OWNED BY THE TYRANT LYCAN KING

Adeline's POV "Addie…" Teagan whispered in a trembling voice. Her fingers dug into my arm so hard I knew there would be bruises later. If there was a later. "I'm scared." Her voice cracked. "I'm really scared, Addie. What is he going to do to us?" I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. How was I supposed to tell her everything would be okay when I didn't believe it myself? How could I promise her safety when I couldn't even protect myself? Teagan was only eighteen. Young enough to believe we'd somehow walk away from this unscathed. Young enough to think someone would come for us before it was too late. Young enough to believe stories like ours were supposed to have happy endings. I wanted her to keep believing that for a little while longer. Because once that hope was gone, there would be nothing left but fear. "Say something, Adeline! Please…" Her grip on my arm tightened painfully. "Tell me we’re going home. Tell me this is some kind of mistake...please, just say somethi

For a second, no one moved. Then the crowd exploded. Everyone surged toward the trees in a blind panic, shoving and stumbling over one another in their desperation to get away. Someone crashed into my shoulder. Another girl fell to the ground and immediately disappeared beneath the swarm of bodies rushing past her. I grabbed Sam's hand with my right and Teagan's with my left and pulled them after me. My bad leg screamed the moment I started running. A sharp pain shot up my ankle, nearly making me stumble. I gritted my teeth and kept going anyway. There was no point slowing down now. I could complain about it later. Assuming I survived long enough to complain. I fixed my gaze on the dark wall of trees ahead and focused on putting one foot in front of the other. The forest seemed impossibly far away, even though it couldn't have been more than a few hundred yards. Ten minutes. That was all we had. Ten minutes before the hunt began. "Stay close," I said as we crossed into the tre

I watched them turn and run. For a few seconds, I could still make out their shapes weaving between the trees. Every step they took put more distance between us, and with it, any hope that I'd see them again. A part of me wanted to call out—to beg them not to leave me—but I swallowed the words. If they came back, we'd all die. Sam stayed at the back, constantly glancing over her shoulder as if she was trying to memorize where I was. Every time she looked back, it hurt a little more. I didn't want her to go. But I also knew she wasn't giving up on me. She was being forced to. She looked back one last time and our eyes met. I forced a smile, even though it felt like my heart was being ripped out of my chest. I needed her to believe I was okay. I needed her to keep running instead of turning back for me. It was the last gift I could give her. A lie. The lie that I'd find a way out of this. That we'd laugh about tonight someday. That this wasn't goodbye. But deep down, I alread

Time didn't exist in the dark.There were no hours, no days, and no way to measure how long I'd been drifting through the endless blackness. Sometimes I thought I heard distant voices that felt like they were reaching me from another world. Other times, I could have sworn I felt gentle hands tending to me, adjusting the blankets around my body or pressing a cool cloth against my forehead.Each sensation lingered just long enough to make me reach for it before it slipped away, dissolving into the darkness as though it had never existed.For what felt like forever, I drifted in that strange, peaceful emptiness. It was warm, quiet, and free of pain. A part of me wanted to remain there forever, where nothing could hurt me anymore.But the darkness refused to keep me.Something stirred at the edges of my consciousness, tugging me relentlessly toward the surface. I fought against it, desperate to sink back into the comforting void, but the pull only grew stronger until I had no choice but