Found by the Lycan King by Natalie Winter

Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Zenovia

I froze in my tracks, my heart pounding in my chest. I had assumed Callahan hadn’t noticed my presence, but his voice shattered that illusion. Slowly, I turned around, my eyes meeting his intense gaze.

Callahan’s expression was stern, but there was a flicker of curiosity in his eyes. My mind raced, desperately searching for something to say, a plausible reason for my presence in his office. I opened my mouth to speak, but no words escaped.

I gulped when I heard the voice of King Callahan. My heart began to beat so fast that it was galloping at the speed of a thousand horses.

I feared it would fall out of my mouth at this rate. Slowly, very slowly, I turned around to see Callahan looking at me.

He still had the marker in his hand and gave me a small smile before returning his attention to his file.

“Come here.” He said and went back to sit on his chair, the file in his hand.

I gulped nervously as I slowly made my way towards him. I reluctantly approached Callahan’s desk, my eyes darting nervously around the room.

As I reached his side, he motioned for me to take a seat in the chair opposite him.

He pushed the chair in my direction without looking up and highlighted something with his marker.

“Are you going to speak at all?” He asked without looking at me. I sank into the plush chair and hoped that it would just swallow me whole.

“I…I am sorry…” I muttered weakly. He flipped the page, took a pen, and scribbled something on the paper.

Callahan did not say anything and kept reading intently for the next five minutes that felt like an eternity to me.

There were a few files scattered along the table and a huge map of the kingdom strewn across the length of the desk.

There were a few stains of teacups, showing that he had been really working hard on it, and a few pins that marked certain important spots.

“Do you not know that it is a bad habit to eavesdrop on someone?” Callahan asked as he pulled the cap off a pen with his mouth and threw it on the table as he took another pen to write something.

I thought of what to answer and could not come up with an answer. Luckily, I was spared of answering him when there was a knock on the door.

The servant I had met on my way to Callahan’s office had returned with another round of tea.

“Yeah, come in,” Callahan muttered as he began pacing through the room while reading the file.

He flipped a few more pages and was done with the file as he tossed it on the table and picked another one.

The file had landed on the edge of the table and it was going to fall down, so I stopped its fall. A few loose pages came out of the file, which I began picking up.

As I collected all the papers and put them in a stack, Callahan’s voice reached me.

But it was not directed at me. “Zenovia will prepare the tea. You can leave.”

servant who had just poured black tea into the cup and reached for the sugar. He did not

in work and it did not look like last

but I

but he had been working all day and was still reading the files instead of lunging at

was what I secretly hoped he would do upon seeing me again. Either that, or just leave the room if

did neither, and that

bowed and promptly left, glad to not be around

Placing the

“Sugar?”

answered, and I

“Milk?”

and poured the milk while reaching for a

11.01

Chapter 39

him that I am not his maid to serve him tea/coffee, but he had found me eavesdropping on him so I could not yell

moment.

his mark meant I was under his protection. I meekly handed him the cup, which he took from me without even looking at me, leaving the saucer

all over the files he had been religiously

I let out a startled cry and hastily

cup on the

had stained and the marker ink was spreading through

but I was busy tidying the desk and I

“L.I am sorry, I did not mean

My hair was askew as

was firm.

said stop

when my gaze met his and I quickly looked down, not wanting to see the

plucked me away from the table and pushed me on a chair

placed me on the chair and my body had not even gotten time to react to his touch before he had

moving, he went to the cupboard and rummaged through it

knew I would need this,” He mumbled to himself before taking off the lid. I peered intently and realized it was a first–aid box.

he going to disinfect the

the box beside me and squatted down. Without saying a

doing before he wiped away some of the dried

wiped it off and then grabbed an ointment from the box and began applying it on my reddened skin.

on his face, covering it partially. He was being so tender; it was heartwarming to watch that.

was doing things to me, and he was not even the least bothered. How could this man stay so calm and

I just become another plaything for

was too much to bear and seeing

me and be done with it so

the papers that were lying all over the place, the ink of the marker and pens spreading through even more papers, making it look

am sorry,” I muttered softly.

amount of the ointment on my arms and I tried not to gasp when his hands softly caressed me, his fingers trailing down my skin.

he could squash it in an instant if he wanted to. After he was done, he got up from the floor and went back

with another as he began salvaging