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

"What do you mean by fate?" I asked, wrapping my arms around myself. The question left a bitter taste in my mouth. "Like fated mates?"


The very phrase made my stomach turn. Memories of Julian's cold eyes flashed through my mind—how quickly six years of love had vanished when he found Selena. One moment changed everything.


Sera settled back on the worn camper couch. "Fate is more complex than just romantic connections."


"Well, from my experience, fate is just a cruel joke." I paced the small confines of the camper. "My boyfriend found his 'fated mate' and threw me away like garbage. Then the whole pack treated me like dirt." My voice cracked. "So excuse me if I'm not a big believer."


Sera watched me with those unsettling mismatched eyes. One blue, one green. Both seeing right through me.


"Some bonds are inevitable," she said. "But how we respond to them isn't predetermined."


Chapter 45 - The Knock of Fate