The Lycan King's Wrong Obsession novel Sorin Carter (by Circeleari) novel Chapter 17

Chapter 17

It’s dark. I can’t see anything. Where am 1

“Edith!” I scream so hard into the void. I’m not really awake Tunning Why am I running?

My paws are pounding dirt so hard it burns up my legs. The forest is closing in, trees whipping past in a blur Behind me two wolves, bigger than any I’ve seen outside a Lycan’s court. Their breath is hot on my tail, growls shaking the ground

Edith’s roar slices through the air, low and furious–then cut shot, as though someone’s torn the sound out of her throat 1 glance back and see her in that last moment, her fur matted with blood, teeth clamped around a rogue’s neck.

And beyond her–two heads rolling onto dungeon stones, the faces slack, the eyes of the guards who’d still called me Luna when no one else would.

I’ve see this before. I’ve seen this. I’ve been here.

My chest seizes. I can’t breathe. 1…

A shock of cold slams into my face. I choke, jerking upright. My bands fly up, wiping at my eyes. My breath comes fast and shallow, dragging my ribs with it.

What

I’m standing now–no, not standing, crouched low, my back pressed to the rough bark of a tree. My tunic is plastered to me with damp. Around me, shapes move through the fog. Big shape. Heavy paws on the ground.

Wolves.

Not rogues. They’re too still. Too organized. Their eyes are sharp not wild, and they’re huge. The kind of huge that only comes from a bloodline that’s been bred to rule.

How are they so big?

I push up to my feet, ignoring the sting in my side where dried ood tugs against skin. My voice comes out hoarse, but steady as I try to look a bit dignified even with my situation.

“Who the hell are you?”

The pack shifts, not in bodies, but in space–two on my left step back, one on my right, and there’s a clear path in the center

now.

And through it walks a woman.

My eyes immediately size her up and she’s beyond the word beautiful. I try to keep my jaw up, keeping it serious.

She’s tall, her black hair is falling in sheets over her shoulders, glossy as if she’s never known a day without a brush or a bath. Her skin’s smooth, her cheekbones sharp enough to slice, lips painted in a red that looks expensive as hell. Her clothes fit like they were tailored just for her–dark trousers, knee–high boots, and a white blouse that somehow hasn’t picked up a speck of dirt.

Everything about her screams control. And danger.

She stops in front of me, looking me over slow, though she’s deciding where she’d stick the knife if she felt like it. I hope she doesn’t feel like it.

“Better question,” she says, her voice cool and clipped as she lowers down to my eye level on the ground. “Who are you?”

1/5

III

O

<

16:32 Sat Dec 20 d

drops to the time I stole Her eyes narrow sightly And what are you doing the spassing on another pack’s

Trespassing

8%號

I glance over my shoulder, the fog still heavy behind me I’d thought it was nothing just weather that made those fors

swer crossed my mind it could be the kind that hides a border

“I didn’t know.” I say quickly “I was being chased by rogues 11y’re probably still back there I murmur as I remember everything from last night vividly Edith, the two guards, the bung dungeon cells.

Are they searching for me?

Her brows twitch upward, but her face stays smooth. “And you donk that makes you less of a trespasser?” she glares at me and my chest thumps wildly as I search for answers.

“No I just “I stop, swallow hard “Look, maybe if I can meet the Alpha here, she–be–might know me. I’ve been through a lot of packs in the past. Traveling for work, official visits. Emightie met him before I try to make an excuse.

It’s not a lie. As the stand–in with Wade being at war, I have traveled a lot for his business and pack negotiations. I really may know the Alpha here and ask him for some help.

But what should I even do? Go back? Where Ariel had almost killed me? Wade wouldn’t say a word and he will never choose the more rational side with Ariel by his side.

Alaric… was the clear choice I didn’t take: The pride of being bonded a traitor ruled out my will to live.

The temperature in her stare drops another ten degrees. “And what exactly would you do if you did meet him? Seduce him so he lets you gor”

I blink out of my thoughts as a frown contorts on my face. Wh No. I just “My words are interrupted as she’s already Turning away, her boots crunching over the leaves.

“Bring her to the Omegas,” she says over her shoulder. “Interroge her. If she’s telling the truth, she can serve the pack. If she’s lying, she’s still no threat worth the Alpha’s time.”

Two of the wolves shift behind me, their bodies stretching and sapping back into human form. Both are men–tall, broad, wearing nothing but the shorts they must’ve stashed nearby. On grabs my arm with an iron grip and I immediately stand up before I get dragged on the ground.

The woman is halfway back into the fog when she stops. She glances over her shoulder, her red lips curling, not into a smile. but something sharper.

And you have not and will never meet the Alpha of this pack,” she says, her voice carrying clean through the fog. “Because you’re far too low to stand before him.”

Her gaze cuts down my frame like a blade before smirking.

You’re standing in the biggest pack on the continent.”

What? The biggest pack on the continent?

It can’t be. There’s only one pack that rules all other and it’s… No way. That can’t be.

We all follow the woman through the forest, and for a while all an hear is the crunch of leaves under our boots and the distant rush of water somewhere to the left.

25

|||

O

<

16:32 Sat, Dec 20 G

Chapter 17

60%

Buchete

The air is clean, crisp, almost sweet. Even the dirt here smells expensive, if that’s possible.

The trees break suddenly, and my feet stop working as I take in the scene in front of me.

“Oh, I breathe, though it’s not really a word–more like air leavg my lungs in shock.

Before me is a city. Not a packhouse with a scattering of homes. Not a central hall with a few cabins around it. A goddamn city tucked into the valley, wrapped in a wall of mountains like seme kind of hidden kingdom

Stone–paved streets wind between rows of pastel houses with terracotta roofs, each one big enough to house an entire family and then some. Flower boxes spill color from balconies. There are markets in the square, stalls packed with fresh bread and game meat, the smells making my stomach clench.

And people–so many people. Wolves in human form, going about their day. Merchants calling prices, warriors patrolling in pairs, women hanging laundry that whips in the breeze.

It’s loud, alive, and impossibly organized. I’ve never seen a pack his big. Not even close.

The woman- radiating smug confidence–slows as a cluster of children spot her. They scream “Luma!” though it’s the best word they know and bolt toward her. She crouches, gathering them into her arms like she’s some saint descended from the

heavens.

I hang back, because I don’t do well with kids lately. Too many memories. Too many ghosts of the past,

So she’s this pack’s Luna. That was why she’s hard to get into, I would have done the same thing had I seen a trespasser.

One of the boys glances over her shoulder at me. His nose wrinkles, suspicion settling on his little face. “Who’s that?”

The Luna’s eyes cut to me, her smile tightening until it looks like it hurts to keep it there.

“That,” she says, her tone sweet enough to rot teeth, “is a trespasser in our borders.”

The kids‘ expressions change instantly. They pull away from her staring at me like I just kicked a puppy.

“She’s a rogue,” the Luna adds, standing to her full height.

The words are gasoline, and the kids light the match. Small hands grab for stones from the street. The first one bounces off my shoulder–not hard, but enough to sting.

“Get out of our pack!” one yells.

“You don’t belong here!” another adds, throwing with all the force of righteous little fury.

I raise my arms, blocking, but I don’t move. I’ve taken worse than this.

The Luna claps her hands once, sharp. “That’s enough,” she says lightly, but her eyes are on me like she’s daring me to throw one back. “Men—take her to the Omegas‘ quarters. Let’s not ruin the streets with her.”

The warriors flanking me close in, each gripping one of my arms. The kids scatter back to her, their adoration unshaken. She doesn’t look back as she leads them away.

We head down narrower streets, the buildings getting plainer, the air thicker with cooking smoke and something sharper- bleach, maybe.

One of the men leans down just enough for me to hear. “If you want to live past tomorrow, don’t bring up the Alpha again. Not to her.”

I turn my head toward him. “Why?”

3/5

III

O

<

16:32 Sat Dec 20 A

Chapter 17

This lips curt in something between amusement and pity. “You were almost cont of here earlier Until you said you knew him That’s when she snapped

Teep

voice steady as I be the inside of my cheeks “Who the Alpha anyway?

Both men stopy, staring at me like I just asked what year it was 18 you live under a rock one mutters and my heart pumps wiklly as I hope. Hope that that don’t say the name I have long dreaded in this walk

“This is the Imperial Pack” the one on my right says slowly, as it might be slow myself Please don’t say it Don’t say i

I close my eyes as the other finally speaks. “The Alpha King is His Majesty Alaric Hayes”

Goddammit

The words hit like a cold slap. My stomach lurches. “Fuck,”

The other one snorts. “Sure you know him. Everyone knows him.”

“I do know him,” I snap before I can stop myself.

“Yeah,” the first one says with a grin, “you know him now that you know his name, Cute,”

They drag me through a heavy wooden door and into a long corridor that smells of starch, soap, and too many bodies working in too small a space. The floor is stone, cool under my are feet, and voices echo from deeper inside.

We stop in front of an older woman with steel–gray hair tied in knot so tight it could cut glass. Her eyes sweep me head to toe, cataloging every bruise, every tear in my clothes.

“New recruit,” one guard says. “Train her well as per the Lama’s instruction.”

The woman’s lips press into a thin line. She jerks her chin toward a side room. “Go on, then.”

Every set of eyes in the place turns toward me. Some are curious Some are cold enough to frost the walls. I just stand there, still hearing his name in my head.

Alaric Hayes.

That bastard always has a way of getting under my skin. How is a coincidence that I’m in his fucking pack?

The old woman claps once, snapping me out of it. “We’ve got werk, Banquet will be soon for His Majesty’s arrival. All hands on deck.”

I blink. “Wait. What?”

He’s coming back? Soon?

The younger Omegas nearby exchange glances, then one of the leans in just enough for me to hear. “Before His Majesty left, he ordered everything to be perfect for his return.”

“I saw how the Luna looked back then! She was livid!” She mutters and I turn to the head maid if she’s looking and quickly asked, “Why would she be upset over a banquet? Aren’t she and the King married that’s why she’s Luma?” I keep my voice

low

They turn to each other with hesitation and I frown at their reaction.

“Because he said he’s bringing back his queen.”

The words lodge in my chest like a blade.

4/5

And for the bed My hearty Harr

Beraue fly water that under hern

And long bark woo

5/5