Catch, Curse, Release (Immortal Warriors #1) ✅ Completed

Chapter Thirty-Four: Battle Hard

*A/N: The attached video is 'Wherever I May Roam' by Metallica. I think it goes great with this particular chapter. Enjoy!! wendy =c]

Battle Hard

   

The next few days passed in a blur. Eric was busy with his elite guard formulating their battle strategy against the Fenrir and the Skoll. Eric, Aiden, and most of the other warriors were convinced if Lord Oren had struck an alliance with the Skoll, then other wolf clans had more than likely been approached. If that was the case, the battle with the wolves would prove to be among one of the bloodiest in recent history.

Lori barely saw Eric since he spent most of his days and night sealed in the guardroom with his men. When they weren’t there, they could usually be found out in the main courtyard running drills and getting what she’d considered “battle hard.” They trained and practiced for hours, the clanging of swords and the whoosh of hundreds of arrows a soundtrack to the passing days and nights. The tension within the castle ratcheted up several degrees and even Lori felt a little high strung from the intensity of the situation.

Then again, perhaps Lady Meghan had more to do with that than anything else.

For her part, Lori tried her hardest to steer clear of the wretched wolf princess. Since Eric had not approached Meghan with a new offer of marriage after her third night in the castle, she became almost desperate in her vie for his attention. Dinner had become a battle of wills (and self-restraint on Lori’s part), but this time Eric wasn’t quite so dismissive about her increasingly bold behavior.

Finally, desperate for a show of interest on his part, Meghan cornered Eric as he made his way to the dining hall on her fourth night. She’d brushed up against him, wrapping her arms around his neck, admitting how she’d hope for a change of heart now that he knew how dedicated she was to his cause.

Eric gently yet firmly extracted himself from her hold, keeping the young female at arm’s length. He’d calmly informed Meghan she was not his soul-mate and only that woman would rule by his side – there would be no other. When she’d offered herself to him, convinced he would change his mind after an evening in her bed, he’d refused. At that point, done with Meghan’s ill-timed dramatics, he went so far as to admonish her forwardness and unseemly behavior during her stay at Wolfgard.  

Lori had been in Eric’s study at the time, reading through the various books in his library, when she’d felt his mind open to her. She’d witnessed the entire scene as if she were watching a movie through a small window in her mind. She listened with bated breath as Eric calmly rejected Meghan, informing her clearly that he was not interested in pursuing any personal relationship with her other than his duty as her king. When he’d informed Meghan about her lack of etiquette and decorum with regards to her treatment of Lori, she’d felt a smug satisfaction at watching the young wolf squirm under Eric’s stern scowl.

Meghan didn’t appreciate being called out on her bitchy (ha!) behavior one little bit. But if Lori had expected her to rail or turn into a Kardashian, she was sorely disappointed. The young Fenrir princess had only nodded and apologized quietly, promising it would never happen again. Lori had managed to keep her caustic retort to herself, though she was not above giving Eric a mental ‘told-you-so.’

Much to her own surprise, Lori had managed to stay relatively calm during the entire exchange. Since she was inside his mind, Lori knew exactly what Eric had been thinking and feeling while Meghan had been throwing herself at him; there had been no desire for the Fenrir princess whatsoever. If anything, he was more than a little annoyed at having to deal with her bullshit. He was gearing up for battle and had no time for such useless distractions. His heart and mind were all for Lori and that more than anything else removed the last of any lingering doubts she may have had.