All Chapters of The Lycan King's Forbidden Mate: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

POV: AriaThe silver blade missed my throat by an inch.Cold metal whispered against my skin and air whooshed where flesh should have parted. My stepfather's hand trembled as he raised the blade again, and my fingers closed around the letter opener on his desk.I drove it into his shoulder.William screamed, animal and raw, nothing like the controlled voice that usually delivered my punishments. Blood bloomed across his shirt, dark and spreading, and we both stared at it."You..." His voice cracked and his good hand clutched at the wound. "You stabbed me.""You tried to kill me." My voice didn't shake, though my hands trembled so badly I could barely grip the doorframe."Kill you?" He laughed, wet and bitter. "I was going to chain you. There's a difference, girl. Alpha Kullen paid good coin for you. Fifteen hundred silver marks. Do you have any idea what that kind of money means to a man like me?"The chains still lay on his desk, iron and heavy, with locks that looked forged for pris

POV: AriaThe first thing I felt was silk against my skin, and my eyes snapped open.Everything was wrong. The ceiling above me was painted with wolves running under moonlight, gold leaf tracing the edges. A crystal chandelier caught morning light and threw rainbows across walls that weren't William's peeling wallpaper.My breath came faster.The forest. Running. William's blood on the letter opener. The stone circle. Those rogues circling me like I was prey. The cliff where I'd been ready to jump, better to die on my terms than let them touch me.A roar that shook the earth.My hand flew to my throat and my heart slammed against my ribs so hard it hurt.The wolf.Black as midnight with eyes burning crimson, massive and deadly. It had killed those rogues in seconds, torn them apart like they were nothing, and then it came toward me covered in blood. I couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't do anything but watch as it got closer and spoke one word in a voice that was barely human.M

POV: ValerianEverything goes silent.Then something inside me roars with approval.Yes. She fights. She's strong. She's perfect.I turn my head back slowly and touch my jaw. The skin is already healing, but I can still feel where her palm connected."Feel better?" I ask."Not even close," she snaps. "You're insufferable."I laugh and can't help it. The sound rumbles up from my chest."What's so funny?""You." I take a step closer and she has nowhere to go. "You just slapped a Lycan King. Most people would be executed for that."Her face goes pale."But not you," I continue. "You know why?""Because you're insane?""Because I like it." I lean in. "You fight back. You don't cower. You don't submit. Even when you should be terrified, you're still looking for ways to hurt me.""Is that supposed to be a compliment?""It's the truth." My hand comes up slowly, giving her time to pull away.She doesn't.I cup her face again and tilt her chin up so she has to look at me."Most women would ha

POV: AriaThe throne room is massive with vaulted ceilings and stone pillars carved with wolves and moons. Tapestries show battles I don't recognize. At the far end sits a throne made of dark wood and iron, currently empty.The council sits at a long table to the right of the throne, twelve of them, eleven men and one woman. All older. All watching me with expressions ranging from curiosity to outright hostility.Aldric is easy to spot at the head of the council table with his grey hair slicked back and his ice-blue eyes cold as he tracks my entrance. He's older than I expected, maybe sixty in human years though with Lycans who knows what that means. His face is all sharp angles and disapproval.The woman sits at the opposite end with dark skin, silver-streaked hair in a crown of braids, and amber eyes that assess me carefully. She doesn't look hostile, just cautious.Guards line the walls, at least twenty of them, all armed and all watching me.Kova leads me to the center of the room

POV: ValerianMy chambers are simpler than hers with the bed dominating one wall, dark wood and heavy blankets. Bookshelves and maps cover the others.I close the door behind us and lock it.The sound makes her flinch.She stands in the center of the room with her arms wrapped around herself like armor."What did you want to talk about?" she asks.I don't answer and instead turn my back to her."Look at them," I say quietly. "Really look."Silence follows, then I hear her step closer. Her breath catches."These are from the curse?" Her voice is barely a whisper."Yes. My beast clawing from the inside, trying to get out, trying to take control." I keep my voice even. "Every year it gets worse. More scars, more damage. The healers say in five years, maybe less, there won't be enough of me left to save.""Does it hurt?""Constantly."More silence stretches between us.Then I feel it, her fingers, gentle and hesitant, tracing one of the deeper scars on my back.I freeze.Her touch burns l