All Chapters of Banished By The Alpha King:Claimed By The Cursed Lycan Beast: Chapter 171 - Chapter 180

Elara's POV The next few weeks buried us in preparation. By day, I trained with Gwen until my arms ached and the light in my palms flickered from exhaustion. Lucian met with generals in the war room, reviewed battle plans, reinforced the walls. Dana scouted the borders twice a week, returning with reports of strange movements in the Shadow Wilds. Kylan managed the chaos of supplies and soldiers and spies, somehow still finding time to leave notes outside our door that made me laugh. "If you need me, I'll be the one hiding from Dana." "Congratulations, my lady. Please stop glowing. It's distracting the servants." By night, Lucian and I collapsed into bed together. Sometimes we made love—slow and tender, the way I remembered from before the potion. Sometimes we just held each other, whispering about the future, about the peace that would come after, about the small, ordinary things we wanted: a garden, a quiet morning, a day without fear. He traced the mark on my neck. I traced

Lucian's POV Gaius arrived within minutes, his bag heavy with vials and herbs, his face lined with concern. He and Gwen conferred in low voices at the foot of the bed, their words too quiet for me to catch. I did not ask them to speak up. I did not care about their theories or their guesses, I just wanted her to be okay. Elara lay motionless beneath the blankets, her white hair fanned across the pillow, her chest rising and falling in a rhythm that was too slow, too shallow. I had not moved from the edge of the bed since I laid her there. Her hand was still in mine, cool and limp, and I rubbed my thumb across her knuckles, hoping she could feel it, hoping it would pull her back. Gwen approached the bed with a small crystal vial filled with pale liquid. He uncorked it and held it under Elara's nose. She did not react. He frowned, then pressed two fingers to her throat again, holding them there longer than before. "Her pulse is steady but weak," he said. "There is something diff

Lucian's POVThe palace had transformed into a symphony of controlled chaos.War preparations and coronation preparations ran side by side, two rivers of activity flowing through the same corridors. Soldiers drilled in the courtyards while seamstresses measured velvet and silk in the great hall. Smiths forged weapons in the lower forges while jewelers polished the crown that would rest on Elara's head. The contrast should have felt jarring—blood and steel beside satin and gold—but somehow it worked.The elders had been surprisingly supportive of the coronation. I had expected resistance, arguments about resources and timing. Instead, they had nodded with solemn approval."The people need hope," Elder Riven had said. "They need to see the White Witch crowned, to know that their queen stands with them. This is not a distraction. This is a weapon."I had not argued.Now I stood at the window of the war room, watching the bustle below. Servants carried armloads of fabric. Warriors marched

Darius's POVThe lair hummed with the sound of machines.I stood at the center of it, my arms crossed, my red eyes fixed on the screens that lined the walls, devices that I'd learned to understand over the past few weeks. Data scrolled past in endless streams—numbers, graphs, images of creatures I did not recognize. The scientists moved around me like ghosts, their white coats stained with things I did not ask about. They had learned not to speak to me unless spoken to. The last one who had approached without permission had not survived the encounter.Director Valerius was the only one who still dared to meet my gaze."The barrier is weakening," she said. "The exiled witches have done their work. The portal is open. But we cannot move our forces through in large numbers without destabilizing the rift.""Then we need to break it completely.""That would require more power than we currently have." She paused. "Unless we use the weapon."I turned to look at her. The weapon. The project t

Elara's POV I could not sleep that night, I couldn't unsee the pain in Kylan's eyes. I was really worried about him. That, and the coronation that was happening tomorrow. The dress was ready. The crown was polished. The great hall had been transformed into a sea of silver and white, flowers and candles and banners bearing the crest of the Lycan Kingdom. Everything was in place. But my mind would not quiet. I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, my hand resting on my stomach. The baby was quiet tonight, a warm presence that pulsed gently beneath my palm. I tried to focus on that warmth, on the life growing inside me, but my thoughts kept drifting to darker places. The portal. Darius. The creatures the scientists were taking. The weapon they were building. The Shadow Reavers who had fled to us for refuge, their ancient faces pale with terror. Tomorrow, I would be crowned queen. And I could not shake the feeling that something terrible was waiting. I felt the air shift before I s