All Chapters of THE LYCAN KING’S CLAIM: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Aldric’s POVI was halfway down the east corridor, taking the long narrow path that led toward my office, when it happened.A scream.Not just any scream… her scream.Elara.My heart dropped straight into my stomach.For a second my body forgot how to move. Then instinct kicked in and took over. My legs reacted before my mind did, and I sprinted.The corridor became a blur as I dashed through it in great speed.I reached her door and didn’t bother with the handle as I slammed my shoulder into it, shoving it open so hard it almost broke off the wall.Elara stood near her bed, frozen, her body shaking violently.Her hands were pressed to her mouth, her eyes still wide with shock.Her skin looked drained of all color.Then my gaze shifted to the window.The wide-open window.I dashed to it with speed and through the night haze I saw him…a figure.A dark figure.He was running full speed across the castle grounds.Everything in me went still.Then the rage came, burning through me.I watc

Elara's POV“It’s time we talk.” those words of her still rung in my ear as as I faced her fully.Every muscle in my body locked up at once.What the hell was she doing here?Of every person I expected to see in this damned castle, Lily was the very last.For a second, wish I didn’t turn around. I didn’t want to see her face and didnt want to drag the old wounds she ass partly responsible for back to the surface.But her presence… it pushed through the air and forced me to confront it.She stood by my bed.She was tall and stunning just as I remembered.I couldn't forget the site of her smiling beside Jude at the mating ceremony, the last time I ever saw them or the site of her being fucked by Jude on my own fucking birthday.My anger rose like fire under my skin.“What do you want here, Lily?” I asked, my voice cold enough to shatter glass.She didn't answer immediately, she just stepped forward into the light.“Jude isn’t here.” I followed up, my tone sharp.She smirked, flipping he

Jude POVI was going to tear the entire room apart.Every inch of me was vibrating with anger.My pulse hammered in my throat.I clenched my fists so tight, my knuckles turned pitch white.I couldn’t keep still, not even for a moment.I paced the length of my mother’s chamber again and again, my boots marching the floor with a thud.The ceremony was supposed to be perfect.The entire pack present, the elders and council dimming me as a capable Alpha.And Lily… my mate…Didn’t show.I felt sick and humiliated, like I had been stripped naked in front of them all.“She didn’t even send a message,” I snapped, running a hand through my hair so hard it almost hurt. “Not a word. Not a damn warning. Just… nothing.”My mother watched me from her chair.She was tense.She always got tense when I was angry… because she knew I was my father’s son when I lost control.“This is a disaster,” I muttered, then I let out a sharp and bitter laughter.“The Alpha who can’t even keep his mate beside him.T

Elara's POVThe kingdom always felt different at night.The air always seemed to grow heavier and I always had a tense feeling around my shoulders.The castle was a little more quiet as I strolled through the dim corridors, hoping the cold breeze might settle the storm inside my chest.Ever since Aldric left my chambers earlier, i couldn't stop thinking about him for some reason.The thought that Aldric wasn't that cold monster I've always known him as settled deep in my mind.I wrapped my arms around myself as I moved past the kitchen. The doors were propped open, and a tingling scent filled my nostrils.Cooks moved in and out about preparing for the late-night meals of warriors on patrol.The smells of roasted spices and fresh herbs would have been comforting any other time, but tonight they barely reached me.I didn’t know what I was doing, walking like this. Maybe I wanted space. Maybe I wanted clarity.Or maybe I just didn't even know at all.But, I just exhaled shakily and kept

Elara’s POVI stormed out of Aldric’s chambers so fast I barely felt my own heartbeat.Every step I took echoed like a hammer inside my skull as rage, shock and betrayal all collided in my chest.My vision tunneled, my breaths shallow, my hands trembling in a way I couldn’t control.A dagger, the blood, her cloth…. my sister’s cloth.And Aldric stood there and refused to give me straight answer on who killed her.Maybe because he did it…And then… the kiss.I hated that part of me still froze when he got too close to me and the leaned in.The way I let myself enjoy it…For that fraction of a moment I forgot the dagger, the cloth, forgot every reason he had given me to hate him.But then he pulled away, like I was the one who disgusted him.I shouldn’t have let him touch me in the first place..“Fuck you…” I whispered again under my breath as I marched down the hallway.By the time I reached my quarters, my chest felt hollow.The moment the door slammed behind me, something inside me c