Home / Werewolf / TRADED TO THE LYCAN KING / Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

All Chapters of TRADED TO THE LYCAN KING: Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

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81

RaguelI knew something was wrong long before I opened my eyes.Years of leading had trained me to recognize the difference between ordinary footsteps and urgent ones. These were urgent.Three quick knocks landed on the bedroom door.“Raguel?”Emily’s voice.I opened my eyes to find Lyra still curled against my chest, her breathing slow and peaceful. One arm was draped over my shoulder, the other acting as a cushion for her head, her hair spilling across my chest.For a fleeting second, I considered ignoring the knock. Emily could wait another hour.But then, another series of knocks echoed.“Raguel.”I sighed just as Lyra stirred.“Hmm?”I stroked her hair. “Go back to sleep, Lyra.”She yawned and blinked up at me. “Is everything okay?”“I’ll find out.”She frowned but nodded, her fingers lingering around my wrist before reluctantly letting go.I tucked the blanket around her properly as I climbed out of bed.I pulled on my clothes in a hurry, fastening up the buttons of my shirt wro

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LyraThe sound of Miguel’s back hitting the stone wall echoed through the hall.For a minute, I couldn’t move or breathe. I couldn’t even understand what I was seeing.One second, Miguel and I were celebrating my success. The next, Raguel had him pinned against the wall with a hand fisted in the front of his shirt.The warmth in the room disappeared.“Raguel! What are you doing?” I yelled but neither of them looked at me.Raguel's eyes were fixed entirely on his brother. “Answer the fucking question, Miguel! Did you have anything to do with it?”Miguel blinked. “What are you talking about?”“Don’t you fucking dare! Don’t! You know exactly what I’m talking about.”“I don’t.”“The Hollowing.”Miguel’s forehead creased. “What?”“Stop pretending.” Raguel tightened his hold around Miguel’s neck. “I know you did it.”Miguel let out a choked, struggling rasp, his fingers blindly clawing at the thick cuffs of Raguel’s dark shirt. “You’ve already decided I’m guilty.”“I wouldn’t have to decide

83

LyraWithin minutes, Raguel and Emily were gone. The heavy iron door of the chapel slammed shut with a deafening crash.Before I could even make my way to the door, four armed vanguard guards appeared before me. They didn’t speak to me, and they didn’t offer a single word of explanation, but they held their long rifles tightly against their chests as they formed a moving cage around me. I was marched straight back up the mansion and escorted to my room under strict orders from the Alpha King not to set a single foot outside the house.By midnight, Raguel wasn’t back and the mansion had transformed into an army base. Every time I looked out my window, all I could see were the beams of high-intensity searchlights. The usual calmness of the estate was gone, replaced by the rumble of armored transport vehicles moving in and out. The guards around my door had been tripled and every five minutes, I’d hear them pace the corridor.I stood at the bedroom window for what felt like the hundredth

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RaguelThe air inside the council chamber was hot, tense and filled with the scent of fear and hot coffee. As per usual, I sat at the head of the table, my hands clasped tightly over the polished wood to keep myself from spiralling.I was entirely fed up. The frustration that had been clawing at my temples for the past forty-eight hours had gradually shifted to impatience. Right outside the door, the entire packhouse was locked down tight with dozens of armed men guarding every single entrance.No one was allowed in or out of the packhouse without proper clearance.“The casualty reports from the Stillwater community are fully verified, King Raguel,” Maximus said, his voice dropping into a low rumble. He slammed a thick manila ledger onto the table, his knuckles pale. “Five hundred and thirty-two dead, three hundred and fifty-eight injured and seventy-three missing. The cause of the massacre is—”“I know what the killer is, Maximus,” I cut in roughly, my eyes narrowing at him. “We all

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RaguelWithin a few days, the killings had become frequent and the human world was beginning to notice.Every morning, another folder landed on my desk, the casualty count climbed and someone asked the same question.“Why can’t you stop him?”Aaron remained elusive, attacking more communities and going as far as attacking a few human-populated areas as well. He always seemed to disappear before my troops could even pinpoint his location. The dark magic of the hollowing made him invisible to my Lycan senses.Things became worse by the fourth day and we could no longer stop the human media from reporting the bloody details of the massacres. Every major human news channel was running continuous broadcasts detailing the gruesome crime scenes.I glanced through the newspaper open in front of me.Fourth Massacre In Eight DaysCitizens Baffled As Authorities Fail To Identify Serial KillerI read the articles countless times. Aside from who or what the serial killer was, the reporters got eve

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RaguelThe attacks stopped for three days.Seventy-two quiet, blessed hours.No dead bodies, no blood-soaked villages, no frantic reports from frightened Alphas and no sudden media panics or newspaper headlines asking where the government had gone.For the first time in nearly two weeks, my study remained free of casualty reports.I should have been relieved.Instead, I found myself staring at the silence with suspicion. Emily stood across my desk, her arms folded across her chest.“I have to admit, you were right about Miguel being behind the hollowing…” Emily spoke up reluctantly. “It’s been three days since we arrested Miguel and there has been no report of the spirit attacking any community.I stood by the window, my arms crossed over my chest as I stared out at the morning fog. I let out a slow exhale, my jaw slightly clenched. “Madame Vivienne was right. We locked Miguel and he wasn’t able to control the spirit.”For the first time since Aaron’s resurrection, I allowed myself a

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RaguelThe confusion on Habeela’s face looked so genuine that, for one moment, I questioned everything.She looked from the guards gripping her arms to Lyra, then finally to me. “King Raguel…” Her voice was filled with confusion rather than fear as I had hoped. “What’s happening?”Lyra yanked herself free from the guard who had instinctively tried to keep her back.“Raguel! What the hell are you doing?” She reached Habeela’s side before the guards blocked her path. “Call them off, Raguel!” Lyra’s scream was filled with horror, her eyes darting frantically between me and the guards.I motioned to the guards holding Habeela and they released her arms just enough to let Habeela stand straight, but their hands remained behind her. Habeela blinked through the blonde strands of hair falling over her face, her jaw tightening as she looked from me to Lyra.The entrance hall had fallen completely silent as I studied her face. She wasn’t twitching or panicking.If she was lying, then she was da

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LyraThe bowl of cool water sat on the bedside table. I wrung out a linen cloth, my fingers trembling as I did so. Raguel had disappeared minutes ago, practically storming out after I admitted that him hurting Habeela could eventually lead to our separation.I leaned over Habeela’s limp, pale form. The beautiful emerald green coat she had arrived in was draped over a chair, leaving her in a simple beige sweater and olive green pants. Her skin was still pale but not as much as it was when Raguel had brought her in. I could tell she was exhausted, her chest rising and falling in shallow breaths.I gently pressed the damp cloth against her forehead, wiping away beads of sweat. “I am so sorry,” I whispered into the quiet room, the tears finally escaping and running down my cheeks. “I am so, so sorry, Habeela.”Her eyelashes fluttered as a pained groan escaped her throat, and her lips parted as she slowly dragged herself back to earth.“Habeela?”She frowned before opening her eyes fully.

89:

HabeelaDespite how stupid it might sound, I had always preferred Heath’s anger.Whenever he was furious, his rage in volatile, destructive outbursts—heavy blows and brutal kicks directed to places like my ribs, my thighs, and the small of my back. They were always injuries that could easily be covered by a high-collared blouse or a simple neck scarf.It was his silence that terrified me. His silence meant a much deeper, unpredictable kind of harm.He didn’t utter a single word during the entire thirty-plus minutes ride back to our packhouse. The SUV raced through the roads, trees and overgrown grasses passing by in a blur. Heath sat in the driver’s seat, his hands tightening around the steering wheel, his bloodshot eyes fixed on the road ahead. I sat beside him, my hands folded tightly in my lap, stealing glances at him whenever I thought he wasn’t looking.His expression was unreadable. He hadn’t asked how I was feeling or whether the truth serum had left any lasting effects. He had

90:

LyraI barely lasted five hours.I had vowed not to talk to Raguel until further notice because of what he did to Habeela. I had planned on spending days avoiding him, eating my meals in my room, pretending I wasn’t listening for his footsteps outside my door and convincing myself that if he wanted to speak to me, he could come first.But I caved in because no matter how furious I was with him, one thought refused to leave me alone.The look on Habeela’s face when Heath had taken her home—it was a look of sudden panic. Most people wouldn’t even have noticed it but I had.When I couldn’t hold the silence anymore, I slid my feet into the furry slippers by my bed and marched out of the bedroom. The three guards in the corridor didn’t try to block my path this time, they just bowed their heads as I strode down the stairs towards Raguel’s study, my heart hammering against my ribs.Before I could stop before the door, the guards stationed in front of the study exchanged awkward glances befo

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