For six years, I was Hazel, girlfriend to the future Alpha, Julian. I thought we had forever, a cherished place in our werewolf pack, even as a human. Then Mate Hunt night ripped it all away. I woke up lost in the forest, only to find Julian with her – his true fated mate. His words hit harder than the forest floor: I was just a 'placeholder.' Six years together, and he tossed me aside, his fingers bruising my throat as he growled that I meant nothing. My world, my heart – shattered.

Left for dead, freezing and injured, a different kind of predator found me. A colossal black wolf, eyes glowing gold, big enough to swallow me whole. But instead of tearing me apart, he curled around me, a warm, terrifying shield against the biting cold. For a moment, I felt safe.

That safety vanished when my pack, my family, found us. The Alpha who raised me, Maxen, didn't see a survivor. He saw a disappointment. Turns out, he’d only taken me in hoping I’d magically become a werewolf like my mother – the fated mate who’d rejected him. When I couldn't shift, he cast me out, branding me an omega, the pack’s punching bag.

Now, I'm less than nothing, surviving on scraps and enduring their cruelty. What they don't know, what I don't know, is that my monstrous protector is no ordinary rogue. He's Lykos, the wolf of Kael, the Lycan King. And Lykos has decided I am his fated mate – a human. Kael is furious, but his wolf has a will of its own, dragging the King himself towards my abusive pack.

My old life is over. My only ally is a creature of legend. And the most feared Lycan in existence is on his way. Is he coming to save me, or is the King's arrival just another nightmare waiting to begin?

Pip crumpled against me like a puppet with cut strings, her tiny body transforming back to normal before my eyes. The yellow glow faded from her irises, replaced by her usual bright blue. Her claws retracted into small, pudgy fingers that clutched desperately at my shirt.


"Hazel," she whimpered, burying her face against my chest. Her voice was small and terrified, nothing like the feral growls from moments ago. "Scared."


"I know, sweetheart," I whispered, holding her close. "I know."


My arms tightened around her trembling form as I looked over her head at the chaos around us. The RV's interior was wrecked – furniture overturned, scratch marks on the walls, splashes of blood on the floor. Lykos stood guard nearby, his massive black form blocking the door, storm-gray eyes vigilant.


Behind him, Leo was tending to Milo, who sat pale-faced on the edge of the couch. A nasty set of scratches ran down his forearm, the skin around them already turning an angry red.


Chapter 123 - Chapter 123 - The Weight of a Whisper