The Alpha King’s Forbidden Lycan Bride.

Thalia I ran as fast as my legs could carry me through the dense forest of the pack territory, my chest heaving with every breath. Behind me, the lights of the pack house faded the deeper I went. My sequined dress tore as I stumbled and hit the ground. I forced myself back up on shaking legs, scrambling forward as torn fabric trailed behind me. “Stop her!” my father’s voice thundered from behind. “Warriors! Gammas—catch that thing!” Branches lashed against my skin, but I didn’t stop. If they caught me tonight, I was finished. Keep running. Just keep running. That was the only thought left in my head. Then my foot caught on a fallen branch. I hit the ground hard, pain shooting through my body as I landed face-first against the cold forest floor. I forced myself up, hands trembling. The moment I put weight on my right leg, agony shot through my knee. Broken. Great. Just great. Footsteps thundered closer. Voices cut through the trees. “Spread out! The Alpha will have our heads if we lose her,” Ezra, the Head Gamma, ordered. My stomach dropped. I pressed myself against a tree, clutching the torn fabric of my dress tightly so the moonlight wouldn’t catch it. My pulse pounded so loudly I was sure they could hear it. Don’t breathe. Wolves could track a scent from miles away. I was as good as dead. I bit down hard on my lip until I tasted blood. After waiting twenty years to finally find my wolf, this was how it ended. The moment she awakened on my birthday, everything changed. I wasn’t a normal wolf. I was a Lycan—a creature people feared enough to kill on sight. A chill crawled down my spine. I thought finding my wolf would change everything. Instead, it became my death sentence. How could the Moon Goddess be so cruel? Hadn’t I suffered enough already? My eyes blurred with tears. What was going to happen to me now? Then Mavin’s face crossed my mind. The way he looked at me tonight… like I was something horrifying. What would he think of me now? The thought alone terrified me. If they dragged him into this—if he got hurt— I shook the thought away quickly. I couldn’t let him get dragged into this. Hushed voices drifted through the trees—then silence. No… maybe it wasn’t silence. Maybe it was just fear playing tricks on me. Then the crunch of boots on dry leaves cut through the trees. The warriors were spreading out. I could see them more clearly now. “Thalia, we know you’re here,” Ezra, the Head Gamma, called out. “We don’t want to hurt you. Come back with us. The forest isn’t safe for you.” My breath caught. “The Alpha is merciful enough to let you live.” “Liar,” my wolf snarled. “Don’t believe him.” I hated that she was right. Mercy like that didn’t exist for someone like me. “Even after what your Lycan did to Raleigh tonight, he’s willing to spare you,” Ezra continued, his voice colder now. “You should be grateful.” They thought Nyra did that? Tears stung my eyes. Raleigh collapsing at the ball, blood spilling from her mouth beneath the bright lights, flashed through my mind again. I squeezed my eyes shut, but it didn’t help. The moment kept replaying—and every time, it ended the same way. A sharp crack of bones split the silence, followed by a low, feral growl that made my skin crawl. “The Alpha never said we had to bring her back alive,” Ezra said coldly. “Find her. Kill her.” I couldn’t breathe. I stayed frozen, shaking. “We need to move,” my wolf growled. “I can’t,” I whispered, panic rising in my chest. “My leg is broken.” Today was supposed to be my birthday. Instead, I was hiding in the woods while my own pack hunted me down. When my wolf awakened at the party, everyone realized she wasn’t ordinary. She was a Lycan—a forbidden creature I had only ever read about in books. And now they wanted me dead because they thought I would destroy the pack. Tears slipped down my face. Maybe dying would be easier than living like this. Then it would all end. No more running. No more fear. No more watching people look at me like I was some kind of curse. I stopped fighting and braced myself. But my wolf didn’t. Pain suddenly ripped through my body. My breath caught as heat spread through my veins. My hands slammed into the dirt as something inside me snapped loose. Every sense sharpened at once. The wind in the leaves. The distant hum of the pack house. Even the faint buzz of electricity far beyond the forest. My muscles coiled, ready to strike. Every nerve awakened. “Run!” the voice thundered inside my skull. I shook my head, forcing it down. Tears blurred my vision. “No,” I whispered through clenched teeth. “This ends now—” Two of the Gammas were closer now. I could hear their heartbeats—steady, controlled. The scent of smoke clung to one of them, mingling with earthy, spicy cinnamon. My knee throbbed, but fear drowned the pain. I stood rooted as they drew nearer. Leaves and twigs cracked beneath their boots. A low growl rumbled from their throats. Panic shot through me. I tried to move—slowly, carefully— Snap. A twig snapped under my foot. Their heads snapped toward me instantly. Silence. They lunged—claws slicing through the air inches from my head. Everything slowed. My heart slammed in my chest. I braced myself. This was it. But the beast inside me exploded. A savage roar ripped through my skull. Heat flooded my veins. My bones cracked and reshaped. Claws burst from my fingertips. My body stretched taller, darker, stronger. Power—wild and unstoppable—surged through every muscle. They froze. Fear flashed in their glowing eyes. Their wolves whined and recoiled. Before they could recover, I shot forward and grabbed one by the throat, lifting him clean off the ground. His legs kicked uselessly. A deep growl rumbled from my chest, shaking the trees. He clawed at my wrist, panic twisting his face. I slammed him against the tree. The impact knocked the air from his lungs, and he dropped, howling in pain. The other warrior hit me from the side. Claws raked my waist. My bad knee gave out and we went down hard. We rolled through dirt and leaves. His weight pinned me down. His breath was hot against my neck, fangs hovering over my throat. More warriors burst into the clearing, shifting mid-stride—bones snapping, fur tearing through skin. They circled us, low growls vibrating through the air. “Get the net!” someone shouted. Mercy… was no longer an option. With a snarl, I drove my claws into his eyes. He screamed and rolled off me. I pushed myself up, every movement sending pain through my body. My heart raced, my breath coming in fast, uneven gasps. I staggered back, struggling to hold back the fury rising inside me. “Father, please—” I cried. The words broke into a raw howl. A net struck me midair. I crashed to the ground, tangled instantly. The more I struggled, the tighter it pulled, biting into my skin. Silver burned where the chains pressed against me. “Hold her down!” the Head Gamma shouted. Warriors piled on me, forcing me flat. A knee drove into my back. A broken sound slipped from me. “Enough!” My father’s voice cut through the forest as he stepped forward. “Please…” I whispered. The Lycan pushed harder inside me. “Get out of this net and end them.” But I couldn’t. These were my people once. My claws trembled as I fought to stay in control. “I can’t,” I whispered. I looked up at him, my breath catching, my whole body shaking. My eyes still glowed red—I could see it reflected in his. I tried. But shifting back while trapped in the net was worse. Pain tore through every bone. My body twisted against itself as I was forced back into human form. When it was over, I lay on the cold ground, barely covered by the torn pieces of my silver dress. The net still burned against my skin. Tears slid down my face. “Father…” My voice broke. “Please… I didn’t mean to run.” “Everyone was looking at me like I’m a monster.” He stared down at me. No warmth. No hesitation. The man who once carried me on his shoulders, called me sunshine, and told me he loved me… now looked at me like I meant nothing. “Take her to the holding cell in the north wing,” he said. “Heavy chains. No one goes near her until I decide what to do with this…” He paused. “…abomination.” Two warriors yanked me up roughly. Cold metal snapped around my neck—a heavy suppressor collar. Chains bit into my wrists. I choked, clawing at it as it tightened. “It’s—killing me—!” I gasped. “I’m your daughter!” My voice cracked. “Doesn’t that matter?” “Move,” one warrior growled, shoving me forward. My bare feet scraped against stones and branches as they dragged me. Blood mixed with dirt on my body. Every step sent pain through my body. As we neared the pack house, faint music drifted from the ballroom. The party was still going on—without me. I looked back one last time at my father. He turned away. Nyra whimpered in my mind. “They fear us.” I stopped resisting and let them drag me. Tears fell silently now. My perfect night had turned into something unrecognizable. They threw me into a dark, cold room with iron bars on the window and chains fixed to the wall. The Head Gamma locked the chains around my wrists and ankles. “Sorry,” he muttered before leaving. “It’s not personal.” The heavy door slammed shut. The lock clicked. I sank onto the cold, dirty floor, chained like an animal, my torn dress barely covering me. My body still ached. And no one was coming to save me.