***
<Weeks before>
The villa guards were shocked when they found the king came through the villa gate with serious injuries on his body. Two of them immediately ran to hold the king's body that looked like it was about to fall.
"Your Majesty!" They arrived on time. Nicholas lost his strength two seconds after one of the guards led him to walk. He passed out.
Blood dripped and splattered on the floor as he went downstairs into the villa.
"What happened?" A maid who passed them asked frantically.
"Don't know. Call a doctor quickly," said one of the guards in a panic.
The servant immediately ran to call the doctor. His face was pale and covered in a cold sweat because this was about the safety of the king.
Meanwhile, the guards managed to bring Nicholas into his room and they quickly noticed the king's clothes were torn and he looked like he was attacked by a beast.
The guards exchanged glances.
"Do you think His Majesty was attacked by a wild animal?" The first guard asked his friend. The second one took a good look at the king and let out a long sigh.
"It looks like it. I just hope it's really wild animal because..." he halted his words. The first guard furrowed his brows and wondered why his friend hoped it was really a wild animal. That sounded a strange thing to say.
"Huh? Because...?"
The second guard swallowed his saliva. "Because the other possibility is too scary to mention."
"What do you mean? What could be scarier than being attacked by a vicious and wild animal?"
"Uhm... werewolf?" The second guard looked at his friend intently. His expression was now filled with worry. "I saw similar wounds on soldiers attacked by lycans five years ago. I hope I am wrong though. It's scary to think that lycans are getting closer to our capital. Do you remember what they did to the citizens of Armeria? It's horrific."
"Oh... you are right." Now the first guard realized that his peer was right about hoping that the king was truly attacked by a wild animal. They could easily hunt and kill bears, tigers, or whatever animal there was... but if it's a werewolf, it would only mean one thing. The enemy had infiltrated Riga.
Soon, another war would break out between the kingdom of Riga and the werewolf tribes. War would take so many lives and they would live in fear. In the worst-case scenario, Riga would end up like Armeria.
The werewolf tribe that invaded Armeria burned one-third of the capital, killed so many people, and enslaved the rest. The former king of Armeria was tortured so badly that he ended up killing himself one week after Armeria fell to the hands of the enemy.
Nobody in Riga wanted to have the same fate as Armeria who now were all fleeing their country and trying to find refuge among other nations. They had witnessed the influx of refugees entering Riga. They had lost their home and their everything.
"I hope you are wrong though...." the first guard looked at his friend and then at the king who passed out on the bed. "Let's wait for the doctor and listen to what he said."
***
Nicholas was laid in bed. There were four servants and guards who stood by his bed, ready to do his orders after he woke up. When they saw his condition, they all felt very concerned.
hey didn't know what exactly had happened that the king could be so badly injured but they were very worried.
"Oh, my God. Please save the king." A servant clasped his hands together and prayed.
It wasn't long before the doctor came and his reaction was like everyone else's. He was very surprised to see the condition of the king. He put down his medical bag on the bedside table and quickly checked the king's condition and treat his wounds.
He was helped by the guards and servants to clean Nicholas' body. After that, he did his best to stop the king's injuries from bleeding.
Had Nicholas not been a lycan with a much stronger physique and healing abilities, he might not have survived after fighting two powerful lycans in such a short time.
Nicholas' body had been badly injured during the fight with Leland and after fighting Lucas, his body finally reached the limit of its strength.
"I have treated all his injuries and given him sleeping medicine so he could rest," the doctor said. "Don't say anything to the outsides that our king is currently sick. This is confidential."
The doctor had known Nicholas almost his whole life. He understood that Nicholas wouldn't want people around him during his recovery from his injuries because it would attract so much attention. That's why he told all the guards and servants to keep quiet.
"Understood, my lord," The servants and guards all nodded in unison.
"Good. Let me know if something happened to him." The doctor took a last look at Nicholas and then he sighed.
He could tell that Nicholas's wounds were really caused by werewolves, however, he wouldn't share the information right away, because he didn't want to cause panic. He would wait until Nicholas woke up and ask the king what they should do.
***
When he was unconscious, Nicholas had a dream, he was having dinner with Sophie in their small hut. They did the cooking together and she was smiling so sweetly when Nicholas asked her to taste the soup he made. Not far from them were Luciel and Jan who were running around laughing happily.
Nicholas' life was complete because he had his wife and sons back. He couldn't stop smiling.
The dream was so beautiful that unknowingly Nicholas's pale face was now decorated by a sincere smile. It did not escape the eyes of the doctor and the people who were standing by near the unconscious king.
"He's smiling?" A maid mumbled. "Did something good happen? But he is badly injured and we still don't know who attacked His majesty."
"It seems the king saw something beautiful in his dream," explained the doctor, but he and the others were a little surprised because suddenly saw the king cry.
"Don't go. Please." Nicholas was delirious and he was getting restless. Along with that, his breathing became irregular.
The doctor tried to call the king and calm Nicholas down.
Meanwhile, in his dream, Nicholas was currently in a dark vacuum. Up ahead, he saw Sophie, Luciel and Jan leaving with Duke Romanov. Sophie looked especially beautiful today. Nicholas shouted and ran after them but his hands could not reach them.
"Don't go, I beg you!"
Tap!
Sophie's steps halted, as did the three people who had been walking with her. The woman turned and looked at Nicholas. His eyes were crying but his lips were smiling.
Nicholas was stunned. He couldn't decipher the expression Sophie was showing right now. While he was still trying to find an answer, Sophie turned her back to him again, as did Jan and Luciel.
"No. Don't go!" He tried to catch up but a blinding light suddenly appeared and devoured him.
"Your Majesty. Your Majesty. Can you hear my voice?"
Nicholas heard someone call out to him in a slightly panicked tone.
"Who?" He tried to open his heavy eyelids then because he could faintly see the image of a man.
"Your Majesty."
"Ha?" Nichoals'eyes blinked before he could finally see things clearly.
"You're awake."
Nicholas looked at the doctor next to him then looked around. There were several maids and guards who looked worried about him. Immediately, flashes of memories came to his mind and he remembered his fight against Lucas.
"What happened, Your Majesty?" The doctor asked curiously, his eyes wandered around the king's body.
Nicholas paused and recalled his battle with Lucas. Soon, he remembered half of Duke Romanov's building being destroyed. Oh, he hoped Luciel and Jan were all right!
"Do you need anything from us?" asked the doctor when he saw Nicholas was lost in thought and only answered him with a small nod.
Nicholas looked at the doctor and servants around his bed. He could see the suspicions on their faces. No matter what, he must not let them know that he got wounded when he fought with a lycan in Duke Romanov's manor. He didn't want the news to reach Noel and the Royal Lycan Hunters.
As long as Sophie and the boys were there, Nicholas would make sure nobody from the Royal Lycan Hunter would get close to that manor. He didn't want to risk their safety.
"Please don't ask me anything. Can't you see I'm hurt?" Nicholas snapped. "Just do your job and let me do the thinking."
"Oh.. understood, Your Majesty. Please forgive my impudence," the doctor said apologetically. "I will wait for your to get better."
"You and the others can leave now," Nicholas said, interrupting the doctor's words quickly. Then he closed his eyes. He was too weak and couldn't even think of a reason why he could be hurt like that.
For a moment, the doctor and servants exchanged glances. They were actually very curious and want to know why the king could be injured like that, but when the king didn't want to talk about it, then what can they do?
"Will do, Your Majesty."
The doctor and everyone present left the room. The doctor asked two maids to stand in front of the door and watch the nurse from outside.
"Stay here just in case His Majesty needed you," he told a servant who immediately nodded respectfully.
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