started chattering, “You should have seen it, Edric! We were talking about yo–oof!”

My elbow moved on its own, replaceing its way to his ribs, causing him to clear his throat.

“I mean, we were just setting up our stances to beginning another session of her blocking techniques, when all of a sudden, pow! It was like an energy wave of sorts was released from her palms and it knocked me right on my ass,” Eginhard said, his hands moving animatedly.

Stepping forward, Drengr asked, “Amazing! Did it hurt?”

“Not exactly, more like it momentarily dazed me,” Eginhard answered.

With my eyes still locked with Edric, I saw his nostrils flare as Drengr took my hands in his. The Lycan examined my palms curiously, and I could feel the excitement coming off the others as though they expected the answers to magically appear out of my hands.

“Do you think that you could do it again?” Drengr enquired as he stepped back.

“I don’t even know how it happened in the first place, but I can try.”

“I have an idea,” Eginhard suddenly said before continuing, “maybe you should try to practice with a stronger Lycan, like my brother perhaps?”

My eyes narrowed, silently asking ‘what the hell’ as I looked at him. Instead, he gave me a cheeky grin and stepped back to stand next to the other Lycans. Begrudgingly, Edric came to stand before me, his jaw set while he glared down at me.

I wanted nothing more than to slap the look off his face.

How dare he look at me as though I did him something, especially when he was the one who exacerbated the situation!

The nerve of this man!

“Alright, big brother, just do what you do best, stand there and look grumpy!” Eginhard teased then added, “Lenna will try to block your energy from overwhelming her.”

Taking a deep breath, I briefly closed my eyes.

Upon reopening them, I allowed myself to focus. Within the last month, I had become quite efficient at replaceing the presence of others. Practicing with Eginhard had helped me to develop a competent blocking technique. I still had trouble completely blocking everything out for long periods of time. But with each day, I got better, to the point where I managed to block and hold the Lycan Prince’s presence at bay for a few minutes.

The problem I now faced was that instead of Eginhard, this was Edric, the strongest Lycan within the region. I did not think that I would be able to block him out completely, but I would try my best.

As usual, Edric’s energy was bold and powerful.

Grunting, my hands pushed at an invisible wall. Willing myself to calm down, I silently focused on keeping my own energy within and around me. The surface of my palms tingled as Edric’s energy tried to push against my defences, but my walls held, even if they were somewhat unsteady.

The pores on my skin tingled as I felt my eyesight begin to blur.

Unfortunately, the familiar choking hold began to surround me. I was at my limit; his energy was too strong. But at least, unlike previous times, I did not black out, even though I felt like I was teetering on the edge of consciousness.

“Enough!” I gasped out as I closed myself off completely and began to fall to my knees.

Before I could even drop to the floor, I was in Edric’s strong arms. He was looking down at me. The irritation from before was gone. In its place was a startling apprehension as his gaze locked with mine.

“You have gotten stronger…” the pride in Edric’s voice was evident.

“I think that you should train with Edric from now on, Lenna,” Eginhard proposed, the corner of his lips curving upwards.

“What? Why?” I enquired, feeling the Lycan King stiffen next to me.

“I think everyone here can agree that you’ve come a long way these past few weeks. You have almost perfected blocking against me, and while my energy may be sturdier than the werewolf’s, my brother’s energy is even stronger. It also seems to affect you a lot, from what you’ve told me. I think that if you can master blocking Edric, then you would be more than ready for Einarr and whatever else he has planned.”

“But what about another high-ranking Lycan instead? Maybe even Faeda?” I asked, wanting to work my way up.

Cutting in, Klaus agreed, “The Prince is right. The King has the most powerful energy. If you can fully block him out, I think that would be a step in the right direction of unlocking your full powers. Who knows, perhaps the added push might cause a repeat of whatever happened earlier tonight.”

Sighing softly, I conceded defeat.

It made sense, there was no time for baby steps. Might as well dive into the deep end of the lagoon and be done with it.

Fun times…