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

Kael's voice cut through the night air like a blade. His eyes—stormy and unreadable—fixed on me with an intensity that made my skin crawl.


"Why were you relieved to see him alive?" he pressed, taking a step closer.


I stood my ground, though every instinct screamed at me to run. "Because I'm not a monster. I don't want people dying because of me."


"Is that all?" His tone suggested he didn't believe me.


"Yes, that's all," I snapped. "What did you think? That I have feelings for him?"


The muscle in Kael's jaw ticked. "Do you?"


Kael moved closer, invading my personal space. His scent—pine and winter—washed over me, making my traitorous body react. My heart hammered in my chest, but not entirely from fear.


"You're coming with me," he said, reaching for my arm.


Chapter 50 - The Wolf Between Us