Fated to the Lycan Prince

Tracked

Alpha’s chambers buzzed with tension. The fire crackled loudly and shadows leaped across the stone walls like nervous whispers. Three enforcers stood before Selene, each one sweating beneath her glare.

“You let her go?” Her voice was cold and cutting, each word sharp enough to wound.

The lead enforcer shifted, clearing his throat. “She wasn’t alone. A Lycan was with her.”

Selene stiffened.

“A Lycan?” she echoed, voice thin with disbelief.

He nodded. “He was huge and powerful. He was carrying her... he was protecting her.”

A flicker of panic passed over Selene’s face, but she masked it quickly, turning away to pace toward the window.

Moonlight poured in, pooling around her like a spotlight. Her fingers curled around the windowsill, white-knuckled.

This wasn’t part of the plan.

“She cannot be allowed to enter Lycan lands,” Selene said quietly, almost to herself. "Not now. Not when she’s... waking up.”

Thorin, lurking in the shadows, pushed off the wall with a scoff. “Waking up? You’re unraveling over a girl you never even looked twice at until she ran.”

Selene spun on him. “You think you know everything, don’t you?”

“Try me,” he challenged, stepping forward, growing incredibly impatient with his mother's antics.

Her eyes flashed. She didn’t speak right away, her jaw working like she was chewing on the weight of the truth. But in the end, she only said, “She’s important in ways you couldn’t begin to understand. If she gets to the wrong people—”

“Wrong people?” Thorin barked a harsh laugh. “You mean people who don’t send a virgin to be a s*x slave? You mean she might find people that don’t abuse her?”

Selene’s expression cracked, just a little.

Thorin looked to Garrick, who sat slouched in a corner, eyes dull, bottle of whiskey in hand. Thorin raised his voice this time, “You going to keep rotting in that chair, or do you want to do your job as an Alpha?”

Garrick lifted his gaze. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”

“What wasn’t?” Thorin snapped.

Garrick rubbed his temples. “It was just... I needed an heir. I never knew this agreement would come to….”

Selene’s eyes cut to him in warning, instantly shutting Garrick up.

Thorin narrowed his gaze. “Dad... what agreement?”

Silence.

Selene stepped between them. “Enough. This isn’t the time.”

“It never is with you,” Thorin said through his teeth.

She held his gaze. “All you need to know is this: if she reaches the Lycan territories, if someone recognizes... everything we’ve worked for falls apart.”

Thorin’s breath hitched, though he hid it behind a glare as he turned his attention back to his father. “You know it's starting to sound like she's not even your child.”

Selene smiled, tight, too polished. “Of course she is, she’s just a runaway, and it would look bad for our pack if they found out we lost the Alpha's daughter. We need to bring her back.”

“I’ll go then. I’ll do it right,” Thorin said, jaw tight, not believing a word Selene just said.

Selene was hesitant but agreed. "You will take Logan and 5 enforcers with you to track."

Fine, "I take these three," pointing to the three guards still in the room, and two others. Let's go, we are leaving now."

As he turned to leave, Selene added, “Thorin? Don’t forget where your loyalty lies.”

He didn’t reply. Just kept walking, slamming the door behind him.

Selene stood still, watching the flames crackle and spit. Her hand trembled slightly at her side.

When she glanced back at Garrick, he was passed out.

She was finally alone, so she moved to the far wall. Pressed her palm to a barely visible seam in the stone.

A shimmer of faint magic rippled as a hidden panel slid open.

Selene descended the spiral stairs, torchlight flickering along the cold stone. At the bottom, the metallic hallway opened into a small lab humming with faint magical energy. Shelves lined with vials, charts, and specimens glinted under the light, but Selene’s gaze was fixed on the figure in the far chamber.

A nurse stepped forward from behind a curtain. “She’s stable. Resting comfortably in her chamber.”

Selene’s eyes narrowed. “And the baby?”

The nurse hesitated, then nodded. “Growing steadily. No complications. Mom’s compliant with all prenatal care.

The nurse paused for a moment, but then continued “Oh, and she keeps asking for the proof you promised.”

Selene’s lips curved into a thin smile. “I’m working on it. Keep me updated on the baby’s growth. As soon as it’s born, I want the blood work.”

The nurse bowed and retreated, leaving Selene alone with the soft hum of the lab and the steady, even breathing of the woman who held the key to her plans.

Selene stepped closer to the reinforced glass chamber, studying the nearly full-term belly of the woman inside. Almost twenty years had passed, and now she was close, so close. As long as Seraphina remained out of the Lycan pack’s reach, Selene’s plan would succeed for the third time. Triumph curled along the edges of her thoughts, sharp and intoxicating.

Two hours later

The enforcers who had last seen Seraphina pressed deeper into the forest, the moon casting pale, uneven light through skeletal branches. Shadows stretched long and twisting across the ground, and every snap of a twig seemed louder in the stillness of the night.

Thorin crouched low, fingertips brushing the damp earth. He inhaled sharply, catching the faint, familiar scent of wildflowers. He was the only one trained well enough to track faint smells and the only one who knew her scent enough to find it.

“They’re heading north,” he murmured, rising from his knees, his voice barely above the rustle of leaves. “Into rogue territory.”

One of the enforcers shifted uneasily. “We’re less than eight hours south of the nearest Lycan pack. Do you think we can catch them?”

Thorin’s jaw tightened. "Whoever this Lycan is, he’d unnerved you all to the point of hesitation. So there is a small chance, with a Lycan that strong, she has already crossed the border. But on the off chance they stopped for the night, we push on."

The forest pressed in around them, shadows turning familiar shapes into predators. Thorin slowed as the scent got sharper. They were closing in. Thorin knew that for her to stay safe, he needed to get to them first.

“We are close, but the trail stops here. They could be anywhere within this vicinity. Let's split up,” he said, scanning the darkness. “We will cover more ground in small groups. Logan, you’re with me. The rest of you split off into two groups and search east and north of this area. We will search east. If you find them, call for backup; we will all converge on their location.”

Logan, Thorin’s oldest friend, nodded silently. The others exchanged uneasy glances but knew not to argue with their future Alpha.

Thorin and Logan veered west, moving quietly through the undergrowth, the only sounds being their careful footsteps and the low hum of nocturnal life. When the others were long gone, Thorin finally stopped, crouched, and drew in a deep, controlled breath.

“She can’t go back,” he whispered, almost to himself. “Not to Selene.”

Logan frowned. “You’re turning on your mother now?”

Thorin’s fists clenched at his sides. “Something’s wrong. You didn’t see her face when she realized Seraphina was with a Lycan. She panicked, Logan. She never panics.”

Logan’s eyes narrowed, tracing the twisted shadows of the trees ahead. “So… you think she’s hiding something?”

Thorin’s gaze was hard, unwavering. “I know she is. I just don’t know what.”

He inhaled the crisp night air, letting it ground him before he added, voice low and urgent, “But if we don’t reach Seraphina first, we can't get her to safety.”

Logan’s expression hardened. After a long pause, he gave a short, determined nod. “Then let’s find her.”

They pressed forward, leaving the others behind, senses sharpened to every rustle, every snap of a branch, but Thorin’s focus never wavered. At the crack of dawn, a rogue inn came into view, and her scent was very strong.

Now the only question is: Will she accept his help?