All Chapters of The Lycan King's Plump Obsession: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

IlsaI stepped out of my office and into my domain. The King's guards, in their black and silver, were too many to miss. They prowled the hallways like wolves and left unease in their wake. The tributes, my girls, huddled in doorways and around corners. Watching. Trembling.The King's men directed their attention to me. One man stepped forward, a captain. His eyes narrowed. "Matron Marrow."I inclined my head. I did not curtsy. "Captain.""Matron Marrow," he began, his tone almost polite, "the King's orders. He is seeking a tribute. Lost to His Majesty last night, in the confusion."I raised an eyebrow. I heard the hint of threat beneath his words. I was not fooled. "I'm afraid you've come to the wrong place, Captain. I have all my girls accounted for. You know I don't suffer sloppiness here.""Be that as it may," he said, "the King is insistent. And I cannot return to him empty-handed, you understand."Oh, I understood. I had seen that look in his eyes. I had seen it in Ronan's eyes,

MarenThe door cracked open and I braced myself for the bedchamber. Canopied bed, chairs lined against the wall. But it wasn't that room at all.I blinked, trying to reorder my expectations. Maps hung on the walls, yellowed and blackened with age. A large wooden desk dominated the center of the room, heaped with papers and quills. Shelves of heavy ledgers lined the far wall. The hearth was cold, clean, as if no fire had ever burned within.It wasn't what I'd expected, but I couldn't decide if it was better or worse. Less overtly carnal, but also more confusing.Keeping my eyes down, I could only see his tall boots and the sheer size of him at the edge of my vision. It was throwing me off balance. They'd drilled me on protocol for a seated king, where to stop, when to kneel, how to keep my eyes down. But no one had taught me what to do with a standing one.And then there was the other man, already seated at the desk. His hands were splayed across the papers, offhanded, unhurried. He loo

RonanRhett's voice came to me, a low murmur of sound before the words resolved into meaning."Ronan," he said. "You are unwell. You should sit."I blinked, bringing him into focus. His brows were slightly lifted and he was watching me, his eyes intent. The chair beside the desk was turned toward me, and he was standing with one hand on its back, as if he had just risen.I was not unwell. I did not feel unwell."I need water," I said, and my voice was a stranger's. I looked for Halvard. "Now."He moved to obey. I did not care that my tone was sharp."Fast," I snapped.The girl's head snapped down again, a curtain of hair falling around her face. Her eyes dropped to the floor and stayed there. She had been warned, after all."You're the girl from the corridor this morning."She stood silent for a long moment, then gave a slight nod. "Yes," she whispered, the word cracking in her throat. It sounded painful to say out loud.I nodded back, absorbing the fact. Then I asked, with no lead in

RonanRhett guided me into my chambers, his hand tight on my elbow. "Here, Majesty," he said gently. I leveled him with a warning glance. He released me at once.I crossed to the bed, a massive four-posted affair of carved oak. Deep gouges raked into the post closest to the window, my beast's doing. The shutters were closed, as they always were now. I sank down onto the mattress, suddenly aware of how much my hands were shaking. I clenched them into fists.There was a soft knock. "Enter," I barked.A small, sweating man came in. A physician. He bowed to me, his eyes darting nervously. "Majesty.""Speak," I growled."The Beta sent for me," he said. He swallowed. "To see to your health. May I...""May you what?" My patience was thinning by the second."Examine you, Majesty?"He waited, eyes down, for my permission. I finally nodded curtly. "Be quick."He approached me cautiously. "If I may take your wrist, Majesty." He reached for it.I jerked it away. "I am still your King," I snarled.

MarenI stepped into the Tributes' wing, the wet slither of my dress against my legs the only sound. But before I could call attention to myself, I went still, listening."...impossible," I heard a voice scoff. I didn't recognize it, rough, with a burr of an accent. "No one's survived a night with His Majesty. Not even the Lunas.""Maybe she was lucky," a smoother voice put in. "The way he got with his marks, maybe he passed out and she got to sleep."A chorus of jeers and laughter answered that. "She'd still be dead by morning. Or his pet whore for life, if she was pretty enough."I crept closer, staying near the wall. The voices were coming from the parlor, where most of the girls were gathered. I peeked inside. Nadia had claimed the only chair, as always. The rest lounged on settees and cushions on the floor."No wonder everyone's so confused," Nadia boasted, "whichever slut got picked as his bedmate must have been too tired to even cry out. I bet she was on her knees from the seco