Part I
Damned Souls
~
Lycus
~

Supposedly, the moon created a mate for a lycan. For them to meet, to be found and never be unbound.

And purposefully, hunters were bred and moulded to destroy that. Destroy all things unlike them, the unnatural and inhuman.

But what if hunters, in the rarest chances, were to be mated to a lycan?

To put it simply, blood will be spilled and Lycus Fenris knew that.

Knew that for only two reasons: The first, it was the natural order. Hunters hunted lycans and werewolves. And his kind retaliated. The second, what being would be foolish enough to create a design for two different species to be mated?

Lycus always deemed his bond with Accalia as a punishment, but not before the cloud above him cleared and he saw her for who she truly was. His mate. His Luna.

He could feel her pain, even from here, even in her unconsciousness. Her cuts that ran so deep into her skin all that was left was flesh and blood.

Accalia hadn't stirred once after the attack. The only time her body moved was when Lycus was adjusting her body for her. Dead weight in his arms.

The remainder of her in his arms clung to him like a ghost, the lifelessness he carried not leaving him.

But Accalia's heart still rang rhythmically at its own painful and slow pace. Lycus knew he would never forget the hymn, the pattering beat of her heart in his ears. He needed to hold onto that.

"Alpha, we have to take her to the healers!" Tala, Lycus's Beta and closest friend shouted.

Lycus listened to his Beta's commands and ran to the cabin where the healers were sanctioned. They came to the place within minutes and Tala kicked the door in, holding it open for them.

"Heal your Luna, she endured a scratch mark by an Alpha and needs immediate attention. NOW!" Tala barked to two healers who were lounging around as nothing bad could occur within their pack.

They shot up, watching their Alpha who had blood all over his bare chest and suspension crossed their faces.

"Did you do—" Tala gave the healer a look that sent her into silence. "Get her on the bed. We need to remove her clothing to inspect the wound."

Lycus shook, clutching Accalia to his skin, wanting her to be near him.

"Lycus, come on." Tala pressed.

Lycus placed Accalia onto the single bed that was fitted with white sheets and laid her on her stomach. His heart galloped, Accalia's arm falling loosely from him and he suppressed the urge to snap the healer's wrist for getting too close to his mate with scissors.

The healer began to cut between the middle of Accalia's top and removed the fabric away, blood and flesh sticking to it.

Both healers winced, cringing at the sight and Lycus nearly roared at them. They removed Accalia's bra and Tala covered her mouth with her hand, the sight too grotesque to bear witness.

The mark embedded into the huntress's skin was too deep, bleeding red and flesh discarded into shreds. 

This would stay with her for the rest of her life. 

"The scratch is deep, any longer and she would have died from blood loss, Alpha. You came to us at miraculous timing." One healer commented. "She doesn't need to be turned, unless—"

"No!" Lycus boomed, he didn't need to hear this right now, the state of her future being in his hands. He could heal her, mend her, not turn her. "It's just a scratch mark, we do not turn her."

"Will—will she be okay?" Tala stammered.

"She's human but mated to Lycus. If she was marked by him ... she'd have some of his abilities which would speed up the healing process. This is why we need some of his blood that would provide healing properties. We have to do it to get the best outcome."

Accalia's wound had been cleaned. The blood that smeared her back was cleansed to show her brown skin with claw marks.

She didn't move once throughout the process, not when the healers removed the splints of Cole's claws from her body, the cloth to clean the blood away and the droplets of healing herbs that mixed with Lycus's blood that dropped into her cuts. They didn't know if it was the medicine or his blood, but the healing surpassed their expectations.

The two healers didn't stop tending to Accalia, they were all over the cabin, gathering every herb to heal and tool to use. The scratches were finally closed through stitching.

It zig-zagged a shiver along Lycus's back and he couldn't move from the door frame. He was in a haze those hours ago, watching everything play out from the outside, looking in. And now, guilt plagued his insides like death and he would gladly rot because of it.

Morning ushered in, dawn falling upon Lycus like a revelation. He was positive he would never feel the same relief ever again when the healers confirmed Accalia would be fine.

For the past few hours, he asked everyone to leave him with Accalia, wanting no one else to look at her like a broken toy. Her essence was all that shrouded him.

Steps daintily came toward him, shaking him out of his thoughts and a flowery scent crushed into him. Of course, she would know what took place here, either by Tala's mouth or her foresight.

Lycus looked at the oracle standing before him. He has known this woman for many years now and recruited her once he locked sight on those familiar eyes, the moon's eyes. Her black skin beamed beneath the dawn's light and her locs swept around her.

Vaela was a traveller before she met Lycus, wanting to know why her silver eyes foretold the secrets of the unknown. Why she was sent as a guide for lycans and werewolves and when Lycus crossed her path, he unveiled the world she was a part of and she found a place in his pack ever since. 

Lycus also appreciated her brass honesty.

Vaela stood before him, wilful but cautious. "Alpha Lycus, the healers contracted these from her back. I requested they give them to me." She laid her hand palm and shards of huge claws sat clear and crystalline in her palms.

Lycus tensed up, folding his arms and fighting the anger. "They're his claws."

Vaela nodded. "Indeed. Alpha, you know my abilities extend beyond prophecy telling, I'll be able to examine these for you and gather insight, into his memories in his lycan form. But it will take time."

Lycus looked back into the medical room, swindling his face to his mate who still laid on her stomach with only a sheet to cover her back.

"I have every intention of going to war, Vaela," Lycus confessed to the oracle.

Vaela closed her palm around the claws and watched Lycus pensively. "I know. Accalia may be more reserved than before Lycus, but know this, she'll be a Luna that no one has ever known."

Lycus's head tilted at that. Accalia wouldn't want that. She doesn't want this life, she doesn't want to be tied to the Alpha of Alphas. The only thing binding them together was their deal and mate bond.

"Your brother and his mate entered the territory not long ago. They will be here shortly." Vaela informed Lycus who only responded with a nod.

The oracle gave a lasting look to Lycus and strode off, leaving him to his thoughts.

Lycus wasn't supposed to be here, nor was his mate and Beta. They were supposed to be at Kara forest by now, undoing all the madness Alexene provoked and Cadence encouraged.

Gabriel and Nina were supposed to be here, keeping guard and leading when Lycus could not.

Lycus clenched his hands into fists, wanting to ground his knuckles into something that would draw blood. Wrath had been an emotion he has felt most in life, it walled around him and led him to every decision he has made in the past centuries.

And so far, it hadn't failed him.

Cole Canus.

Alexene Lavarus.

Zenith Thrax.

Melina Thrax.

Cadence Larren.

They will all meet their deaths.

Lycus cocked his head to the side, peering at the two people coming toward him. One similar to him, black-haired and with dark olive skin. All except those blue eyes that danced with wonderment and humility. Beside Gabriel was a short and petite Nina Fenris — Gabriel's, in human terms, wife, but eternally, his mate.

"Is she alright? Tala told us what happened ..." came Gabriel's all-knowing tone that Lycus hated to hear in every way they had to converse. His brother came head to head with him outside of the medical room. 

Gabriel observed his brother and sympathy filled his face. Lycus looked away, hating it — despising the pity that seemed to roll off his brother in pathetic, emotional waves.

"Oh, Accalia," Nina gave a faint cry and dashed into the room, coming to the side of the single bed.

Lycus stepped forward, breathing ragged and Gabriel clasped his shoulder.

"It's just Nina, Lycus," Gabriel exclaimed.

Nina bent to her knees, her curls clouding around her face and she raised a hand, brushing it along Accalia's forehead. She repeated the motion, sweeping her hand along her skin and hair, whispering prayers Lycus wouldn't dare to believe in.

As Nina comforted a slumbering Accalia, Gabriel gripped Lycus's arm and attempted to pull him away. "Nina will watch over her. We have matters to discuss." Gabriel said sternly.

Lycus didn't move an inch, sticking to the doorframe like he was glued to it and gave his brother a glower. "I can't leave her. You didn't see it, Gabriel — you didn't see Cole slash his claws into her back. If it wasn't for Tala, I would've let her bleed out. I was that ... shocked. I could hardly move, I felt every ounce of pain she endured. I can't leave her now."

Gabriel nodded understandably and gave Lycus's arm a faint squeeze. "We saw the car wreck as we came into the territory. It was obvious that something crashed into the car — only a lycan could've done something like that and remained unscathed."

Lycus scolded, crossing his arms. "He got hurt, Accalia stabbed him. That's why he—"

"I know, Tala told us."

Lycus pinned a look to his brother and his jaw ticked at the memory. "He was going to take her, Gabriel."

Gabriel looked toward the two women and said, "Accalia is a Larren hunter, it's difficult to kill them. She is alive and that's all that matters."

It won't be difficult to kill Cadence, Lycus thought to himself.

"Brother, we have to talk," Gabriel said after a moment and Lycus gave in, leading them into the hallway where he could hear the beating of Accalia's heart.

"Alexene still lives," Gabriel said with a sigh.

Lycus closed his eyes, rage sizzling beneath his skin and attempted to hold off the rattling in his head, in his cage. "Yes, the poisonous bitch still lives and just so happened to recruit Cadence for help. We were heading to Kara forest to put a stop to this before everything happened. But perfecting fucking timing, Cole got in the way."

How couldn't Alexene live? She was an immortal being with only the sun as her downfall and age as her greatest strength. She would have escaped the raging fires and plotted her revenge for years.

"She wants revenge, Lycus. For what we did. She'll think we did—"

"I don't give a fuck what that bitch thinks. It was none of her business then and it won't ever be. She was always meddling, snooping and created more hell for us than necessary." Lycus spat.

Gabriel sighed soundly and leaned against the wall. "If she reached Kara forest, the coffin — Lycus all we have done will be lost."

Lycus leered his head to the ceiling, the urge to roar building in his chest and wanting to be let out. "Brother, what if vampires still live among us? There's a high chance."

"We didn't kill them all. Don't forget, Lycus, they're nocturnal creatures and reserved unless they must feed. They still live on."

It was once told the vampiric species were linked to demons. They appear beautiful, at first sight, but that was to lure their target. A human.

Lycans and vampires bear no similarities. The lycanthropy curse was meant to punish with the chance of redemption: a mate. The vampiric plague was to gift humans immortality but with a cost. Lycans and werewolves are earthly and primal, vampires are ghostly and demonic.

And Alexene Lavarus is a menacing little girl Lycus wanted to be crushed into dust.

"Alexene would need someone to enter the cave, Gabriel. She would need a human for that." Lycus muttered bitterly.

"Cadence Larren." Gabriel folded his arms and a storm was brewing in those eyes. Black and blue was a cosmic collision Lycus hardly saw on his brother. "I'll go to Kara forest, Lycus. Once I get back, we will speak of Alpha Canus. Hell has been brought down on us all."

With a war amongst Alphas, vampires unveiling themselves from the shadows and the past returning, Lycus couldn't help but agree that hell has struck down on the Fenris brothers.

"Go," Lycus growled, "But I need to stay ... for her."

Gabriel adjusted his jacket and gave his brother a promising glance. "You need to stay with Accalia. I'll try to stop this, but Lycus, if Alexene released him, if he's vengeful, he could come for us."

Lycus's lip curled, eyes blazing. "Let him come."

Scattering peeled across the floorboards like a stampede and Nina almost fell out of the room, her hand latching on the doorknob to stop herself. "She's awake!" A smile danced across her lips and she looked to Lycus. "She asked for you."

Lycus's heart lodged into his throat and he inhaled painfully as if a knife stabbed him. He could hardly think as he strode into the room.

Gabriel and Nina drifted away from Lycus and he couldn't look at anything but her.

Accalia laid flat on the bed, the sheet still covering her and she breathed resonantly to Lycus's ears. Her hair splayed around her in a dark halo and her tender brown eyes met his.

A stray tear leaked from her eye and left a trail to her lip.

A part of Lycus cracked at the sight and he took steady strides until he was at the side of the bed, falling to his knees. A gesture he never thought possible for him to do.

Gently as he could, Lycus wiped the tear away and watched as Accalia flinched beneath him.

Lycus's insides became icy and he clenched his jaw. She asked for him, Nina said, yet she flinched as though he was the one who attempted to slay her.

He wanted to retreat, into that cage that rattled and creaked beneath every step the beast made. But instead, he drew closer to her, tempted to bury his nose into her neck and breathe her in.

"Lycus," Accalia said his name breathlessly, her eyes glassy as tried to maintain contact with him. "My—my back—"

Lycus couldn't help it, his hand swept along her face as Nina did, but he doubted he was as gentle as he tried to be. "I'm so sorry, Accalia."

Accalia closed her eyes, shutting off from him and adjusted her head to remove his hand. "What happened after ..."

Lycus cleared his throat and dropped his hand, the iciness growing colder and colder. "You passed out from the pain and blood loss. He fled. You've been out for hours, it's morning now. Your back is stitched and healing — it will leave scars, Accalia."

Accalia inhaled but nodded curtly. The information processing was like it was nothing to her. Lycus wished she would drop the mask and fall into him.

"Why did you let him get away?" Her voice came out cold and bitter.

Her warmth, what she's known for, seemed to vanquish into smoke and he knew exactly what she wanted.

"Accalia—" A weakening strain took hold of Lycus and he choked on his words for it. "—I couldn't handle seeing you like that. It's still running in my head what happened to you and I can't get rid of it. Everything you were feeling, for some reason, I felt it too."

"That deal we made was useless. Me being here is useless. If I get hurt, you get hurt — the mate bond is a curse."

Lycus rose to his feet, towering over her and trying with all his might not to inspect her back. "Don't say that. Not after everything, we're made for each other, Accalia."

Accalia clenched her jaw, eyes filling with tears that fell on her face. "Don't fool yourself. If we never met, none of this would have happened."

Wiping her tears away with the back of her hand, her face growing puffy, she cocooned herself in the sheet and made to sit up.

Lycus didn't help her, knowing she would shove away from him like he was poison to her skin, the root of all her problems which he debated to be all true. Their bond, a curse.

"My wound is stitched? Who did that?" Accalia asked, throwing her long hair to cover her breasts and stomach.

"Two healers. They put in a healing tonic within the flesh that will speed up the healing process. If we completed the mating bond, the turnout of your wound would be different."

He didn't want to mention his blood being mixed in with the remedy, he felt that would only make matters worse.

Accalia settled him with a glower that on any other day, he'd grin at.

"Do you think I'll be able to track down Cadence?" The soft voice came back to haunt him and he gladly relished in it, like the last drop of water in a desert.

"Gabriel will be heading to Kara forest. I can't let you leave right now."

Accalia's face could be considered an ethereal statue, enthralling and hard as stone. "I need to get to Cadence."

Lycus shook his head, refusing her.

Accalia's lip wobbled and that hard mask cracked. "Can you please get me a t-shirt, I don't like being this revealed to others."

Lycus nodded and stalked over to the wardrobe in the corner of the room. The healers had all things to remedies, first aid kits, stashed food and robes for people to wear.

He passed Accalia a white robe and she grimaced at it.

"What's wrong?" Lycus asked.

Accalia tried to get to her feet and pointed to the bed with pale sheets. "My blood is on it, I don't want to stain this too. White and red aren't compatible colours."

Lycus's thoughts reeled with a retort, a response to snap her out of this attitude. "It seems many things aren't compatible, Accalia, and yet they work just fine."

Accalia fumbled with the piece of clothing and looked around, hair curling her face.

"You're body will be in a lot of pain, despite the numbness you feel. Do you want help putting that on?" Lycus asked his mate.

Accalia tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and she shakily nodded. "What if I rip the stitches out?" She whispered sombrely, looking down.

Lycus wanted to fall to his knees, to capture her gaze in his and clutch her delicate body in his arms and promise her unpromising wishes. "If you move too suddenly — do drastic activities, it could tear. That's partly why I don't want you going after Cadence. Gabriel has that under control."

Accalia said nothing and passed him the fabric.

Lycus suppressed the urge to smile and tugged the garment over Accalia's head. A laugh threatened to burst out of him as she puffed the strands of hair sticking to her face and guided the short sleeves through her arms.

His rough hands settled by her hips and he brushed the white gown down her long legs, fanning the pad of his fingers along her calves and thighs. She shivered against his touch and Lycus rose back to his feet, peering down at her.

"You want revenge, darling?" Lycus asked.

Lycus wanted many things. A war to strike down on Zenith and Cole for the betrayals and threats. For his mate to heal and strengthen. Alexene dead and Cadence punished for her actions.

And the boy in the cave to stay where Lycus left him.

"I—I think Cole deserves to die."

Lycus couldn't help it and pecked the tip of Accalia's nose with his lips, a sealed promise passing between them. "It will be done, Accalia."

~

Edited: 9/10/2024
Nearly two years later and this chapter didn't need much change, I'm happy with it.

The first chapter done and dusted.

Kind of nervous about how the second story will play out and if it will be worse or better than Moon Bound.

Any theories of what's to come?

— Caranyx.