All Chapters of SECOND CHANCE: CLAIMED BY THE LYCAN KING: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

HOPE’S POV.Morning came too quickly.I woke slowly, something warm and steady wrapped around me. For a second, I didn’t move. I just stayed there, half-asleep, trying to understand why I felt… safe.Then I felt it.His arm around me.Hunter.Everything from last night came rushing back at once.The wedding. The arena. Seraphina. The fight. The way I kept pushing him away. The way he refused to let me go. And then…The kiss.And what followed after that.My breath slowed as I opened my eyes, staring at nothing for a moment before turning my head slightly.He was still asleep.Peaceful.Calm.Like none of the chaos from yesterday had touched him at all.My chest tightened at the sight.Carefully, I shifted just enough to look at him properly. His arm tightened slightly around me in his sleep, pulling me closer, and something in me softened before I could stop it.This was dangerous.This feeling.This calm.Because I knew it wouldn’t last.As if sensing I was awake, Hunter stirred. His

HOPE’S POV.The moment Hunter stormed out on the elders, I knew this wasn’t going to be easy.He didn’t just walk into the house—he stormed in.His movements were sharp, tense, filled with anger that hadn’t settled even a little since we left the elders outside. The door slammed shut behind us with a force that made me flinch slightly.“Hunter—” I started, stepping in after him.He was already moving.Pacing.Back and forth across the living room like he couldn’t stand still for even a second. His hands kept running through his hair, his jaw tight, his breathing uneven.“Hunter, calm down, please,” I said, following him carefully. “It’s not that serious—”He stopped so suddenly that I almost walked into him.Then he turned.“Not that serious?” he snapped.The way he said it made me frown.“Hope, they just showed up here and told me what I’m going to do with my life like I don’t have a say in it. And you’re telling me it’s not that serious?”“I didn’t mean it like that,” I said quickly

HOPE'S POV.I shook my head immediately, my jaw tight. “We have nothing to talk about, Derek.”His lips pressed together, and I could see his frustration, but I didn’t care. I stood up, brushing myself off. “Please, just… leave me alone. Okay? I already have enough to deal with right now.”“Hope,” he said, stepping closer.I moved to pass him, to go inside, but he put a hand out, stopping me. Not roughly, but firmly enough. “Just listen. One minute. That’s all I’m asking.”“I don’t want to listen!” I snapped, jerking my hand free. My voice was louder than I intended, and even I flinched at it. My pulse was quickening, my patience thinning. “I’ve said it before, Derek. We’re done. There’s nothing left for us.”He shook his head slowly, like he wasn’t going to accept it. “No, Hope. That’s not true. That's not true, and you know it. Not really. We still have a chance. You just—”I cut him off, crossing my arms. “A chance? After everything? You don’t get to tell me that. You made choices

HUNTER’S POV.The room felt too quiet.I stood in the middle of it for a moment, my gaze sweeping over everything without really seeing anything. The bed. The chair by the corner. The small table by the wall.Her room.Hope’s room.And she wasn’t here.My jaw tightened as I let out a slow breath, dragging a hand through my hair.This wasn’t how I thought today would go. Especially not after last night. Not after the night we had together.I had asked her to come with me.Not just asked.I had meant it.Every word.Every promise.And she… she didn’t say no.But she didn’t say yes either.She just walked away.And since then?She had avoided me.All day.I hadn’t seen her. Not properly. Every time I tried to find her, she was gone. Every time I thought I caught a glimpse of her, she disappeared before I could reach her.Like she was running from me.Or worse…Like she didn’t know how to face me anymore.My chest tightened painfully at the thought.I exhaled slowly, turning and walking t

HOPE’S POV.The moment I stepped inside my room, I felt it.The tension.It was everywhere.Hunter was pacing the room when I entered, his back to me, his hands running through his hair in frustration. He turned the second he heard the door close.His eyes locked onto mine instantly, and the anger in them…It hadn’t gone anywhere.“What the hell was that?” he demanded, his voice sharp.I flinched slightly but didn’t back away. “Hunter—”“No,” he cut in, shaking his head as he stepped closer. “Don’t ‘Hunter’ me right now, Hope. What was he doing out there with you? Why was he touching you?”“He wasn’t—”“I saw him,” he snapped. “I saw the way he grabbed you. I saw the way he looked at you. I saw him kiss you.”His jaw clenched tightly, like he was trying to hold himself together and failing.“I told you I would handle it,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm. “And I did.”“You call that handling it?!” he asked, his voice rising. “He was in your face! He kissed you—”“I pushed him away