The Lycan King Faceless Mate

I Found Her

Her name was Margaux. She was twenty-four years old. She had arrived in this town with no family, no pack affiliation, and nobody beside her. She was entirely alone in the human world.

I walked back to my car and gripped the steering wheel, staring out at the small town. My wolf was quiet now, its focus locked entirely on the name. Most people sought my presence for security or gain. She had nothing, yet she chose the dark hallway over my wealth. What is she running from?

I put the vehicle in drive. No matter where she was, I would make sure that I didn't stop until I had found her.

~~~~~~

Four months had passed.

Every single day followed the same exact sequence. I woke up, handled the minimal administrative tasks required to maintain my title, and then left my compound. If I chose to rest, the beast inside my chest made the choice impossible. By pacing back and forth. The only thing to keep the wolf in control was to continue the search.

We would drive for hours, scan the faces on the streets, and return to the estate empty-handed. It was an inefficient system, but it was the only way to satisfy him

Today required a disruption in the routine. I had pack business to attend to in the main city. One of the regional territories under my hidden twelve-district rule had sent an official request to finalize a set of land documents.

The meeting took precisely forty-five minutes.

I sat at the head of the dark conference table, my eyes tracking the line where the local pack leader signed his initials on the final page. Outside the thick glass windows, the sky was changing color, shifting into a heavy, dark gray. It was going to rain.

"The paperwork is fully executed, king Dorian," the silverwood pack leader said, sliding the leather folder back across the table to me. He stood up and gestured to a side cart. "We have an excellent vintage poured in the next room. Will you join us for a drink to celebrate the boundary alignment?"

"No,thank you " I said, standing up and closing the folder with a single, sharp snap. "I have business to attend to."

I did not like the rain. It limited visibility, dulled scent tracking, and created unnecessary friction on the roads.

"Of course," the leader said, pulling his hand back quickly. He bowed his head, his posture stiffening as he walked me to the exit. "Safe travels back to the northern district."

I walked down the concrete steps of the office building, opened the door of my black supercar, and took the driver's seat. I started the engine and steered the vehicle onto the main highway, driving away from the city center.

The route back to my primary territory required me to pass directly through the eastern district. Based on the data Garrett had pulled from the pharmacy and the bakery weeks ago, this specific grid was where she had spent her time before moving to the Calloways. My eyes automatically adjusted, scanning the sidewalks through the sweep of the windshield wipers.

The car slowed to a crawl near a busy intersection. I checked my side mirrors, then shifted my gaze to the rearview mirror to check the lane behind me.

My movement stopped.

On the concrete sidewalk, twenty feet behind my bumper, a female was walking near the edge of the curb. She had long, straight black hair falling over her shoulders. Her skin was pale against the dark fabric of her jacket, and her lips had a natural, rosy color.

I stared for two seconds, then forced my eyes back to the road ahead.

I looked back at the mirror. She turned her head slightly to avoid a puddle. Her eyes caught the light of the streetlamp. They were a distinct, sharp blue.

The shape of the jaw, the color of the irises, this was the exact face fixed in my memory from four months ago.

I slammed my foot onto the brake.

The tires screeched against the wet asphalt. I ignored the horn of the delivery truck behind me, threw the gear shift into reverse, and forced the heavy vehicle backward through the opening in traffic. I swung the steering wheel to the right, mounting the curb slightly, and packed the car directly flat against the metal railing of the sidewalk.

Through the passenger glass, I looked at her.

The analysis was flawless. This was the female from the one-night stand. The one who had left the five million dollars untouched on my nightstand.

I killed the engine, pushed my door open, and stepped out into the damp air. I didn't walk. I moved into a fast run, my boots striking the pavement in heavy, rapid intervals until I reached her side.

"Hi," I said. My voice was loud, cutting through the sound of the approaching thunder.

She stopped instantly. Her entire body jerked back a little as she faced me. Her eyes went wide, the pupils dilating completely as she took in my height and the width of my chest. She looked thoroughly surprised.

"H-hi..." she muttered slowly.

Her voice was exactly the same sound as the moans she had dropped into my pillow. I stepped closer, blocking the path of the other pedestrians. I raised my hand in a brief, controlled wave.

"You don't remember me from the Calloways' wedding four months ago?" I asked.. "The guy. The one-night stand from that day."

She didn't answer immediately. Her gaze dropped from my eyes, moving deliberately down the length of my body. She scanned the broad cut of my coat, the heavy leather of my boots, and then stopped at my hands. Her eyes fixed on the thick silver ring on my finger and the dark lines of the Lycan ink crawling up from beneath my shirt sleeve.

She stood completely still in front of me, her chest rising and falling in quick, uneven breaths. She didn't turn around to run, and she didn't call for the city security. She just stared at the tattoos on my arm.

The restless thrashing inside my chest stopped instantly. For the first time in four months, my wolf went completely silent, settling down into a calm, heavy coil around my heart. It felt like a piece of my life had finally been completed.

"I remember," she said softly.