All Chapters of FERAL MOON: CLAIMED BY THE LYCAN KING: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

The council chamber smelled like old stone and older lies.Ares felt it the moment he crossed the threshold… the tightening of ancient wards… the faint resistance beneath his boots as if the floor itself resented his presence. Moonlight filtered through the towering windows in fractured beams, illuminating the sigils carved into the walls. They glowed faintly, silver and cold.Judging.Waiting.Lyra walked beside him, wrapped in a dark cloak far too heavy for her still healing body. Her steps were steady, but her grip on his sleeve betrayed her nerves.Every instinct in him snarled.This is a mistake.He should have refused. Should have torn the summons apart the moment the rune flared in his keep. But the council had moved fast… too fast… invoking the Rite of Witness before dawn.A Trial.For her.Ares’s jaw tightened.He placed his hand at the small of Lyra’s back, firm and grounding, letting his presence bleed into the bond just enough to steady her. Her shoulders eased slightly.“

Lyra woke up already breathless.Not from a dream… but from the echo of one.Her body felt warm… too warm… like something had been burning just beneath her skin all night without ever breaking through. The sheets were twisted around her legs, her pulse racing as if she had been running instead of sleeping.The bond hummed.Low… persistent… demanding.She sat up slowly, pressing a hand to her chest, trying to steady her breathing. The room was quiet, moonlight spilling through the tall windows in pale ribbons. Everything looked the same.But she wasn’t.Something had shifted.She could feel it in the way the air brushed against her skin… in how every sound seemed sharper… closer… louder. Even her own heartbeat felt foreign, heavier than before.She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stood.The moment her feet touched the floor, power rippled outward.The candles along the walls flared to life all at once.Lyra froze.“What the hell—”She stared at her hands, fingers trembling

The council chamber smelled like iron and old stone.Ares stood at the head of the table, hands braced against the carved surface, shoulders tense beneath his skin. The torches flickered, casting shadows across the walls that twisted like beasts trying to escape.Every Alpha in the room felt it.The shift in him.The bond.They didn’t speak at first. They watched. Waiting.“Report,” Ares said finally.The word cracked through the chamber like a whip.“The eastern border,” one of the guards said. “Human movement. Too coordinated to be coincidence.”Another stepped forward. “And there are rogues. Not acting alone. Someone is organizing them.”Ares’s jaw tightened.The bond stirred sharply in his chest… not pain… not hunger… but warning.Lyra.He straightened slowly, power rolling off him in controlled waves. “Increase patrols. Double them near the human villages.”A murmur rippled through the room.“Alpha King,” an older Alpha spoke carefully. “You’ve never protected the human lands thi

The first scream tore through the night like a blade.Lyra bolted upright in bed, heart slamming violently against her ribs.Another cry followed. Louder. Closer.Then the unmistakable sound of steel clashing against stone.Her door burst open.Ares filled the doorway like a shadow given form, eyes blazing gold, power rolling off him so fiercely the air trembled.“Get up,” he said, voice sharp with command. “Now.”“What’s happening?” she asked, already moving.“An attack,” he replied. “Rogues. And something worse.”Her blood ran cold.Before she could ask more, the bond flared so violently it stole her breath. Not pain. Not fear.Warning.Ares felt it too.He crossed the room in two strides and grabbed her hand, pulling her against his chest. His grip was iron, protective, instinctive.“Stay with me,” he growled softly. “No matter what you hear.”The castle shook.Stone cracked somewhere deep below them. Shouts echoed through the corridors. The scent of blood hit the air, sharp and me

Lyra learned very quickly that being protected by the Alpha King did not mean peace.It meant eyes.It meant whispers that followed her through the corridors like shadows clinging to stone. It meant servants bowing too deeply and guards stiffening the moment she passed. It meant feeling the weight of a kingdom pressing down on her shoulders even though she had never asked for any of it.She woke that morning alone.The bed beside her was still warm. The scent of Ares lingered in the sheets, dark and grounding, wrapped around her like a promise he had not spoken aloud. Her body reacted instantly, the bond stirring at the awareness of his absence.He was close. She could feel it.Always.Lyra sat up slowly, fingers brushing the bandage along her side. The pain was fading, replaced by something sharper and more confusing. Strength. Awareness. A hum beneath her skin that had not been there before.She rose from the bed and crossed to the tall window.Nightbane Fortress stretched endlessly