All Chapters of The Lycan Inheritance: Chapter 41 - Chapter 43

I hear the knock and then someone comes in. I don’t have time to respond, to hide, to do anything. My fear lurches through me that this is another attack and yet surely, they wouldn’t knock first, right?“Why are you sat in the dark?”I let out a breath of relief at the sound of his voice.“It’s safer in the dark.” I whisper back.I can just about see Axel’s frown but he doesn’t make any move to put the light on.He walks over to the couch and sits down on the arm, facing me. “I heard your wound isn’t healing.”“Ryker told you that?” I reply.“No, King Adriel did.”My pain flares. That he knows. That Ryker must have told him, and his response was to send Axel instead of come see me himself? I screw my face up trying so hard not to cry but it feels inevitable.“Maricela…”“Don’t.” I gulp. I don’t want to hear it. I don’t need kind words. I don’t need sympathy. None of that helps me.“Why do you think it’s safer in the dark?” He asks gently.I huddle up. I’m still by the window. Staring

I know I shouldn’t do it. I know it’s against all my reasoning but once Lia’s asleep I creep out, into the corridor, up the stairs to where Maricela’s room is.I don’t knock. I don’t want to alert her to my presence.In truth, I just want to see she’s okay. To see for myself because Axel gave me a full report after he’d finished stitching her up. And what I heard made me hate myself even more.I slip inside, shutting the door, and then I pause.I can hear her, the soft sound of her breathing. I can smell her too.I step further in, past the couch, past the door for her tiny little bathroom. I should have given her something more suitable. I should have made sure she was more at home here.As I approach the bed, I can’t see her. I frown looking around because where else would she be?And then I spot her tiny form, curled up, tucked away in the furthest corner of the room by the wardrobe. There’s a blanket beside her that she must have been using as cover. She’s wearing just a t-shirt a