Chapter Six: Surrounded by enemies

Cradling his mate gently in his arms, Eros and his driver walk into the underground parking lot of the hospital meant for VIP’s to find the large space awfully quiet and empty, with a few black cars parked here and there.

A few steps toward his car, he goes completely still, like a statue. He just sensed something off. The hair at the back of his neck prickled, and his Beast stirred at the perceived sense of danger.

Lyric also picked up on the abnormal silence around them, like a terrifying mist.

“Wolves?” He asked his boss through their mind link.

Eros nods. He sensed the presence of the race that had been a thorn in his people's side for centuries.

Their heartbeat has always been different from humans' and Lycans', and they smell hideous. Not the correct term, but to the King, his enemies would always smell disgusting.

Using his senses, he counts how many hostiles are lying in wait for him.

Twenty.

He almost laughs at the ridiculous, small number of hostiles sent after him. Seems whoever sent them greatly underestimates him.

Deeming the hostiles incapable of threatening him, he moves toward his car, treating their presence like a joke.

Ara might not have her wolf to help her perceive threats, but years of suffering have honed her ability to detect them herself. She, too, knows something is wrong with the parking lot, and although she can't fully grasp the threat level like the two with her, she knows someone is lying in wait to attack them.

Did Rex send them?

Ara knows her mate would never stop hunting her and had planned to disappear to a part of the world he could never reach, yet she's still stuck in the same city with her evil mate, and now she's stuck with an even worse predator.

If they are here for her, would the man cradling her protect her or give her up?

Rather than wait to be handed over to her worst nightmares, she might as well take her chances on her feet.

Using her hand against Eros’s broad chest, Ara pushes against him, demanding without speaking to be set down.

His mate’s sudden struggle in his arms confuses Eros, who stops walking to attend to his mate. “Is something the matter?” He asks softly, his blue eyes searching his mate’s face earnestly for anything responsible for her current distress.

Watching from the shadows, the men lying in wait stare at the King with perplexed expressions. The King is not known to show anyone affection or kindness. They all know how brutal the King can be. Most of their minds have died at his hand, even family. The man before them is a monster without a soul who never cared for anyone or anything, which is why they would go to any lengths to destroy him, even if it costs them their lives.

The intel they got didn't mention a young woman.

Human or Lycan?

They couldn't tell from that distance, but it didn't matter. Anyone associated with the Evil King deserves to die.

“What is it, little one?” Eros asks again when his mate hesitates, and though most of his attention is on his mate, he doesn't forget the enemies lying in wait.

Protecting his mate is top priority, but first he has to calm her down. It hurts him when he sees his mate in distress, especially when her beautiful eyes radiate so much fear. If the young woman in his arms lets him, he will make sure that look disappears from her eyes for good.

Ara’s panic rises as the window of escape narrows. She has to leave now before whoever wants to harm them attacks. Going back to her mate is a fate worse than death, and she would rather die.

“P-please let me go,” Ara stammers, each word a struggle. Her heart pounds so loudly, and her fears are so thick that they make speaking even harder.

She waits with her heart on her sleeve for the man holding her to set her free as he promised. He said he would let her go if she wished it.

Would he keep his word?

Many have broken their promises to her. Friends she trusted, family she believed loved her. Would her savior join the queue?

Ara’s request slaps Eros in the face like a physical slap. The King’s grip on his little mate unintentionally tightens, his expression hardening. Enemies surround them; the last thing he wants is his mate in a vulnerable position where she could be hurt.

“No,” he speaks coldly, a note of finality in his voice.

His rejection shatters the little seed of trust his kindness earlier planted in Ara’s heart. The little light that had seeped into her eyes at being cared for after many years of neglect and abuse was snuffed out, and her body deflated. Her heart echoed with bitterness. Someone has once again let her down. Tears ran down her face, and she dropped her head against Eros chest, not because she sought comfort, but because she didn't have the strength to fight.

If he hands her over to her mate’s people, she would commit suicide. She would rather die than go back to the hell she has been living most of her life.

Telling his mate no was a very hard thing for Eros to do, but he would rather disappoint her than do something that would get her killed. He had just found her, and he would be damned if he let anyone touch her.

Irritated with himself for making his mate cry, even though he had no choice, Eros sought to vent his anger on another source.

Speaking coldly, with an obvious threat in his voice, he addressed the men lying in wait for him.

“Are you going to come out, or are you waiting for a glass of champagne before you make your move?”

The men in shadow snarl at his taunting words. The King is making them out to be cowards who wouldn't dare attack him; well, it is time they showed him they aren't afraid.

The men glance at each other from their various positions in the hideout, and they all conclude that it is time to end the King’s reign. They stood from their crouched position and slowly filed out one after another, and when they finished, they had the King cornered.

Standing tall and rigid, Eros looks at the men surrounding him. They are all dressed in black, their faces covered by black masks.

They hide their identities, which is useless since he already knows they are wolves, unless they don't want the attack traced back to their family.

Smart, Eros smiles evilly. But then they should pray he doesn't survive their attack because he would kill everyone related to them.

“I see you are hiding yourselves,” he began calmly, his eyes on the assassins. “I would say smart, but how confident are you that you can defeat me?”

A brief look of fear flashed across the men’s eyes, but it was gone as soon as it appeared, and they all straightened up with a bravado backed up by their trump card.

They all know how powerful the King is, and are not stupid enough to rely on their strength alone. They have a surprise for him, and with that surprise, they are certain the King will die tonight.

A few of the men snort at Eros words.

“Very confident, King,” one of the men retorts disrespectfully, his tone sarcastic as he calls Eros "King."

Lyric bristled at the obvious disrespect to his King. He tightened his fist and moved to attack the imbecile who just spoke, but Eros's order stopped him immediately.

“Don't.”

Forcefully, Lyric reins in his killing intent and waits for further instructions from his King.

Holding the gaze of the man who has spoken, Eros mutters. “I see.” Then he glances down at his mate, and he hesitates. The last thing he wants his mate to see is carnage, not after her ordeal.

He has never let an enemy go, but today, for the sake of his mate, he would make an exception.