The Prisoner Who Stole The Lycan King’s Heart

Valerie

“I dare you to walk over to that stranger in the VIP section and kiss him,” Angel, my elder sister, challenged, pointing toward a man seated in the VIP area.

I followed the direction of her finger and immediately spotted him. He was sitting comfortably in one of the private booths, with a stunning woman beside him. From where we were sitting, it was obvious they were enjoying each other’s company. They kept looking at one another with that soft, almost ridiculous expression people wore when they were completely lost in each other.

I watched them for a few seconds. Every now and then, one of them would lean closer and steal a quick kiss from the other, almost as though they were embarrassed to let anyone see them. It was strangely sweet, and it made my sister's dare even more ridiculous.

I shook my head and turned back to Angel. “I can’t do that. Are you trying to get me into trouble? He is clearly with his woman,” I said, refusing to even consider the idea.

Angel rolled her eyes. “Coward,” she said before turning toward her friend, Olivia. “It means the $2,000 is ours.”

My eyes immediately went back to the stranger. I desperately needed that money, but there was no way I could walk up to a man who was clearly with a woman and kiss him right in front of her. I might be confident, but I wasn't stupid.

“I will just take the liquor,” I said.

Taking the liquor meant giving up my chance at the $2,000, but at least I wouldn't have to embarrass myself by kissing someone's boyfriend in front of her.

This was the rule of our truth-or-dare game. Whoever backed out of a dare had to pay the other two people $1,000 each.

Earlier, I had already won $2,000 after completing a dare that involved me dancing on a table wearing nothing but my bra. I hadn't cared about the strange looks from the strangers around us. If anything, their stares had only made me dance harder.

That was simply who I was. I was a plus-size girl, a size sixteen, and unfortunately, almost everyone in my world seemed to have a problem with that.

Even my parents treated my body like it was some embarrassing mistake I had made. They looked at me differently, spoke to me differently, and constantly made me feel as though being bigger than other girls was something I should be ashamed of.

But I had never allowed their insults to define me, I was probably the most confident person anyone could ever meet. I wore whatever I wanted, I did whatever I pleased. I said whatever was on my mind. 

Tonight was my nineteenth birthday, and instead of having a huge group of friends to celebrate with, I was sitting in a club with my elder sister and her friend.

I didn't have friends of my own. Not because I didn't want any, but because people seemed to have a problem with girls who looked like me. 

“Look, his girlfriend just left,” Olivia said. My head snapped toward the VIP section.

I looked again, she  was right. The beautiful woman who had been sitting beside the stranger was gone.

My eyes immediately returned to the man, he was still sitting there.

I stared at him for a moment, my mind racing as I considered the dare again, two thousand dollars was a lot of money.

I swallowed and took a deep breath, trying to gather enough courage to actually go through with it. I straightened my shoulders and looked at Angel and Olivia.

“Put the money in my bank,” I said as I pushed myself to my feet.

For a second, they both stared at me, then  they started cheering. I ignored the attention as I made my way toward the VIP section, my heart pounding harder with every step.

I finally made it upstairs, but the moment I reached the VIP section, I realized getting to the stranger wasn't going to be as easy as I had imagined.

Two guards were standing directly in front of the entrance to his booth. They were both overly tall and bulky, with broad shoulders and intimidating expressions. One look at them was enough to make me wonder why I had chosen this particular man for my dare.

Why did Angel have to pick someone important enough to have guards protecting him? I stopped in front of them and tried not to look intimidated. “I need a minute with him,” I said.

The two werewolves looked down at me with clear irritation, neither  of them moved. I glanced past them toward the booth, wondering what kind of person needed two enormous werewolves standing guard outside his private section in a club.

The man inside seemed to notice the commotion, he  turned his head toward me, his expression changing to one of confusion as he looked at me standing in front of his guards.

For a moment, we simply stared at each other, then without saying anything, he lifted one hand and snapped his fingers.

The guards immediately stepped aside, I blinked in surprise. Well, that was easy. I walked into the booth, but before I approached him, I instinctively looked back downstairs.

My eyes searched for Angel and Olivia, they were gone but my bag was still there. Did they seriously leave me here? I slowly turned my attention back to the stranger.

Maybe this man was dangerous, maybe they realized something I hadn't. The fact that he had guards alone should have been enough to make me suspicious, but I had been too focused on winning the money.

I couldn't walk away now, I turned toward him and forced a smile onto my face. He was staring at me with what looked like an almost appalled expression.

I took a few steps closer. “I am so sorry. It’s a game and I need to win the money, just let me kiss you for just a second,” I said.

I knew exactly what I looked like standing in front of him. I had already seen the woman he had been sitting with earlier. She was skinny, breathtakingly beautiful, and looked like she had stepped straight out of a magazine. She was the complete opposite of me when it came to body size.

But I had never been insecure about my face, my face card was a ten, and nobody could convince me otherwise. I had heard enough insults about my body to last a lifetime. People had even said the Moon Goddess should have given my sister my face instead of me because my features would have looked better on a body like hers.

I leaned closer to the stranger, he didn't move. He simply stared at me with an unreadable expression, his eyes fixed on mine as though he was trying to figure out exactly what I was doing.

My heart began beating faster, I could feel the awkwardness between us, but I pushed it aside. I moved closer, slowly closing the remaining distance between us. But before my lips could touch his, the entire club suddenly erupted into chaos.

The loud sound of gunshots shattered the music. Screams immediately filled the air. People began running in every direction, knocking over tables and chairs as they desperately tried to escape.

I barely had time to understand what was happening before the stranger suddenly pushed me away. I lost my balance and fell hard onto my butt.

“Tiara!” he yelled. Before I could even process what had happened, he bolted out of the booth, his guards immediately followed him.

Another gunshot rang out, I quickly pushed myself off the floor and looked around. The entire club had turned into chaos. People were fighting, others were screaming and running for the exits.

I rushed out of the VIP section, keeping my head down as I ran. A bullet flew past me, and I ducked instinctively.  One bullet was all it would take to kill me, unlike almost everyone else in the club, I didn't have a wolf.

I had been born wolfless, which meant I didn't have the enhanced strength, speed, healing ability, or heightened senses that came naturally to other werewolves. In situations like this, I was practically as vulnerable as a human. If one of those bullets hit me, there would be no miraculous healing, I would simply be dead.

I quickly bent down, grabbed my bag, and hurried toward the back of the club. 

The moment I pushed through the back exit, I started running. I made my way toward the parking area where our cars had been parked earlier.

But when I got there, I stopped, there were no cars.  Angel and Olivia had left me behind. I could feel tears burning behind my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. This wasn't the first time Angel had chosen her friends over me. It probably wouldn't be the last.

I swallowed hard and pushed the tears back before walking away. I ran as far away from the club as my legs could carry me. I didn't stop until the noise of the club had completely faded behind me and I was certain I was far enough away.

Only then did I pull out my phone, I opened the Uber app, hoping I could get a ride home. There wasn't a single available driver nearby.

I stared at my phone in frustration, going home wasn't an option either. My house was too far away, and there was no way I could walk all the way there.

So, I made the only decision I could think of, I found a nearby hotel and checked in for the night. The moment I got into the room, I dropped my bag beside the bed and collapsed onto the mattress and fell asleep almost immediately.

I didn't wake up until the following afternoon. My eyes snapped open, and I shot upright in bed. I quickly reached for my phone, it was dead. I groaned and rubbed my face.

I needed to get home, my mother was probably already furious that I spent the night out. I quickly got out of bed, gathered my things, and left the hotel.

Outside, I hailed a taxi and climbed into the back seat. I gave the driver my home address and settled back. When we finally arrived at my pack, however, I immediately noticed something strange.

The atmosphere was different, there were people everywhere, and several expensive cars lined the streets.

The taxi couldn't even drive all the way to my house because so many vehicles were packed along the road. The driver stopped several blocks away, I frowned as I looked through the window.

What was going on? I quickly paid the driver and stepped out of the taxi, holding my bag tightly as I stared at the unfamiliar cars.

They weren't ordinary cars, they were expensive enough to belong to someone extremely powerful. I took a few steps closer, studying them carefully, each car had an emblem that belonged to the Lycan King.

My heart began to pound again. “What is the Lycan King doing here?” I whispered to myself.