Lycan's Affection
The Folds of Your Skin

Anderson sifted through the large crowd, the servant holding him up briskly accompanying. He was limping and staggering, sweat covering his forehead as he pushed through the large group of lycans standing around his compound.

He had been in one of his meditative spots when the news had come in, jittering him and rocking his world to the core. He had caught a glimpse of Lucas standing around, and a few council members, but he was too out of it to think right now.

He finally got to the last line and what he saw made him drop to the floor, his incomplete leg bending at a weird angle.

His hand came up to his head, his eyes wide and rapidly filling with tears, his chest swelling.

"Es...Esmeralda."

Her body was carefully wrapped, and it looked almost intended. He moved forward, his lips quivering hard, his chest heaving as he brought his shaking fingers to her face. He could hardly recognize her, his blood boiling hot and running cold at the same time.

"Esmeralda!" He yelled again, this time bringing her to his embrace as he fell back, his knees straightening under him. His fist clenched and he brought one hand to his chest, slightly hitting it, his tears running in big, long, ungraceful streaks down his cheeks.

Lucas finally stepped up when he got too hysterical, and with the help of a few others, dragged him away from the body.

Two servants, on Lucas's command, took the body away, as the small crowd started to disperse.

Anderson sat back, his hand cradling his forehead, his chest slightly heaving. Lucas was sitting across from him, and so were the others, each a grim expression on their faces.

"Looks like we will not have a breeder to implement the right of continuity from this house," One spoke, and he turned to Lucas, who gave a smalll nod.

"We will have to look for a suitable maiden."

Anderson slowly opened his eyes, then gave a small sigh, his tears now held in his eyes.

"What did you say, Lucas?"

Lucas turned to him. "I said, we will have to replace another breeder if we are going to implement the right of continuity."

"How dare you?!" He suddenly yelled, attempting to stand, but failing miserably. "How dare you talk about doing something like that when my daughter has just..."

"So what do you want? Each one of us already knew she wasn't going to go scot free when she set the Grand city's children village on fire. This is a befitting punishment, and we all know it."

Anderson swallowed. "Conaan had no right to do this to me! And you, Lucas, if you had any shame, any sort of shame, you would be on my side, instead of disregarding my only daughter's death like that!"

Lucas looked at him incredulously, then gave a small hiss. "So what do we do? Wait for you to knock up some woman and watch the child grow before we can implement the rights we have? You think he will wait for us? You think..."

"I do not care! My daughter's death will not be forgotten like that!"

"Well, that is up to you, Lucas. Take heart, and we will search for a maiden by the end of this week."

Lucas' tone carried a hint of finaIity to it, and he said nothing more, but walked away, the rest following right behind him.

Eleanor stared outside the large palace windows, her eyes lightly squinting against the late morning sun. Conaan hadn't returned just yet, and she was starting to grow a little apprehensive. Even Brandon was nowhere around.

She sighed and turned to the spread she had taken care of herself. Assorted wine, sweets and each and every one of Conaan's favorite foods.

She sighed again, then turned outside, her sigh showing her exasperation. She had been restless since last night, her blood boiling with the anticipation of seeing him again, her body tingling with the expectations of his touch. It always felt new, and hell, so addictive.

A sudden knock came on the door, and she turned to it, her brows furrowed. She slowly walked to it, and opened it. A Lycan servant was standing outside, a small smile on her face.

"This is for you, my lady."

Eleanor looked down at the rose, her brows furrowed, as she slowly collected it.

She looked up, her eyes wide.

"Is it from..."

Before she could finish, however, the servant was gone, leaving her questions hanging between her lips.

She stood there for a while, not sure what to do. Slowly, she started to take the stairs down. There was no one, and no prior announcement had come regarding the King's arrival. It made her wonder if someone was pulling a prank on her.

The ground floor was empty too, completely devoid of servants, and she made her way out of the large door, her steps slow.

"Are you looking for something?"

She turned sharply to Brandon, who seemed both curious and amused.

She immediately shook her head. "I received a rose. And I just thought...I thought His Highness was..."

Brandon nodded in understanding. "His Highness has postponed his return. We are not sure when he will be back."

Her heart sank as she heard the words, then slowly nodded, her lips sucked in.

"Did something happen?"

Brandon only shrugged, indicating he was not so sure too. She asked no further questions, then slowly turned back to the palace.

The steps up to Conaan's room was excruciatingly tiring, her chest becoming heavier with each one.

Her chest filled, and she stood by the door, her chest heaving a little. Tears danced around with the blue orbs her eyes gave off, and she closed them, pursing her lips hard.

With one last determined sigh, she opened the door. The drapes were drawn and the lights off. Before she could do a thing, she felt herself being roughly pulled back, and pinned to the nearest wall.

Her back hit the wall softly, and she looked up to her attacker, her eyes wide with both surprise and dread.

"Who..."

His hand clasped over her lips, and she stopped, the wave of familiar scent hitting her nose. She looked up to the silhouette the darkness of the room offered her, her chest slightly heaving.

"My love."

She couldn't see his expression, but she could almost envision it, his lips slightly curled up in a small smile, as his fingers slowly moved away from her lips. They glided down to the length of her neck, then her collar bone, fully appreciating the expanse of skin the off shoulder dress she was wearing was availing.

"Did you miss me?"

She swallowed, sucking in a sharp breath. "You...you should go and die for scaring me like that."

He gave a small laugh, his face slowly nuzzling closer. She could feel the heat, the rush, the thumping of her heart.

"In the folds of your skin, gladly."