The Chosen (16 page)

Jenika Snow

life. He continued to pace back and forth until everyone in the room stopped and stared at the door.

The Lyken female stood, placed the magazine gently on the chair, and gave Aleksei a sympathetic look. She knew her family would be furious she left their protection. When Aleksei told Aedan about what happened, the Lyken leader had been very calm about the whole thing. That alone told Aleksei just how angry he was. If Aleksei had been in this situation with Lana, he didn’t know how he would have reacted, but calm would not have been one of his emotions.

The air in the room grew cold and thick as the three Breeds standing against the wall took their fighting stances. Even though the Lykens and the Blood Breeds had a truce, the Lykens might consider what happened to their female the Breed’s fault. Rogues attacked
their
female, and since
Bloodless
had once been Blood Breeds, in the eyes of the Lykens, they were one and the same.

The handle turned, and the door opened—five huge, pissed off Lykens walking through. He knew each one of them, and none of them looked pleased, least of all the small Lyken female’s brother, Liyam. Aedan stood in front with Liyam and Callum flanking his sides, Deacon and Roan standing behind him. All five Lykens stood nearly seven feet tall, their muscle mass rivaling the Breeds’.

“Where is
it
?” Aedan spoke low, his voice laced with menace and thick with anger.

“He’s in a holding cell a level below us.”

“Have you been hurt, lass?” Aedan spoke to Joslyn, his Scottish accent thick and heavy.

She shook her head, keeping her gaze to the ground and her arms behind her back. Liyam walked toward her and lifted her chin with one of his large fingers. “You donna’ have to worry anymore. Ye’re safe.”

“I kno’ I am. I’m sorry I left the safety of the clan.”

“Donna fret, lass.”

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“The boys and I are gonna want see
it
.” Aedan walked up and stood next to Liyam, both males’ eyes scanning her body for any injuries.

Aleksei nodded without any hesitation, knowing the Lykens would get any information out of the male
as easily as they could. He looked back over at Liyam and saw his hands clenching and unclenching. His jaw was locked tight, and a tick worked under the skin. He had to be going through hell with the knowledge that his younger sister had almost been killed.

Adrik and Dimitri left to show the Lykens where he was being held. This whole ordeal made Aleksei want to see Lana that much more—to make sure she was safe. He received a message from his sister saying they were taking her to the club. As much as he wanted her safe at his home, he knew his family would protect her.

He left Luca and Joslyn, needing to see Lana now. He took the stairs two at a time, every thought in his mind about his
Chosen
. He needed to be with her more than he needed to feed, and that necessity was coming up fast. He fed from her lightly when they made love and when he finally claimed her, but he feared hurting her, so he hadn’t taken enough to quench his hunger. He would never get enough of her, and if he had to use his last breath to accomplish it, he would make sure she felt the same way about him.

* * * *

Adrik leaned against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest as he watched the five Lykens circle the male. The rouge was beaten and bloody by the Lykens’ fists, but now he just sat unmoving, laughing as the Lykens questioned him.

“Who sent you to harm our female?” Aedan asked the question as he crouched and stared at him.

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Humans called them werewolves, but in truth, a Lyken never turned into a wolf or anything that resembled one. When they changed, it was into a form that was a frightening sight.

Adrik only saw it once when he had been a fledgling, but it was something he would never forget. He went out into the woods with a few other fledglings, practicing hunting and tracking, when they stumbled across two Lykens fighting. A female leaned against a tree, her body completely naked as she watched with a smile. The two males stood facing each other, their bodies priming for a fight.

He always heard about the Lyken males fighting each other in order to claim a female they wanted, but he never expected it to be like this. The two males started to breathe heavily and their already huge bodies got even bigger. Their muscles grew and swelled to monstrous proportions, and their eyes took on an unnatural pale blue color. Fangs erupted from the top and bottom of their mouths, and claws sprang from their hands.

There, only a short distance away, stood two beings at least eight feet tall, packing on some serious weight and growling at each other.

The female obviously liked what she saw because she was panting and started to touch herself. Females Lykens didn’t change like their male counterparts did, and she stood several feet back, her body minuscule compared to theirs. Their females were as weak as human females and because of that the males treated them like bone china.

The males fought until they were bloody and torn—fought until only one stood. He fucked that female hard, and Adrik and the other fledglings watched the whole thing in awe.

Dirt and pebbles were embedded in the
rogue’s skin, and he had a crazed look in his eyes. He breathed heavily, his fangs sharp and stained yellow from his continuous bloodlust. When a Blood Breed let their basic instinct to feed rule them, over time their complete make-up changed.

Bloodlust consumed their every waking hour, and soon they became the creature Adrik stared at. They couldn’t control the
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change, their eyes always staying black, and their bodies perpetually huge. They were slaves to blood. There were some younger Breeds who thought with the right type of treatment the
Bloodless
could be rehabilitated. That was the wishful thinking of mourning members of the Blood Breed who wanted their family and friends back.

The Lykens continued to circle him as they threw one question after the next at him. Their forms changed right before him, and it truly was a frightful sight.

“What do they call you?” Aedan’s voice boomed through the small cell.

He shook his head, his hair moving around his face, the strands matted with dried blood and dirt.

“Fuckin’ tell me!”

“You know if I tell you my leader will kill me.”

“If you donna tell me, I’ll make sure you die a verra slow death.

Tell me want I want to kno’ and I will make it quick and painless.”

He stared up at Aedan, one of his eyes swollen shut and his lip split on the side. He sighed and hung his head before speaking. “Do you swear to make it quick?”

He cracked sooner than Adrik anticipated. Aedan looked around at his clan before smiling and nodding.

“I am called Zechariah. I was sent out with the others to search for a woman who bears the mark.”

“What do you mean bears the mark?”

“I’m new in my horde and do not get all the classified details others receive. All I was told was that we were to hunt and bring back a female who matches his description.”

“And what of this description?”

He brought his bloodied face up and stared at Adrik. “I was told to bring back a female with dark hair and light eyes and who bears the mark.”

Adrik inhaled sharply, never taking his eyes off their prisoner.

“Mark?”

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“Yes, the mark of a crescent moon within a circle on her skin.
The
Prophesied Female,
to be exact.”

Adrik needed more information, and he was going to damn sure get it out of this asshole. “Tell me everything.” He pulled up a chair and planted it right in front of the male, ignoring the looks and snarls from the Lykens. They would get their chance, but right now. If what he was hearing was true, then everyone’s world was about to change.

“I was told by my comrades that the female being sought was truly a rare prize.”

A rare prize, indeed. Adrik couldn’t agree more.
The Prophesied
Female
was said to bear a mark letting all know she would carry their future leader. It was said through ancient scrolls and through a prophecy written by none other than Aleksei’s father, their former king, that the child born from this female would rule over all beings of the
Otherworld
. He thought back to the scroll they read regarding this exact revelation.

Hair of dark, eye of light, the seed she will carry, the child of the
night. The crescent sun is where he shall be born, good and evil, two
sides shall be torn. To be the great, much power he will hold, a king
to rule all others is what shall be foretold.

He had to get to Aleksei and let him know what they suspected had just been confirmed. Everything was verified now, and all hell was going to break loose if their enemies captured
The
Prophesied
Female
and used her for their own gain. The Lykens stared at him in confusion as he pushed his chair back and made his way toward the door.

“Where are you goin’?” Aedan stood at stared at him, a sadistic gleam in his eyes. Adrik knew the Lyken leader was more than happy to see him go so he could really start their questioning
.
He knew the Lykens were not going to give him a quick death, not after he attacked one of their own. He needed to reach Aleksei fast and let him know what he found out. The Lykens knew nothing of their history or
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any prophecies that had been foretold. He wasn’t about to clue them in on what was going on until he spoke with his king.

“Later.” Adrik closed the door behind him and bounded up the stairs two at a time, reaching in his pocket for his cell. Just as he was about to dial Aleksei’s number, he heard the scream of the
Bloodless
as the Lykens finally gave him his “quick” death.

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Aleksei tried to wait patiently in the elevator as it made its way up to the VIP suite. His body was on fire at just the thought of Lana. His cock pressed insistently against his pants, and he brought his hand down to adjust himself. He stared at the numbers as they continued to climb. He wanted to see her, smell her, and touch her. Is this how all Breeds felt when they found their
Chosen
? It was hell, like his body wasn’t completely together, like a part of his soul was missing. She was still human, and because of that so very fragile compared to his kind. He wouldn’t rush her to make the change over to his side, but it became harder and harder to suppress his instinct to do the opposite.

The soft
ping
from the elevator let him know he reached his destination, and the doors separated for him. He stepped out of the elevator, music playing overhead in a soft cadence. He looked around the spacious area and spotted Milo in a corner booth with one of the servers wrapped around him. Their mouths were fused together and their bodies ground as one. Where the hell was Lana? His brothers were supposed to be watching her, and instead one of them was dry humping a female. Anger speared through him at the thought of Milo being so careless with what Aleksei held so dear.

He looked around and finally spotted her at a small table in a shadowed corner. She sat with one elbow propped on the table and the other hand stirring the drink with her straw. Two large empty glasses sat to the side of her, and she looked a little worse for wear. Her hair was a bit on the mussed side, and her eyes had the unmistakable glassy look to them that let everyone know exactly how much she had
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to drink. He walked over and pulled up a seat next to her. She looked up with big blue eyes, a smile shaping her pink lips.

“I know you think this is funny, don’t you?”

Her slurred speech sounded cute, and also let him she didn’t need to finish the glass in front of her. He signaled for the server to remove all three glasses and waved him on when Lana started to protest.

“Hey! I wasn’t finished with that.” She tried to look angry, but the fact that her eyes couldn’t focus all the way did little to make her look ferocious. “You and I have a lot to talk about, mister.” She pointed a finger at him and squinted. “First of all, what the hell do you think you were doing ‘marking’ me up like that?” She raised her hands and made quotation marks in the air.

Damn his brothers for opening their fucking mouths. He didn’t want her to find out like this, but it was a little too late for that. He should have told her right away, but he didn’t want to frighten her or anger her any further than he had.

“Lana, love, can we talk about this somewhere more private? Like possibly my place?”

He placed his hand over hers and rubbed it back and forth. He couldn’t help smiling at the angry look that crossed her face. She seemed to sober up slightly, and her gaze traveled down to his lips.

His smile faltered, lust starting a slow burn in his body at the look she gave him. She was drunk, and he should feel horrible for his desire, but her scent coated the air around them, thick with her desire and want.

“I can smell your desire, and it smells so fucking good.” He leaned in to whisper in her ear as her eyes closed. “I bet you’re soaking wet right now, aren’t you, baby? I bet you want me to lick those sweet pussy lips of yours, don’t you? I’ll make you feel so good.”

Her body shivered as he spoke erotically to her, his own words making images of her naked flesh form in his mind. He pulled back until their lips were inches apart. She breathed heavily, and her pupils
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were dilated. All it would take was for him to move in and their lips would meet.

He looked down at her pink lips, and he moved his finger over the softness of them before leaning again to speak in her ear. “Let us leave.”

“I want to go back to my place.” She looked at him with determination in her eyes.