Bound To The Cursed Lycan King

chapter 5

The rain was falling hard, relentlessly.

Gwen stood at the edge of the narrow street, staring at what used to be her life.

Her box of belongings had been dumped outside her apartment building. Soaked, broken and ruined. Her clothes scattered across the wet pavement. Books bloated with water, ink bleeding into nothing. The mattress she saved months for leaned against a wall, torn open and useless.

Gwen’s breath hitched. “No…”

She stepped forward slowly, like moving fast would make it real. But it was real.

A slow laugh came from behind her. She froze. She already knew that laugh.

Mason.

“You’re slow,” Mason said, casual, like he was talking about the weather.

Gwen turned. Mason stood under an umbrella with Trent and Kade behind him. They were smiling, watching and enjoying it.

“You really thought we’d just let you keep living here?” Mason asked.

Gwen’s hands curled at her sides. “What did you do?”

Mason tilted his head. “Relax. We just helped your landlord clean out trash.”

Trent kicked a soaked notebook toward her. It slid across the wet ground and stopped at her feet. Her handwriting was fading. Her notes. Everything was gone.

“You had three days,” Mason continued. “We just made it faster.”

Gwen’s voice came out low and raw. “Why are you doing this?”

Kade let out a laugh. “Seriously? You still don’t get it?”

Gwen didn’t answer.

Mason stepped closer. Rain bounced off his jacket. “You don’t belong here, Brooks. Not until you agree to become my whore.”

Gwen stayed still. Her jaw tightened. “I didn’t do anything to you.”

Mason smirked. “That’s the problem.”

The rain got louder. Mason gestured at her scattered stuff. “You want it back?” he said. “Beg properly.”

Gwen stiffened. Humiliation hit first, sharp and ugly.

Kade chuckled. “Go on. Maybe we’ll be generous.”

Her fingers trembled. Rain soaked through her shirt, heavy and cold. She looked at the ruined pieces of her life and thought of her mom’s hospital bills, the eviction notice, everything pressing down at once.

Mason watched her, waiting, enjoying the quiet.

Then…

A new presence hit the edge of the street. A black car. Inside it, silver eyes watched everything.

Lucien.

Gwen didn’t see him. But the air changed. Mason frowned like he felt it too.

“Tick-tock,” Mason said, mockingly. “Make your choice.”

Gwen’s throat tightened. She looked down at the ruined books. Then slowly, she bent down. Not to beg. To pick them up quietly. One by one.

Mason’s smile faded a little. Kade shifted on his feet. Uncertainty cracked their faces.

Gwen spoke without looking up. Her voice was shaking but not weak. “I’m not begging you for anything. With rain like this, everything gets ruined anyway.” She gathered the last book, stood up, and looked at Mason directly for the first time. “I’ll rebuild it.”

The air went heavy.

Mason’s expression darkened. He stepped forward…

The car door opened behind them. Lucien stepped out into the rain. No umbrella. His coat got soaked instantly. He didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t need to.

Mason turned, annoyed. “Who the hell…”

Lucien moved.

It wasn’t loud. It was fast. One second Mason was talking, the next he was on the ground, not moving. Lucien hit him once. Mason’s head cracked against the pavement and he didn’t get up. He fell unconscious. Just like that.

Trent lunged. Lucien caught his arm and twisted. The bone snapped. Trent screamed and dropped to his knees, clutching it. Lucien did the same to Kade before he could even swing. Another crack echoed. Kade hit the ground, arm bent wrong, gasping in pain.

It took maybe five seconds.

Rain kept falling. The only sound was breathing and water hitting the pavement.

Gwen stood frozen, clutching her books,her heart pounding so loud. She didn’t know whether to run or throw up.

Lucien turned to her then. Rain ran down his face. His silver eyes were cold. He looked at her like she was a problem he hadn’t solved yet. Like she was a mistake.

“You think picking up trash proves something?” he said, voice low and flat. “You’re human, Brooks. Frail. You break. You die. You’re not built for this.”

Gwen stared at him, confused and at the same time shocked. Her brain couldn’t catch up to what was happening. The adrenaline hadn’t left her yet.

Lucien’s jaw tightened. “The bond is a mistake. I can’t… I won’t do this.” He stepped closer, close enough that she could see every hard line in his face. “I reject you, Gwen Brooks, as my mate. As anything.”

The words hit. And then the pain came.

It wasn't normal pain. It sliced through her chest like a knife, straight into her heart. Mind-cutting, breath-stealing pain. Gwen gasped and doubled over slightly, one hand flying to her chest like she could hold her heart in. For a second she thought she was dying. Her vision blurred. Her knees almost gave out.

But she didn’t cry. She didn’t collapse. She just stood there in the rain, confused and breaking, holding ruined books, while the man who was supposed to be hers looked at her like she was nothing.

Lucien saw it. He saw her flinch, saw her hand press against her chest. His expression didn’t change, but something flickered behind his eyes. He turned and walked back to his car without another word. The door shut. The car's engine came to live and drove away.

*. *. *

Gwen went straight to the hospital after the rain. Her clothes were still damp. Her books were ruined. Her chest still burned from what Lucien said. But she forced herself to walk normal, smile normal, act normal.

Her mom was sitting up in the bed when Gwen walked in. She looked thin and tired. But her eyes still lit up when she saw her daughter.

“Hey, baby,” her mom said, voice weak but warm.

Gwen set the soggy books down and tried to laugh. “Hey, Mom. You look good today.”

It was a lie. Her mom looked worse than yesterday. But Gwen said it anyway.

Her mom’s eyes dropped to Gwen’s arms. To the faint bruises blooming on her wrist where Mason had shoved her. To the smudge of dirt on her cheek she missed in the bathroom mirror.

Her mom’s smile faded. “Gwen. What happened to you?”

Gwen froze for half a second. Then she pulled her sleeves down fast, like that would fix it. “Nothing. I just… tripped in the rain. The sidewalk was slick.”

“Don’t lie to me,” her mom said quietly. But there was no strength in it, just worry.

Gwen looked away. Her throat felt tight. “I’m fine, Mom. Really. It’s nothing.” She said it too fast.

Her mom studied her for a long moment. Then sighed and reached for Gwen’s hand. Her fingers were cold. “You don’t have to carry everything alone, you know.”

Gwen swallowed hard. The pain in her chest from Lucien’s rejection flared again, sharp and stupid. She pressed her other hand over her heart like that would help. It didn’t.

“I know,” Gwen whispered. Another lie.

Her mom squeezed her hand. “My procedure… The doctor said they can schedule it next week if we pay the deposit. Do you think…”

“I’ll get the money,” Gwen cut in. Quick and desperate. “I promise, Mom. I’ll get it. I’m working extra shifts. I’ll have it by Friday.”

Her mom frowned. “Gwen, you’re already working too much. You look exhausted.”

“I’m fine,” Gwen said again. She forced a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Stop worrying about me. Worry about getting better so you can yell at me for lying about my bruises.”

Her mom didn’t laugh. She just looked at Gwen like she knew she was being lied to and hated that she couldn’t stop it.

Gwen sat there for an hour, holding her mom’s hand, pretending she wasn’t shaking inside. Pretending her chest didn’t feel torn open. Pretending Lucien hadn’t just looked at her like she was trash and walked away.

When she left, she promised again at the door. “Friday, Mom. I swear.”

Her mom nodded, but her eyes stayed worried.

Gwen walked out into the hallway and leaned against the wall for one second. Just one. Then she straightened up, wiped her face, and kept moving.

Because promises were all she had left. And she couldn’t break this one too.