Unwanted Mate Of The Lycan Kings (by jessica hall) novel Chapter 67

Zirah POV

It’s daylight by the time he returns. The sun filters in through the windows, its warm light casting a golden hue on the bedroom. The light is gentle but intense, and it makes my body sting as it touches the cuts lacing my skin. My arms ache furiously, my shoulders feel dislocated, and I lost the feeling in my hands hours ago. I squint my eyes at the brightness of the room as it illuminates the back of my eyelids. Blood is caked to my legs and backside. I don’t bother lifting my head when I hear the door open, and Zeke stumbles back into the room.

He reeks of alcohol and mutters to himself when he stubs his toe on the corner of the chaise. He curses before kicking it and breaking the wooden leg off. This causes me to wince when a splintered piece flakes off and hits my thigh. Hearing him muttering to himself, he moves past me and picks up the piece of broken wood at my feet, bottle clutched in the crook of his arm.

Fear makes me glance in his direction, his entire body tenses. He then lifts his head slightly, his eyes moving to mine, and a look of confusion sweeps over him. He blinks at me and rubs his eyes quickly, almost like he is dazed, as he jumps, standing upright.

“Zirah?” he asks, and I realize he used my name instead of calling me human. His eyes trail over my bloodied body, and his hands grab me. He drops the bottle tucked in the crook of his arm, and it shatters on the floor, sending shards of glass flying and spilling the amber liquid over the floor. The moment his hands touch me, I cry out when pain courses through me. He trips over his own feet as he lets go in panic and lands on his ass.

“No!....No!....What have I done?” he chokes with wide eyes as he stares at me dangling from the canopy beam on his bed.

“I’ll…. I’ll get help.…. Someone will—” he looks on the verge of a panic attack as he scrambles to his feet, grabbing my legs.

Does he not remember what he did? Why does he seem so shocked when he did this to me? He clutches his hair, eyes following the chain to see where it is attached to the hook.

He rips it off, and I scream when the chain suddenly drops under my weight, my limbs like putty from hanging all night, and I crash toward the ground. I clench my eyes shut, waiting for the pain.

Zeke grabs me before I hit the floor, which makes me scream when my legs and backside, slick with my trickling blood, slide through his arms. I feel like I’ve been skinned alive. He drops me in panic before stumbling into the doorframe. He rips the door open and screams for his brothers while I lay on the ground, unable to move as I cringe in pain.

“They’ll come… they’ll help you!... I’m sorry… I…” He stutters, reaching for me while I whimper. The more he touches me, the more it hurts. I just want him to leave when he picks me up. He rushes to the bathroom screaming for help. However, help does not come. He twists the taps to the shower while I lean limply against him. It's all I can do, unable to support my own weight. My body trembles from the pain, and I can feel his grip tightening around me. I try to push off him feebly, but my hands still have no feeling.

Zeke finally sets me down in the shower, the water pouring over my body. I close my eyes, trying to escape the pain and find some kind of comfort. However, Zeke is almost frantic, his hand tugging and pulling at my shirt, which jostles me. At first, I wonder what he is doing until I realize he is undressing me. He tears my shirt down the middle, and I cry out, the motion dragging me a bit across the tiled floor.

"No...No...Zeke. Leave me alone!" I scream, and he jerks away from me, landing on his ass, looking at me bewildered. "Don't touch me," I breathe, collapsing in a heap on the floor.

"Zirah, please. I will make it better. I can make the pain stop," he begs while leaning forward, his hand outstretched toward me. "LEAVE ME!" I scream so loud it renders me breathless when a guard from the hall bursts into the room. I don't move much because I barely have the strength to. Every inch of me aches. No part of me isn't hurting.

When the guard steps in further, Zeke clutches his hair leaning back against the shower wall. "My King.....What have you done?" the man breathes, and he crouches beside me. All I can do is stare at Zeke, who rocks back and forth, muttering to himself like he, too, can't believe what he did. The guard sweeps my hair out of my face, and I know I should be embarrassed that he can see me naked, but all my dignity went out the window. The guard gasps, turning his head to look over his shoulder.

"Elias, go find and get the kings."

"Is she alright?" I hear the other guard question but can't see him.

"Find them now!" the guard orders, and the man hurries off.