The Lycan King's Puppet-Chapter 108: Bitten

She had a special glow to her skin as she’d sat at the table across from him. And the colour that clung to her cheeks made her look more appetising than the food in front of him.

Andon cleared his throat.

"You’re telling me one thing, Yeren, and my eyes are telling me another. What should I believe?"

Yeren tilted his head back and downed the contents of his goblet.

"Believe the one that makes me look most innocent."

Andon grinned. "Which confirms that you’re not innocent, I take it."

Yeren already stood up, heading to where the tense woman stood.

At least she had more sleep than he did - so she should be in a better mood than he was.

"I don’t actually want to learn how to shoot an arrow." She admitted as he came up behind her, her voice a low whisper.

"I know."

She spun around.

His eyes dropped to the exposed skin of her cleavage before returning to her face.

She was stunning in the simple dress she wore.

"So you don’t have to pretend to teach me anything."

His eyes sparkled. "Oh... but I want to." He stood behind her.

Her scent was intoxicating - lavender and something sensuous.

"What a lovely couple you both make." Andon said from his seat.

They paid him no heed.

Yeren was focused on the way her breath caught when he held her hands in position.

"Don’t pull the string too far..." He was saying.

She bit her lower lip when his hands brushed the side of her breast.

"I know what to do now. Please could you... give me space."

Space.

He knew exactly what he was doing to her. The primal urge to take her there and then was unbearable.

"Not until you make a good shot, Miss Stenly. Otherwise, what kind of a teacher would I be?"

Just a taste, he’d thought, was enough to quench his hunger for her. But a greater part of him had always known a taste would never satisfy him. He’d want her until he couldn’t want her anymore. And such a day might never come. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

She leaned back against him, resting a good portion of her weight on him. Their bodies melded perfectly as she pulled the arrow against the string.

"Let go."

And she did.

The arrow landed on the outer ring that surrounded the prize.

"Not bad."

She pulled away and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Not bad? If I were pointing this arrow at your heart, I doubt I’ll miss."

Yeren couldn’t help grinning.

"Take a shot." He spread his arms.

She glanced at his chest and back at his face.

"I don’t want swords from every corner to stick through me."

Then she shrugged the quiver off and shoved it at him, as well as the bow.

He watched her walk away, her hips swaying within the dress.

After a few more shots, he retired to his chambers. By that time, Andon and Claire had already gone on their tour of the manor. And it gave him the much-needed time to tackle the alarming reports before their departure the following day.

And true to the matter, there were a lot of letters to be written. He hadn’t even noticed when it grew dark outside. A servant came in, lit candles and left quietly.

The quill fell out of his hand as soon as he finished the last letter.

He was... tired.

And possibly hungry, although his stomach was full of wine.

Yeren stumbled from the table and went down to the private dining hall. The guards filed alongside him, two at the rear, two in the front.

The image before him made him freeze.

Claire was sitting on his chair, the left shoulder of her dress ripped to expose her bare skin.

Andon sat beside her, holding her hand and speaking to her.

He blinked. What did he miss?

A maid brushed by him carrying a tray of alcohol, salves, herbs and clean towels.

The guards took their positions by the door while he walked in.

No one looked up when he stopped at the end of the table across him.

"You’ll feel less pain."

Andon took a clean towel from the tray, spilled some alcohol on it and dabbed it against her exposed skin.

She bit her lower lip and squeezed his hand tighter.

"Does it hurt?"

She nodded frantically.

Yeren shifted on his feet.

Then, he finally cleared his throat.

Claire looked up first, her eyes blank. Andon looked up slowly, nodding in acknowledgement.

"What happened?"

Andon picked up a cloth and put it in her mouth.

"Don’t spoil those perfect lips of yours." He told her.

Quietly, Yeren walked to where they sat.

There was a bite mark on her shoulder. It looked like a Lycan bite.

"How did it happen?"

"I’ll tell you as soon as we’re finished here."

Andon leaned down and bit out the dark skin enclosed by the bite.

She jerked wildly, her fingernails clutching the table so hard they left dents on it.

He closed his eyes. Yeren couldn’t imagine the pain she was feeling.

Andon spit the skin into the tray, wiping his lips with the back of his hand. Then, he poured alcohol over the open wound.

She bit down on the cloth, muffled groans escaping her.

He wanted to hold her, but more importantly, he wanted to hunt down the Lycan that did that to her.

Then Andon applied the salve. The herbal paste seemed to sooth the ache.

Andon stepped back to examine his work, seeming satisfied with the result.

Claire slowly opened her eyes. A tear slipped out of one eye.

"Is it over?"

Andon nodded, throwing the used items into the tray. The standby maid cleared it away immediately.

"Tell me what happened."

"We were attacked in the forest."

"What on earth were you doing in the forest?"

Andon glanced sheepishly at the limp woman sitting beside him.

"We were walking in the gardens, until she just ran

inside as if she was chasing something I couldn’t see."

Yeren glanced at her.

She lowered her bloodshot eyes.