The Forsaken Wolf Queen

Chapter 3

I woke to the smell of herbs. For a moment, I thought I was home. That everything had been a terrible dream. But then I opened my eyes and saw an unfamiliar ceiling made of smooth wooden beams.

Panic shot through me. I sat up too fast and pain exploded across my chest where the ritual cuts were.

"Easy now." A gentle voice came from my left. An older man with silver hair and kind eyes sat in a chair beside the bed. "You're safe. Those wounds need time to heal."

I pulled the blanket up to my chin and pressed myself against the headboard. The room was small but clean. Shelves lined the walls, filled with jars and dried plants. A fire burned low in a stone hearth.

"Where am I?"

"The healing house. You've been unconscious for most of the day." The man stood slowly and moved to a table where a clay cup sat steaming. "My name is Walter. I'm the pack healer. Garrett and his scouts brought you in this morning."

Pack. The word made my stomach twist. These people claimed to be from a pack. But that was impossible. Wasn't it?

Walter brought the cup over but didn't come too close. He set it on a small table within my reach. "Drink. It's willow bark tea. It will help with the pain."

I didn't touch it. For all I knew, it was poisoned.

Walter seemed to understand. He sat back down in his chair and folded his hands in his lap. "You don't trust me. I don't blame you. Those marks on your body tell me someone hurt you badly. Someone you probably did trust."

My throat went tight. I looked down at my arms. Clean bandages covered the ritual cuts. Someone had washed the blood off my skin and dressed me in a soft cotton shift.

"You undressed me."

"My apprentice did. A young woman named Sara. She was very gentle. I examined your wounds but I gave you privacy where I could." Walter's voice stayed calm and even. "Those cuts were made with ceremonial blades. Old magic was used. Dark magic. Whatever ritual was performed on you, it wasn't meant to heal."

I said nothing. What could I say? That my own people had done this? That they called it cleansing?

Walter leaned forward slightly. "I've been a healer for forty years. I've seen many things. But I've never seen marks quite like yours. The pattern suggests a binding ritual. Or possibly an unbinding."

"They said it would cleanse the land." The words came out flat. Empty.

"Cleanse it of what?"

"Of me. Of my corruption."

Walter's brow furrowed. "What corruption?"

Before I could answer, the door opened. Garrett walked in and the air shifted. But it wasn't because of him.

Behind him stood a man who made everything else fade into nothing.

He was tall with dark hair that fell just past his collar. His features were strong and defined. But it was his eyes that held me. Dark and intense, they found mine across the room and the world stopped.

Heat bloomed in my chest. Not painful like the rejected bond with Damien. This was different. Warm and right and terrifying. It spread through my body like liquid fire, settling deep in my bones.

No. Not again. Not so soon.

The man went completely still. His nostrils flared slightly as if catching a scent. His eyes widened just a fraction before his expression smoothed into something unreadable.

He felt it too. The pull. The bond.

My stomach dropped. I had just been rejected by one mate. I couldn't survive another rejection. Not now. Not when I was already broken.

"She's awake," Garrett said. "Good."

The man continued to stare at me. The intensity in his gaze made my skin flush. Finally, he spoke. "My name is Lucan King. I'm the Alpha of this pack."

His voice washed over me like warm honey. Deep and commanding but with an undertone that made something low in my belly tighten.

I gripped the blanket harder and said nothing.

Lucan moved closer. Each step was measured and deliberate. He stopped a few feet from the bed and I could feel the heat radiating from him. "Garrett tells me you come from a clan I've never heard of. One that doesn't appear on any maps."

I nodded, not trusting my voice.

"He also says this clan told you there are no other packs. That you're alone in the world." His eyes never left mine. "Were you taught that?"

"Yes." The word came out barely above a whisper.

"For how long?"

"Always. The elders said everyone else died out. That we're all that's left."

Lucan's jaw tightened. "That's a very specific lie to maintain."

The bond thrummed between us. I could feel his wolf reaching for mine. But I couldn't do this. I couldn't let myself hope again only to be destroyed.

"Why would they lie?" I asked, desperate to focus on anything else.

"That's what I want to figure out." Lucan pulled up a chair but instead of sitting, he gripped the back of it. His knuckles went white. Like he was fighting to keep himself in place. "Tell me about your clan."

I swallowed hard. "Maybe two hundred members. Families mostly. Some warriors. We lived in the deep forest."

"The cursed territory."

I nodded.

"And they exiled you." His voice dropped lower. Dangerous. "Why?"

This was it. The moment he would realize what I was and reject the bond before it could fully form. Better to get it over with.

"Because I can shift fully. Into a wolf. Complete transformation." I forced myself to meet his eyes. "My clan said it was corruption. That I was cursed."

Lucan went very still. The room held its breath.

Here it comes. The disgust. The rejection. The second time in two days that a mate would look at me with horror.

But Lucan's expression didn't change to disgust. Instead, something blazed in his eyes. Something hot and possessive that made my breath catch.

"Say that again," he said quietly.

"I can fully shift. That's why they called me cursed. Why they performed the ritual and exiled me." My voice shook. "I know it's wrong. I know I'm wrong. So if you're going to reject the bond, just do it now. Please."

Lucan moved so fast I didn't see him coming. One moment he was standing by the chair. The next he was crouched beside my bed, his face level with mine. Close enough that I could see flecks of gold in his dark eyes.

"Let me make something very clear." His voice was low and rough. "There is nothing wrong with you. Full shifting is normal. It's natural. Every wolf in this territory can do it."

"But—"

"And even if it wasn't normal, even if you were the only wolf in the world who could fully shift, that wouldn't make you cursed. It would make you extraordinary."

My heart hammered against my ribs. "You don't mean that."

"I've never meant anything more." His eyes searched mine. "Your clan lied to you. They hurt you. They threw you away like you were nothing. But you're not nothing, Emily. You're everything."

The way he said my name made my toes curl.

"The bond," I whispered. "You feel it."

"I feel it." His hand lifted slowly, giving me time to pull away. When I didn't, he brushed his fingers along my jaw. The touch sent sparks racing across my skin. "I've waited 20 years for this. For you. I'm not about to reject it."

"But I just had another mate. Damien. He rejected me last night." The words tumbled out. "The bond was barely formed and he broke it. Because of what I am. You should do the same. Save yourself the trouble."

Lucan's expression went hard. "This Damien is a fool. And he doesn't deserve to breathe the same air as you."

"You don't even know me."

"I know enough." His thumb traced my cheekbone. "I know you survived a ritual that should have killed you. I know you walked miles through dangerous territory alone and wounded. I know you're sitting here expecting me to reject you instead of begging me not to. That tells me everything."

"I'm broken." My voice cracked. "I'm barely holding together. You don't want this. You don't want me."

Lucan leaned closer. So close I could feel his breath on my lips. "Listen very carefully. You're not broken. You're bent, maybe. Bruised. But not broken. And as for wanting you?" His eyes dropped to my mouth. "I want you so badly it's taking every ounce of control I have not to claim you right here and now."

Heat flooded my face. My whole body felt like it was on fire.

"But I won't," he continued. "Not until you're healed. Not until you trust me. Not until you look at me and see forever instead of another person who might hurt you." His hand cupped my face fully. "I can wait. I've waited this long. I can wait until you're ready."

"What if I'm never ready?" The question came out small and scared.

"Then I'll wait anyway." He said it simply. Like it was the easiest truth in the world. "You're my mate. That means I'm yours for as long as you'll have me. Days. Months. Years. Forever. The timeline doesn't matter. Only you matter."

Tears burned behind my eyes. "How can you say that? You just met me."

"Because the bond doesn't lie. My wolf doesn't lie. And right now, both are telling me that you're the other half of my soul." His thumb brushed away a tear that escaped. "So no, Emily. I'm not rejecting you. I'm accepting you. All of you. The parts you think are broken and the parts you think are cursed. I'm accepting the girl who hid her true self to protect others. I'm accepting the woman who survived betrayal and torture and exile. I'm accepting my mate."

The words crashed over me like a wave. For a moment I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. Could only feel the bond between us growing stronger with each passing second.

"I don't understand," I whispered.

"You don't have to. Not yet." He pulled back slightly, giving me space but not letting go completely. "Just know that you're safe here. With me. With my pack. No one will hurt you again. I'll make sure of it."

"You can't promise that."

"Watch me." The fierce protectiveness in his voice sent a shiver down my spine. "Anyone who wants to harm you will have to go through me first. And I promise you, Emily, I don't go down easy."

Garrett cleared his throat from somewhere behind Lucan. I had completely forgotten he was still in the room. "Alpha, maybe we should let her rest. She's been through a lot."

Lucan didn't take his eyes off me. "Are you tired?"

I should say yes. I should send him away and give myself time to process everything. But the thought of him leaving made my chest ache.

"No," I admitted.

A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. Not a full smile, but enough to make my heart skip. "Then I'm staying. Garrett, give us a moment."

"But the scouts—"

"Can wait." Lucan's tone left no room for argument. "Close the door behind you."

Garrett hesitated, then nodded and left. Walter had already slipped out at some point. The door clicked shut and suddenly we were alone.

Lucan stood and moved the chair closer to the bed. He sat down but kept one hand resting near mine on the blanket. Not touching, but close enough that I could feel the warmth of his skin.

"Tell me what happened," he said. "All of it."

So I did. I told him about growing up in the Blackish Clan. About hiding my ability to shift. About Rose and the betrayal. About Damien and the rejection. About the ritual and the pain and the exile. The words poured out of me and Lucan listened to every single one. He didn't interrupt. Didn't judge. Just listened with an intensity that made me feel heard for the first time in my life.

When I finished, his expression was dark. "They tortured you. That's what that ritual was. Torture."

"They thought they were cleansing the land."

"They were fools." He leaned forward. "And they threw away the most precious thing they had."

"I'm not precious."

"You are to me." The way he said it, with absolute certainty, made my breath catch. "From the moment I walked into this room and felt the bond snap into place, you became the most important thing in my world. That's not going to change."

"You're moving too fast." But even as I said it, I didn't pull away from his warmth.

"Maybe. Or maybe I'm just not wasting time when I know what I want." His fingers brushed against mine. "I won't push you. Won't rush you. But I'm also not going to pretend I don't feel this connection. It's too strong."

I looked down at our hands, almost touching but not quite. "What if the bond is wrong? What if something happened during the ritual that damaged me? Made me into something that shouldn't exist?"

"Then I'll love that too." The words were simple but absolute. "Every piece of you, Emily. The good and the bad and everything in between. That's what mates do."

Love. He used the word so easily, like it didn't carry the weight of worlds.

Before I could respond, a howl cut through the night. Long and deep and full of rage. It came from somewhere in the distance but close enough to make my wolf recoil in fear.

Lucan was on his feet instantly. His whole body went tense, alert. Another howl answered the first. Then another.

The door burst open and Garrett ran in. "Alpha, the scouts are back. You need to hear this."