The Lycan King's Second Chance Mate

Marina's Pov I was scrubbing the front steps when I felt it.The pull started in my chest and spread through my whole body like fire. I dropped the brush. Soapy water splashed across my feet. My hands started shaking.My mate was here.I'd waited so long for this. Six years of sleeping in that cupboard, six years of Alia's cruelty, six years of being called worthless—it was all about to end. My mate would see me. He would take me away from this place. He would love me.I stood up so fast I got dizzy. My wet hands wiped uselessly on my dirty uniform. I probably looked terrible. My silver hair was falling out of its braid. My uniform had soap stains and mud on the knees. But it didn't matter. The bond didn't care about things like that. He would see past all of it.He would see me.I followed the pull around to the front of the pack house. A car I didn't recognize was parked in the driveway. Alpha Marcus stood on the porch with Luna Diane and Alia. And there, walking up the steps, was

Marina's Pov I woke up alone.For a second, panic clawed at my throat. He left. The deal was fake. I was alone again. My hand went to my chest, pressing against the hollow ache that felt too familiar.Then I heard a dragging sound. Heavy. Wet.I pushed out of the tent and my breath stopped.Lycan was dragging a body. A dead wolf. Its throat was torn open, hanging by threads of skin and muscle. Blood soaked the ground in a dark trail behind it. Near what was left of the fire, two more bodies lay crumpled and broken."They came during the night," Lycan said matter-of-factly. . His voice was calm, like he was telling me about the weather. He dropped the body with the other two. The sound it made—the wet thud of dead weight hitting earth—made my stomach turn. "Three of them. They smelled you. Thought you were easy prey."He looked at me then. Blood spattered his face and chest. It was in his hair and under his fingernails. He looked like something out of a nightmare."They were wrong," h

Marina's PovWe walked in silence as the sun rose higher.My feet still hurt but the new socks helped. My body ached from sleeping on the ground and from yesterday's brutal training but I felt more alive than I had in years.Lycan walked slightly ahead of me, scanning the forest with those sharp gray eyes. Every few minutes he'd glance back to check on me, making sure I was still there, still safe. I was hyper-aware of him. The way he moved. The breadth of his shoulders. The casual power in every step. The mark on my neck pulsed with heat whenever I looked at him too long."Tell me about Alpha Marcus," he said suddenly.My stomach tightened. "What do you want to know?""Everything. Start with how he treated you after you turned thirteen."I was quiet for a moment. Then I started talking."He looked through me. Like I wasn't there. Like I was furniture." My voice was flat. "Before, when I was little, he'd ruffle my hair when he passed. Call me 'little one.' After I didn't shift, he w

Marina's PovThe woman was stunning in a way that made my chest tight.She was tall, maybe five-ten, with long dark hair pulled back in a warrior's braid and muscles that spoke of years of training. She wore leather fighting gear that showed off her toned arms and legs, everything about her screamed strength and power.Everything I wasn't.She looked at me lying in the bed, my throat bandaged, my body weak and broken, and her lip curled with pure contempt."So this is the famous Luna," she said, her voice dripping with disdain, "The wolfless slave who somehow captured our King's attention."Lycan moved between us immediately, his body blocking her view of me."Get out, Elena.""Oh, don't be dramatic," she waved a hand dismissively, "I just want to see what all the fuss is about, see what makes her so special that you'd throw away everything we had.""We never had anything," Lycan's voice was ice, "Now leave before I make you."Elena laughed, bitter and sharp, "You'd really threaten m

Marina's PovI couldn't sleep that night.Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Elena standing across from me in that circle with that confident smile of hers while the entire pack watched me get destroyed.Because that's what was going to happen, I was going to lose this fight but losing didn't have to mean being destroyed.I thought about everything Damon had taught me over the past week, fight dirty, survive, make it cost something. Elena might beat me but I'd make sure she remembered it.Damon came early the next morning with enough breakfast to feed three people."Eat," he said, setting the tray down, "You need your strength."While I ate, we went through strategy."Elena's aggressive," Damon said, his voice calm and analytical like we were discussing weather instead of a fight that could break me, "She relies on strength and speed, overwhelming her opponents before they can think.""So I can't overpower her.""No. But you can outsmart her." He leaned forward, "Let her think she's w