Defying the Lycan King (Kira and Derek) novel Chapter 83

Chapter 83: A Queen Alone

Kira’s heart hammered against her ribs like a wild thing trying to break free. The moment those glowing red eyes had locked onto hers in the dark bathroom corridor, every instinct she possessed screamed danger. She hadn’t stayed to find out what was staring at her. She had bolted.

She had turned and ran blindly down the restroom corridor, her heels clicking frantically against the floor until she kicked them off, desperate for speed, lifting up the long fabric of her evening dress that was tangling around her legs. Behind her, the heavy thud of paws echoed, accompanied by a low, wet panting that grew closer with every stride.

She did not dare look back. Her lungs burned as she shoved through the first door she found, praying it would lead somewhere safe.

The room beyond was pitch black, the kind of darkness that pressed in on all sides and stole the breath from her chest. Still she ran, arms outstretched, fingertips grazing walls and furniture she could not see. The creature followed, its breaths ragged, filling the space with a presence that made her skin crawl.

As she ran, she wondered if this was some sick joke. Was one of the Lunas trying to scare her? Was this their way of proving she was only a wolfless girl unfit to be their queen?

But the icy dread pooling in her stomach told her otherwise. This felt wrong, deeper than a prank, heavier than mischief. From the second she had stepped into this pack house earlier that evening, an unease had settled over her. Something in the air had felt off, charged, as though the walls themselves were watching.

Tears blurred her vision now, hot and overwhelming, spilling down her cheeks as she gasped for air. She had left her phone at the banquet table, useless.

"Derek, please," she whispered, her voice breaking as she almost tripped on a low stool. "Please notice that something is wrong. Please find me."

She said it like a prayer, over and over, but the cold reality hit her just as hard as the darkness. Only true mates could sense each other’s panic through the bond. She and Derek were not mates.

No matter how tightly he had gripped her hand earlier or how his eyes had lingered on her across the hall, that connection simply did not exist between them.

She had lost all sense of direction in the dark. The corridors twisted and turned in the blackout, and she kept running blindly, hoping against hope that she would crash into someone, anyone, who could help. Her shoulder slammed into a corner, sending a jolt of pain through her arm, but she pushed on, breath coming in short bursts.

Then, without warning, the lights flared back to life.

Kira stumbled to a halt, blinking against the sudden brightness. She stood in the centre of the pack house’s enormous kitchen.

Pots and pans lay haphazadly on the islands, towels and food lay abandoned on the floor, a pot was still simmering on a stove, and a knife lay abandoned on a cutting board. The room was deserted. No servants hurried between stations, no staff wiped down surfaces. It was as though everyone had been chased away in a hurry.

Her gaze darted across the long central island, and her entire body stiffened.

There, on the opposite side, stood the thing that had been chasing her. A wolf.

Her brows furrowed in a moment of confusion. A wolf? Here? This was Lycan territory. No werewolf would dare enter a Lycan King’s feast uninvited, and certainly not in their beast form.

But the longer she stared, the more she realised this was no ordinary wolf. It was larger than any werewolf she had ever seen in the Moonfang pack. Its dark fur blended into the shadows cast by the counters. But it was the eyes that truly terrified her. They didn’t just glow; there was a swirl in them, like fire dancing in a deep, dark pit.

When the creature bared its fangs in a silent snarl, the sight sent ice shooting down her spine.

This isn’t possible, Kira thought, her blood turning to ice.

Unless...

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