THE WOLFLESS OUTCAST: CLAIMED BY THE ALPHA KING

CHAPTER 5: INNOCENCE

LUCIEN'S POV

The carriage rattled over the uneven roads, but I barely noticed. My mind was elsewhere, caught between duty and destiny.

The Mooncrest New Pack Alpha had sent a letter for treaty negotiations, claiming remorse for breaking our centuries-old pact. Peaceful resolution, they said. My judgment, they feared. But all of it was meaningless compared to the burning need inside me.

It had been a month since I last saw her, my mate.

She had been in that hut when I left, trembling and alone. I didn’t know her name, didn’t know her face fully—but her scent had seared itself into my senses. Weak, trembling… yet undeniably mine. For years I had waited, bound by patience and prophecy. Years of loneliness, of searching, ended in a single moment when I found her. I would never let her slip again.

The Mooncrest stronghold was a stage of false smiles and ceremonial bows. Servants polished every surface. The new Alpha’s chosen Luna draped herself in the finest gown, walking the floor with rehearsed grace. Every word was a mask. And somewhere in this maze of deception, my mate knelt in chains, forced to sit like a pack dog, mocked and humiliated.

I smelled her before I saw her. My wolf howled inside me, desperate and protective.

The council chamber was silent when I entered. Every eye turned toward me, sensing the power radiating off my aura. The Alpha’s bravado faltered. Even his guards shifted uneasily. My mate’s scent drew me forward, a thread of life I would not ignore.

I froze for a moment, taking in the sight of her kneeling, head bowed. She looked underfed and beaten. My hands itched to reach for her, to break every chain from her body. But first, justice had to be served.

“Explain,” I growled, my voice low, trying to keep my wolf at bay. The word vibrated through the stone walls, heavy and commanding.

My eyes fixed on the new Alpha, who dared to claim authority over her.

“She is a traitor,” one warrior spat. “She aided the rogues who attacked the pack. She deserves death.”

My body vibrated with a rage I could barely contain. My jaw tightened, hands curling into fists. Centuries of power coiled inside me, ready to strike.

The new Alpha smirked, thinking he held control.

I moved before he could speak.

A single strike of my boot connected with his chest, sending him sprawling to his knees. Every wolf in the room felt the pressure of my presence. Fear flickered on their faces. I had waited long, and my mate had been hurt in ways no one could forgive.

Alpha Darius—broken, grieving the death of his Luna—half-shifted, becoming a wolf in desperation, claws extended, eyes wild with grief.

I didn’t flinch. My wolf surged from within, powerful and precise. I met him in his half-shift, catching him mid-lunge. I bit down hard on his neck, tasting his despair, and hurled him across the chamber. He hit the wall and slumped, weak but unwilling to yield. The next second, I raised him and detached his head from his body.

The new Alpha saw his father’s dead body and, in anger, challenged me. But he was nothing before me. I kept connecting blows to his weak body, each one a reminder that my mate would never be harmed again. I half-shifted, teeth sinking into his neck, throwing him across the floor with inhuman strength.

My wolf was not satisfied—not until every threat to her life lay broken at my feet. My eyes flickered between black and gold, a storm contained in flesh and wolf.

“Mate.” My wolf voice was deep and guttural. Every eye in the room widened.

I tore off her chains, taking in the sight of her pale form. She slumped forward and fainted.

Fear surged through me. I shifted fully into my wolf form. No one dared approach. My beta received my commands through the mind-link: eliminate any who retaliated, imprison the rest.

I ran through the night, across rivers and forests, my heart and mind focused on her as she lay on my back. The pack boundaries blurred under the speed of my wolf form. Every beat of her weakened heart echoed in my chest.

Near the kingdom, her body sagged in my arms. I could feel life fading. Each step toward our home was agony.

Inside the gate, I hesitated for the first time. My mother’s voice, soft, reached me:

“Lucien… let them help her. You cannot do everything alone.”

I snarled, reluctant. My wolf bristled, eyes flicking between the approaching pack medics and the fragile, pale form in my arms. But her life depended on them.

Reluctantly, I handed her over, every instinct screaming to keep her close, to never let anyone touch her.

I stayed back, wolf tense. Every second felt heavier than the last.

The doctor emerged. His eyes met mine, then he bowed.

“She… she’s gone,” he said.

I ran into the forest. Pain, grief, and everything I had buried for centuries erupted. I howled—a sound that carried through the forest, across kingdoms, shaking the very air. Every being under my dominion felt the raw, unrelenting pain I carried.

My wolf whimpered low, a growl woven with despair. I felt my humanity shrink, retreating to the back of my mind.

I stayed there for hours, my wolf senses laced with bloodlust. But even in despair, one thing was clear: I would mourn her properly… then eliminate every kingdom that dared harm my mate. They would know the fury of Lucien Valerius.