All Chapters of The Lycan King's Forbidden Mate: Chapter 41 - Chapter 49

POV: RykkerThe howls roll over us like thunder.I count without turning. Thirty years of command makes it automatic.Twenty warriors. Two favoring their left legs. Three holding their sides when they think no one's looking.Aria leans against a tree. Valerian's cloak swallows her frame. She takes a step. Her knees buckle. She grabs the bark.Kova's face is bone-white. Her hand presses to her chest. Doesn't move.Zora. Arms crossed. Eyes locked on the treeline. Her weight shifts forward onto the balls of her feet.Valerian. Gold eyes. Clear for the first time in—how long? But his jaw clenches. Unclenches. Clenches again.Twenty-eight total.The forest splits open.Rogues pour out. Wave after wave. Their eyes vacant. Movements jerky like marionettes on strings.My chest tightens. I've seen these numbers before. Battle of Frost Ridge. None of those warriors came home.Then at the center—him.Bane stands among the corrupted mass. Black smoke curls around him. Not smoke. Magic. It moves w

POV: AriaI wake in Valerian's arms.He's carrying me. My head against his chest. His heartbeat steady beneath my ear.Around us—moans. Gasping. The wet sound of blood dripping.The makeshift medical area.He sets me down gently on a pile of cloaks. Someone's donation."Rest," he says."Where are you going?""Planning. With Rykker and Zora."He kisses my forehead. Then he's gone.I sit up. My head spins. Everything hurts.Kova moves between wounded. Her hands glow. The light flickers. Dims. She presses harder. It doesn't brighten.She's working on Rykker. He's sitting on a log. Shirt off. Three long claw marks across his ribs. Deep. Still bleeding."How bad?" I ask, moving closer."I'll live." His jaw clenches as Kova stitches. "Maybe."He laughs. Sharp. Bitter. His pupils blown wide. His breathing comes in shallow gasps.I kneel beside Kova. "What can I do?"She doesn't look up. "Bandages. Clean wounds. Basic healing only."My Celestial power is guttering. Like embers barely alive.C

POV: AriaDarkness.Not death. Something else.Awareness without body. Floating in green-gold light.Warm. Safe. Ancient.The grove.Not sentient exactly. But aware. Vast consciousness spread through roots and earth.Remembering.When Celestial Wolves walked freely. When they were guardians of sacred places.I see through the grove's memory.Celestial Wolves. Dozens of them. Silver and white. Glowing like stars.Protecting groves across the world. Balance keepers between human, wolf, witch, vampire.Until the war.Until they were hunted.Until they died out.The grove recognizing me now.Not words. Feelings flooding through the connection.Child of the First Ones.Guardian blood.Welcome home.Acceptance. Protection. Belonging.Green-gold light pouring into me. Different from my Celestial power.Earth magic. Old. Slow. Deep.Not fast healing. Thorough.Repairing damage I didn't know I had. Exhaustion from overuse. Internal wounds from power burn. Even traces of wolfsbane poisoning fro

POV: AriaBack at camp. Messenger gone.Valerian pacing. Back and forth. Like caged animal.Warriors backing away. Eyes averted. Giving us wide berth."You're not going.""Yes, I am.""Aria—""Those warriors are captive because of me.""They're captive because of BANE."My hands clench. "Because he wants ME. Same thing.""It's not!" His voice rising now.Mine rising to match. "If I go, you die!""If I don't, they die!""Better them than you!"Shocked silence.Did he just—"You don't mean that."His face twisted. Eyes closing. Jaw clenching.He does."I mean it." His voice rough. Raw. "I'd sacrifice a hundred warriors before I'd lose you."Through the bond—ice flooding my veins. His chest crushing. Can't breathe. Drowning in the sensation.Lost Saskia to his own choices. Can't lose me too. Would burn the world before letting that happen."Valerian, I understand—""No, you don't." He stops pacing. Faces me. "You didn't watch your first mate die because of your cowardice."First time he'

POV: AriaAfter the corrupted rogue dies, Zora examines my wound.Claws tore through my arm. Deep gashes. Burning from blood magic."This will scar.""Add it to the collection."She looks at me differently. Head tilting. Eyes narrowing."You have scars?""Doesn't everyone?"I remove my cloak. Show my arms in firelight.Years of William's abuse visible. Cigarette burns. Belt marks. Knife cuts.Some faded. Some still angry and red.Zora's face shifts. Something crossing her features I can't name.She removes her shirt. Turns.Her back covered in scars. Whip marks. Claw marks. Worse things I can't identify."Your father?" I guess."My Alpha father. Training." Her voice flat.We're both survivors.We sit by fire. Clothed again. Passing water skin between us.She talks. I listen."Valerian and I were close as children.""I heard.""Inseparable. Then our father started 'training' him. Breaking him." Her hands clench. "I tried to stop it.""What happened?""Father turned on me too. Said I wa