Enslaved by the Lycan

Juno They said that werewolves prowled the forests, waiting patiently for their prey to fall into their arms. In the old books, the story was always the same: every five hundred years, a new Lycan King would rise. And for his reign to bring peace and prosperity to the pack, a sacrifice had to be delivered. A girl. A slave chosen by him to carry the weight of everyone’s punishment. My name was Juno. I was eighteen years old and, honestly, I had no patience for such nonsense. We lived in modern times, yet our village seemed frozen in the past, feeding on fear and myths of creatures that no one had ever actually seen. "You are not going out, Juno. Not today," my mother said, her voice trembling as she locked the front door for the third time. I sighed, picking up my wicker basket. "Mom, they’re just stories. The world isn't going to end because an old calendar marked a date." "The other girls are hiding! Parents are reinforcing their locks!" She grabbed me by the shoulders, her eyes filled with genuine dread. "If this legend is true... if he appears..." I smiled, gently removing her hands from me. "If he appears, he’ll want someone important. A princess, or someone who believes in his glory. Look at me. I’m just Juno. Even if this legend existed, the last person a king would want as his MATE would be me." I walked out of the house, ignoring her protests. The panic in the village was spreading like a disease, and I needed air. To me, the silence of the forest was better than the hysterical weeping of the neighbors. The air was cool, and the blackberry bushes were heavy with fruit. I knelt on the damp grass, picking them one by one. The juice stained my fingers a deep red, looking almost like fresh blood. I was distracted, right up until the silence changed. It wasn’t a noise. It was a pressure. It was as if the air had suddenly grown too heavy to breathe. I slowly stood up, my heart thumping hard against my ribs. Something moved within the densest part of the trees. First, I saw the eyes: two points of glowing amber that seemed to burn through the distance between us. Then, the body revealed itself. He was immense. A wolf with fur as black as the abyss itself, his paws hitting the ground without making a single sound. He was larger than any animal I had ever seen; his head reached the level of my chest. My legs turned to lead. He stopped just a few paces away from me. There was no wild fury in those golden eyes, only a devastating, human intelligence. He stared at me as if he knew exactly who I was. Blackberry juice trickled down my wrist. The wolf tilted his head, fixing his gaze on the red trail on my skin. He took a step forward, closing the distance until I could feel the heat radiating from his body. The dread I had sworn I wouldn't feel finally hit me. The wolf let out a heavy breath, and for a moment, time stood still. He bared his teeth: white, sharp, and deadly, running his tongue over them while locking his eyes onto mine. The voice that echoed in my mind wasn't my own; it was cold and possessive: "Run, little rabbit. Run."