Moon Bound

18

"I'll be the judge of that," Accalia bit out sharply, "Seeing as you're not a reliable source, are you?"

Shaking his head in disbelief, Lycus was in front of her in three quick strides and gripped her arms, pulling her into his wet and hard chest.

Accalia's heart took flight and she almost fell into him if it wasn't for his vice grip. Ignoring his hold, she peered up at him with a sneer. "What?"

Silence overwhelmed them and both awkwardly stood on the spot, sharing cynical stares. Lycus's face stilled, drawing it closer to Accalia and for a moment she thought her lips would brush his, but he pulled back, emptiness held within his face.

"Nothing, get out unless you want to stick around for the show." Lycus sneered, releasing her and heading to his closet.

"I'd rather tear my eyes out, but thanks for the offer." Accalia countered and turned on her heel to leave.

——

Hours had worn on and Accalia found herself seated on the wooden floorboards right outside of the room Cadence slept in, waiting for her to rise out of her slumber.

Clucking her tongue, Accalia nibbled at her apple and almost wanted to plunge the back of her head back into the wall hard enough to make a dent.

She was beyond frustrated at this point. On the brink of utter defeat. It was these times, these thwarting and foiling days where Accalia wished she could confide in her mother and rid herself of this writing emotion of guilt.

Accalia thought this chaos would deflate and die out, and yet, something else was thrown at them with another enemy in range.

Burying her head in her hands, her locks hair curtaining around her, Accalia could only revel in self-pity.

"Are humans always this pathetic?" A voice cooed at the end of the hallway.

The voice could only belong to her one and only mate, Lycus, his tone rippling in tease and cheek.

Accalia only grumbled in response.

A laugh swayed in her direction and rough boots met with her shoes.

Accalia peered upward to find Lycus grinning wildly at her, mischief playing in his eyes.

"Weren't you human once?" Accalia asked coolly.

"Once."

Accalia read a book at her father's request a few years ago, a tale about a group of humans once being primitive — nothing humane about them except skin and bones.

Before lycan, there had to be a man and for there to be a curse, someone had to be punished. Lycus descended from that punishment, coming from the original pack of cursed human beings that turned into lycans.

Humans, savage and brutal men were fuelled with a fierce force to bring only pain to others. Ripping through towns and villages apart by hands and weaponry, they travelled the lands exacting heartache and surrender from people wanting to survive. Supposedly, an unknown source and great power veiled in white turned humans that wanted to act like beasts into exactly that. Beasts. Their greatest punishment. Their curse. The Lycanthrope curse.

But what was to be their cure? Being bound entirely to their monstrous selves, they were gifted with mates, a person that made a lycan feel human again..

Soon enough, they could control the shift.

"How long ago?" Accalia questioned, peering up at Lycus curiously and searching for an answer.

Accalia's mouth almost quirked into a smile of how suddenly Lycus lost his wit, now shunned in discomfort and unease.

He didn't like being questioned.