RISEN: THE LYCAN PRINCESS

Chapter 10 - Hope

Zane

I can barely hold myself.... The need for human blood is driving me crazy, and I am losing myself to the urge to bite someone.

Those bastards starved me to the brink of reason, they tortured me, and I almost lost my humanity in the process. Every time I close my eyes, I feel the pain, until I see those green eyes, clearing the fog from my brain and allowing me to feel alive again.

I was reduced to an object, to something used to experiment, to something less than trash, but when she looked at me, she restored my dignity.

She is way out of my league; she is a Lycan princess, and our races don´t mix. She is underage, while I am nineteen years old. My feral side struggles to take control occasionally, but she has ensured I get the proper treatment to restore my humanity and control. I struggle, especially when she is around, because I want to jump on her and sink my teeth into her neck to drink her in.

I am sure she would be appalled by my thoughts. My imagination tells me I could see her getting weary of me, as she has withdrawn from me, and I hated it.

“Good morning...” A nice-looking woman entered the room where all the rescued boys had been lodged. “I am Queen Iris, the queen of Central City,” she said, and I gasped. She was gorgeous, and I could sense she was powerful.

“I am a healer, and I am here to help you through the pain you have endured,” she said, and I scoffed. I could see she was powerful, but no one can erase from our souls all those days of torture and confinement.

“I will go around the room and place my hands on your head... It will help you sleep better and aid in healing physical wounds. I will be coming three times a week to start healing the psychological wounds.” She said, and I sighed. They are trying, and that is what should matter. I’m not sure they’ll be able to heal me, but maybe it’s worth a try.

She worked the room around me, and when she stepped before me, she gave me an unsettling smile. It was as if she could see my soul, making me even more weary of her touching me. She placed her hands over my head, and warmth flowed around me. I took a deep breath, and somehow, I could feel the exposed and broken skin of my back, legs, and arms starting to heal. The feralness of my thirst was still there, but it was tamed.

The woman lifted her gaze, and her eyes sparkled. “There you are!” she said, and I turned around and the air left my lungs. The Lycan princess stood at the threshold of this forsaken room; She looked different.

“All thanks to you...” She smiled at the Queen.

“I am sorry for hitting Mat yesterday,” she said, and the Queen laughed.

“You were not wrong about it, I mean, he could be the King of Central City, but he is still your older half-brother.” Iris wrapped her arms around the young princess.

“Are you done here?” Asteria asked the Queen,

“Yeah... but I will be at dinner tonight. We will all be.” The Queen said, and the young Lycan Princess sighed.

“You forget I live there, I have to be there...” She rolled her eyes, and I looked at both women with amusement. One looked like an older friend of the other... while the younger one filled the room and made it brighter.

“Alright, I´ll be back in a couple of days...” She smiled at us and then grabbed Asteria´s hand.

“Don´t worry about them, I will be coming in to help them,” she said, and Asteria nodded.

“I´ll be home for dinner,” Asteria said, and the older one nodded at her.

I followed the older woman with my eyes, and then, when I took a deep breath, my canines descended. When I locked eyes with the princess, everything faded. I hissed, and she gasped. Her eyes were shining with a different glow.

“Get away from me...” I said with a strained voice, and she held my hand instead of walking away and leaving me.

“I am not leaving...” she said with determination, and I gasped when her skin contacted mine. The thirst for her increased, and suddenly, I felt a weird connection to the woman touching me.

It was considered almost a sinful act to drink from an underage maiden. It was penalized by every law, especially vampire laws. The first drink for men or women is an erotic thing, that´s why it is not made on innocent maidens, because the lust and depraved feeling will awaken them sexually and link them to the vampire who is drinking from them.

“Please...” I said with a strained voice. “Please... I am not controlling my feral side...” I grunted, and my eyes flashed with my vampire on the surface.

“What is happening to you?” She leaned closer, trying to meet my eyes, and when they locked with mine, I hissed.

“I need blood...” I grunted, and she gasped.

“I’ll get you some... She quickly left the room, and it felt more pressing without her presence nearby. She walked back with a blood bag and offered it to me.

“Here...” She said, and I sank my teeth into the plastic bag, breaking it open and slurping the salty, warm blood she was offering me.

My eyes remained on her while I panthed with frustration, getting m urge sated, but not in the way I wished it to be. I closed my eyes and imagined that instead of the plastic, my canines punctured, it was the pulsating skin of her neck. I imagined her coming undone under my ministrations and becoming attached to me while I drank from her.

I opened my eyes and saw her panting, her eyes fixed on mine. How could she be here? Why was she feeling aroused by this? How is this possible?

I finished the bag, and my teeth resided. “Better?” she panted, inhaling her scent, and I took a deep breath.

“The Queen said she would help me, but...” I paused and shook my head, “Never mind.” I said, and she looked at me.

“My cousin is mighty. I am sure she will heal you with time,” she said with a soft smile. Now that your thirst is under control, how have you been?” she asked, and I took a deep breath.

I could see how she tried to control her breathing and act normally. I lifted the empty blood bag and smiled at her... “Thanks for this...” I said, and she nodded.

“Do you mind if I ask something?” she looked at me intently.

“You can ask anything... Princess.” I said, and she blushed.

“Asteria...” she mumbled, “My name is Asteria...” I knew what her name was, but somehow it didn´t feel right to call her by it; she was precious, a treasure.

“Princess...” I said with a restrained voice,

“Please, call me Asteria...” She almost begged, and I sighed. Calling her by her name was breaking an unseen wall that prevented me from dreaming that she might be mine one day.

“Asteria...” I mumbled her name, and she smiled. Her smile brightened the entire room, and I shivered. I took a deep breath. “What was your question?” I asked and she smiled.

“I am trying to understand, it is more of a technicality, that I am sure Akasha might be able to clear out for me, but I don´t know if it is different for men than for vampire women,” she rambled, and I lowered my eyes to meet hers.

“Asteris, you are rambling...” I chuckled, and she sighed.

“Alright, Zane... I am asking you for research purposes...” she said, and I chuckled. What did she want to ask me that was so hard to ask?

She took a deep breath, “Is it better to drink straight from a woman?” she blurted, and I gaped, trying to understand her question...

“What?” I mumbled.

“Are you going to make me ask again, Zane?” she blushed, and I shook my head.

“If what you are asking is if for us male vampires, it is a better experience to feed straight from a woman, I have to say it depends...” I paused. I didn´t want to freak her out or scare her, but I wanted her to have some firsthand information.

“Depends on what?” she asked, and I admired her bravery and curiosity.

“Well, drinking blood from another person is something deeply personal, and when there is attraction, it is incredibly arousing for both parties...” I said, and she gasped.

“Oh, My! It was good. I asked you, but I wouldn´t want to intrude on my brother´s business...” she said, and I raised my eyebrows. I was a vampire who was born and raised in the human realm. I had no idea what she was saying, and I was completely unfamiliar with the royal family.

My brother, Stavros, is mated to a vampire princess. Her name is Akasha, or Kash, as the family calls her; she is the Queen of the Lycans,” she said, and I chuckled. I couldn´t contain the joy and relief I felt to know that they were different from what I believed. The Lycan King mated to a Vampire Princess, and both of them ruling over the Lycan Realm gave me hope.