Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Lycan King’s Playtoy: Kabanata 141 - Kabanata 150

KiaraTension filled the Alpha court of the Silvermoon Pack, the kind that sticks to one’s skin like damp moss. I was seated at the long, old table, tapping the polished surface with my fingers, inhaling the barely discernible scent of cedar and old leather. The chamber was smaller than Dane’s, less opulent perhaps, but no less imposing with that ill weight of purpose—stone walls marred by claw marks, an antler chandelier with candles spitting wax onto the floor above. My father, Edward, slumped at the head of the table, his gray-streaked beard and keen eyes darting between the rest of us. Across me sat Alpha Finn, his wiry frame coiled with the restless energy that I had come to loathe, his smirk further irritating me, and a few others filled the seats—pack elders, warriors—all with twisted faces expressing hope and doubt. Their eyes were all glued to the speakers, waiting for the current debate to end and answer their deepest concerns. It had been about her: Lusia, the weak-wolfe

DaneThe torchlight flickered in my chambers, throwing snarling shadows on the stone walls; I stood there with arms crossed, my jaw tightly clenched with barely parting fury. Lusia was sitting on the bed, her sweat was a damp shift sticking to her skin, twisting her hands in her lap, and our minds were still agitated by the vial. The rabbit had been poisoned—blue, shriveled, crumbling to dust before our eyes—and here it was: someone was playing a deadly game beneath my roof, and I would be damned if they'd get away with murder. My gaze flicked to Lusia, her face pale, her trembling lips marking her guilt from hiding the masked woman’s entry. I had no reason to blame her—not really—but betraying trust is most piercing when it stings itself, thus reminding me that trust is an unholy luxury. "Bring in the maidservants," I snapped to the guard at the door, my voice as hard as iron and sharper than any blade. "All of them. Now!" He nodded and trotted off, and I turned back to Lusia, s

DaneThe Alpha's court was a crucible of shadow and torchlight, the air thick with wax and treachery as I sat, Lusia warm on my lap, her shift whispering against my thigh. The council gaped, their hands still aloft, shuddering in the smoky haze after naming Thane Thomas, his ring burning in my pocket like coal. The chair was incriminating, yet before I barked out orders, the door slammed open, and there he was: Thane Thomas, striding in with a swagger that grated on my nerves, jaw offset by the scar, pale eyes glinting like a snake's. "Why's my name on your tongues?" he asked, voice smooth, almost amused, his lean shoulders pressed against the table. "Sudden council meeting? Something important happened?"A laugh tore from me, mirthless, sharp as a blade's edge, echoing off the stone walls. Lusia shifted almost too much with a twitch of her hips, and the council recoiled—another choked on a cough while a mug of ale clattered to the floor. I felt her tension radiating, the warm blus

DaneThe collective gasp sweeping through the council chamber was immediately disturbed by Luisa's panicking cry as I twisted my body from the point of the dagger that narrowly missed my shoulder. My heart raced as I faced death, but it was not for the first time. The councilman, wild-eyed and desperate, swung one last time, his blade flashing about in mad defense. Reckless; faster. I had sent my boot into his chest. He crashed backward, his body rolling in a dull thud across the cold stone floor.The dagger had skittered free, clattering against the ground. I’d snatched it up in an instant, my fingers closing around the hilt like it was an extension of me. The speed of lightning had prompted me to lunge while my councilman scrambled as his body was shifting limbs growing into his wolf form fur sprouting. But he hadn't been fast enough. I'd sunk the dagger into his right leg; the steel bit deep just before his change could complete. His half-wolf howl tore through the chamber, a raw,

LusiaThe firelight inside Dane's chambers cast a warm flickering glow across the dark wood beams and fur-strewn floor, but the heat could not chase away the chill that lay deep in my bones. Dane held me against his broad chest; he was careful yet firm. His breath carried the weight of his intent. The leather-and-pine scent with a sharper note, like iron, wrapped me in dizziness and an overdose of confusion. Above me, his gaze seemed heavy with the burden of his need as he tilted my chin upward, his rough fingers grazing my skin. As his lips came down, a tidal wave of panic washed over me. My cheek bared against his calloused hand, I turned my face to one side and blocked the kiss just in time. His brows drew together, and a deep frown etched his rugged features while rows of confusion narrowed his storm-gray eyes. My frown deepened as I felt my trembling lips move, desperate to step back, to gain distance away from him, to breathe. But somehow Dane wouldn't let me go.It was not pa