Shifters - The King of Wolves - Book 1

CHAPTER 9 - AMONG THE VEIL OF COMFORT

Egon's body shook with anger as he tightened his grip on Klaus's throat.

Klaus gagged as he struggled with his breathing. His hands scraped across Egon's hand, attempting to free himself from his grasp. The razor-sharp claws that emerged from his fingers dug into Egon's skin, causing deep scratches.

It was a futile action as Egon didn't seem to notice, despite the blood that oozed out of his wounds. "Feeling a bit less brave now, aren't you?" Egon addressed him, his voice heavy with rage.

Next to him stood Leif and Rolf, their backs turned to me too. Their bodies were rigid as they focused their attention on the other two shifters, who both had their necks exposed in a submissive posture. The legs of the young shifters trembled with fear as the tension of Egon's anger only seemed to grow stronger by the second.

Egon stood close to me, his broad back almost touching my nose. It almost acted as a shield, sheltering me from the unfolding scene before me. His body seemed to radiate some sort of warmth, its waves luring me to him. Wanting to hold on to this feeling of safety, I cautiously grasp the fabric of his shirt from behind with my hand.

An immediate wave of security washed over me. It was as though he infused me with his strength. Soothing my nerves with his touch, anchoring me back from my paralysing thoughts.

As if he sensed the shift in my emotions, Egon's ragged breathing suddenly eased, and his tense muscles loosened slightly. With a low growl, he lowered Klaus until his feet touched the ground again. Gasping and wheezing, Klaus fought to catch his breath as Egon released him. However, Egon's hand shot out with lightning speed, seizing Klaus by the collar and yanking him forward until their faces were inches apart. "I want you three and your parents in the Alpha's office in five minutes."

Egon turned his head to Thorsten, who was still trembling on his legs. "You disappoint me," Egon's voice was low as he addressed the boy. "As the future Alpha of this pack, you should know better. The humans are your guests. You should have put your future Beta in his place for treating your guests this way."

"Please forgive me, Alpha King," Thorsten stammered out his words, clearly frightened by the man before him.

"Go," Egon said as he released Klaus once more. The young shifter stumbled backwards as he was freed and quickly sprinted away with his friends. The tension in the air slowly dissipated as the three shifters disappeared from view.

Egon turned around with a sigh, his eyes softened as they met mine. "Are you alright?" His voice was laced with worry as he observed me, his eyes roaming over my face for any sign of distress. But I was at ease, actually, I never felt safer before.

I nodded, my voice barely above a whisper. "I'm fine, thank you."

My gaze lowered to his wounded hand, noticing the stains of blood trickling down to the ground. Remembering the assault that was done to it, I reached for his injured hand without another thought. I wanted to clean the blood from his hand to examine the injury.

"Your hand!" The words burst out, a rush of concern and guilt washing over me. Knowing that he was hurt filled me with a nauseating feeling.

Just as I was about to grab his hand, Egon released a low chuckle. The sound drew my gaze back up, curious about his amusement. A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he noticed my confusion.

"I'm fine." In a fluid motion, he wiped the blood from his hand with the fabric of his shirt. "See, nothing to worry about," he declared as he showed me his hand. His skin appeared untouched. There wasn't a hint of a scratch or scar to be found.

My astonishment must have been evident, as Egon let out another soft laugh. "We heal quickly," he explained in a calm voice.

I nodded, my mind still trying to process the information. I knew about their healing abilities, I witnessed it with Maliah and Leif earlier too, but seeing it firsthand was an entirely different experience. Besides, I underestimated its speed. I never imagined him to recover this quickly.