The Lycan King & I.

//four//

Part I: Chapter Four
Eliette Mercer
Traveling North
October

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

I lose track of how long we've been driving. I'd been using the sun as it made it's way across the sky to gauge the time, but that ends once we enter the thick trees of the forest. My tears stopped hours ago when Axle first started the massive car. The unfamiliar roar of the engine made me jump in fright. The startled yelp that escaped my lips had caused both Lycan's eyes to dart to me in alarm. I still felt foolish thinking about it. The North was rich, they probably drove in cars daily. I settled into a shameful silence after that for the remainder of the drive, mortified.

The path leading North is empty. Once leaving town, there is not another person or building in sight. Though neither of the men in the vehicle have taken out a map, Axle seems to know exactly where to go. The King warned me that it would be a long drive to get to his Pack, not too long after we left. I  felt he wanted to say more, but I only nodded. I don't know anything about where the Northern Kingdom is, other than it being in the heart of the mountains.

Cold and dangerous, no place for a human.

Though the king sits in the same row of seats as me, I can hardly say he is sitting next to me. The car is so large, there is at least three feet of cold leather between us. We don't touch, thankfully. But I feel his eyes on me every of often, somehow. It feels almost like the heat of a spotlight on my skin when he looks my way to examine me.

I don't meet his gaze however, keeping my eyes solely on the trees passing outside or my dirty shoes.

"Excuse me, my King," Axle speaks some time later, after the controls of the car have started glowing a light green in the darkness of the car. The sky's inching towards twilight now, night is near. "Wells has our spot for the night ready ahead. He's asking if he should pitch an extra tent."

The car has turned chilly, goosebumps running up and down my legs. My thin work dress does nothing to stave off the cold. I sit on my hands in a weak attempt to keep warm.

"Yes." The King says, and grumbles out lowly, "And tell them to cover their asses."

"Yes, Alpha."

I suspect that means we are stopping soon, but it's still a long wait before our wheels slow. Through the tinted windows and dark of night, it's hard to see what deems this patch of dense woods an ideal stopping point over any other. The King exits the car as soon as we stop, leaving his door open and gesturing to me to follow suit.

Once out of the car, I'm led through the gravel to a makeshift camp: two canvas tents with a contained fire between. The first thing I do is hold out my numb hands to the flames, relishing in it's warmth. Outside of the three of us and wells, who is already situated on a lop around the campfire, no other members of our party are here. When I hear a not-too-distant growl, it dawns on me that the rest of the guard must be in their fur, hiding in the woods.

"Your dinner, my Queen." Wells presents a tin plate of food to me some time later. I take it from him, backing away from the fire to take a seat on a log brought over for me by the King. I shoot him an hesitant smile in thanks, bowing my head slightly.

I let the plate sit untouched in my lap, reveling in it's heat against my icy thighs. The other three follow suit on logs of their own, taking seconds to dig into their meal. The conversation amongst them is easy, it's obvious they have a close camaraderie. They speak fast with their strange Northern accents. I can't bring myself to care enough to focus on their words. Besides, the wind is picking up, it's howls drawing my attention.