Chapter 7

King Lyall’s POV

I rode hard, the wind stinging my face as my horse thundered over the uneven terrain. Beta Caspian and a squad of guards flanked me. We were closing in on our destination.

"King, we have arrived," Caspian announced, his voice cutting through the rush of air. "This is the boundary of the Silver River Pack."

I gave a sharp, silent nod. I was thirty years old. For a Lycan—a creature blessed with immortality and devastating power—this should have been the absolute prime of my life. But the Moon Goddess had played a cruel, twisted joke on me.

I had no Mate.

For thirty long years, I had fantasized about my soulmate. I had sworn to the Goddess that I would give them the world, that I would love and protect them regardless of whether they were an Omega or a peasant. Yet, my soul remained silent. Empty. A void.

"Those elders are becoming more outrageous by the day," Caspian muttered, breaking my heavy silence. He couldn't hide his indignation.

My brow furrowed deeper. The council elders were threatening suicide, claiming a Lycan King could not rule without an heir. They swore that if a Luna was not chosen this year, they would starve themselves to death on the altar. I respected their sacrifice for the tribe, but I loathed this manipulated fate.

"Since there is no Mate, we will simply choose the most obedient puppet," I said coldly. My voice was like ice from the abyss as I watched the territory of the Silver River Pack rise in the distance. "We choose here. The Silver River Pack is weak. Their influence is crumbling. A future Luna from here will have no powerful relatives to hide behind. She will understand that her only way to survive is through absolute obedience."

I knew the thought was selfish. I didn't need love. I just needed a beautiful, docile breeding tool to silence the old men.

Suddenly, the wind shifted.

A strange, intoxicating scent hit me. It was faint, but it electrified my entire nervous system.

"Mate! Lyall! It is our Mate!" My wolf, Silas, howled wildly in my mind. His voice was a mixture of shock and thirty years of suppressed longing screaming all at once.

I yanked on the reins so hard my horse reared up, panic seizing its heart. I sat there, struck dumb. The Mate I had searched for for three decades... had appeared.

But in the next second, my heart plummeted into my stomach.

Beneath the sweet scent was the smell of blood. I could feel waves of terror and shattering despair radiating from my Mate.

"Damn it!"

Without hesitation, I threw myself off the horse and sprinted toward the scent.

"King! Where are you going?" Caspian shouted helplessly behind me, but I didn't stop.

I crashed through the undergrowth, following the terrifying smell. When I burst into the clearing, the scene before me made my blood boil in my veins.

My Mate was pinned to the ground. A man—the filth of this Pack—was on top of him, his disgusting organ exposed, preparing to violate what was mine.

A murderous rage surged through my brain, blinding me. I wanted to tear this animal limb from limb!

But before I could reach them, the man suddenly screamed and fell backward. I saw my Mate scramble up.

My breath caught in my throat.

He was a man!

My Mate was a man!

Before I could process the shock, my Mate grabbed a jagged tree branch. With a desperate cry, he stabbed the fallen man. Instantly, the air filled with the thick, metallic stench of blood.

I stared, stunned. I never expected my Mate to be so bold. So fierce. It actually excited me. A dark laugh escaped my lips.

Then, my Mate looked at me. His eyes went wide with shock as he took in my towering presence. A second later, his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground.

I rushed to his side and checked him. He had fainted from sheer exhaustion and trauma. I breathed a sigh of relief that he was alive.

"Help... help me..." a weak, gurgling voice pleaded.

I looked down. The man on the ground wasn't dead. He was clutching the wound where the branch had pierced him, blood bubbling from his lips.

I glanced down at the unconscious beauty in my arms. My Mate was too soft-hearted. He hadn't struck the heart.

"Help me, I... I can give you... everything," the man groaned, reaching out with a blood-stained hand to grab my royal robe.

It was repulsive.

Without a shred of hesitation, I drew my dagger and plunged it deep into the man's chest.

The person my Mate wanted to kill, I would certainly finish off.

Thud!

This time, the man made no more noise.

I scooped my Mate into my arms and turned to walk out of the forest. Caspian came crashing through the bushes, breathless.

"Dispose of this," I ordered coldly, gesturing to the corpse.

Ren’s Perspective

Malachi’s disgusting penis was pointed directly at my exposed anus. The realization of what was about to happen sent violent shivers down my spine. The nausea was overwhelming, choking me.

"No, no!" I screamed in pure despair.

Suddenly, I heard a howl inside my head—not just a sound, but a roar of power. My wolf, Fenris, howled, and a dam broke inside me. Unleashing a burst of strength I didn't know I possessed, I knocked Malachi backward.

He hit the ground with a heavy thud. Without hesitation, I grabbed a thick, sharp branch from the forest floor. Trembling with rage and fear, I plunged it into Malachi’s chest.

Malachi stared at me, eyes wide with shock. I looked down at my hands. They were covered in warm, sticky blood.

I had killed someone.

My father had killed the previous Alpha, and now I had killed a Beta. The blood was the same. I had become a murderer. Just like him.

Fear overwhelmed me, choking my breath. Just then, I heard a low, dark laugh.

I looked up. A massive man was standing at the edge of the clearing, watching me. A King.

What do I do? Am I going to be killed for this?

Despair washed over me. The adrenaline faded, replaced by crushing exhaustion. My vision blurred, and I fell to the ground, surrendering to the darkness.

But in the last second before I passed out, Fenris shouted one word in my mind:

"Mate!"

What?

He was my Mate? I had just been rejected by Alpha Kane minutes ago. The excruciating pain in my soul hadn't even subsided. A wolf only has one mate in a lifetime... yet I had gained another mate in a heartbeat?

And this new Mate... he had witnessed my murder.