The Lycan King's Affection

CAMILLE'S POV Breathing shouldn't have been hard, but it was. My chest tightened, and my temples throbbed as harsh morning sunlight pierced through my eyelids. "Goddess," I groaned, my voice hoarse. Blinking against the light, I stared at a ceiling I didn't recognize. Smooth, white, and expensive-looking-it was nothing like the popcorn ceiling of my parents' house, the home I'd known my entire life. A strange weight pressed against me, and when I finally turned my head, my breath hitched. A naked man was sprawled across my chest, his dark hair tousled, his face buried in my skin. My heart raced as I realized he wasn't the only one exposed-I was naked, too. Panic set in. The events of the night before were a blur, hazy flashes of laughter and glances that lingered. My body bore the ghostly imprint of intimacy, but the specifics were frustratingly elusive. I stared at the man's sleeping form, praying he wouldn't wake, and gingerly slid out from under him. My gown lay crumpled by the door, my panties hooked on the handle, and my bra was nowhere to be seen. I tiptoed around the room, gathering my things as quietly as possible. As I reached for my phone on the dresser, something caught my eye. A condom. Unused. Surely, he must have used one... right? The thought sent a shiver of unease through me, but I pushed it aside. I needed to leave. My fingers fumbled with the door's lock, the click sounding deafeningly loud in the silent room. The man stirred, muttering something incoherent, and I froze. When his snores resumed, I slipped out of the room and bolted. My heels clacked against the tiled hallway as I made a beeline for the elevator. Once inside, I pressed the ground floor button and leaned against the cool metal wall, trying to steady my breath. The ride down felt endless, my ymind spinning with fragments of the night. By the time the elevator doors opened, I'd resigned myself to the fact that I might never piece it all together. The lobby was mercifully empty. At seven in the morning, the world outside was still groggy, wrapped in the remnants of sleep. I hailed a cab, desperate to put as much distance as possible between me and that hotel room. "Where to, miss?" the driver asked. I gave him my address, sinking into the worn leather seat as the cab weaved through quiet streets. My reflection stared back at me from the window, disheveled hair and smudged mascara telling a story I wasn't ready to confront. The cab driver stayed silent, for which! was grateful. My phone buzzed as I turned off Do Not Disturb, and my stomach dropped. A hundred missed calls from my parents. Not an exaggeration-an actual hundred. When the cab pulled up outside my house, my heart sank further. A sleek black limousine with branded plates sat in the driveway. The Lily of the Valley crest was unmistakable, its delicate flowers stark against the dark metal. The cabbie's voice pulled me from my thoughts. "That'll be $15." I handed him a crumpled bill, muttered a quick thanks, and stepped out. My fingers hovered over my phone as I dialed my mom. She answered on the first ring. "Camille," she said, her voice laced with worry. "Where are you?" "I'm outside," I replied. "But there's a limo in our driveway. Isn't that the pack Dad left years ago? What's it doing here?" There was a pause. I could hear her shallow breathing before she finally said, "Come inside. There's something you need to know." Her tone made my blood run cold. I pushed open the door and stepped into the foyer. The scent of lavender and aged wood, usually comforting, felt oppressive. My sensitive ears picked up more than six heartbeats in the house. Strangers. As I entered the living room, I froze. My parents sat on the couch, their smiles strained and unnatural. Two impeccably dressed individuals stood beside them, their presence commanding and unsettling. They exuded the authority of Sentinels-the elite warriors of the Lily of the Valley pack. "Sweetheart, we need to talk," my mother began, her eyes betraying a mix of concern and sorrow. glanced between my parents and the suited duo, a knot forming in my stomach. There were more in the house. They were probably hiding but I could hear their heartbeats. "Talk about what?" I asked, taking a step back and steeling my hands to my phone just in case I would have to use the damn thing as a Weapon. My father gestured toward the suited strangers. "These are envoys from the Lily of the Valley pack." "Dad, I know," I answered. "What I do not understand is why they are here and what they want with us?" "Mr. Gallagher is not your father." One of the envoys spoke. "What?!" The laugh that left my lips was dry. Hollow even. I looked at my mom and then my Dad. Why did they look guilty? Why were their faces down? "Dad, what are they saying?" "We are saying-" The envoy tried to say only to be cut off by my father. "We will tell her!" "Tell me what?" I demanded. "What is happening?" "The envoys are here to take you. I know this must sound preposterous for you to hear but we are not your biological parents." That sentence alone from my father brought my whole world crashing down. I stood there frozen, my mind unable to process the words that had just left my father's mouth. "What do you mean?"I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. My mother reached out to me, her hand trembling as she placed it on my shoulder. "Camille, we love you so much," she said, her eyes brimming with tears. "But we're not your real parents." Tears welled up in my eyes as I struggled to comprehend what was happening. The envoys from the Lily of the Valley pack stood stoically by their side, their presence only adding to the surrealness of the situation. Who are my real parents?"I asked humbly. "The Alpha and Luna of the Lily of the Valley pack," my father-I guess I couldn't call him that now replied, his voice thick with emotion. "We found you abandoned in the woods when you were just a baby. We took you in and raised you as our own." The weight of his words hit me like a ton of bricks. Everything I thought I knew about myself and my life had been shattered in an instant. "What happens now?"I asked, feeling lost and alone. "The envoys will take you back to the Lily of the Valley pack," my mother explained softly. "It is time we let you go." "I do not want to go," I retorted. "I am an adult and I am capable of making my vown decisions. Like you said, 1 was abandoned. An alpha and a Luna of a prominent pack do not just lose their daughter." "If you do not come with us," One of the envoys chipped in. "Your parents would be branded as kidnappers and traitors. You weren't just abandoned, Miss Camille, you were taken. You were switched. I am not sure how your parents can defend themselves in front of a council. Especially when your father used to be a Sentinel of the pack." "I do not care," I retorted only to be slapped across the face by my "father". "How dare you?" He spat. The sting from the slap on my face matched the sharpness in his tone. I rubbed my cheek, defiance flickering in my eyes. "How dare you?" he spat again, his anger palpable. "We have done nothing but live simple lives. We didn't commit a crime raising you. We just did one good deed. So you will return the favour, pack your things and get into that car. You owe us that much." The words hung in the air, heavy and final. The reality of being uprooted from the life I knew and thrust into a pack that, until now, had been nothing more than a distant origin, overwhelmed me. I felt a profound sense of loss, not just for the parents I thought were mine but for the identity I had built around them. "Is that what you want?" I managed to choke out. "Yes!" It was grating to hear. But it was spoken. "Okay, I will leave." Then the rage that seemed to be plastered on my "father's" face dwindled. I saw him reach out as if to offer comfort, but I pulled away. The space between us now felt like an unbridgeable chasm. The family bonds that once seemed so solid had disintegrated in the span of a conversation. The envoys, stoic figures in the background, stepped forward. Their presence was a reminder that this wasn't Just a family matter; it was a matter of pack dynamics, of a broader world that held claims over my existence. I will go ahead and pack my things," I declared, my voice steadier than I felt. As I ascended the stairs to my room, old memories danced around me like ghosts. The familiar surroundings that once provided comfort now felt alien. The bed, the books, the pictures on the wall-all carried the weight of a life built on lies. Packing became an act of detachment. Each item I placed in my suitcase was a step away from a past that crumbled like beach sand. My "mother" hovered in the doorway, her eyes red with unshed tears. I couldn't meet her gaze. I was angry at fier too. Once the last item found its place in my suitcase, I took a final look at the room that held so much history and so many deceptions. Rage filled me again. So I zipped up the suitcase, sealing away the remnants of a life that was never truly mine. Downstairs, my "father" waited. His face bore the scars of a strained attempt at composure. I descended the stairs, suitcase in hand, and faced the remnants of what I once called a family. A family that scattered like a house of cards in the face of the truth. "If I walk out of that door," I told them. "if I step out of that door and you don't tell me to stop. I will not come back. I will not look for you." The silence stretched for a hot minute. But it didn't take long for my "mother" to break. She attempted to run to me with tears in her eyes. But "father" held her back. With clenched jaws, he turned to me and said, "You should go, Camille. Your Carriage awaits." The envoys gestured for me to follow and I obeyed As I walked away from the only home I had ever known, I couldn't shake the feeling that, in that moment, that my life had been irrevocably altered.