A Werewolf Fantasy
Chapter 44

For the first time since she arrived in this place, Erin was not only afraid for her life but terrified that she might not live to see the next sunrise after tonight because Zokman had given her a task that was designed to get her killed one-way or another.

He'd confided in her, telling her that he has been secretly sneaking food to Vak in his forest cell to keep the Alpha King strong although he had only told Nikjin that his step-brother was getting little quantities of water every other day. As far as Nikjin was concerned, his most important captive was wilting away in his cell, waiting to be devoured on the night of the full moon. It would be a massive shocker to him on that day when he replaces out that he had been fooled by his right-hand man, Zokman.

Meanwhile, the devious shaman had instructed her to carry out today's food delivery to Vak Smallchief because he would be in a meeting with Nikjin and a handful of werewolves who were loyal to his friend's cause. They would be going over the final details of their battle formation in preparation for the night of the full moon.

Zokman had said that he could not skip the missing because he was the other half of the brain behind the plan, and he did not want the Prime Alpha to miss his meal for today. So, now it was Erin's job to get the food to her father-in-law without being discovered by Nikjin or anyone else in the compound.

As if that was not dangerous enough, he had told her to remain hidden when delivering the food to avoid getting attacked by the Alpha King who might mistake her for an enemy under the cover of darkness. She was to drop the bowl of food and run out of the forest cell immediately or risk being torn to pieces before she can properly introduce herself.

All of this was to happen as soon as Nikjin vacated his lair to go to the venue of the meeting which would be taking place at Zokman's tent. She had to go and return before anyone noticed that she was missing.

It was a daredevil task and she had begged Zokman not to send her but he wouldn't listen. He kept threatening to give Zorraya to Nikjin until Erin finally agreed to do what he wanted. "Why the long face?" Nikjin asked her.

She was with him in his longhouse and they were eating dinner together. The food tasted like sawdust to her because she was too jittery to eat like a normal person. She might die tonight!

That thought kept replaying in her brain over and over again like a crappy song that was stuck on repeat.

"Me? Nothing, I'm fine," she said and stuffed a large piece of meat into her mouth.

"I do not expect that you would still be apprehensive about sleeping with me tonight," he said with a lopsided smile. "We have done it many times already, have we not?"

"I am not apprehensive about that," she snapped and caught herself. "I mean, that is not what I am thinking about."

"What then are you thinking about? Tell me."

She kicked herself mentally, feeling like an idiot. "I miss my mate," she said sadly.

"Would you like to join him tonight?" he asked with a nasty sneer.

Erin shook her head vigorously. That was not the reaction she had been hoping for but it turned out that this guy did not have a single sympathetic bone in his ripped body. "No," she mumbled through her mouthful of meat. "Then eat that meat quietly and never speak of him again!"

She nodded her head and continued chewing obediently. She had to remember that Nikjin was a loose cannon and he could explode at any time, so it was best not to push his buttons or she would be very sorry. "You can do that mourning widow act when you are with the others, but when you are with me, I need your undivided attention and adoration. Is that clear?"

She swallowed quickly. "Yes, Lord Nikjin."

"Good. Now clear out this place as soon as you finish eating," he said, rising to his feet. "When I return from my meeting with Zokman, I want to come back here and replace you naked and waiting on my bed." "Yes," she said, grinding her teeth silently in anger.

"And I do not want you to just lie there like a log of wood," he continued. "You will welcome me with open arms and kiss me like a long-lost lover. Do you hear me?"

"Yes, Lord Nikjin," she replied with a bite in her tone.

He seemed to enjoy getting a rise out of her because he grinned at her sharp reply. "That is more like it," he said and walked out.

Erin waited for five minutes after he left before tiptoeing to the doorway to peep through the flap and confirm that he was indeed gone. She spotted him in the distance with about a dozen hefty men, heading in the direction of Zokman's hut. After a quick scan of the area to make sure that there was nobody around, she bolted out of the longhouse and ran to the spot under a large tree in the opposite direction where Zokman had left a bowl of food and a leather bottle filled with

water.

There was a small pouch beside the package which contained the magical powder that was supposed to open the portal into the forest cell where Vak Smallchief was being held. She grabbed all the items and raced into the woods until she reached the point where some drooping tree branches formed an arch, as Zokman had explained.

She opened the pouch and emptied its content on her palm before blowing it ahead of her. The powder formed a mist that parted slowly like a curtain, creating an entryway for her to go into the forest cell.

Erin could feel her heart pounding wildly as she entered the dark cell. Zokman had instructed her to leave the place as soon as she dropped the food and water because the portal would only remain open for a short time.

If it closed up while she was still inside the cell, she would be trapped there with her father-in-law.

As much as Erin was eager to complete her errand and get out of the cell, she also wanted to speak with her father-in-law and give him some heads up about what had been going on in Vomani with Nikjin. She laid the food and water down and waited for a sound or movement, but nothing happened.

"Father!" she called out. She was careful to remain close to the portal in case her father-in-law came at her with the intent to kill her. "Father, it is I, Edvana. Please, reveal yourself to me."

There was still no response and she was beginning to feel uncomfortable with the eerie quietness of the faux forest.

"Father!" she called out again.

"Who is your father?" Vak asked from within the darkness.

"My father is Chief Anamak of Quandagh, your loyal subject and your ally who fought beside you in Ketjouk."

"It is you then," he said, still shrouded in darkness. "How did you replace me?"

"It is a long story, Father, but I want you to know that you are in grave danger," said Erin quickly.

She glanced back and saw that the portal was beginning to close. "I cannot stay here long enough to tell you everything you need to know, but you must know that Zokman and Nikjin are planning to kill you on the night of the full moon. Both of them want to become the next Alpha King and they are only keeping you alive to kill you eventually."

"I see," he said. "When shall this full moon night be?"

"In a few days from now. I will do whatever I can to help you, Father. Please, do not lose hope. I have a strong faith in you that you will overcome this."

"Thank you, Edvana. Thank you."

"I have to leave now. Goodbye, Father."

She ran through the portal just a second before it closed up. She was so shaken by that close call that she lay on the grass to catch her breath. "That was close," she whispered to herself.

Her next challenge was getting back to Nikjin's place without being spotted by anyone. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her and when she got to the edge of the compound, she hid behind tall bushes to scan the area.

Her heart froze when she saw Nikjin and his men returning from Zokman's. How was she going to sneak into his longhouse without being seen by him or his men?

"He's going to kill me," Erin whispered fearfully to herself. Perhaps she should have simply dropped off the food in the cell without waiting to alert her father-in-law of what his enemies are up to.

But she hadn't been in there for long, right? What kind of meeting did these men have that lasted only a few minutes? Shouldn't a strategy meeting take hours of deliberation instead of a few minutes of chatting? The whole situation wasn't adding up and she suspected that Zokman had set her up to be killed by Nikjin.

"That bastard!" she said in frustration while she watched helplessly as Nikjin and his men continued to approach his longhouse at a leisurely pace.

Her opportunity finally came when Nikjin turned around to say something to his men, and while they listened to him intently, Erin bolted from her hiding place like a flash of lightning and ran straight to the longhouse.

She had never run so fast in her life, and when she slipped into the longhouse, her heart was beating so fast that she was barely able to breathe. The moment she entered the room and sat on the bed, Nikjin came in, glowering at her as if he knew what she had been up to.

"Why are you breathing hard?" he asked her.

"I - uh, I..."

"What is that in your hair?"

Erin quickly brushed her fingers through her hair and she was horrified when she found a leaf stuck in her hair.

"Have you been outside?" Nikjin asked menacingly. "Did I not tell you to remain here until I returned from my meeting?"

"Uh, yes. I - I went outside to relieve myself," she stuttered. It was the best lie she could come up with under the circumstances.

"You disobeyed me," he growled.

"I am sorry. I - "

He smacked her across the face so hard that she fell back on the bed, dazed and disoriented. "Never ever disobey me again, do you hear me? I do not care if you have to relieve yourself on the bed, but if I tell you to stay inside, you stay inside. Is that clear?"

She nodded in response because her mouth was too numb for her to speak and she was afraid that her jaw might be broken.

"Now, take off that ridiculous skirt you are wearing and spread your legs for me!"

Erin hurried to obey him but her hands shook as she undid the clasp holding her skimpy skirt together. She got down from the bed to remove her skirt and as soon as she dropped it on the floor, Nikjin grabbed her by the throat and slammed her onto the bed.

"You are wasting my time," he said to her face.

While still pinning her down by the throat, he used his other hand to free his cock from his pants and shoved it into her with such force that her breath left her.

"You... are... hurting... me," she croaked. Her throat was burning from the choke-hold he had on her and her vagina was on fire from his brutal thrusts.

"That is the whole point, my dear Luna," he said gleefully, enjoying her pain. "This is what you get for disobeying me."

She was struggling to breathe and she knew that if she didn't do something, she would die on this bed under Nikjin. She balled her hand into fists and began to punch him in the sides because those were the only places she could reach from her position.

Nikjin laughed as she continued to pummel him. "This is why I like you, Luna. You are feisty and I know you will not go down without a fight."

He loosened his grip on her throat but does not set her free completely. "Hit me harder," he demanded.

Erin was disappointed to see that he was rather enjoying her punches, so she stopped and said, "Let me go."

"Not until I am done with you," he said stubbornly. "Now, hit me, or else I will beat you to a pulp if you disobey me again."

She knew that was not an empty threat, so she balled her fists again and began to punch him as hard as she could manage. Her punches seemed to fuel his passion because he increased his pace, thrusting into her even harder, making her bite. her lip in pain.

The abuse seemed to go on forever until he finally reached his peak and collapsed on top of her, completely spent yet satisfied.

He rolled off her and nudged her with an elbow. "Go away!"

"Do you want me to leave the bed?" Erin asked uncertainly.

"Get out of here and do not come back until I send for you again," he said coldly. "Go and join the others in the women's hut. Go!"

She scrambled to her feet and grabbed her skirt from the floor before running out of his longhouse. Tears stung her eyes as she ran, and although that had been the most humiliating experience of her life, she was so glad to still be alive. "You are going to get yours too, Nikjin," she whispered to herself. "I will not let you become the Alpha King. I will make sure you do not succeed, even if it is the last thing I do!"