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

I stood frozen in Kael's embrace, his skin burning against mine like a brand. Minutes passed with neither of us moving. The initial shock of his behavior had worn off, replaced by a growing discomfort as he held me in the same awkward position.


"Kael," I whispered, trying to shift my weight. My back was starting to ache from being pressed against the wall, and my arms were pinned uncomfortably between us. "Can we... move?"


No response. His face remained buried in my neck, his breathing deep and even, as if he'd found some peace in our bizarre embrace.


"Kael?" I tried again, louder this time. 


Still nothing. It was like he'd gone somewhere else entirely, leaving his body wrapped around mine like a living prison. The intensity that had filled him moments before seemed to have drained away, replaced by this eerie stillness.


Chapter 56 - Primal Possession