Eden’s POV
“Lycans?” The auction house broke out into exclamations.
“Is it true? Are they Lycans?” Everyone whispered, wide-eyed at the thought. Anxiety and confusion rippled through the room.
But then, the man at the table calmly took off his coat. Everyone watched as he hung it on the back of his chair, revealing a crisp white shirt and navy suit vest. He strode to the stage, letting loose a powerful Lycan aura. His air of nobility was palpable. His aura emanated from him and spread out through the room, passing over everyone, one at a time, and as it did, each person felt like they had been hit by an invisible force. Then his aura settled over them, like a heavy blanket. They were powerless under the suffocating pressure of the Lycan’s aura.
I watched him, transfixed, as his aura hit me. It was like a lightning bolt straight to my heart. My heart raced and I began to breathe quickly. I couldn’t take my eyes off him, even though I knew that making eye contact and staring at him like this could get me killed.
The room was full of fear and curiosity. Who was this mysterious man? But no one could speak; they were all under his spell. Or intimidated.
“Your Majesty,” his beta said, waiting for further instruction.
“Go on,” the man said to Ansaldo.
The beta released Ansaldo. He immediately collapsed to the ground. "Yo...your Majesty..." he uttered in disbelief, his lips trembling. "You…you're the Lycan King!"
What? Was that true? This mysterious man was the Lycan King?!
“So the rumors are true! The Lycan King’s really back!”
“But that’s not possible! The Lycan King's been gone for over a hundred years!”
“I thought he was just a legend?”
“No. My grandpa saw him once. Or so he claimed.”
“But he looks so young! How can he be more than a hundred years old?”
Whispers rippled through the crowd. Everyone was astounded.
“Quiet,” the Lycan King said casually. His voice wasn’t overly loud, but it held a natural authority that demanded obedience. In the face of the Lycan King’s absolute power, others were like newborn babies, compelled to follow him. Everyone fell silent without realizing it. Then, one by one, they bowed in respect.
“Apologize to her.” It was the unmistakable voice of the Lycan King.
To me? He wanted an Alpha to apologize to me? In front of all these people? I was as shocked as the crowd.
It wasn’t that long ago that I’d been forced to apologize to Scarlett. And now here I was, being apologized to? By an alpha none-the-less? I never thought anyone would do that for me, or that someone would ever defend me like this.
Alpha Ansaldo had no choice but to obey. He turned to me, his look humble and embarrassed. He lowered his head. His voice was shaky as he uttered his apology.
“I, I apologize,” he stuttered.
It was humiliating for him! A public apology to a wolfless rogue? Then all eyes were on me. They were waiting for me to accept his apology. I furrowed my brows, apprehensive. But then I made eye-contact with the Lycan King, and I saw a flash of kindness in his eyes.
He was forcing a powerful alpha to apologize, in front of a room filled with other powerful alphas. I didn’t know what I had done to deserve such kindness from the Lycan King, but I knew I had to accept.
I nodded in acceptance of the apology. The room fell silent.
Then the Lycan King approached the cage. He rattled it and the whole cage shook. I almost lost my footing. He pushed on the door, the noise echoing through the room. I recoiled. His strength was evident as forced the door open.
I cowered, afraid of this mysterious man and what he might do to me. But he calmly reached out his hand to me. A faint smell hit me then. White pine and amber. Although it was faint, it was intoxicating.
I had never smelled something so delicious in all my life. It wafted through the air as I took it in. I hesitated, but again, I saw the flash of kindness in his eyes. I reached out and placed my hand in his.
And then I felt a surge from within. It was warm and electrifying as it ran through my body. I could feel it, coursing through my blood. My head lolled back as this unfamiliar feeling lit up every nerve ending in my body. I felt like I was going to fall, so I gripped his hand. He gripped mine back. My grip was firm, much firmer than usual. I snapped my head back and stared at our hands, wide-eyed.
He tugged me towards him.
“Come, Cookie,” he whispered, a half-smile on his face. I walked towards him, bracing myself for the pain in my bruised ribs. But the pain was gone!
I blinked. My eyesight felt clearer. My eyesight had never been bad, but it had never been this good. All my senses were on high alert; the edges of everything looked sharper. And again, there was that scent – white pine and amber.
‘Eden...’
A gentle, ethereal voice echoed in my mind, accompanied by a strange and pure energy that flowed through my entire body, stirring my soul.
Who is calling me?
Zane’s POV“Tear this place down,” I turned to my Beta, instructed. “And then burn it. Leave nothing of this auction house save for ashes.”The girl in my arms shrank back in response to my command, she clutched at my shirt.‘Easy now, Cookie,’ I thought to myself. ‘You’re safe now. You’re mine.’I took in her scent. Bread cookies. It was her. I had finally found her. ‘All will be well now, Slade. We found her.’Instantly, Slade, my wolf, calmed down. My mind flashed back to the first time we met.I was 21 years old, in wolf form, when I was ambushed by rogues. They caught me completely off-guard. They seriously injured me, slashing my legs and my stomach. I was so badly hurt that I couldn’t return to human form. I managed to escape, but just barely. I was forced to hide out in the forest, doing my best to camouflage my black wolf form with the dead of night.She found me one day while I was sleeping in a small brush clearing. Full of curiosity, she climbed over the bushes. She was yo
Eden’s POVI was the talk of the town, or so I heard. Rumors of the Lycan King bringing back a ‘rogue girl’ spread rapidly through all the packs. I had been here a few days, but everywhere I went, the omegas whispered. The news even spread out into rogue territory. Everyone was guessing who I was. What was my true identity? Why had he chosen me? I was asked to meet some of the omega maids in the bathroom. Apparently, they wanted to help me wash. I didn’t really want their help, though. They were a little on the rough side. But I was told I had no choice. But before I went into the bathroom, I overheard the omega maids talking. They were whispering about all the gossip spreading through the packs.“I heard the King fell in love with her at first sight, so he brought her back here. That’s what an omega from Red Stone pack told me she heard,” one maid whispered.“Nonsense. Why would he fall in love with a rogue? And an ugly, wolfless one at that?” another maid scoffed. “That’s
Zane’s POV She approached the lavish table, clearly nervous. I was already there, waiting. I motioned for her to sit, across from him. Her hands were shaky. I fixed my eyes on hers and watched as she took her seat. She was quite graceful and looked lovely in a long silk dress. I nodded my approval. “It’s okay. You can relax. I won’t bite,” I said, trying to put her at ease with a joke. “I…I didn’t think you would,” she answered in a serious tone. Clearly, she had missed the joke. So I changed the subject. “Do you enjoy salmon?” I asked. I looked down at my plate. Salmon in a white wine sauce. One of my personal favorites. Decadent and delicious. She nodded. “Then bon appetit,” I said. I took a big bite, motioning for her to do the same. She smiled appreciatively. Good, she likes salmon, I thought to myself. Then I decided to address the question on my mind. “Don’t you have a wolf?” I asked. The question must have caught her by
Caleb’s POV“You stupid girl! Be more careful! My suit has to be perfect,” I barked at my omega maid. This was an important meeting! One of the most important meetings of my life! And my damned omega was ironing my suit like she didn’t have a care in the world. “That’s cashmere, you idiot! I swear, if you burn another one of my suits!”“Yes, yes,” she nodded. “No wrinkles. No burns. I promise.” I took a deep breath to regain my composure. I watched her closely while she ironed. The last thing I needed was a wrinkled poorly ironed suit. Not today! Not for this meeting! She finished and handed me the suit. “Now get out,” I snapped at her. A few moments later, I admired myself in the mirror. Yes, I was most handsome indeed. I looked like my powerful self, well-dressed and perfectly groomed. This was exactly the look I was going for. So I grabbed the wedding invitation and headed out the door to meet with the Lycan King.We were related, the Lycan King and I. My great-great-grandmoth
Eden’s POV“I’ve told you a hundred times, the fork on the far left is for salad. What are you, dense or something?” I sighed in frustration. This was my fourth etiquette lesson that day! This was all becoming a little too much. Who knew there were so many rules about forks?“I’m trying my best,” I said to my teacher. She rolled her eyes and sighed. I could tell she didn’t like me. She made me feel really uncomfortable, like I didn’t belong here. All the teachers made me feel like that, like this whole place, this whole world was somehow above me.I was doing this at Zane’s request. He had requested that I take etiquette lessons, although I had no idea why. It’s not like I was some slobby omega. I was born of relatively high degree. Nothing like the King, of course – I wasn’t royalty, but I knew basic manners.“Again,” she said, rearranging the cutlery on the mock dining room table. “They are serving salad as the starting course. Please select the correct fork.”This time I did and sh
Eden’s POV‘This is it, Eden,’ I told myself, trying to muster up the courage. The Lycan King and I were having lunch, again, and we had just finished the salad course.“You’re improving,” he said with a sly smile.“How so?” I asked, cocking my head to the side.“You chose the correct fork this time. I guess those etiquette lessons are paying off.”Right. The lessons.It was the perfect opportunity. “About that,” I said, but was interrupted by the waiter.“For today’s main dish,” he said, placing a plate in front of Zane. “We have seared salmon with a red wine demi-glaze, with roasted baby asparagus, and twice baked potatoes seasoned with herbs hand-picked from the garden.”“Wonderful,” Zane smiled as he inhaled his plate of food. I had to agree, he did smell fantastic. I waited for the waiter to leave before continuing the conversation, but Zane beat me to it.“You’re not enjoying your lessons?” he asked, sawing into his salmon. His face was earnest and he looked sincere. “Not even t
Eden’s POVI paced my room, my heartbeat quick. He couldn’t keep me here! Locked up like some sort of prized possession!I looked out the window. It was dusk, the sun low on the horizon. In the distance, I could see the gate.The gate.If I could make it to the gate, then I could climb it.I could run away.I bit my lip. I had no idea what was out there in that forest. I didn’t even really know where we were. What was the closest pack? Red Rock? Riverside? Maybe if I could get to them I could ask for help. Would they take mercy on me?My thoughts spun in my head.It was a dangerous decision, to run away, out there into those woods alone. But what choice did I have? I couldn’t just stay here, like some sort of twisted pet.So I made the decision, right then and there.If Zane wouldn’t let me go of my own free will, then I would run away.I scanned the room. What could I bring with me?Nothing. I couldn’t bring anything. If anyone saw me out in the garden, it would look too suspicious i
Zane’s POV‘Where is Eden?’ Slade whined. ‘I already told you, she’s not leaving,’ I snapped at him. I resumed my reading. But he whined louder.What was his problem? He had been like this for hours now! He was convinced that Eden would run away and we’d lose her again. Even though I had made it perfectly clear to Eden that she was NOT to leave. She wouldn’t disobey me. No one disobeyed me. I was the Lycan King!So why was Slade in a such a huff? I tried to soothe him. ‘She was just a little upset. But she knows now. She can’t leave. She’ll settle in. This is her home now,’ I told him. Then I went back to my book.I adored my study. It was my favorite place in the palace, a room all my own. The fireplace crackled, a glass of bourbon sat beside me. I was half-way through a thrilling book on the history of the Riverback Pack and their many battle conquests.But Slade! He was driving me crazy! His incessant whining was so distracting.‘She’s not GONE!’ I barked at him. He was quiet for