"I..."

"You gave that monster," Lyall repeats his question in a darker tone, putting an emphasis on the word monster, "a name?" I take one step back, causing Sky to hit the broken walls behind us. Sky grips my skirt tightly. His red eyes are peaking from behind me.

"Lyall, please calm down–" I try. But every time I speak, the king cuts me off.

"I asked you a question, Werewolf Girl," he growls at the end. I gulp, knowing that he has reduced me to 'Werewolf Girl' again and not Mars. It pricks my heart knowing that the beautiful moment we spent together last night seems to just disintegrated into... nothing.

We're back to square one.

"I did." I can't bear the intensity of Lyall's eyes. As a pack creature, we, werewolves and lycans, don't like feeling like we've betrayed our leader. Although Lyall is not my official alpha.

Honestly, I've even forgotten that Lyall is the king here. I have been so occupied with my new daily life that I didn't care about his status in the natural hierarchy. It doesn't help that Lyall has always treated me as an equal.

He never made me feel like I have to submit to him, that I was below him.

Until now.

"Well, that's stupidity," he says in a low tone. The way he says it makes my eyes fill with tears. It was said to hurt me. "I thought you're smarter than that, Werewolf Girl. But I should've not expected much from someone who has never experienced formal education."

That.

That hurts.

I stare at Lyall in disbelief. He said it so easily as if it has always been at the tip of his tongue.

"If you're smart," he continues, "you'll step away now, Mars. Think! That creature isn't worth it."

It's condescending. He's belittling me. And it hurts.

So much.

His powerful gaze and fangs show authority. The lycan king is demanding submission from me, the Werewolf Girl.

Sasha whimpers as a burning feeling spread from my chest. The pain is dull, but it grows exponentially. It's different from the burning feeling of the heat. This is the kind of burn that suffocates you, the kind of burn similar to when your chest is carved with small knives. They make deep and small cuts. But all the cuts burn. And they do it slowly, mercilessly.

This is the price of defying an alpha.

I felt like this when I left my pack, but not to this extent. Our mate bond must have intensified the pain. That I bear Lyall's multiple bite marks on my body, despite not being on the marking spot, makes me more susceptible to Lyall's authority as well. It's called temporary marking. Only alphas can use their bites to make others submit temporarily. The stronger the alpha, the stronger the effect.

So, this burn... Lyall is burning me and he knows it. Yet he doesn't stop.

"Move!" he orders again.

My breathing becomes laborious. It's so hard to breathe, to fight the bond and the temporary marks, to defy Lyall.

But I stand my ground. Despite having it hard to breathe, I keep my body straight and I stare Lyall in the eyes. "No," I say.

My vision has become blurry. Fireflies are at the periphery of my vision. My legs are becoming weaker. Like always, I touch my stomach, and that's when a tear falls from my eyes.

The lack of oxygen is hurting my baby. And yet, I don't move. I choose not to move.

I keep my gaze on Lyall's beautiful emerald eyes as another tear descends on my cheek. "I'm sorry," I whisper to my baby.

That's when suddenly, all the pressure and burning I felt... they are gone instantly.

I notice Lyall's eyes widening for a fraction of a second before I take a huge gulp of air to refill my lungs with oxygen. Rubbing my belly, I try hard to return my breathing to normal. My hand glows for a while to check on my baby.

A huge relief washes over me as I feel her kicking inside me as if saying, 'I'm okay, Mom!' I can't help the tears from flowing.

When I look up at Lyall again, his eyes show remorse. He takes a step back. But a second later, his eyes squint and his fangs are showing again.

It happens so fast. Faster than I could blink.

Lyall lunges forward with a loud roar. My first instinct is to raise my hands to protect myself. I close my eyes, already thinking of the worse...

But the impact never comes. All I feel is the wind blowing my face. I only realize a fraction of a second later that Lyall snatches the pendant from my hand, and he pulls Sky from behind me. I gasp because I have never seen anyone move that fast.

In not just a second, Lyall has gotten the boy and pinned Sky to the bathroom floor. Lyall's claws dig into Sky's skin, making the boy squirm in pain. Sky hisses at Lyall, but the lycan king keeps his calm.

"Why?" he asks. His tone is only a whisper now. His gaze is still directed at Sky, but I know he is talking to me. "Why?"

I wish I have the answer he is looking for. But at this point, I am confused about what he is asking me. Is it why I want to save Sky? Is it why I don't submit to Lyall? Or what?

"Why?" Lyall roars the question to the boy so loud that I can see the air rippling in the air. Sky closes his eyes because of the intensity in the air.

"Because he's worth it," I end up saying whatever comes first in my mind. "Where he came from, who he was... they don't matter as much as who he is now. The labels people put on him don't define him as much as the choices he makes."

The entire room has become silent. I can hardly hear the warriors breathing from the other room. It's like there are only the three of us alone. A better description would be it's like time and space have stopped for the three of us.

Sky looks up to meet my gaze. His eyes are full of tears. He doesn't even try to fight Lyall anymore.

Looking straight at me, with a tear cascading one side of his face, Sky then says, "I accept the name given by thee. For all eternity, I will guard this purpose and the world shall know this name. For as long as thou blood flows, I shall honor your legacy."

Everyone gasps as soon as Sky finishes his words.

Something just tapped into my chest. I feel pressure exploding in my lungs, but instead of making it hard to breathe, the pressure actually makes me breathe better. The pressure flushes inside me and makes me feel lighter, yet heavier, at the same time.

Sasha feels it too. But she doesn't like it. Her tail is tucked and she whimpers.

The feeling is almost the same as... marking someone. I felt a similar feeling when I marked Ed as mine.

Even Lyall freezes on the spot. He, too, feels the energy shifting in the air.

For a long moment, none of us move. Everyone is stuck in their places, dumbfounded about what to do. Until Naver steps into the bathroom through the hole Lyall created and taps the lycan king's shoulder.

"Well, My King," Naver says soothingly, "It is obvious now that this... Shadow Walker belongs to Mars, not Adina."

What?

Nobody moves, and everything is so quiet. I even start to think that this is a dream. Because things feel so surreal now.

Naver taps on Lyall again. "We all know that when a Shadow Walker makes an oath, it will live to fulfill that promise. It will be loyal to the one who gives it a name."

Lyall shakes his head in denial. "No," he whispers, "It's lying. It can't attach itself to Mars. It belongs to Adina."

"Adina never gave me a name," Sky spits out the words. He looks at Lyall with so much anger. "She said she'd only give me a name once you love her again."

I hear a small gasp from the crowd in the room. But my eyes are fixed on the king and the boy in front of me.

"No," Lyall murmurs, "Detach yourself from her." He shakes the boy beneath him. "Detach yourself! She doesn't need a blood-sucking leech like you around her!"

"What do you think you are to her?" Sky's words make Lyall stop. "You are also a leech, a parasite even, attracted to her sweetness, her magic, to how she can make you feel. You want her for yourself, but guess what?"

Sky smirks even though Lyall has claws on Sky's neck. The table has turned.

"She chose me," Sky continues. "And you almost hurt her and her baby. So, who is the actual monster now?"

Gasps erupt again from the room. People start to whisper at the mention of 'baby.' My secret is out now. But it is the last of my priority.

"Sky," I call for the boy, "That's enough."

"Your Highness," Naver calls Lyall as well, "It is clear now that this Shadow Walker cannot harm Mars. In fact, Mars now has full authority on the Shadow Walker. We can use this opportunity."

Lyall growls. His fangs descend so close to Sky's face. Just an inch more and he would have been able to rip Sky's skin to shred.

"Lyall," Naver whispers to Lyall's ear, "Be objective. This is a good chance to weed out her influence once and for all. We can use the Shadow Walker and Mars."

I am the only one who can hear those words. Even with our sharp ears, it's difficult to pick up sounds with that low frequency.

Lyall grunts angrily. For a moment, I thought he wouldn't listen to Naver. But then he pushes the boy to the floor and straightens himself. Then he puts one foot on the boy's chest, preventing Sky from getting up.

"Take this brat to the isolation room," Lyall orders his warriors. A few warriors walk into the bathroom to pick Sky up.

At least he is addressing the boy with 'brat' now and not 'monster,' 'beast,' or 'creature.'

Lyall ties the pendant around Sky's wrist, making the boy unable to call for the shadows. Yet Sky does not even resist.

Sky and I look at each other. His eyes still glitter with tears. Somehow, I just have the urge to say, "I'll come for you."

I didn't expect Sky to answer me, but he nods, which means he believes me.

"And you," Lyall points at me once the warriors have brought Sky out of the bathroom and most of the people have gone out to give us privacy. Naver, Ganesh, and Athena have gone out too. Each of them gives me a look of pity before going out.

Grey didn't want to go out at first. I can see the worry in his eyes. But when Lyall glares at him, his natural instinct is to obey.

His eyes still have so much intensity, so much anger. "You."

I instinctively step back.

I have made Lyall so angry, so disappointed, that I thought he would let me be taken to the dungeon, too. Or perhaps he would tell me to stay in this room until I repent. Or maybe Lyall would revoke all the privileges I have in this kingdom.

In my mind, I am doomed.

But then Lyall wobbles in front of me. And before I know it, the lycan king swoons toward me. I can only catch half of his body, but my strength is not enough to prevent his fall to the bathroom floor.

"Lyall!" I cry out.

His body twists at all awkward angles as the transformation takes place. But his transformation doesn't seem natural at all.

It looks so so so painful.

Hearing him screaming in agony is one of the worst things I have experienced.

–to be continued–