The Lycan King’s Forsaken Queen

Chapter 1: Bitter Truth

Zenesha

I moved quickly, slipping into the cab with barely a sound. The driver didn’t speak, didn’t look. He was paid in advance and was sworn to silence. I leaned back into the seat, breathing in the scent of pine, winter, and distant smoke.

My name hadn’t been spoken on the surface for three years. They’d never known the truth of what I carried, the weight I bore for myself and them.

Three years ago, they sent me away, tasked with a covert experiment no one outside the inner circle was supposed to know about. A mission for the pack, wrapped in silence and sacrifice over something the world called impossible. The elixir. My elixir. The one that defied death, strengthened the supernatural soul, and stitched together the unraveling curse that had haunted Lycans for generations.

Now they would.

But none of it compared to what my heart truly beat for.

My pulse fluttered just thinking about him. His scent, his warmth, the roughness of his hands when they cradled my jaw and promised he would wait. That no matter what the Elders said, no matter what rumors spread—he would stand by me once I returned.

He was my reason through the nights of agony and experiments, when wolfsbane scorched my veins and my own body rejected the formulas I worked so hard to perfect. His voice, even just the memory of it, had anchored me when the pain made me forget who I was.

He didn’t know I’d arrived yet. That was part of the plan.

I wanted to give him a big surprise.

Before the world lit up with my name again, before the Elders scrambled to control what they couldn’t, before the packs chose sides—I just wanted one moment with him.

Wallace. Alpha of the Silvercliff Pack. The one they called cold, brutal, and untouchable. But I knew better. I knew the man behind the title. The one who kissed my scars without flinching, who said my darkness made me stronger, not ruined.

He promised me forever, the night before I left. No moon ritual. No blood oath. Just a vow beneath the stars that we’d find our way back—no matter how long it took.

And now, after everything… I was finally here.

Coming back not just as his mate, but as the woman who was strong enough to stand beside him when the world fell to its knees.

And in that moment… I would know if he still believed.

Just like I still did.

I pulled my hood lower and stepped out of the cab into the crisp evening air. The wind carried the scent of pine and frost, but I caught a whisper of something far more familiar beneath it.

I turned toward the thick grove to the east of the main house. Snow dusted the ground, but my boots moved swiftly between the trees. There, just behind the overgrown hedgerow, half-hidden by years of moss and shadow, was the old stone outpost—what most thought was just a crumbling utility shed from the days of the first settlers.

I brushed aside the ivy-covered slab and pressed my palm against the rusted iron sigil embedded into the stone. The mechanism responded with a click, and the hidden door creaked open into the darkness beyond.

The scent of aged stone, damp earth, and old secrets filled my lungs as I slipped into the passage. I hadn’t walked these halls in years, but my body remembered. Every twist and turn. Every creaking board and cold drip along the ceiling. It had been my secret place—a forgotten tunnel that led straight into the west wing of the Alpha’s estate.

The same place where Wallace and I had once snuck away from responsibilities, from whispers, from duty. Where he held me and said the world could crumble and he’d still find me in the rubble.

I smiled to myself as I moved through the dim corridor with silent footsteps.

The tunnel ended behind a false wall in the west wing’s old storage chamber. I slid the panel open and stepped into the dim hallway.

Everything looked exactly the same as three years ago. The same oil lamps flickered low on the walls. The same scent of cedarwood, leather, and something darker—his presence.

I paused outside his chamber to listen.

There were some movements.

My lips curled into a small smile. He’s in his bedroom. Just like I thought.

For three years, I imagined this moment over and over. Would he be asleep? Would he sense me before I even knocked? Would he think I was a dream?

But when I heard chuckles and giggles, I stopped walking and didn't knock.

I reached for the door handle and turned it slowly. The door eased open slightly without a sound.

Once I stepped in, my gaze quickly landed on the bed.

My breath was immediately caught.

It wasn't just rumpled sheets or the familiar folds of his midnight blanket.

Not just Wallace but also... my best friend, Deidra.

And they were... naked.

My entire body froze as I watched, my hand still gripping the door handle.

"Wallace!" Deidra's moans grew louder, her fingers fisting in his dark hair. "Please, Wallace, yes!"

He chuckled, a low, dark rumble. "That's right, sweetheart. You're almost there."

My eyes widened.

Sweetheart?

He didn't call her sweetheart. He never did.

"Yes!" Her voice hitched, her legs tightening around him. "Don't stop!"

"c*m for me, Deidra. That's it. Just like that."

And then her cries grew so loud, I thought they would break the glass windows.

He laughed again and pulled out, lying back on the bed. "There. Good girl. I told you that was worth the wait."

"You're incredible," she breathed.

I stood rooted to the floor, watching them.

Deidra, my best friend. The girl who always defended me, the one who was always by my side, and the only person I trusted in this world, other than Wallace.

Damn it!

His arm lay draped loosely over the b***h’s waist. Her hair spilled across his chest like ink against pale skin, her frame curled into him like she belonged there.

My heart thundered, but everything else in me went still. Frozen. For one blinding second, I couldn’t tell if I was dreaming—or watching a nightmare pull itself together.

I had played this moment in my mind for three years. I returned with honor and pride, with the cure they never thought possible. I returned for him.

But not for this. Not to find someone else in his arms.

I didn’t storm in but stayed perfectly still, hidden behind the thin veil of the half-open door, where the flickering fire couldn’t quite reach.

Their voices began to rise, soft at first, then clearer.

"She's not coming back soon," Deidra murmured with amusement. "Three years in seclusion? She probably found a tree to marry out there."

Wallace chuckled low, without hesitation. "Even if she did crawl back, she wouldn't matter anymore."

My throat tightened.

"She was always too sentimental. Thought she was stronger than she really was," he said lazily, as if recalling an old, unimpressive story. "Honestly, I don’t even know why I agreed to that whole promise before she left. Maybe I pitied her. Maybe I just wanted to keep her from spiraling out before the mission.”

Deidra laughed, curling closer to him. "So she was just a simp for you?"

“Pretty much. She thought I saw her as something special,” he said. “But she was always just… useful. She had potential, sure, but no real power. Always running around with books and potions, thinking she was some secret weapon.”

My hands trembled at my sides. The words sank deep, heavier than any blade.

“She worshipped you, though,” the woman said playfully. “Poor thing probably still does.”

Wallace exhaled with a careless smirk. “Then that’s on her. I never claimed to love her. I let her believe whatever she wanted to believe.”

Deidra scoffed. “You did more than let her believe it, Wallace. You played her, like the fool she was. You let her think you were her salvation, while you were busy with me. It’s pathetic, really.” She paused, her eyes narrowing. “But what I don’t understand is her whole secret experiment. You’re telling me she’s been working on something all this time? Something important?”

Wallace shrugged nonchalantly, as if the topic didn’t interest him. “Who knows? She was always obsessed with that crap. Thought she could fix everything with a potion or some nonsense. I told her to get over it. But apparently, she thought she could make herself useful—thought I might actually care. Foolish, really.”

“What if it’s more than just nonsense? What if it’s something dangerous? You know she’s been hiding things from you, Wallace. What if this experiment of hers was something more than just her trying to impress you? What if it’s a threat?”

Wallace leaned back, his smirk never fading. “I don’t care. Let her keep her little experiment. She’s gone now, isn’t she? Let her try and play her games all she wants. She’s nothing to me. She’ll be back eventually, like she always was, desperate to crawl back to me.” He laughed darkly, a bitter edge to the sound. “But this time, I’ll make sure she knows what she is. Nothing more than a pawn in my game.”

Deidra looked at him for a long moment with skepticism. “You’re sure about that? You’re certain she’s not dangerous? You’re not worried she’ll come back with whatever power she’s been brewing up in secret?”

Wallace’s smirk hardened, his eyes cold and dismissive. “She’s weak. She always has been. She won’t do anything with it. I know her better than anyone.” He chuckled darkly. “Even if she does have something, I knew she’d give it all to me—especially that secret potion. She always thought that if she tried hard enough, I’d finally care. Pathetic.”

He leaned back, his voice dripping with disdain. “She’ll hand it over, thinking it’ll make a difference. I’ll take whatever she’s been working on, but it’s just another way for her to prove she’s worth something to me.”

After a brief moment of hesitation, I took a careful step back from the door. My hands trembled, not from fear, but from the force of everything boiling inside me.

No. No!

I wouldn’t barge in and confront them like some scorned fool. That’s what they expected—tears, begging, a scene to feed their egos.

They wanted me to break.

But I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction. Not now. Not ever.

The air in the corridor felt too thick now. I couldn’t breathe in it.

He had never loved me. Not once.

All these years… I held onto his name like a promise, a lighthouse in the darkness. I thought I was returning to someone who knew my worth. Who believed in me even when the world didn’t.

My breath hitched as I clenched my jaw tight, refusing to let it break me completely. My eyes burned, but I wouldn’t let a single tear fall for a man who never saw me for who I was.

I turned away from that door like it was the final page in a story that no longer deserved my name. Let them laugh in bed while they still could.

They wouldn’t be laughing much longer.

If I were going to take them down, it had to be precise and devastating.

I needed the best laid plan—measured and merciless. The kind of revenge no one saw coming until it burned everything they thought they had.

I had brewed redemption—but now, I’d let them taste the bitter medicine they earned.