Page 12 of Lycan’s Hunt

Chapter 5

• Aubrey •

His hand finds mine, intertwining our fingers. I can feel the slight tremble in his touch. “I won’t lie to you, Bree,” he says, his eyes holding mine steadily. “The process is intense and has risks. It’s why I never marked my late wife. Had I, she would still be here, her Lycan wouldn’t have been so vulnerable. I don’t want to make that same mistake with you. Once I mark you, I also change you.”

“With this ritual,” Soren begins, his voice steady and measured. “We will exchange blood and essence, meaning I’d mark you. The process is ancient, as old as our kind itself.”

Icy tendrils of fear wrap around my heart that beats a little faster.

“So you give me your blood, mark me and that’s it?” I ask.

“I don’t want to scare you,” he admits. “But I also won’t lie to you.” He grabs my hand and presses my fingertips against his neck next to his Adam’s apple before moving to the other side of it and doing the same. “Those small pockets will fill with venom when I mark you, I won’t just be marking you, I will be poisoning you.”

“I don’t understand?” I admit.

“Lycan’s are venomous, my venom will enter your bloodstream, it will hurt. But my blood will counteract the poison stopping it from killing you, instead it will change you.”

I jerk my fingertips away when he growls, letting them fill with venom. My eyes widen watching his neck balloon slightly.

“Don’t be scared, Bree, I would never force this on you. I would never hurt you. Your human form will be reshaped by what we call the Lycan essence, my venom and blood mingling together creates an elixir that enters your bloodstream. It’s akin to a rebirth; you’ll lose a part of yourself to gain another.”

A shudder runs through me. Lose a part of myself? I swallow hard, my mouth now dry.

“But it’s not without pain,” he warns me with an apologetic look in his eyes. “The transformation can be excruciating - your body will break down before it rebuilds itself and I will have to remain by your side pumping you full of my blood so the venom doesn’t burn it out of your system.”

His description echoes in my mind, my breath hitches in my throat as I imagine the agony that awaits me.

“Are you… are you certain you can do this?”

“I am.” He pauses, his gaze serious as he locks eyes with me. “But there is always risk involved.”

My heart thunders painfully against my ribs at his admission. Risk? What kind of risk?

“The risk,” he explains slowly, each word heavy with significance, “is that if something goes wrong during the transformation… it could kill you.”

His confession sends shockwaves through me. Death?

“It’s not something I’d ever force on you,” Soren assures me, his thumb tracing circles on my palm. “But if we pursue this path, I’d want it to happen before we marry. You should have the chance to fully understand, to learn to control your new abilities, not just for you, for Max also. You’ll be quicker, stronger, and your instincts will go haywire for a little while.”

I nod. The enormity of it all crashes over me like a wave. My heart stutters in my chest. I think of my grandmother, of Max, of the life I’ve started to build here. The thought of losing it all terrifies me.

“I’m scared, Soren,” I confess, hating how small my voice sounds. The possibility of death hangs in the air between us, heavy and suffocating. “I don’t know if I can…”

He pulls me close, his arms enveloping me in warmth. “We don’t have to decide anything now,” he murmurs into my hair. “Whatever happens, whatever you choose, I’m here. We can push the wedding back.”

“We can push it back?” I ask him and he nods. “But your mother has already—”

“She’ll understand. Now we really are getting married. I won’t lose you, Bree.”

“You wouldn’t be losing me,” I remind him.

He sighs heavily. “I am King, Bree. You will be my Queen. My weak spot, every kingdom will know that.”

“But you’re the only kingdom.”

He shakes his head. “There are other kingdoms; not as well known, they prefer to keep to themselves and out of the media. They will come for you.”

“That’s why your wife died, isn’t it? They sent people for her, sent the rogues?”