Found by the Lycan King by Natalie Winter

Chapter 113
Zenovia
Callahan wiped his hand on the back of his trousers when he saw my gaze land on his knuckles.
I peered at him intently and, sure enough, he did look a bit more haggard and worked up. He was still in his work clothes, his full
sleeves rolled up and the top two buttons of his shirt open. His hair was tousled, and I^ imagined how many times he must have
raked his hands through them. He had a habit of doing that whenever he was annoyed or worked up.
But the injury was new. Even my injuries, despite being a newly awakened werewolf, had healed pretty easily. There were just a
few scars left.
So it was a wonder that his knuckles still looked a bit bloodied.
Callahan noticed the way I was thinking about it and cleared his throat. “I asked, what is it that you want?”
I looked at his face and tried to speak. “Would you really give it to me?” Callahan shrugged. “Depends on what you ask.”
I added, “The trials only say that you are allowed to ask something to the Lycan King directly. There is no mention of whether the
King would really give whatever is asked.”
He gave me a small smile. “Were you always this intelligent or this Thunder working her magic?”
Thunder let out a whoop in my head the moment she heard him call her smart. But I asked her to rest or that I would make us
train harder again.
tomorrow.
She was in no mood for that, so she thankfully went quiet.
“That is not the answer, your majesty,” I replied, and he debated what to say in response. I shook my head and slowly tried to get
up on my feet. Thunder could heal my wounds to an extent, but exhaustion was not something she could make disappear right
now.
I gingerly moved my legs to the bedside and slowly tried placing my feet on the hospital floor. It was cold, and I felt an involuntary
shudder creep up my spine the moment my skin came in touch with the cold floor.

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10:54
“You are not strong yet,” Callahan said, but I still tried to put some weight on my feet. And the moment I let go of the bed for
support, I swayed a little.
Callahan was quick to rush towards me and break my fall.
“If you want me to just be near you, say that directly,” He scoffed, and I pushed my hair away from my eyes while he plopped me
back on the bed.

“Twelve hours you said?”

Callahan nodded. “You were not trained for the trials. And I heard the opposing team was a bit fierce with all the hair catching
and leg pulling.”
“A little. Maybe,” I answered.
“I did not expect you to last until the end, much less win?
Callahan added after I went silent. That was all the praise I would receive from him, I guess.
“But then I did not expect you to leave the mansion and show up at the arena either”
And there he was, back to snapping at me again.
But I ignored his attempts to distract me.
“The award. I have decided what I want from you,” I said, making him look up at me again.
Before he could answer, there was a knock on the door. “Come in”
A head peeked in through the door and I saw a nurse look inside warily.
“Sorry to disturb, your majesty. But I am here for the rounds.”
Callahan waved his hand, “Check her”
The nurse checked my pulse and asked me to open my mouth, shone a torch on my eyes and turned my head left and right.

She scribbled something on her notepad and turned to Callahan. “Participating trials on an empty stomach after training for
hours caused
her to pass out. Her wolf helped and adrenaline kept her running.” “Hey, I am right here,” I grumbled when she spoke to him
instead of telling me how I was.
“How long before she is fine to leave?” He asked.
“She can leave even now, but then she has to keep a watch on her diet- and workout less for a week or so.”
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“Hmm that can be arranged,” He said, looking at me pointedly.
“She will leave right away then,” Calahan said after studying through the report.
While he was flicking through the page, my gaze went to his knuckles.
They were still bloodied, and the injury hadn’t completely healed. The blood had stopped oozing out of his injuries, but it had not
turned into a thin white scar.
It was still red.
He walked towards the door as the doctor arrived and began talking to him. Meanwhile, the nurse came towards me to help me
change into my clothes.
It was only now that I realized they had put me back into one of those oversized hospital gowns. She carried my bag towards me
and said, “Let me help you change”

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But I shook my head.
I was not sure if she had seen the mark on my bum and the way it traveled down my thigh, but she had not commented on it and
I did not want to give her any chance to talk about it.
It was an unusual place to get a mark, and I did not want anybody questioning why I had it or who had marked me.
“No, it is okay, I will change on my own”

I said to the nurse, who nodded and left. From outside, I could still hear Callahan and the doctor talking about something.
I grabbed my bag and quickly went into the adjoining bathroom. It was just adjacent to the entrance, so while I struggled with
putting on my tight t-shirt and track pants on, I heard Callahan and the doctor whisper. “But it is supposed to work...” I heard the
doctor’s worried voice.
Callahan responded, “I guess I will just keep trying.”
“But the infection would spread...”
Callahan shushed him. “Keep your voice down”
“Apologies, your highness. You should go home and rest now”
Infection? Was he sick?
I heard footsteps of them leaving and then focussed on putting on my clothes again. It was hard given that my feet could not
bend a lot and I
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had packed all the tight clothes for the trial.
I blew air out of my mouth, exasperatedly.
I somehow managed to put on my innerwear, but the rest of it was pure torture, so I simply put on the hospital gown again.
The nurse was back to help me walk towards the car parking.
I leaned on her for support as she helped me get to the entrance. The car parking was just a few meters away, but I could
already feel a little sprain in my ankle.
But then I felt two arms go around my side and pluck me off the ground.
I gave a startled cry as I felt the familiar musky scent of the Lycan King invade my senses.
His hands went around me and I gasped as I felt his fingers brush upon the fabric of the gown. The static charge made me feel
goosebumps as he held me in his arms..

“You will take forever to reach the car and I don’t plan to waste my time waiting for you”
Callahan said as I tried to not focus on how his hand was resting on the underside of my thigh. He put me in the car as the scent
of his cologne hit me.
The drive home was quiet, like usual. But Callahan was apparently still angry at me. The way he gripped the steering wheel and
the way his veins were popping out told me it was a bad idea to try to indulge in a conversation right now.
My gaze drifted to his knuckles again. They were still blotched, but only now did I notice that it was not just his knuckles that
were injured.
He was wearing a lot more cologne than usual. It was overpowering the smell of something else.
Blood.