My Lycan Mate

The Birthday Rejection My twentieth birthday was supposed to be the day I found my mate. Instead, it was the day I found a monster. The whole packhouse was decorated in Blue Stone colors. Music, laughter, the bonfire roaring in the center. Every unmated she-wolf my age was glowing, waiting for that pull in their chest — that snap that says mine. I felt nothing. Until the doors blew open. The wind didn't do it. It was him. He walked in like he owned the air in the room. Black cloak, black hair wet from the rain, eyes like molten amber. The entire pack dropped their heads. Even Alpha Jace went still beside me. "Lycan King," Jace whispered, his hand tightening around my wrist. "Don't look him in the eye, Elara." Too late. The stranger's eyes snapped to mine across the fire. And the world stopped. A searing heat ripped through my chest, down my spine, right to that strange scar on my back. It burned silver. I gasped. His nostrils flared. His eyes bled from amber to blood red. "Mate." One word. His voice wasn't human. It was a growl that shook the windows. I should have run. Every human instinct I had screamed run. But my legs walked forward. Toward him. "No," Jace growled, stepping in front of me. "She is Blue Stone. You have no claim here." The Lycan King smiled. It was not a kind smile. "I have every claim," he said, his eyes never leaving mine. "The Moon Goddess gave her to me. And I take what is mine." He was in front of me in a second. Faster than any werewolf I had ever seen. He lifted his hand — claws, not nails — and brushed a strand of hair from my face. His touch burned ice-cold. "What is your name, little healer?" "E-Elara," I managed. "Elara," he repeated, like tasting it. "I am Kade. Your mate. Your Lycan." "I'm not— I don't want a Lycan mate," I spat, my fear turning to anger. The anger I had carried since I was six years old. Since Lycans killed my parents. "I hate your kind." His red eyes darkened. "Good," he whispered, leaning so close only I could hear him. "Hate me all you want. You are still coming home with me tonight. Your pack sold you to save themselves, love. Didn't they tell you?" My blood went cold. I looked at Jace. Jace wouldn't look at me. Kade threw me over his shoulder like I weighed nothing as the whole pack watched in silence. No one stopped him. No one could. The last thing I saw before we disappeared into the storm was my silver scar reflecting in his red eyes. My Lycan mate had come to claim me. And he had no intention of letting me go.