All Chapters of Betrayed By My Mate, Now Claimed By The Lycan King : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The drums pounded and I felt it inside me like it wanted to crack my ribs open. I stood in the middle of the crowd with the full moon blazing down, and every eye in the Shadowpine Pack was locked on me.Tension took hold of me and sweat slid down my back under the white ceremonial robe. This was supposed to be my night. The night my wolf finally woke up and I took my place beside Sveinn Ragnarsson, the Alpha heir everyone said was mine since we were kids.I caught Sunna Gunnarsdóttir's eye at the front of the crowd. She gave me that quick, tight smile she always used when she was trying to hide nerves. You got this, Elva, she'd whispered earlier while we fixed my hair. You're the strongest one in the pack. Your wolf's probably just fashionably late but I trust you. I'd laughed then. Now the laugh felt stuck in my throat like a bone.My father, Jakob Bjarnarson, stood off to the side with the other elders. His chest out, beard trimmed sharp, looking every bit the proud Beta. He nodded

King Gunnar yanked the horse sideways. The wolf missed but slammed into the ground and rolled back up snarling."Stay on," Gunnar barked at me. He drew a long knife from his boot, silver blade catching the moon. No shift. He didn't need to. The horse reared and I gripped tighter, my legs burning.The second wolf went for the horse's flank. Gunnar leaned and drove the knife down behind its ear. A wet crunch. It dropped mid-leap. The third one: bigger, with a scar across its muzzle circled and lunged at me instead. His claws raked my arm. Pain exploded in me. I yelped, more pissed than scared.Something inside me snapped awake. Like a rush like fire under my skin. My vision sharpened. I smelled the wolf's breath, the blood on its fur. Without thinking I kicked hard with my heel, catching it in the jaw. It stumbled then Gunnar twisted, grabbed its throat mid-air, and slammed it into the ground hard."Enough," he growled. The wolf whined once and went still.Matthías rode back up, wiping

I saw a shadow crouch there. I was certain it wasn't Gunnar because it was smaller and had a female aura and a familiar scent.It was Sunna.She pressed a finger to her lips and slipped inside, eyes wide and wild. "Elva. I followed the scouts. They don't know I'm here. Listen, your mom sent me. She says Jakob is planning something bigger. He's not done with you. Neither is Sveinn. They're calling in the old packs. They want you dead before the next full moon."She grabbed my hand. Hers was shaking. "And there's more. Your bloodline? It's not just Lycan. It's something the elders buried. Something that could break every treaty on the continent."Outside, a guard's footsteps crunched closer.Sunna squeezed outside and disappeared back into the night.I sat there in the dark, heart racing, the spark in my chest burning like a promise.Whatever secret my parents buried, it was waking up with me.And tomorrow when we rode for the Lycan King's keep, I had a feeling the real war was only sta

We ran up the stone steps to the battlement. Below, the fight was ugly already. Lycan defenders poured out a side sally port and slammed into the Shadowpine flank. Steel rang. Fur flew. I spotted Merja: my mom on a horse at the very back, hood up, face pale. She wasn't fighting. She was just watching me. Even from this distance I saw her lips move. Praying? Warning? I couldn't tell.An arrow zipped past my ear and buried in the stone behind me. Gunnar yanked me down behind a merlon. "Get your head down, damn it! You tryna get yourself killed?!"I peeked anyway. Jakob had dismounted and was shoving forward with a shield, three warriors around him. He looked up, straight at me, and bellowed, "Elva! Last chance! Come down and I swear we'll make it quick. Your blood is too dangerous to leave loose!"Dangerous. The word lit the fire higher. My bitten arm burned like it was on fire. I clutched it and felt something shift under the skin like claws pushing, like my wolf finally answering but

My legs gave out the second we stepped off the battlement stairs. It was just a quiet buckle, like my body finally remembered it wasn't built for spitting ancient power at my own father. Gunnar caught me before my body hit the stone. His arm locked around my waist, warm and solid, and that stupid bond flared hot under my ribs like it was saying *I got you*."Easy," he muttered. His voice was rough but not cold. "You just shook the ground. Give it a minute."Sunna hovered on my other side, her eyes wide. "Elva, your arm... fuck, it's still bleeding. And your eyes… they're silver now. Like his."I blinked hard. The world looked too sharp, edges glowing. The cracked pendant hung heavy between my breasts, cold as ice against the fire still simmering under my skin. Mom's three days? Gone. The stone had split clean when the roots shot out of the dirt. Whatever spell the elders had on me was probably already sniffing the air like a hungry wolf.Matthías jogged up, wiping blood off his face