The Lycan King's Healer

Soon, I would become just another cobweb upon the floor.My body was barren of a soul, for it felt like I floated slightly above my carcass, my ghost lingering just long enough to know I was dead. Death is a funny thing like that; with some deaths, like executions or freak accidents, some people are killed before they even know it. But gradual death, the kind that slowly envelopes you with starvation and disease; it lets you know every detail.I knew my body lay emaciated on the ground, twisted and grotesque. Skin hanging off the bone, so thin that there would be no meat for the rodents to feast on. Dwindling, seemingly melting. Empty, devoid of my own life. The only thing left was the other living being inside of me; the pup, my kin that I would never meet.Maybe if I was not pregnant, I would have let myself float away, out of this cottage and this pained body and into the sky. Into bliss away from this cruel world where I have been tricked and fated into a torturous death. There wo

After four years, the cottage door was finally opened.I stepped over the threshold cautiously, listening to the distant argument between the woman and the child. The voices, however, swiftly faded to the background as I looked around, awe overcoming me.This was not the abandoned cottage I had once sent my new wife into; it was beautiful.Blooming, blushing flowers decorated the space, in vases and pots and vines neatly hanging from the ceiling. There was even a wooden garden swing, its handles enveloped in climbing rose vines. I stepped over a flowerbed of paeonia, confusion sweeping through me. There was puzzlement evident on the servants’ faces; they clearly did not recognize the residence either. Flower vines even framed the windows and traveled up the walls, resulting in hanging canopies of pastel petals from the ceiling.The beauty of the cottage was not the only surprise. The woman that stood in front of the boy was more beautiful than all of the flowerbeds and roses combined.

I told myself it was mere curiosity that led me back to the cottage that night.Weaving through the moonlit forest, unseen and hidden within a mask, I nearly convinced myself of this. I was only going because of my hungry curiosity and natural hatred for the unknown. Us animals are curious creatures, and we do not tolerate questioning very well.“A prince must know everything about his people,” I added out loud as I side-stepped a pine tree and onto the familiar dirt path, nodding in agreeance with myself. “Yes, that is it.”However, the small, rational part of me knew that it was because of how my heart felt staring at the boy, and the hatred on Cathy’s beautiful face.I easily found the cottage next to the large willow tree. It was warmly glowing through the darkness. I didn’t have much of a plan, but my stealthy nature did not need one. I was a famous war general whose footsteps were more silent than the fluttering wings of a fly.I stared at the cottage for a moment before approac

Aldrich“It was Cathy who healed my wounds?”When I woke up in my chambers, I was more surprised to learn this than the act of waking up somewhere completely different than I fainted. Alan, a staple of my entourage, nodded. He was my second hand man, and although as general I did not have time for friends, I would call him the closest thing I had to one.“Yes, we found you outside her cottage. I have to say, her dressing skill is very professional,” he drawled, an amused look on his face. I could see the question in his eyes about why I was there. I didn’t care to entertain that yet.“Alan, go find out more information about the assassins. I also want to know what my wife has been doing for the past four years.” I waved him away.He saluted me before following my orders, exiting the room with a chuckle.I was left contemplating how Cathy managed it. Military medical staff come from the healer clan and generally needed to study in medical school from childhood. Only after a long period

As I glided back to the palace as fast as my animal legs could function, I frowned at Alan.“She is my wife. Should I not worry?”Alan continued running with me until the end of the camp, the same amusement as before in his eyes. A knowing smile curled his lips.“You should. I’m just happy for you.”His words stuck with me as I ran, and I resisted the smile that almost surfaced.***CathyMy back hurt, but my pride ached more.I sent Theodore away once we returned to the cottage. I didn’t want him to see my wounds; he had endured enough torment. After the queen had left, I woke up from my feigned sleep and ran him the hell out of that palace. Thankfully, we avoided the mass of the guards–they were busy with whatever emergency the king announced. No one objected to our departure.After stumbling bloody and injured through the woods back home, I was exhausted. My back was dried with blood, and it felt like I was recovering from a house fire, the way the whip licked up my back like a fla