Lenaleia

For six years, I was Hazel, girlfriend to the future Alpha, Julian. I thought we had forever, a cherished place in our werewolf pack, even as a human. Then Mate Hunt night ripped it all away. I woke up lost in the forest, only to find Julian with her – his true fated mate. His words hit harder than the forest floor: I was just a 'placeholder.' Six years together, and he tossed me aside, his fingers bruising my throat as he growled that I meant nothing. My world, my heart – shattered.

Left for dead, freezing and injured, a different kind of predator found me. A colossal black wolf, eyes glowing gold, big enough to swallow me whole. But instead of tearing me apart, he curled around me, a warm, terrifying shield against the biting cold. For a moment, I felt safe.

That safety vanished when my pack, my family, found us. The Alpha who raised me, Maxen, didn't see a survivor. He saw a disappointment. Turns out, he’d only taken me in hoping I’d magically become a werewolf like my mother – the fated mate who’d rejected him. When I couldn't shift, he cast me out, branding me an omega, the pack’s punching bag.

Now, I'm less than nothing, surviving on scraps and enduring their cruelty. What they don't know, what I don't know, is that my monstrous protector is no ordinary rogue. He's Lykos, the wolf of Kael, the Lycan King. And Lykos has decided I am his fated mate – a human. Kael is furious, but his wolf has a will of its own, dragging the King himself towards my abusive pack.

My old life is over. My only ally is a creature of legend. And the most feared Lycan in existence is on his way. Is he coming to save me, or is the King's arrival just another nightmare waiting to begin?

A King’s Curse, A Wolf’s Claim

My stomach growled painfully, reminding me that I hadn't eaten in over twenty-four hours. The Lycan King had left me locked in this room for hours after his bizarre pillow-stealing visit, and no one had brought food.


I pressed my palm against my cramping stomach. Pride could only sustain me for so long. I needed to eat if I was going to survive whatever hell awaited me at the Lycan Court.


Cautiously, I approached the door. Would it still be locked? I twisted the handle, surprised when it turned easily in my grip. Either someone had unlocked it, or the King had never actually imprisoned me. Just assumed I'd be too terrified to leave.


I cracked the door open just enough to peek into the hallway. My heart sank at the sight of a massive Lycan standing guard. His back was to me, but I could see the ripple of muscles beneath his shirt. The tattoos crawling up his neck marked him as one of the King's elite warriors.


Chapter 19 - Trapped Between Enemies