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 lay flat on my back, determinedly avoiding Kael's eyes. Above me, the feared Lycan King hovered like a predator, his arms caging me on either side of my head. The soft mattress dipped under our combined weight, creating a subtle gravity that pulled me toward him.


How we'd moved from the daybed to here was a blur. One moment I was on his lap, the next he'd carried me to this bed, laying me down with unexpected gentleness.


"Look at me," he commanded, his voice rough with need.


I kept my gaze fixed on the ceiling. One glance and I might shatter completely.


"Stubborn little human," he murmured, his breath warm against my cheek.


His lips brushed my jaw, featherlight and teasing. I squeezed my eyes shut, fighting the wave of heat that rushed through me.


"You can close your eyes," he whispered near my ear, "but you can't hide from this."


Chapter 57 - A Taste of Ruin