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 clutched Hazel's body against my chest, unwilling to let her go even as Seraphina moved around the room checking her vital signs. My heart hammered with unfamiliar panic each time I looked at her pale face.


"You need to give her space," Seraphina said, her tone gentler than before but still firm. "Your energy is chaotic right now. It's not helping her."


"I'm not leaving her," I growled, tightening my grip.


Seraphina stepped closer, her strange eyes fixed on mine. "You're projecting fear and panic. She can feel it even unconscious, and it's making her worse. If you want her to heal, you need to step back."


The logic pierced through my instinctive refusal. I glanced down at Hazel's still form, noting the slight furrow between her brows that hadn't been there moments ago.


*Mate needs calm. We must calm,* Lykos urged within my mind.


Chapter 60 - A King's New Clarity