CHAPTER 4 - LYCAN PALACE
1237 Words
ELARA’S POV
“Mine.”
The word still echoed in my head when I woke up and I gasped and sat up fast and then gentle fabric slid off my body and I looked around.
This was not the forest, this was not Silvermoon.
The ceiling above me was high and carved with ancient symbols and the walls shone with gold lines that glowed under torchlight, long curtains fell beside tall windows and the air smelt different, it was strong and powerful and it was not a pack.
My heart then started racing.
Where am I?
I tried to move but pain shot through my body and my abdomen ached again and I pressed my hand there.
“Do not move too fast.”
His was voice, deep and steady and then I turned my head.
He sat beside the bed, the man from the forest, the massive black wolf with silver eyes.
He watched me like I was something important, not like prey and not like a burden, it was like something he found and refused to lose.
I quickly pulled the blanket closer to me. “Where am I?”
“In my palace,” he answered.
Palace?
I stared at him.
“You crossed into Lycan territory,” he continued.
Lycan.
The word was heavy but I swallowed. “Lycan territory does not exist, it is a story used to scare pups.”
His lips then lifted slightly. “Does this look like a story?”
I looked around again and the place felt old, it was older than Silvermoon and older than any pack I knew.
“You brought me here?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
His silver eyes were locked on mine.
“Because you are my mate.”
My breath then caught again.
“I told you, that is impossible.”
“You said that before you fainted,” he replied calmly and I shook my head. “I already have a mate.”
“Had,” he corrected and the word hurt but I looked away and then silence filled the room for a moment and then he spoke again.
“Rogues were hunting you.”
I blinked. “Rogues always hunt near borders.”
“Not like this.”
His tone changed.
“This was organized.”
My fingers tightened on the blanket.
“What do you mean?”
“They were not roaming, they were tracking and they knew where to find you.”
My heart beat faster.
“That makes no sense.”
“They carried your scent on cloth,” he said. “And they spoke of payment.”
Payment?
A chill ran through me.
“Payment for what?” I whispered.
“For your head.”
The words hit me harder than rejection.
“What?”
“There is a bounty on you.”
The room spinned for a second.
“No,” I breathed. “That is not possible.”
He then leaned forward slightly.
“It is.”
“Who would want me dead?” My voice rose. “I am no one.”
His gaze sharpened. “You are not no one.”
“I am a rejected Luna with no title and no power.”
“And yet someone fears you enough to pay for your death.”
Fear me?
That sounded foolish.
“I have no enemies,” I insisted and he studied me in silence and then he said something that made my skin prickle.
“Your scent is wrong.”
I froze.
“What?”
He then inhaled slowly, as if testing the air again.
“You do not smell like a pure Omega.”
Anger then flashed inside me. “I am not an Omega.”
“You were treated like one,” he said and my jaw tightened.
Silvermoon never saw me as strong, they never saw me as Alpha blood.
I was the alliance bride, the quiet Luna and the one who never conceived.
The failure.
“I am the daughter of Alpha Rowan,” I said firmly.
“And your mother?” he asked and I hesitated.
“She died when I was young.”
“What was her lineage?”
“She was from a small pack,” I answered. “Nothing special.”
He then stood slowly and his height made the room smaller.
“When you crossed the ancient border, the seal reacted.”
I frowned. “Seal?”
“The border between wolf packs and Lycan territory is protected by blood magic.”
I stared at him.
“Only royal Lycan blood can cross it without burning.”
My heart rang in my ears.
“I did not burn,” I whispered.
“No,” he said.
“You passed through unharmed.”
“That does not mean anything.”
“It means everything.”
I then shook my head harder now. “My parents were ordinary wolves.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“You saw their lineage records?”
I then opened my mouth and closed it.
No.
I never saw records, I only believed what I was told.
He then walked closer to the bed.
“Your blood touched the border stone,” he continued. “It reacted.”
My mind flashed back, the ancient border stone, my hand pressed against it and the warmth I felt before collapsing.
“You carry royal Lycan blood,” he said gently.
“No,” I whispered again, my entire life was built on who I thought I was.
Alliance daughter, Pack Luna and Rejected wife.
Now he wants to tear that away too?
“This is madness.”
He then knelt beside the bed so we were eye level.
“My wolf recognized you.”
“My wolf was unstable,” I argued. “The broken bond made her weak.”
“Your wolf calmed the moment she felt mine.”
I couldn’t deny that but she did and for the first time since the rejection, she felt safe and claimed.
The word made my stomach twist.
“I do not belong here,” I said gently.
“You crossed into my land, the border accepted you, that makes you belong.”
I then pressed my hands to my temples.
“This cannot be real.”
“It is.”
Silence fell between us and then I looked up at him.
“If I carry royal blood, why did no one know?”
“That,” he said, “is what we will find out.”
My chest was tight and everything I believed about myself shook.
If I was not who I thought I was…
Then who am I?
Before I could ask more, the doors behind him opened and a guard bowed deeply.
“My King,” he said.
King.
The word made my heart jump and he stood.
“Speak.”
“The rogue bodies near the border have been identified, they were hired.”
“By whom?” he asked and the guard hesitated.
“We are still investigating.”
Ronan nodded once. “Double security.”
“Yes, my King.”
The guard left and I sat there, trying to breathe.
A bounty on my head.
Royal Lycan blood in my veins.
A Lycan King claiming I was his mate.
My life had shattered in one night.
- Writer
