The Lycan King's Outcast Omega (by Cara Anderson) novel Chapter 169

Alaric

"Ah, Your Majesty." He straightens with a clinical composure utterly at odds with the sacrilege just committed. "Your timing is impeccable for observation, though approximately forty-three seconds too late for prevention."

My roar of pure rage shakes the very foundations, my partial shift completing into full Lycan form as Phantom completely overwhelms my human restraint. I launch toward him with killing intent, claws extended to tear out the throat of the wolf who dared violate my mate.

"I wouldn't." His voice remains calm despite death approaching at Lycan speed. "The new bond is extremely fragile. Any harm to me transfers directly to her through our currently stabilizing connection."

I halt mid-lunge, primal rage warring with instinctive protection of my mate whose safety suddenly depends on our enemy's continued existence. My mind struggles to process the impossible situation I find myself in. Sage’s loss even more profound in the knowledge of how completely and truly she now belongs to him.

"Newly formed mate bonds require proximity for a minimum seventy-two hours," Cassius continues with a detachment that makes the situation even more monstrous. "Forced separation during a critical period would cause significant neurological damage to your mate, well former mate. And your child."

The calculation becomes sickeningly clear – he's rendered himself temporarily untouchable by creating a hostage situation on the most fundamental biological level. Harm to him now means harm to Sage. Separation means potential damage to her and our unborn child during the critical bonding period. A risk Sage and I never had to take, tucked safely away in our quarters, riding out her heat.

The memory threatens to topple me, her flushed skin, her beautiful moans, the passion we shared that left her screaming my name for days on end, more deeply embedded in each others’ souls than ever before. I have to find a way to make this right. I can’t go on without her.

"Your warriors may choose to remain or depart," Cassius offers with the magnanimity of a predator who knows his prey cannot escape. "Their presence changes nothing about the new reality you currently face, the connection established between myself and your former mate."

Former mate. The words strike deeper than claws could reach. Through our silent bond, I search desperately for any trace of the connection that defined its existence since I first recognized Sage as my true mate. Nothing.

My attention shifts to Sage's unconscious form, monitoring equipment indicating she’s stable despite the trauma just experienced. Her hand rests protectively over her rounded abdomen even in unconsciousness, her maternal instinct to protect our pup, hers and mine, stronger than any tragedy she’s suffered.

As I watch her lying there, abnormally still, something catches my attention – a subtle detail others might miss. At the junction where her neck meets her shoulder, Cassius's newly placed mark dominates the visible skin. But beneath it, the faintest silver trace remains where my claim once declared our connection. Not completely erased despite ancient magic and forced replacement.