All Chapters of The Lycan King’s Broken Mate: Chapter 161 - Chapter 170

The following weeks passed in a slow, dignified rhythm, as if even the palace walls themselves had settled into calm. The leaden nervousness of the first days gradually gave way to something more peaceful, more ordered. I learned the house’s breathing: I knew when the healers arrived with their cool salves, I knew when the guards changed shifts at the end of the corridor with the metallic clink of their weapons, and I knew when Alexander disappeared into the endless arguments of the council chambers.Most importantly, I no longer ruined anything. I didn’t drop trays, I didn’t spill water, and even my steps had learned to blend silently into the stone floor. That outward discipline gave me an inner steadiness.The library became my refuge. I loved the silence wedged between the tall shelves, the sharp, dusty scent of old paper and leather bindings. Often I sat there until sunset, lost among the lines. Alexander would sometimes come in—for documents or to speak with the librarian—but he

The tension in the shifting hall slowly evaporated. The cracking of bones no longer echoed off the stones; the air no longer trembled with pain. Only the breathing remained: deep, even, animal, and ancient. The torchlight no longer felt threatening—it merely glinted softly on the floor as I tried to make sense of what had just happened to me.I was still hunched, my legs trembling from the effort. My snow-white fur, which had seemed alien and frightening moments ago, now lay thick and warm against my body. The pain hadn’t vanished completely—it throbbed faintly in my joints—but it no longer ruled me. It was merely a distant reminder that my body had been reborn.Alexander stepped beside me. He did not hurry. He did not seek to dominate me with his presence. As a wolf, he seemed even more attuned to my boundaries, approaching from the side, respecting my field of vision. When he stopped next to me, he lowered his massive, dark head.Are you here? The question came not in words, but as

The return to the palace passed in an eerie silence. The pack moved together, yet everyone was alone with their own thoughts. The cold silver of the full moon froze onto the path and the leaves. There was no relieved howling, no playful shoving that usually marked the end of a run. The air grew heavy, as if the forest itself were holding its breath after what had been said in the clearing.I moved beside Alexander.I measured the distance precisely. I was close enough to feel the heat of his skin and the steady weight of his presence, yet far enough that I did not have to face the full weight of his words. My white fur no longer stumbled over itself. My movement was confident, but inside a storm was raging.Mate.The word pulsed stubbornly in my head like a memory turned into a wound. It was not a request and not a promise, but an unchangeable state. And that was what frightened me most, being chained to something I had not chosen.Alexander remained silent. Even in wolf form I could

A tanácsülés után a palota levegője megmerevedett. Nem lett zajosabb, épp ellenkezőleg: a falakra olyan fojtott csend telepedett, amelyben minden lépésnek visszhangja, minden elfojtott tekintetnek súlya volt. Éreztem a bőrömön a figyelmet. Minden ajtó mögött rólunk suttogtak, minden folyosófordulóban egy-egy újabb kérdőjel várt.Alexander végig mellettem maradt. Nem vezetett pórázon, nem terelt parancsokkal; egyszerűen csak ott volt, stabilan és mozdíthatatlanul. Furcsa volt ez: régebben az engedelmesség volt a pajzsom, mert az nem igényelt gondolkodást. Most viszont választásom volt, és ez a szabadság nehezebbnek tűnt bármilyen láncnál. A felelősség, hogy én döntök, súlyként nehezedett a vállamra.Amikor beléptünk a lakosztályba, Alexander halkan megszólalt:– Mostantól ez így lesz. Több őr, több figyelem. Nem azért, mert gyenge vagy, Thalia. Hanem mert fontos.Lassan fújtam ki a levegőt, a falnak támaszkodva.– A kettőt eddig mindig összekeverték az életemben. Aki fontos volt, azt g

The silence of the room that evening was no longer filled with the familiar, alert tension. It was not like the wild, where every sound keeps muscles ready to spring. This silence was deep, dense, and velvety. In the fireplace, the embers cast a faint orange glow, painting warm shadows on the stone walls, and the noise of the outside world—the power struggles, the council’s threats, the palace intrigues—faded completely behind the closed door.Alexander was still sitting in the chair beside my bed. He did not move, only followed the rhythm of my breathing with his eyes. I drifted in half sleep, in that strange state where you are no longer fully awake, yet feel the other’s presence with every cell of your body. And for the first time, that presence did not suffocate me. It held me.I slowly opened my eyes. There was no alarm in me, no urge to search for an escape. I simply turned my head and looked into his dark, gold flecked eyes.“You are still here,” I whispered, my voice barely mo