Rejected by the Alpha, Claimed by the Lycan King

Chapter 7: First Morning

I woke to unfamiliar luxury.

For a disorienting moment, I didn't remember where I was. Silk sheets instead of worn cotton. A bed so massive I'd gotten lost in it. Sunlight streaming through floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking manicured gardens.

Then it all came rushing back. The curse broken. The silver wolf. Marcus's words: You're the Silver Queen.

I sat up slowly, my body feeling... different. Stronger. More alive than it had ever felt. My wolf stirred beneath my skin, no longer weak and distant but present, powerful, eager.

Morning, she purred in my mind, clearer than she'd ever been before. Want to run?

The urge was almost overwhelming. To shift, to run through those gardens, to feel the earth beneath my paws—my real paws, not the stunted, painful things I'd forced before.

A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts.

"Emma?" Marcus's voice, deep and careful. "May I come in?"

My heart did an annoying little flip at the sound. I pulled the covers higher, suddenly aware I was wearing only the oversized t-shirt Elena had given me last night.

"Give me a minute."

I found a robe in the massive closet—soft cashmere that probably cost more than my entire wardrobe back in Silvermoon. Wrapped it tight and opened the door.

Marcus stood in the hallway, looking unfairly good in dark jeans and a fitted henley that showed off the kind of physique that came from actual combat training, not gym mirrors. His grey eyes met mine, and I saw relief flicker across his face.

"You're still here."

"Where else would I go?" I gestured at my borrowed robe. "I don't even have real clothes."

"That's not what I meant." He stepped closer, and my wolf practically rolled over in submission. No—not submission. Recognition. Like she'd found something she'd been searching for without knowing it.

I ignored her completely.

"I thought you might have second thoughts," Marcus continued. "About staying. About all of this."

"I said I would stay. I don't break my word."

His expression softened—not quite a smile, but close. "No. I don't imagine you do." He gestured down the hallway. "Are you hungry? I had Elena leave breakfast in the solarium. We should talk about your training schedule."

Right. Training. Learning to control the power that had nearly blown out every window in this wing last night.

"I'm starving, actually." The admission came with a flush of embarrassment. "I haven't eaten since..."

"The sandwich in the city. I know." He'd been paying attention. "Come on. We'll fix that."

The solarium was a sun-drenched room filled with plants and comfortable furniture. A table had been set with enough food for five people.

"I didn't know what you liked," Marcus said, pulling out a chair for me. "So I had the kitchen prepare everything."

Everything was right. Pancakes, eggs, bacon, fresh fruit, pastries, three different kinds of juice. My stomach growled loudly enough that Marcus's lips twitched.

"Eat," he said simply.

I didn't need to be told twice.

For several minutes, we ate in surprisingly comfortable silence. Marcus read something on his tablet while I worked through a stack of pancakes that would have fed me for three days in my apartment. The broken curse must have left me ravenous.

"Better?" he asked when I finally slowed down.

"Much." I set down my fork, suddenly self-conscious. "Sorry. That was..."

"Necessary. Your body is adjusting to having access to its full power. You'll need to eat more for the next few days." He set aside his tablet, giving me his full attention. "How do you feel this morning? Any pain? Dizziness?"

"No pain. Just..." I searched for the right word. "Different. Like I'm finally in the right skin. Does that make sense?"

"Perfect sense." His eyes held mine with an intensity that made my pulse quicken. "That's exactly how awakening should feel. Your wolf?"

"Chatty," I admitted. "She wants to run."

"Good. That's where we'll start training." He leaned back in his chair, looking every inch the king despite the casual clothes. "Emma, I want to be clear about something. The training I'm offering will be intense. I won't go easy on you because you're new to this. Your power makes you a target, and you need to be able to defend yourself."

"I don't want you to go easy on me." The words came out fiercer than I intended. "I've been weak my entire life—or made to believe I was weak. I'm done with that. Push me as hard as you need to."

Something flashed in his eyes. Approval? Desire? It was gone before I could identify it.

"All right." He stood, offering his hand. "Let's see what you can do, Silver Queen."

Thirty minutes later, I stood in the center of a massive training room in the estate's lower level. Padded floors, mirrored walls, weapon racks lining the space. It looked like something out of an action movie.

Marcus had changed into workout gear—black training pants and a compression shirt that left absolutely nothing to the imagination. I tried very hard not to stare at the way the fabric clung to his shoulders, his arms, his ridiculously defined abs.

I failed spectacularly.

"Eyes up here, Emma."

My gaze snapped to his face. He was smirking, the bastard.

"I wasn't—I mean, I was just—" Oh God, could I sound more pathetic?

"It's fine." He moved to the center of the mat, gesturing for me to join him. "I've been staring at you since you walked in wearing those yoga pants."

Heat flooded my cheeks. The workout clothes someone had left in my room fit perfectly, but they were more form-fitting than anything I'd ever worn. "That's different."

"How?"

"Because you're..." I gestured vaguely at all of him. "You. And I'm just..."

"Emma." He said my name like a command, and my eyes met his involuntarily. "Don't finish that sentence with anything that diminishes yourself. You're a Royal Lycan. You're powerful. And for what it's worth—" his voice dropped, intimate and rough, "—you're beautiful. Stop acting like you don't know it."

My wolf purred so loudly I was certain he could hear it.

"Now," Marcus continued, all business again, "shift for me. Show me your wolf."

The request sent a spike of nervousness through me. What if it didn't work? What if last night had been a fluke, and I really was still weak—

We're not weak, my wolf growled. Show him.

She was right. I closed my eyes, reaching for that thread connecting human to wolf. Found it glowing bright silver in my mind's eye. And pulled.

The shift happened in a heartbeat.

One moment I stood on two legs, the next I was on four, powerful and sure. The world sharpened into crystal clarity—every scent, every sound amplified. I could hear Marcus's heartbeat, steady and strong. Could smell pine and rain and that indefinable something that was purely him.

I looked down at my paws. Silver. Still silver.

When I raised my eyes to Marcus, I found him staring at me with an expression of pure wonder.

"Incredible," he breathed. "I've never seen anything like you."

Then he shifted.

His change was even faster than mine—a blur of movement and power. Where a man had stood, now crouched a massive black wolf, easily twice my size, with eyes of molten gold.

My wolf should have been terrified. Every instinct should have screamed submission in the face of such overwhelming dominance.

Instead, she stepped forward and touched her nose to his.

Mate, she whispered.

And my world turned upside down.