bChapter /b18

Nyssa pov

The Lycan King.

The bwolf /bwho stood before me bwas /bnone other than the king himself- my mateb. /b

At that moment, I didn’t even know what bI /bwas feeling. Maybe it bwas /bthe overwhelming urge to crawl into the earth and disappear. Or maybe it was bthe /bequally strong desire to drag my wolf out and smack her for making me undressb, /ballowing Darius to bsee /bme like thisb. /b

Honestly, I think it was both.

Either way, I was losing my mind, terrified, humiliated, and barely holding it together.

Oh, and let’s not forget embarrassed out of my damn skin. I had just spoken to the king’s wolf–Ss and he’d called me beautiful. While bI /bwas naked.

“My king, I- I apologize. I didn’t realize you were here,” I stammered, quickly covering myself with my arms, my body trembling as I fought back the sting of tears.

But before I could say another word, I froze.

My eyes widened as the wolf before me began to shift.

The sickening sounds of bones cracking and reshaping filled the air, and I felt the breath leave my lungs.

Right before me, where the wolf once stood, a man slowly began to emerge.

And those unmistakable silver eyes told me that it was Darius and not Ss anymore.

“Fuck.”

The word slipped out before I could stop myself.

Slowly, I lifted my head, my eyes shamelessly trailing over the barely covered man standing before me.

And if I had to describe his body in one word?

‘Breathtaking‘

Maybe it was the mate bond making him seem more attractive than anyone I’d everid eyes on, but his body… gods, his body made my thighs involuntarily clench and a pleasurable shiver crawl, down my spine.

My mind was aplete mess.

I couldn’t think properly.

bI /bcould only look.

And the worst part?

He wasn’t even fully naked. Just standing there in nothing but a pair of briefs that barely bcovered /bhisb… /bbwell/b, you know.

I bit down on my bottom lip, my gaze shamefully glued to the outline beneath the fabric. My cheeks burned in embarrassment bas /bba /bpletely random thought shed through my head.

Why the hell does he even bhave /bbriefs on? I thought when werewolves changed, their clothes would be torn or was it bbecause /bhe bwas /bthe kingb? /b

“Haha! You naughty girl. bJust /ba second ago, you bwere /bregretting being mates with the Lycan King, and now you want already want to see him naked. I don’t me you though, he bis /bthat hot,” She bteased/b, her voice smug in my head.

I blinked rapidly, mortified. A shaky breath left my lips bas /bshame gripped me.

“Y–you, That’s not true-” I began to protest, but before I could finish, ba /bcold voice cut me off, freezing me in bce/b.

“My eyes are up here.”

I gasped, my head snapping up, and sure enough- there he was

Staring at me.

Frowning.

That was when it hit me, I had been tantly checking him out. And this was the Lycan King we were talking about. The realization made my stomach drop. He could very well pluck my eyes out for such disrespect.

Oh Goddess, what if he got angry? What if he decided to call off the mate bond and perform the rejection ceremony today instead? The thought sent a cold shiver down my spine. It was entirely possible.

That couldn’t happen. I wouldn’t have enough time to do what I needed to do.

Narrowing my eyes with quiet determination, I took a deep, shaky breath and bowed my head in submission, quickly offering an apology.

“Please forgive me, my king. I didn’t mean any disrespect,” I said, my voice trembling as I shivered slightly from the cold.

For a moment, Darius said nothing. He simply stared at me, his expression unreadable, before stepping back and before bI /bcould process what was happening, something softnded against me.

I looked up to see he had tossed my dress at me. Without a word, he turned away, facing the other direction as if giving me privacy to change.

“I-” I began, unsure of what to say, but he cut me off with a single firmmand.

“Change.”

He didn’t have to tell me twice. I quickly stood up, cheeks burning in embarrassment, and snatched my underwear from the rock where I’d left it. I slipped it on and then pulled the dress over my head, all the while silently cursing the absurdity of my current situation.

When I was done, I gripped the hem of my dress, ready to speak but before bI /bcould get a word out, he turned to face me as if he had sensed it. His white hair fell effortlessly across his face, and his piercing eyes swept over me before he asked, without hesitation,

“Do you have a wolf?”

My brows furrowed in surprise at the question, wondering how he had figured it out so quickly.

“You’re standing naked in the middle of the woods. It’s pretty obvious you were trying bto /bshiftb, /bdon’t byou /bthink?b” /bShe

Chapter IS

scoffed in my head.

I blinked. Wellb… /bthat bwas /btrue.

I parted my lips bto /bbanswer /bhim. There was no breason /bto lie about not having a wolf bexcept /bShe’s voice broke through again.

“bNyssa/b… don’t tell him. Let’s keep that a bsecret /bfor now,” she said, her tone seriousb, /bcatching me off guard.

I thought she would rather want to btell /bhim but either way, I obeyed her.

“No, my king. I do not have a wolf,” I said quietly, lowering my head, feeling his assessing gaze linger on me.

But instead of saying anything else, he simply gave a casual nod before reminding me once more,

“In three days, we will have the rejection ceremony. If you do have a wolf, then there’s a high chance you might survive it.”

That was all he said before the sound of bones cracking and reshaping filled the air, and in the blink of an eye, the man before me shifted into a silver wolf and dashed off into the woods without a backward nce.

The moment he disappeared, my legs gave out, and I let out the breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding as I copsed to the ground.

“T–That was the most awkward interaction I’ve ever had… in both this life and thest,” I muttered under my breath, running a hand through my hair. But just as I was beginning to collect myself, my father’s booming voice echoed through the mindlink.

“Nyssa. Return. Now.”