The Cursed Lycan

ing bodily imprints on the cold concrete floor. The whip marks are still fresh and open, ra

the

ng darkness is that of a sentenced pris

ght while he teeters on the brink of absolute insan

is now bare and slick with divine blood; his torso is matted with blackening bruises and skin protrusions along the dome o

oxygen. Each exhale leaves in a high pitched whistle, wet with a strangling gurgle of b

the

ness is

not tell if his eye

hen remembers with a vague sort of a

, the hands

ror like cold shards of ice pricking through his throat, swelling it shut as no sound but a hi

s for ten

th wolfsbane, denying his own body permission to heal it

prisoner wai

y through the cellars hallway. Their lights cast sombre tones of gold forward like

e of pure delirium. As they passed his cell, Kairo had

etiolated skin shifting over flesh so thinly Kairo could name every bone, and when he hun

ro, eyes sunken in bo

th the man. Afraid that he would manage to slip between the bars a

d, but the guards stared unmoved and apa

herr

nails briefly dig into his skin, long, scaled tail brushing

herr

shment days before, perhaps succumbing to the inevitable conclus

was something his fat

e meted and pla

for a

for a

" the prince whispers, vo

at had risen beneath his skin to choke him no

serv

oarse, echoing

hind his eyes, joining at the bridge of his nose, slipping d

through the steel bars of the holding

ind. Though his sense of sight was deprived, the vibrations on the clammy cement floo

the

ght his eyes snap shut as his pup

t of the immobile prince. He grunts disapprovingly, then

ent golden eyes staring down. Their gloved hands pinch at his bare bice

wl deepens in distaste but does not move in avoidance, while

the

orts as they pass the cell. Kairo casts a furtive

orner, cooing to himself, kne

Kairo's e

a cry of

e. Its repulsive pink tail neatly coiled around

him, and then comes his ho

im out into

es so. He forces himself to inhale the foreign fresh air, feel the

it been this silent, yet it is. As they pass rooms, Ka

amusement, then sobers down as guilt settles l

in each fleeting smile; bright, buoyant eyes focused on his siblings as they walked with arms thrown o

d all e

and he would watch on helplessl

e golden embroidered frames on each side with images of Alphas who preceded his father, to

would be

sly opened: a perverted inversion of a coronation, so

y outfit beneath a black mourning coat. Dark pitted circles shadow the silver solemn eye

throne wearing all black, her face

d before them, gazes that once swimmed with infinite af

a dome, glass panes allowing rays

m but all Kairo

chains set on all corners. In the corner of his eye, Kairo sees the rag

s before him. "Father," the boy whimpers, the aching stubs of his

he cold-cut edges pressing deeply into his waist. The Alpha's

in h

e in unfastening the clunking chain that connects his shackles, instead binding his wrists to the clips at each end

rc

not des

he blazing coals, a loud hiss resonating within the palace halls. But it is when the guards slowl

whispers, but

e maneuvering through each crevice and soft plane of his b

hen r

o sc

r singes the centre of his back and chest. It is the same place on both sides of his body. The

or his

mo

, belove

rgiveness and his father had ingrained the principle not only in his body but in his yielding, shattered mind. His ears rin

pull

istening forehead. They unclip Kairo from the table and for a brief, blessed moment, he perceives his physical suffering has

s the gaze of hi

ifting ship, the force weighing his trembling shoulders un

back, his burning wounds still prickling as they singe the rock beneath him. Warm tears still pour down his

not know

oors

ro watches, vision blurred b

oman, he

the heavens. Pale skin shells her slender body, veiled merely by a sheer, silken wrap that encases her shoulders and drapes

zance bleeds into

o

His body trembles in terror, eyes dilating to

hoarse and tearing. He falls back, heaving, weeping as gliste

yes remain sh

ence

n one, swift movement and wrenched tight, crushing his trachea. His voice dies in a high pitched wheeze

but the chain jams against his win

peak. He coul

s remain pinned to the stone, rendering him

The chain tightens and a soundless gasp leaves his mouth as pressure incre

cess," a voice whispers, and the

lintering knives prodding his fractured throat,

of another body ma

silk on his

nd

ing, branding hot like an iron. They touch him in w

k

s as she begins to surreptitiously adjust her inner garment aside. The hands stroke him with practiced gestures, reaching

still scramble

's gaze on him, ste

as she rises on her knees and uses the oth

ft intakes of breaths f

ir punishing gazes,

y for

s him, bare against the grinding stone: I a

fainted, but he is a

soft, yielding folds into the dark fissure where her

down before swelling, rolling and breaking

remain o

ro rema

ock onto him, her serpentine-like hair rippling over bare brea

ll

shed inward like a rotted log. He could not seem to move. A drop of sweat fall

riedly approaches, pressing a cloth betw

are of men speak

t do

it se

lpha send an

kaleidoscope of varying colors. Be

er his own. His

at the floor. The jellied glob quivers on the stone. A

ho it is. The Alpha watches him, silver eyes empty, all but

es his cool, wet cheek, swiping at a stray tea

the murder of my eldest son. " the words should have felt like a

tal realm as a cursed beast, never a moment of peace, never a moment of rest for as long

is s

me above and slinks down towards the pros

ha is w

ely, Kair

roat c

im - Kairo says nothing, fo