Lycan King

Eve stiffened as she glanced up and saw Drago stride into the room. 'How dare you ask my daughter to return to the place that nearly destroyed her?'

'Actually, I didn't ask her. She offered her assistance.'

'Your Highness, I'm so sorry. I tried to tell my mother I offered to help.'

He raised an imperious hand. 'Don't worry yourself. I can understand why your mother is against it.'

'I still want to do this!' Katya said firmly. 'Mama, I want to help the king in any way I can. The lair's entrance is hidden, camouflaged and only I know where it is.' She paused, taking a deep breath as Eve watched her silently. 'I have to do this. You taught me all my life how to be strong and fight for what's right. You taught me never to give up, to be strong and…and to face my fears head on and fight them.' Her eyes brimmed with tears. 'Well, I fought hard when I was in Balkathan's lair. Some battles I won and the others I lost,' she added, her voice trembling, 'and now all I can think of is all those women and men imprisoned there who can't escape. All those people who didn't have someone like you in their lives to teach them how to survive. I escaped because of all the things you taught me.' Her face hardened. 'If showing the king's guards where the lair is will help those prisoners, I will do it.'

Eve felt the back of her eyes burn. Drago was standing silently to her side and she could feel his gaze on her, watching her intently. She drew in a shaky breath. 'Katya, my darling girl, I am so proud of you. You've already faced your fears with bravery and courage. Now, I must do the same.' Slowly, she rose, casting a sad look upon her daughter and Drago. 'You both forget, I know where his lair is, too. And it's time for me to do what I've been too afraid to face these past four centuries.' She tensed, knowing how they would both soon react. 'I will leave at once and attack Balkathan myself.'

'I forbid it,' Drago roared. 'He'll have you killed before you enter his gate.'

'No, he won't,' she told him quietly as she met his furious gaze. She braced herself, knowing he was going to hate her in a minute. 'Balkathan is my father.'

'What!' Katya screamed.

Eve's heart fell as she watched Drago's expression change. He looked stunned. 'Your father? Why did you never tell us?'

'When is a good time to tell people the demon who's been destroying villages and creating bloodshed is your father?' She paused, taking a deep breath. 'He turned me into a vampire four hundred years ago, thinking I would rule with him and stay by his side forever. He'd already killed my mother because she knew he was insane and would never follow him.' She winced at the expression on Drago's face. He was looking at her like he was seeing her for the first time. 'I ran away from him and travelled as far away as I could. I stopped in China and lived in a temple with monks who took me in and taught me that my curse could be used for good. They taught me hand-to- hand combat and how to use every weapon with a skill, unmatched. Each generation of monks who lived, passed all their knowledge to me. I stayed with them for two hundred years. When I returned, I knew my father was still looking for me, but instead of facing him and fighting him, I hid and lived in the shadows, never staying in one place for more than a few weeks.'

Calmly, she walked to the window. 'The reason my father is so powerful and no one has been able to kill him all these centuries is he's the only known, surviving hybrid, both Lycan and vampire. I was there when a Lycan bit him one month after he turned into a vampire. Soon after, he turned insane and killed my mother. I have to kill him. Once he's dead, his army will be nothing without him to lead them.' She sprung on the windowsill.

Drago roared, 'No!'

Katya screamed.

'I've always known how to kill him. Both silver and stake at the same time through the heart and that is what I must do now, before I turn into the same beast he is tomorrow night when the full moon rises. No one has ever survived the curse of both vampire and Lycan.' Her gaze wavered under Drago's impenetrable stare. She drew in an unsteady breath. 'Tomorrow night, when the full moon rises, I fear I will turn into my father,' she told him quietly.

'Eve, get off that ledge now,' he said in a dangerously soft tone.

She ignored his veiled warning. 'I will make Balkathan think I've finally returned to him and when he least suspects it, I will kill him.' She looked at Katya and her heart twisted in pain at the expression on her daughter's face. 'I love you.'

'I said get off that damn ledge, now,' Drago growled, his face darkening to a dark red

She smiled sadly at him. 'You can't stop me. I'm faster than you and I fly. I love you, Drago.' She then flew into the night, blocking the sound of her daughter screaming and Drago hollering bloody murder.

Chapter Twelve

Drago stared at the window, his gut clenching violently. He had to find her before she got herself killed! He knew she wouldn't travel in the sunlight so he'd have to reach her before sunrise. Grimly, he looked at Katya and tensed at the look of fear on her face.

'Fear not. I will find your mother,' he told her. Then he looked at an astonished Hesta. 'Go see the prince. Tell him what's happened. I'm going after her. There is no time to waste.'

'Master! You don't know where she's going,' Hesta cried.

He could feel her now, passing the forest. Dammit, she moved like lightning! Soon she would be in bandit territory. 'Yes, I do.'

Shifting in his wolf form, he growled at the two women and vaulted through the window. After landing on his four massive paws, he sprang forward and ran towards bandit territory.

He knew she was well ahead of him. He had terrain to cover and she had air. He also knew now, why she refused to be with him. Foolish woman! Did she really think because Balkathan was her father, he would not want her?

She was nothing like that evil bastard!

He had to reach her before sunrise. He had to bring her back to the castle while it was still dark. The thought of losing her filled him with anguish and fear. He couldn't lose her now. He sped through the dry terrain of the fields, passed the forest and stopped. Panting heavily, he snapped his gaze around. She was close by.