Scarlet's pov
Just as the rogue is about to sink his canines into my neck, a howl echoed into the night, right before a huge black Lycan jumps in front of me.
His aura reeks of power and authority, and he stands tall, looking down at the rogues who are visibly shaken by his presence.
My wolf perks up at his presence, and she claws to be let loose as my eyes trace all his features.
That was weird.
The Lycan growled lowly, daring them to step forward and challenge him.
Their leader snared and leaped towards the Lycan.
The Lycan effortlessly sidestepped the rogue and flung it back.
The rogue stood and seemed to weigh his options. He thinks better of it when it is painfully clear that the Lycan can take them all at once.
With one last threatening growl, they retreat and disappear into the shadows.
The Lycan turns towards me, and my breath hitches when our eyes meet.
Brown hazel eyes sparkled as they stared at me, almost as if they were searching my soul.
His face was hard and unreadable.
My throat dries at how huge and muscular he is, towering over my little frame. His eyes are sharp and alert with a mix of wonder.
Electric sparks surround us, and my wolf begs to be let free.
I'm baffled by how my body craves to gravitate towards this stranger.
"Mate." His low husky voice declared, looking straight at me, and my heart dropped.
My wolf leaped for joy at his words.
"No, it couldn't be," I muttered as my eyes rolled to the back of my head and I passed out.
****
"What if she dies?" A tiny voice asked.
"Sophie, don't say such things." Someone gasped, and I groaned as I felt someone poke my side.
"Aren't you a tough one?" A voice lulled me into consciousness, and I slowly peered my eyes open.
A small girl of not over five years and a young, chubby woman towered over me and stared at me with curiosity.
"Off you go Sophie, I have a patient to attend to." The woman shooed the little girl out of the room and locked the door with a click, before returning to me.
I took in the simple cream coloured room and frowned when I realized this wasn't my bedroom.
"I'm sorry, that's my daughter. She's very curious." The woman's soft voice broke the silence.
"Where am I?" I asked, cradling my banging head within my hands.
"In the Moonlit Lycan pack." She informed me, and my eyes bulged.
The events of the past day flooded my memory, and I plopped down on the bed in defeat.
"Who brought me here?" I asked.
"Damien, the Lycan King." She shrugged, and my heart stopped.
It couldn't be.
This had to be some sick joke from nature.
Of all the people in the world to be my mate, it had to be the Lycan King. A wolf feared by all throughout the kingdom.
I marvelled at how, in less than a day, I had gone from almost getting married to the love of my life to finding out he was having a child with my best friend and then almost getting killed by rogues if not for the timely appearance of my mate.
My mate, the Lycan king.
"You don't need to seem so frightened, dear, I know what the rumours say, but when you get to know him, you'll discover he is nothing like that." The woman looked at me with a soft smile.
"Who are you?" I asked, gulping down the water she offered me greedily.
"Emma, the pack doctor." She introduced herself.
"King Damien asked me to inform him when you are awake." She commented and a strange emotion I couldn't place gripped my heart at the thought of staring into those brown hazel eyes again.
"I'm not sure I'm up for company just yet," I muttered, trying to avoid any interaction with him until I could decipher how I felt about everything.
"I can't disobey his orders." She told me.
She went to the door and spoke to whoever stood behind it before returning to me with a frown on her face.
"Is he standing outside the door?" Panic spiked through me.
"No, those are the guards he stationed at your door." She explained.
"Guards?" I quirked a brow at her.
"Just a formality." She shrugged.
"King Damien has ordered you rest and regain your strength before he visits you." She informed me.
That was exactly what I wanted, so why did I feel disappointed instead of relieved at her words?
Why didn't my mate want to see me?
"How fast do you think the wound would heal, and would I be able to leave?" I asked her as she changed the dressing on my abdomen, where the rogue had bitten me.
"I don't know about leaving." She looked up at me wearily.
But it should take a day or two at most for you to heal, your wolf is very strong and is helping to speed up the healing process." She revealed and I merely nodded.
Once I was strong enough to be on my feet again, I would leave this place, regardless of whatever my mate had to say about it.
"I tried to save your gown, but I'm afraid it was unredeemable." She divulged.
It was then I noticed I wasn't clad in my white wedding dress; rather I was in a simple black tank top and shorts.
My heart clenched at the mention of my wedding gown.
I should have been marked and happily married by now.
"It doesn't matter, you could burn it if you like. I want to have no physical reminders." I gritted out, and the woman stared at me in bewilderment, no doubt surprised at the venom laced in my words.
