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

Relief rushed through me when I spotted Sera's familiar camper nestled between towering pines. The fading sunlight glinted off its metal exterior, making it shine like a beacon of safety in the gathering dusk.


"Is that it?" Milo whispered from the backseat, breaking our long silence.


I nodded, reaching back to squeeze his knee. "That's it. We made it."


But even as the words left my mouth, something felt wrong. The campsite appeared undisturbed—no signs of Sera or Jaxon. The door was closed. The small awning retracted. Everything looked normal, yet a heavy pressure built in my chest.


Kael parked the truck a short distance away and killed the engine. The sudden silence was deafening.


"Stay here," he ordered, eyes scanning the surroundings.


I watched him circle the campsite, movements fluid and predatory. After a thorough inspection, he returned to the truck and opened my door.


"No obvious threats," he said quietly. "But no sign of Sera or Jaxon either."


Chapter 109 - The Unwelcoming Threshold