.Chapter 17-1
Kane
I was over the fucking moon.
Claun
That was the only way to describe the euphoria coursing through my veins as I watched Simone sleep beside me. Her touch, her essence, her spirit, her stubborn personality, just herself, was driving me goddamn insane in the best possible way.
Every breath she took sent waves of satisfaction through my lycan. The way she’d melted under my hands, the sounds she’d made when I’d claimed her, the trust in her eyes when she’d accepted my mother’s ring, it was all burned into my memory with perfect clarity.
I needed a lifetime by her side to fill the constant need to be with her that was nagging at me. Hell, a lifetime probably wouldn’t be enough. I wanted centuries, millennia, whatever the gods would grant me as long as it meant having her in my arms.
I didn’t understand what this was or why I felt this way. The overwhelming need to possess, protect, and worship this woman was consuming every rational thought I had. She had suddenly become the very center of my universe. My lycan was purring with contentment, finally at peace after decades of restless agitation. In his simple understanding, all was right with the world.
If only it were that fucking simple.
We were almost at the base of Shadowed Moon Mountain now, and I knew it would get more dangerous the closer we got to her pack’s territory. I’d been on edge since we’d left the cave and crossed the river, my senses hyperaware of every sound, every shift in the wind.
My protective instincts were in overdrive. Every fiber of my being was focused on keeping Simone safe, and the knowledge that we were walking into potential danger was making my lycan pace.
restlessly under my skin.
I’d been hearing odd noises around our camp for the past hour, branches breaking, leaves rustling,
the subtle sounds of movement that didn’t belong to the natural wildlife. Each time I went to
investigate, I found nothing, though. No tracks, no scent trails, no evidence that anything had been
there at all.
It was driving me insane. My paranoia was reaching dangerous levels, and I was starting to question my own senses. Maybe the years of lack of sleep were finally getting to me and I was hearing things that weren’t there. But then another sound reached my ears: deliberate, measured footsteps that definitely didn’t belong to any forest creature.
This time when I went to investigate, creeping through the underbrush in silence, it wasn’t nothing.
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Chapter 17-1
It wasn’t even a beast.
It was five lycans standing in perfect military formation, and I recognized the one in the middle.
My blood ran cold as I caught his scent, as familiar to me as my own… It couldn’t be.
Clar
But it was. After all these years, there was no mistaking that particular combination of pine and
steel that had once meant safety and friendship.
I knew exactly who he was.
The lycan in the center shifted first, bones cracking and reforming until my beta Mal stood there in
human form, staring at me with sad, conflicted eyes.
My heart clenched at the sight of my oldest friend. He looked older, wearier, but it was definitely him. The man who’d helped me learn to bear the burden of ruling, who’d stood by my side through every crisis, who’d tried to talk sense into me when I’d fled to the woods.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I asked, though I already suspected the answer.
“You know why,” Mal answered, his voice flat and emotionless. “Give her to us.”
The words hit me in the gut. Not because I was surprised, I’d known this moment would come eventually, but because hearing them from his mouth felt like a betrayal that cut deeper than any
blade.
“Kellan sent you?” I grunted, my hands clenching into fists.
They had to be fucking insane if they thought I’d just hand her over because they asked nicely. I wasn’t letting anyone near Simone, especially not my psychotic son who’d already proven he couldn’t be trusted with power.
Mal looked as if he wanted to say more, his throat working and veins popping out on his neck like
he was fighting against invisible restraints. But no words came. He just grunted and repeated, ”
Give us the null or you won’t like what happens, Kane.”
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