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?

"For the last time, stop backseat driving," I snapped, jerking the steering wheel hard to the right. The ancient VW bus groaned in protest as we careened around another corner. "I know exactly where I'm going."


Jax braced himself against the dashboard, his knuckles white. "Do you, though? Because we've passed that same coffee shop three times now."


I ignored him, focusing instead on the invisible thread of magic tugging at my senses. It felt like a fish hook embedded behind my right eye, pulling me toward something—or someone—powerful. The sensation had grown stronger over the past hour, which meant we were getting closer.


"There's a difference between following a trail and knowing where you're going," Jax muttered.


I shot him a glare. "Would you rather drive blind, wolf boy? Because I don't see you picking up any magical signatures."


Chapter 84 - Chapter 84 - The Hunter and the Wolf