All Chapters of Accidentally Marked By The Lycan King: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Alara’s POVXavier didn’t want to leave.I saw the internal battle raging on his face—the tense, rigid way his jaw clenched, the white-knuckle grip of his hands on the door frame, the way his eyes lingered at my waist longer than usual, tracing the curve before flickering toward the main hall where the oppressive weight of the Council waited. Eventually, he forced himself, pressing a hard, necessary kiss to the top of my head before tearing himself away.“I won’t be long,” he murmured. It was a lie he desperately needed to believe, a desperate hope he offered me.When the massive, ornate doors shut behind him with a resonant thud, the palace seemed to exhale — too quiet, too vast, too still. The sudden silence felt louder and more deafening than his commanding presence ever did.Rylan found me pacing the corridor twenty minutes later. His brow was already raised, the familiar, exasperated look of a big brother who knew I was about to spiral into anxiety. We had grown comfortable around

Alara’s POVThe palace felt different the morning Xavier informed me of the council’s latest demand — no, their ultimatum. The tension in the air clung to the walls like frost biting into stone, a warning of something unpleasant creeping its way into our lives.Aria.Xavier had already told me everything about the crescent mark two nights ago, after returning from the council — how the partial bond he placed on me wasn’t just a desperate act of claiming but also a protection, a beacon that called to him whenever I was in danger… or distress… or even too far from him. And how the full bond — if completed — would make me untouchable by any council decree.But until then, the council still believed Aria had some place beside him.And they wanted her released.Xavier hated it. It burned in the set of his jaw, in the dangerous simmering glow in his eyes. He had barely slept since telling me the truth, barely left my side except to argue with the elders he’d inherited with the throne.When h

Alara’s POVI spent the next three days hiding.Not overtly — no one would dare accuse the Crescent-marked of cowardice — but subtly, quietly, slipping into my chambers after training sessions and sinking into the mountain of pillows I pretended brought me comfort.My body felt normal again. My heart, though, didn’t.I kept replaying the moment I’d unleashed that surge of power — silver, wild, scorching — straight into Xavier’s chest. He’d flown backward six whole feet. The tiles had cracked. Rylan had panicked.And Xavier… He had looked at me not with fear, but with something worse. Worry — deep, bone-aching, soul-gripping.I hadn’t known what to do with that. I still didn’t.So I withdrew.My excuses grew repetitive:“I should rest.”“My head feels heavy.”“I’d like to stay in my chambers tonight.” “I need time to think.”Xavier never pushed, never demanded I stop avoiding him. But the more gentle he became, the more guilt sat in my throat. And tonight was no different.I sat curled

Xavier’s POVI hadn’t slept properly in days — not since the argument in my office, not since the moment Alara’s eyes had gone cold and she turned her back on me. My lycan hadn’t stopped snarling at me since then, pacing relentlessly under my skin, demanding that I fix what I had broken.But she hadn’t let me near her.The door between our chambers — the one she used frequently — she now kept locked as if I were a threat. As if she needed to barricade herself against me. It gutted me every night.Yet I still went to her.Not through the connecting door, no. She didn’t want to see me, and I wouldn’t disrespect that. So I used the front entrance to her chambers, slipping in after the palace quieted. The guards let me pass, their eyes lowered. They knew better than to question their king’s desperation.And there she would be… curled under the blankets, the faintest crease etched between her brows even in sleep. I would sit in the armchair beside her bed and watch her breathing — slow, ste

Alara’s POVThe moment Xavier tore his mouth from mine, grabbing my wrist — the one with the pulsing crescent mark — I knew the charade was over. My breath hitched as he pulled me hard against his side, turning instantly toward the main doors.“Rylan,” Xavier’s voice was a low, guttural growl that reverberated through my bones. “The Council, the guests, the entirety of this miserable charade — contain it. I am done.”The dismissal was absolute. I felt the heat of his rage and the overwhelming urgency of his Lycan as he propelled us through the corridors. His grip on my wrist was tight, almost bruising, and I didn't care. The urgency was a siren song to the part of me that had been starving for him. His scent — storm and pine — was so thick it was intoxicating, clouding all thought of resistance.He didn't slow down until we reached his private wing. He shoved the heavy chamber door inward with a terrifying, primal force, dragging me across the threshold before kicking the door shut wit