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 motionless outside the cave entrance, every sense straining to detect what had disturbed Hazel. Nature's usual symphony—rustling leaves, chirping insects, distant animal calls—had fallen eerily silent, as if the forest itself was holding its breath.


My wolf, Lykos, prowled restlessly within me. *Something's out there,* he growled.


The air felt charged, like the moment before lightning strikes. My mate's intuition had been correct. Again. This wasn't normal danger—this was something else entirely.


I scanned the tree line, nostrils flaring as I sought any unfamiliar scent. Nothing obvious, yet the wrongness persisted. Whatever hunted us was masking its presence with skill beyond ordinary predators.


*The female knew before we did,* Lykos observed. *How?*


I silenced his questions. My priority was clear: get my mate and the pups to safety.


Chapter 108 - The Seer's Warning and the Silent Escape