All Chapters of FERAL MOON: CLAIMED BY THE LYCAN KING: Chapter 1 - Chapter 4

The forest always felt hungry at dusk.Wind curled through the black pines like something alive, brushing the leaves with its long, skeletal fingers. Shadows stretched across the damp soil, growing deeper, wider, swallowing the last traces of daylight. Most villagers avoided the woods after sunset, locking doors, bolting windows, praying the rogue wolves didn’t slink down from the ridge.But Lyra didn’t have time for fear. Not when she heard a child screaming.She sprinted through the narrow trail, her breath harsh, her palms burning from pushing away thorny branches. “Hold on! I’m coming!” Her voice cracked from running too hard, too far, after an entire day working at the inn.She should’ve been home by now.But fate never cared about her exhaustion.The trail opened into a moonlit clearing.A small boy, no more than six, was cornered against a boulder, whimpering, clutching his torn shirt. And over him...A rogue wolf.Mangy fur. Ribs jutting out. Foam dripping from its jaws.Lyra

Lyra woke to the sound of thunder. Not from the sky, but from the snarl shaking the walls.Her eyes snapped open. What she saw made her frowned. Stone ceiling, velvet canopy. Embers glowing in a massive hearth. She sat upright, pulse racing.She wasn’t in her village.She wasn’t in the forest.She was not home. This room was too grand, too cold, too dark.Black stone. Silver banners. A bed big enough to swallow her whole.A castle.His castle.Fear spiked, cold and sharp.Before she could move, the snarl came again, closer this time, right outside the door. Heavy footsteps echoed like war drums.The door slammed open and Ares filled the doorway.Not dressed like a king.Not armored.Bare-chested, still half-shifted, muscles flexing as black fur streaked his arms and shoulders. His eyes, gods, his eyes were pure gold, no human warmth left.He was breathing hard. As if he’d been running, as if he’d lost control, as if something had pushed him beyond the edge.And then she realized. It