+Chapter 6+

Neither of them said a word as they traipsed over dead leaves to get back to the parked cars. They were roughly the same height although King Lucien looked taller because he had lean muscle but anyone would look that way compared to King Kade. He looked really intimidating with his powerful form, Mari was certain he could crush her head with his hands if he really wanted to.

The further they walked, the more Mari realized just how far she had run for her life. It made her cheeks redden, if she could, she would disappear into King Lucien’s coat.

Neither of them bothered to look at her, convinced that she wouldn’t try to run again.

Mari took her gaze away from both Kings for the first time to properly study the woods around them for the first time, she had been too busy running for her life before to take in the sights.

She still very much felt like running; although King Lucien was very nice to her, she couldn’t help but feel like his glamorous exterior hid a much darker side. She had no evidence to back up her fears though, it was her instincts speaking.

Even if she tried to break out into a run again, both werewolf Kings would catch her in a heartbeat, and they might not be polite the next time. She wasn’t guilty though so there was no reason to run off like a fugitive.

Plus she was exhausted and as the sun climbed higher in the sky, she realized that she was hungry. Her feet hurt because the flip-flops weren’t exactly the perfect footwear for hiking, and she was just exhausted all over.

They finally made it out of the last line of trees, the men immediately going alert at the sight of their Kings. They hadn’t looked bothered at all for the safety of either King, which was no surprise, King Lucien and King Kade were capable of protecting themselves. Mari had every right to be very frightened of them.

King Lucien walked up to a car and then gestured for her to follow him. Mari did as he ordered beneath the watchful gazes of the other werewolves. She couldn’t help but worry if they believed that she was a witch- because she wasn’t!

King Lucien held the car door open for her and Mari was so flustered that she nearly bumped her head against the roof of the car. Her anxiety spiked when Lucien got in after her and just as she tried to scramble to the other end, the door on her other side opened to reveal King Kade.

“Is something wrong?” Lucien asked with thinly veiled anger.

“No.” Came Kade’s curt reply as he proceeded to get into the same car as well.

Lucien’s expression darkened, this would be the first time they would be sharing a car, and it hadn’t happened before now because there was too high of a chance that they would try to kill each other before their ride was over.

“Don’t you have to return to your Kingdom, King Kade?” Lucien asked with a dangerous smile that showed off his fangs.

“They’ll live without me for a while.” Kade calmly countered, getting comfortable.

While Lucien was pissed off and Kade was unruffled, poor Mari in their middle was about to pass out from the pressure.

Lucien couldn’t stand Kade, and what upset him further was that Kade had been trying to steal a witch from his territory which was what would have happened if he hadn’t shown up. And to make things worse, Kade couldn’t trust him with a witch that should belong to him in the first place. It was taking him a lot not to reach out and put the aggravating North King in a chokehold.

He had to contain himself though, because it wouldn’t be wise to frighten the witch so much that she released her dangerous flames again while they were in a confined space. Besides, this wasn’t going to be a long-term arrangement. As soon as the Shadows were all wiped out, he would be getting rid of the witch as well as his contract with King Kade, he just had to bide his time.

Lucien leaned back in his seat as well and took a deep breath, staring out the window to distract himself as they were driven back to his palace.

Mari clutched King Lucien’s coat close and tried her hardest not to hyperventilate. If she thought the previous car ride was the worst experience she ever had, it didn’t prepare her for this.

Once again, she couldn’t help but question why they kept going so far. They could have questioned her without taking her to the palace, and King Kade’s presence did nothing to ease her either.

Were they actually planning to throw her in prison at the palace and then sentence her to a public execution? Should she have kept running for her life after all? Being accused of being a witch was the worst possible crime one could commit. How did she manage to fall for King Lucien’s sweet words? She was going to be kille-

A hand on her hair put a stop to her rapidly spinning thoughts and she realized that she had been rocking herself back and forth in a panic.

“Mari?” King Lucien’s voice made her look up at her, tears pricking at her eyes.

“It’s going to be alright, I promise you’ll be fine.” King Lucien said calmly, his hand in her hair grounding her.

Mari didn’t know when she nodded, tears making her hazel eyes shine. She really didn’t want to fall further for King Lucien’s honeyed words but no one had ever spoken so gently to her before. She almost protested when he took his hand away but she knew better.

She could breathe easier now though, it no longer felt like the air was trapped in her throat. There was no reason for them to be so nice to her if she was a witch, she would have been immediately tied up and treated like a wild and dangerous animal. The fact that they were being so polite sealed the deal, to them, she was just a werewolf that had been found in a bad situation.