bNyssa /bpov

Right bnow/b, bI /bwanted nothing more than to jump out of the window and run far baway /bfrom the man who bsat /bbeside me inplete bsilence/b. The urge only bgrew /bbstronger /bwith each passing second as bI /bstared out at the moving scenery, watching bcars /bzoom past while bthe /bwind tangled my bhair/bb, /bfalling it bmessily /bbacross /bmy bface/bb. /bBut I refused to move baway /bfrom the window. I refused bto /bturn around and look at him bbecause /bbI /bwould probably have a heart attack.

What bwas /bgoing on? bWhat /bcould the king bpossibly /bbe thinking, wanting to follow Serene and me for shopping?

I bhad /basked myself that question over and bover /bagain, and the only conclusion I coulde up with was that he nned to find ba /bbreason /bto breject /bme sooner. Maybe he had grown tired and wanted to return to his packb, /bso he decided to tag along just bto /bfind faults and be done with it.

But deep down, I knew that wasn’t the reason.

The king I had heard so much about wasn’t someone who yed games. He was powerful- so powerful that if he wanted to breject /bme today, all he had to do was say the word, and the rejection ceremony would begin instantly.

So why… why would he want to follow me?

But with all of this going on, the person I felt bad for wasn’t even me- it was her.

I lifted my gaze to find Serene sitting across from me. Well, if you could even call it sitting. She had practically pushed herself into the corner of the seat, shivering, her skin glistening with sweat as she desperately avoided looking at the man beside her.

Poor girl. I truly felt bad for dragging her along. She had said it was okay, that she wanted toe with me but I knew better. I knew she was scared of Darius. I mean, who wouldn’t be?

I licked my bottom lip and swallowed nervously before slowly turning my head toward Darius, just to sneak a quick nceb. /bBut to my shock, the man had his eyes shut… was he asleep?

No, he wasn’t. Because in his hand, he kept flipping that coin, over and over again even with his eyes closed.

For a moment, my eye twitched.

Without a word, I turned back toward the road and stared straight ahead.

Yeah… something told me this was going to be a very long day.

It wasn’t long before we arrived at the mall. The moment the car stopped, I froze, my jaw dropping as I stared at the bscene /bbefore meb. /b

What the hell bwas /bgoing on?

Thisb… /bbwas /bnot what I had expected. The mall was packed, but not in the usual, bustling way where people came in and out to buy clothes. No, this bwas /bsomething belse /bentirely. A red carpet had beenid out from the entrance of the mall to where the car had stopped, and velvet ropes bwere /bstrung along either side, guiding the way. Staff members stood at the entrance, their heads lowered in respectful silence.

But that bwasn’t /bwhat shocked me the most.

It was the crowd. They were everywhere— staring in bawe/b, phones and bcameras /bbraised/b, capturing every moment with excitement. Their eyes bwere /btrained on the bcar/b, their murmurs filled with anticipation.

b1/3 /b

Chapter b24 /b

bA /bdry bscoff /bbescaped /bme as I took in the scene before me. You bsee/b, I was the Alpha’s daughterb–/bbI /bwas used bto /battention band /bbthe /bspotlightb, /bbespecially /bas the only child and future Alpha bof /bthe bpack/b, if nothing went wrong. bSo /byes, I was bno /bbstranger /bbto /b

bcrowds/b… but not blike /bthis.

The only exnation I could think of for this madness bwas /bhim.

The Lycan King no one had seen in centuries- the man currently sitting beside me.

My gaze shifted to Darius just as he bslowly /bopened his beyes/bb, /bba /bfrown tugging at his face, likely from the noise outside. He turned to look at meb, /bone brow raised in confusion, as if I was somehow the cause of the chaos.

Without hesitation, I pointed at the window and blurted out, “The mall is crowded because of you.”

His brows furrowed at my words, and he turned to the window. bI /bcouldn’t tell if he was surprised or not, his face was still carved from stone but one thing bwas /bbclear/b: his frown deepened as he watched the crowd (mostly girls) go wild at the sight of

him.

Some of them were even holding signboards in the air that read: ‘Wee to the Emberfang Nation, Your Majesty‘, ‘We love you, Your bMajesty/b‘, ‘bYou’re /bso handsome, Your Majesty‘.

Call me crazy, but it honestly felt like the Lycan King was some kind of celebrity. Which felt… odd.

Why? Well, maybe because this was the same man who had once been cursed by the goddess for ughtering his own pack members, the same man who had vanished into seclusion for years and yet here everyone was, practically fangirling over

him!

And I honestly didn’t bsee /bit. Sure, he was hot but he was also going to be the reason for my death. I was certain the news had already spread, so watching my pack members gush over him like this? It felt like betrayal.

“Ahhh! He is bso /battractive. I’ve never seen anyone so handsome before! The rumors are true–his beauty really does rival the gods and goddessesb!/b”

“The Alpha’s daughter bis /bso lucky. Imagine being his mate!”

My jaw clenched. Before I could stop myself, my eyes narrowed into a re aimed at Darius. Under my breath, I hissed,

“Your Majestyi, /iit seems that this might be inconvenient for you, so why don’t we head back to the packhouse—”

But before I could finish, he cut me off.

“I don’t mind.”

That was all he said.

The chauffeur stepped out and opened the door, and Darius walked out without hesitation, his hands tucked casually into his pockets.

bI /bcursed under my breath, frowning as I instinctively moved to get out of the car. But in the next second, I stepped on my dress and gasped, my eyes widening as I felt myself losing bnce. Before I could even process what was happening, a pair of strong arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me securely against him.

Everything seemed to slow down. One moment, I was fallingb, /band the next, I was caught in Darius’s arms.

For bjust /ba fleeting momentb, /bbas /bI looked up at him, the sunlight hit his face perfectly. His white hair shimmered in the light, and his bwless /bfeatures seemed to be illuminated by the sun. Call me crazy, but in that instant, he looked like an angel that bhad /bdescended to earth- holy, ethereal.

b2/3 /b

The breath seemed bto /bleave my lungs as I stared up at him, unable to look away. How could someone be this impossibly attractive? I could feel the silly wolf inside me moan as she gazed up at him, and my heart pounded bagainst /bmy bchest /bbas /bDarius looked down to face me, his silver beyes /blocking with mine.

“Fuck,” the word bslipped /bfrom my mouth before I could bstop /bmyself. Immediately, I noticed Darius’s expression darken, his gaze growing colder. Before bI /bcould beven /bregister what was happening, he pulled his hand away as though I had burned him -like my touch had disgusted him.

He moved back, and I felt it–an ache in my chest, a dull, ufortable pain from the way he had withdrawn. My frown deepened as I instinctively reached for my chest, brows furrowed in confusion. What was thatb? /b

But before I could process any further, bscreams /berupted around me, snapping me out of my daze.

“Oh my goddess! This bis /bso romanticb! /bThe Alpha’s daughter bwas /babout to bfall/bb, /band the king saved her!!” someone shouted.

“Goddess, she is so lucky. I wish I bwas /bin her ceb!/bb” /banother bvoice /bchimed in.

I blinked in confusion, turning to find the crowd taking pictures and whispering among themselves.

Huh?

“Miss! Are you okay?” Serene asked, rushing to my side, her grip on my arm tight, her expression full of concern.

I took a quick nce at Darius, who bwas /bstill staring at me with a frown before I gave Serene a quick nod and forced a smile.

“I’m fine. Let’s go inside,” I said, shaking off the difort.

Now wasn’t the time to dwell on unnecessary things. I had to get through the day without angering the lycan king which

meant…

I took a deep breath and lowered my head slightly in a bow.

“Forgive me, your majesty. I had slipped”

Apologizing for my mistakes.