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?

"Oh shit." Sera's voice cut through the tension like a knife. Her eyes widened with sudden realization. "I completely forgot about the fucking cages."


Everyone turned to stare at her. The children froze at her outburst, Pip's tiny hand still clutching her pebble.


"What cages?" Kael demanded, his entire body tensing.


Sera smacked her forehead. "The facility where Orion found these three. There are more of them there—dozens more. Underground cages, warded against detection."


"Children, adults, all kinds of shifters," Sera said, pacing now. "When I tracked Orion's energy signature, I sensed them, but I was focused on finding you. I can't believe I forgot about them."


Kael's expression darkened to something murderous. "Where?"


"About forty miles northwest of here," Sera replied. "Hidden beneath an abandoned warehouse complex. The whole place is warded—you'd walk right past it if you didn't know what to look for."


Chapter 90 - Chapter 90 - The Forgotten Cages and a Witch's Ultimatum