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

The moment Liam left, I paced the room, my thoughts spinning like a hurricane. Could I trust him? Could I trust anyone from Blue Mountain Pack? The same people who had humiliated, abused, and discarded me?


Every time I considered Julian and Selena's motives, my suspicion deepened. Julian, suddenly obsessed with me? Selena, wanting to help me? It reeked of deception.


I picked up the pillow Liam had brought—my old pillow from Blue Mountain. Kael's scent lingered on it, mysterious and potent. Why had he kept it? Why return it now? Nothing made sense anymore.


A knock at the door startled me. I froze, heart pounding.


"Who is it?" I called out, bracing myself.


I hesitated before opening the door. Liam looked agitated, glancing nervously down the hallway.


"I forgot to tell you something important," he whispered, slipping inside.


I stepped back, keeping distance between us. "What is it?"


Chapter 27 - A Perilous Counter-Offer