The Lycan King's Healer
The Lycan King’s Healer – Chapter 72

Right as I turned my head up to look around, a plethora of pale and red-eyed faces were jumping upon us.

Instinctively, I curled down around Theo, squeezing my eyes shut in feared shock. Aldrich acted quickly, shooting up to defend us. They came flying down from everywhere, as if they had been lurking in the trees.

“Alan, take Theo and run back with Cathy until they’re inside,” he called before transforming into his notoriously murderous wolf. I startled at his swift transformation, one moment looking up at my handsome husband and the next seeing him with glowing eyes and bloodthirsty teeth. He immediately sank them into the nearest vampire’s throat and spit the decapitated head out into the trees.

Theo saw all of it.

Alan rushed over and fluidly picked him up. I couldn’t protect Theo as well as Alan could, and Aldrich wasn’t insulting me by instructing him to take him.

“Cathy,” Alan urged with alarm, looking behind us, “run.”

He didn’t have to tell me twice. Without a second glance, we were flying through the snow capped woods, several vampires attacking the guards from behind us. I didn’t even have time to worry about Aldrich.

He led us through the trees, securing Theo against his chest while looking around the area.

Everything was a starry, snowy, and bloody blur.

As we ran, the sounds of snarling vampires, our steps through mushy snow, heavy breathing, and the cries of villagers, all I could think about was a vampire swooping down and eating my son in a last resort meal.

“We’re almost to the estate, just stay at your werewolf speed,” Alan ordered as we weaved through the trees. Theo was silent at this point in time, either too scared or too in shock to cry. I wondered if a kid could ever recover from seeing something like that at 5 years old.

What a stereotypical mother I was-running for our lives, yet I was worrying about my son’s mental health. His physical health was not safe yet.

The estate was nearly in view, the glow of the windows illuminating the mouth of the forest. It was mostly quiet now, which was not a good sign. I worried about Danika, who we left inside with the staff.

A shadow obstructed some of the glow as we approached, and I realized a person was standing there waiting for us. Was it a guard or a vampire? I squinted, unable to tell or sniff it out.

Alan must have been too worried about the dangers surrounding us to worry about what was in front of us. In a flash, the creature flashed from the mouth of the woods, to the air right in front of us.

A pale face with red eyes and sharp teeth suddenly jumped us in the dark as Alan’s head was turned.

I screamed, immediately taking action by jumping right back at the vampire.

Maybe it wasn’t the smartest decision. Aldrich would kill me if he knew my first instinct emulated a martyr. The vampire soldier was flying right at Theo, and my instincts kicked in. I lunged in front of Alan, knocking him and Theo back as the vampire lunged. My wolf fangs retracted defensively and within a second, they were sinking into the marble-like flesh of the creature, growling into his throat.

He was faster than me, which I anticipated, but he was also stronger. With ease, he tossed me to the side, flinging me into the bushes like a doll.

Alan had more than enough time to recover during the embarrassing encounter. He set Theo down behind him and jumped into wolf form, lunging onto the vampire and easily knocking him onto his back into the snow. Gasping, I stood from my knees and rushed over to Theo, keeping him behind me as Alan ripped the creature into a hundred pieces.

Once the soldier was dead and he morphed back into his two-legged form, he shot me a glare. “

Are you insane?”

“You weren’t looking!” I insisted defiantly, nudging Theo back over to Alan who scooped up his trembling, quiet form. “It would’ve gotten both of you.”

“Aldrich would kill you. And then he would kill me, literally,” Alan snapped, turning to continue our journey to the opening. From here, the estate was now in view. “Sometimes you act like a suicidal fool.”

“I am not a suicidal fool, I am a mother,” I retorted, glaring at his back as we finally exited the darkness of the woods.

The usual guards that manned the outside of the estate were busy fighting in the woods with Aldrich. Cautiously, we sprinted across the front lawns, looking around for any potential attackers while vulnerable in the open. It seems like the vampires had not ascended from the woods yet.

We ran inside through the unguarded grand entrance, immersing into a madhouse.

Staff was running around in a panic, clearly more than aware that they were unguarded and vulnerable to murderous vampires. Stray villagers must have made it to the estate thinking it was safe because there was a mass of unfamiliar faces floating around in the foyer, some coated with b***d, some still with shock.

As I looked around at everyone, I felt the b***d drain from my face, for the first time realizing we were all in the middle of a battlefield without any

weapons.

People started noticing us. They saw my face and stopped in their tracks, then nearly jumped for joy when they saw Alan’s. A protector-their only protector.

If only they knew what I was capable of.

“Cathy, go upstairs and bring Theo to his room. Ill handle this,” he said, referring to the crowd of people descending upon us now.

“I need to replace Danika,” I protested, the amount of people streaked with b***d causing worry to churn in my stomach. She was practically defenseless.

He sighed, setting Theo down before arm-barring him to his side. I knew he couldn’t disagree with that. Not only because it was my sister, but because it was the girl he secretly cared for.

I grabbed Theo’s face and planted a k**s on his forehead, taking in his scent and feeling tranquility for one more moment before diving into the chaotic crowd.

Who knew where she could be? I had almost no mental room to theorize. Amongst my nearly crippling worry for Aldrich in the woods, Theo’s state of shock, and the debilitated state of the village, I was almost breaking down. I scanned the crowd for blonde heads, running through the familiar and unfamiliar faces. Some called out my name and I reluctantly ignored them, having to prioritize family before I tended to their worry.

“Danika,” I called out, making my way down the corridor. She was nowhere to be found. Sighing, I gradually felt myself becoming more on edge. The memory of being paralyzed with stress and anxiety in bed kept occurring to me, as if I was capable of reverting back to it at any time.

Just as I was about to descend into slight madness, a hand suddenly grabbed me. I gasped, turning to the person whose hand was wrapped around my arm.