It has been eight days since Lyall told me he is going to ask his sister to train me. Eight days.

It would be fine if I have other things to do; perhaps touring the kingdom, or getting to know the lycans, or maybe I get to practice my healing ability. But none of that is happening because, for four entire days, Lyall still imprisons me. Sort of.

He never locks the room ever since my meltdown, but now he locks down the entire east wing so I can still roam some parts of the castle. He puts guards all over the east wing that will prevent me from going further.

Son of a bitch.

At first, I trusted him. But after eight days, I doubt he has asked his sister. If anything, he was just stalling until he could find something else to keep me in his room.

He never visits me during the day and he only comes back at around midnight, which, unfortunately, is when my pregnant body demands me to sleep. For the first two days, I sleep on the couch only to find myself awake in the morning on his bed. So, after that, I decided to just sleep in his bed. It's more comfortable, anyway. And honestly, I feel safe because he never touches me when I am asleep.

Well, except that one time I was woken up from my dead sleep because of a kiss. But other than that, he keeps to his side of the bed.

The thing is, in the mornings, I also don't get to see him, consciously, because he wakes up really early to work. On one hand, this gives me relief because I don't have to hide my morning sickness. On the other hand, it frustrates me because I can't talk to him.

There are maids that would come and go to bring food and clean the room now, instead of using magic. Every time they come in the mornings, they would eye me dirty. One of them kept asking me if I slept well last night and I kept answering, "I slept soundly." I only realized by the third day that they were asking to know if Lyall and I had been having sex, though I continue to answer the same thing; No.

Damn it!

I feel like a hooker. A woman of the night that Lyall keeps in his room and only visits during night hours. My only purpose as his mate in this kingdom is to satisfy his pleasure after an entire day of work. The thought of it makes me feel so dirty and more irritated by Lyall.

I have asked one of the maids to deliver my message to Lyall. A simple note on paper saying;

Can we talk? Please.

He replied with a written note;

We can talk once I get back.

But of course, when he is back in the room, I am already sleeping. And when I am awake, he is already gone.

Bastard.

The only comfort I have these days, surprisingly, comes from the mysterious boy. He visits me every day without fail to play chess, have lunch with me, and listen to my storytelling –this boy prefers gore and dark fairytales, which I think is a bit weird for young children... but hey, to each of its own.

We bicker a lot. Especially because this boy is a sore loser, and he acts mostly like he owns the castle.

"You're cheating!" He has cried that out several times now, "You moved the pieces when I was not looking!"

"I did not!" I deny it every time. Then when he goes on his little tantrums, I sit back on my couch as if I am watching a comedy. The kid is hilarious. He would pace back and forth in the room, saying all the things he makes up in his mind about me cheating and after a few minutes he would gruff, look at me with his large eyes, and say, "One more time. This time I am going to win!"

I let him win a couple of times. Of course, I can just let him win all the time, but I would lose my comedy show... He has a sweet smile blooming on his face whenever he wins. Although he hides his smile pretty fast as if he doesn't want me to know that he is happy to win.

He looks more like Lyall every time I see him, the exact copy of the lycan king. And despite his arrogant attitude, he is adorable. Especially the way this boy tilts his head every time he is thinking and taps his fingers three times before he makes every move.

This boy has magic, which allows him to appear and disappear in my room without anyone noticing, not even the lycan king himself. "Do lycans normally have magic, Unicorn?" I ask the boy.

I give him the name, 'Unicorn,' because he told me he doesn't have a name. And when I asked him to make a name for himself, he refused. So, I have been calling him all sorts of sweet things just to irritate him further; Candy, Chocolate, Licorice, and now Unicorn.

"Stop with these absurd names!" he cries out. "And no. Only a few lycans have that affinity."

"Does the lycan king have magic too? Maybe the same magic as yours?"

The boy tilts his head to the side. It's his signature move when he is thinking. "The lycan king was born with magic affinity but not to the kind of magic I have. He was born with strength beyond the regular lycans, and..."

"And?"

"And his body is magically tailored so that he can inflict the most pain on his enemy. His magical affinity is his ability to kill." The boy looks me dead in the eye. "You've been screwing with a killing machine."

I roll my eyes the moment I hear his last comment. He chuckles when he sees my expression. "You're just scaring me, Kitten."

"The lycan king was truly born with magical strength. And in a way, he is a killing machine to his enemies, but not magically enhanced in that area. The curse, however, has been playing a part in making him feared by others." He stands up. "Also, I told you; Stop. With. Those. Absurd. Names!"

"Won't stop until you give me your real name."

"I don't have one, Felicia! No one ever gave me one!"

I know it sounds so sad to hear the boy never having a name, but my jaw drops for a different reason. How dare he play my own game against me? This brat!

"Make one then. Why can't you make your own name?"

"Just drop it, Karen," he says, "Call me 'Boy,' like you used to. That is so much better than these ridiculous names you pin on me."

One corner of my mouth tugs upward. "How about Puppy?"

"Stop!"

"Rainbow?"

He is shaking his head vigorously. I can see his cheeks going red.

"Bunny? Beautiful? Cutie?"

"Urghhhh!!" He groans while pulling his hair. He is so frustrated that it is so cute! I feel like messing with him even more.

"How about this then?" I ask, "If you help me get out of this room and the east wing undetected, I'll give you a nice name you'll be proud to call yourself with."

Surprisingly, he goes still at my words. Holding my gaze, his enormous eyes glistened as he asks, "Really?" He sounds so hopeful that it honestly breaks my heart. Why did Lyall never give this boy a name? Why is this boy seem to be neglected by Lyall?

Could it be that the curse really change Lyall? Because when Lyall is with me... he is kind and warm and considerate. I am finding it hard to believe that the same man would do this to his own son.

I want to ask if perhaps the boy's mother did something which made Lyall not even acknowledge his son. But I somehow don't feel it is a wise thing to do...

"Yes. I'll give you a strong and unique name."

"Manly too!" He can't hide his smile now. The boy is excited to have a name for himself. It's sad and endearing at the same time. As a future mother, I feel the need to shower this boy with more love.

I nod at his request, which makes him smile even wider. "Okay then! I'll take the risk of letting you out. But why do you want to go out? It's more dangerous for you outside."

"I need supplements. To be exact, I need iron and folic acid supplements."

The boy stared at me with a blank face, "For what?"

"Uh... I'm... anemic," which technically is not wrong. Pregnancy makes women undergo natural physical changes, one of them is having physiological anemia.

"Why not ask the maids for the supplements?" the boy asked again. "Or ask for a healer. Father should approve of that since you're his mate."

"Oh no," I answered fast, "No. I don't want to bother Lyall... um... I don't want him to be annoyed by my needs..." Technically, this was not wrong too. My life depended on him to keep me here.

I could be wrong, but the boy looked at me with a softer gaze. "Okay then." He nodded to me.

"Can you take me to Lyall's sister?"

"Athena?"

"Is that her name?" I ask, "Wow, she is named after the war strategy goddess."

"She is a war strategist. One of the best warriors in our kingdom," the boy says with pride, "Shall we go then?"

"Do you know where she is now?"

"She has this daily schedule to train with her warriors at this hour. We can find her in the western training field," the boy says. But then his face falls flat. "But what if... Father finds out?"

"I'll take all the blame," I say in so much confidence, "It's all my idea and you're just doing what I ask of you."

The boy's eyes me warily. But then he says, "Fine." A second later, he clicks his fingers as I blink.

When I open my eyes, I am no longer in Lyall's room. The musky scent of the room and the cool air conditioning room are no more. What I can smell is the thick scent of sweat, blood, and dirt. I can hear shouts from in front of me.

The sun shines too brightly that my eyes need time to adjust. And by the time they have adapted to the light, a man's body has been thrown in my direction.

"Watch out!!"

–to be continued–

Copyright @karasmara