All Chapters of The Dark Forest: The Lycan King’s Fated Mate: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

Amara POV The castle feels different at night. It always has. But tonight.. it breathes. The halls are quieter, the torches burning lower, their flames flickering against the black stone walls like they know something is coming. Like they’re waiting for it. Or maybe that’s just me. Sebastian’s hand is wrapped firmly around mine as we walk, his thumb brushing slow, absent patterns across my skin. We finally consummated our marriage. I can’t believe it. I don’t think he even realizes he’s rubbing my hand. Or maybe he does. Either way.. I don’t pull away. Not when the bond between us still hums, softer now, but no less present. Like a steady pulse beneath my skin. A reminder. He’s here. We’re together. And nothing has torn that apart yet. “Try not to start a war at the table,” Luther mutters from behind us. I snort quietly. “No promises.” “That’s exactly what I was afraid of.” Aven huffs a soft laugh beside him, but her gaze flicks ahead, sharp an

Amara POV Sleep doesn’t come as easily as it should. After everything that happened tonight, after the tension at dinner and the weight of every word that was said, I should be exhausted enough to pass out the second my head hits the pillow. But instead, my mind won’t slow down. It keeps circling the same thoughts over and over again, replaying every look, every shift in tone, every small moment that felt like it mattered more than it should have. Sebastian sleeps beside me, completely unaffected by the storm in my head. One arm is draped across my waist, his body warm and solid against mine, his breathing slow and even in a way that almost feels unfair. This is so much more natural than what I’m used to back home.. I watch him for a moment, studying the way the tension has finally left his face, the way his features soften when he lets himself rest. Even now, even like this, there is something protective in the way he holds me, like some part of him refuses to

Amara POV The silence lingers between us, soft and fragile, like something sacred has settled into the space and neither of us dares to disturb it too quickly, and for a brief moment I allow myself to exist inside it, to breathe in something that feels dangerously close to peace, to something I have never truly had with him before, something real and unguarded and almost.. gentle. And then it shatters. Not with sound, not with movement, but with pain so sudden and violent it feels like my body has been struck from the inside out. It starts in my chest. A sharp, searing burn that flares to life beneath my ribs and steals the breath straight from my lungs before I can even process what is happening. My body began jerking instinctively as my hand flies to the ruby at my throat, my fingers curling tightly around it as if I can rip it away, as if I can stop whatever has just awakened inside me before it consumes me completely. “It burns,” I choke out, my voice breaking und

Sebastian POV Morning does not arrive gently. It does not creep in with soft light or the quiet easing of night into day, and it certainly does not bring peace. It snaps into place like a blade drawn too fast, sharp and immediate, because the second my awareness surfaces, something is wrong. The bond is the first thing I feel. Not calm. Not steady. Awake. Watching. My eyes open. And there she is. Amara is crouched on top of the massive armoire across the room, her body balanced with unnatural precision along the carved wood like some predatory creature that has claimed the highest point in the space. The morning light filters in through the tall windows behind her, casting her in a pale glow that should make her look almost ethereal, but there is nothing soft about the way she watches me. Her eyes burn. Crimson. Not just red, but layered, streaked through with flickers of molten gold that catch the light in a way that feels alive, shifting, something deeper

Amara POV They decide to stay another night because of me. The words linger in the air long after my father speaks them, settling into the room with a quiet kind of finality that makes my chest tighten in a way I cannot quite name, because part of me is relieved beyond measure. In contrast, another part curls inward with guilt at the thought that my existence, my instability, my hunger has once again altered the course of everyone else’s plans. “Please,” he adds calmly, his tone slicing through the air, though there is nothing cruel in it. “You shouldn’t leave this castle until you can control yourself well enough that you are confident you will not tear into the nearest living creature the moment your hunger spikes again.” His gaze shifts to me then, steady and assessing, and I swallow hard beneath the weight of it, forcing myself not to look away even as the faint pulse of hunger coils low in my stomach like a restless animal waiting to be fed again. Sebastian stands bes