Bound to the Lycan King's Obsession

Deja Vu

SCARLETT

Behind me, the party had resumed, and the pack members chanted, "Long Live Alpha Derrick!"

I couldn't bear to be in Darkwaters for a moment longer. I needed to escape. How was it that the only person I trusted in the entire world would turn their back on me in this manner?

Why had he taken the time to stand up for me or even save me? Derrick's words kept ringing in my ears. Maybe I was truly cursed. I needed to scream! The pain was threatening to rip me to pieces.

‘Run,’ my wolf whispered, her voice broken and raw. ‘We have to run.’

I agreed with her completely. I didn't know where I was going, and I didn't care. I just ran, my too-new wolf giving me speed I'd never had before.

How long had he been planning this? All those years of friendship, of gentle smiles and quiet promises, had it all been fake? Had I been such a fool?

He even pretended until this evening! This had to be a dream or a cruel trick. Hadn’t Derrick been with me until the time for his coronation? He held my hands, he fed me, and he was the one who screamed for the doctors when my wolf awakened. He'd even asked them to take care of me!

I burst through a thick patch of underbrush, and suddenly the forest changed. The trees were darker here and twisted. The air felt wrong, heavy with the scent of rot and violence. I skidded to a stop, my wolf suddenly going very, very quiet: Rogue territory.

Oh, Goddess. In my blind panic, I'd run straight past the pack boundaries into the lawless lands where the packless wolves roamed. Rogues who followed no laws, who took what they wanted, and destroyed the rest.

I needed to turn back, I needed to—

A low growl froze me in place. Slowly, I turned. Five pairs of eyes gleamed in the darkness, reflecting the moonlight. Five massive wolves, all bigger than me, all moving with the predatory grace of killers.

"Well, well, well." The largest one shifted, his form blurring and reforming until a man stood there, filthy, scarred, and with eyes that held nothing human. "Look what we have here. A pretty little wolf, all alone in our territory."

The others shifted too, circling me like sharks scenting blood in the water.

"Please," I whispered, taking a step back. "I didn't mean to—I'll leave. I'll just—"

"Oh, I don't think so, sweetheart." The leader smiled, revealing broken teeth. "You know the law. Any wolf who enters rogue territory without permission becomes... community property."

They moved closer. I could smell their sweat and violence and cruel intent. My wolf was in a frenzy. It screamed danger and wanted me gone from their presence.

"She smells like she just got rejected," one of them laughed. "Poor little thing. Abandoned by her mate and now she's ours to play with."

My wolf snarled, trying to force a shift, but I was too new at this. My body wouldn't cooperate. They attacked all at once.

I fought. Moon Goddess, help me. I fought with everything I had. My wolf lent me strength I didn't know I possessed, and I actually managed to claw one of them across the face before they overwhelmed me.

A fist connected with my stomach, driving the air from my lungs. Another grabbed my hair, yanking my head back. I was slammed to the ground, the impact making stars explode across my vision.

"She's a fighter!" someone laughed. "I like it when they fight."

Hands tore at my dress. I screamed and thrashed, but there were too many of them. Someone pinned my wrists above my head. Another forced my legs apart.

"Let's have some fun before we sell her," the leader growled, his weight pressing down on me. "Pretty things like this will fetch a good price, but they don't need her intact."

His hand was on my throat. His other hand was tearing at what was left of my dress. I couldn't breathe, and I couldn't scream. This was it. This was how I died, rejected by my mate and defiled by rogues, all in the same night.

I'm sorry, I thought, though I didn't know who I was apologizing to. I'm so sorry.

Then a roar shook the forest. It wasn't a wolf sound. It was something bigger, deeper, and terrifying than anything I'd ever heard.

The rogue on top of me went flying, torn away like he weighed nothing. Blood sprayed across my face, hot and copper-sweet.

Screaming erupted around me, but it was cut off almost immediately by wet, tearing sounds. I scrambled backward, my back hitting a tree. Through the chaos, I saw the beast. My heart short-circuited: it was a Lycan.

True Lycans were rare, stronger, faster, and more powerful than regular wolves. They were larger in their beast form, more intelligent, and more deadly. But this one was massive. It was easily eight feet tall, covered in midnight-black fur, with eyes that glowed like molten silver.

He moved through the rogues like they were nothing, like they were insects. One swing of his massive clawed hand, and a rogue's head separated from his body. Another rogue tried to run, the Lycan was on him in a heartbeat, jaws closing around his throat and ripping. It was a m******e. Brutal, efficient, and over in less than a minute.

The last rogue gurgled his final breath, and the Lycan stood among the c*****e, blood dripping from his claws. Steam rose from his massive body as he turned, those silver eyes locking onto me.

I couldn't move, I couldn't breathe. I was frozen as he stalked towards me, each step deliberate, predatory.

The moonlight hit him fully, and suddenly I was ten years old again and hiding in the bushes. Mama and Papa were supposed to be right behind me, but they told me to run and hide. I should have listened, but I heard Mama scream, so I went back.

There was blood everywhere. So much blood, and in the middle of it all, standing over what was left of my parents' torn, dismembered bodies, was a massive Lycan. Midnight-black fur, silver eyes, and blood dripping from his claws.

He turned and looked right at me. Right at where I was hiding, and then I ran.

The Lycan in front of me now was identical. Same size, same coloring, and same eyes.

It's him. The monster who killed Mama and Papa.

A sob tore from my throat as darkness crept in at the edges of my vision. The rejection pain, the attack, the blood loss, it was all too much. My body was shutting down.

The last thing I saw before unconsciousness took me was that familiar shadow, covered in blood, reaching for me with those massive, clawed hands.

Just like before. Just like the night he murdered my parents.

Then everything went black.