King Novel novel Chapter 38

10:33 Fri, 21 Mar

Chapter 38

Chapter 38

I should not be here.

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I don’t mean to eavesdrop, but when the Alpha and Gamma are going at it like a couple about to sign divorce papers, I’d be stupid not to listen. Especially when I hear a name that shouldn’t be spoken so freely.

Enoch.

The door is cracked open. Just enough for me to hear everything.

“This is insanity,” Gamma Abel snaps, voice sharp like a blade against stone. “You’d surrender him for a fucking bounty? Have you lost your damn mind?”

“The bounty on his head could wipe out our debts. Do you know what that means? No more groveling for trade deals. No more rationing supplies. Our pack is bleeding, and this is our salvation.”

I clamp a hand over my mouth. My stomach churns as the reality sinks in. They’re talking about Enoch like he’s a fucking lottery ticket. Like he’s not a living, breathing person who just barely survived whatever hell landed him in our territory.

A cold weight drops in my stomach, and suddenly, the air in this hallway feels suffocating.

They want to turn him in.

Abel isn’t convinced. “And what do you think the Imperial Family will do? Welcome him back with open arms? You think this doesn’t reek of a setup? The rightful Lycan King disappears in an ‘accident,‘ and no one even attempts to search for his body? That’s not an accident, Alpha. That’s an assassination.”

A slow, nauseating dread slithers up my spine. Enoch’s arrival wasn’t an accident.

Of course, it wasn’t.

I should leave. I should turn around, pretend I never heard any of this. But my feet won’t fucking move.

“Bullshit, a carriage accident is a carriage accident.” the Alpha growls. “I don’t care about conspiracies. I care about this pack. And I care about getting rid of that man before someone realizes we’ve been harboring him.”

“A carriage accident where no one looked for the missing heir?” Abel snaps. “Where the first pack expected to launch a search didn’t lift a damn finger? The Imperial Pack isn’t stupid, and neither am I. Someone wanted him dead.”

I bite my lip so hard I taste blood. He’s right.

The whole situation never made sense to me either. If Enoch was so important, why didn’t anyone try harder to find him? Why was it so easy for me to stumble upon him, half–dead and memory–wiped, like he’d been conveniently erased from existence?

I shift my weight, and my elbow grazes something cold and smooth. I don’t even get a chance to react before—

Crash.

The vase shatters at my feet.

Shit. Shit, shit, shit.

Footsteps inside stop.

I bolt before my dumbass curiosity gets me killed. But I don’t make it far before someone steps into my path.

1/6

Fri, 21 Mar

Chapter 38

Seraphina

Oh, for fuck’s sake.

She’s just reached the top of the stairs, her brows furrowing when she sees me. “What the hell are you doing-”

90%!

53

I don’t let her finish. My hand shoots out, clamping over her mouth as I yank her into the nearest shadowed alcove. She thrashes in protest, nails digging into my arm, but I tighten my grip, silently begging her to shut the fuck up. If she screams my name, we’re both screwed.

Seraphina thrashes immediately, heels clicking against the marble as she fights to break free. “Mmmph!”

“Shut up.” I hiss into her ear. “Unless you want Abel to catch both of us and explain why we’re eavesdropping on the Alpha discussing treason.*

That shuts her up. Mostly.

I press my back against the wall, muscles locking tight as Gamma Abel stops near the door. He scans the hallway, his gaze briefly sweeping over our hiding spot. For a second, I swear he’s going to see us. My pulse thrashes against my ribs, my breath caught somewhere between my throat and my lungs.

The Gamma’s gaze lingers on the broken vase before he exhales sharply and turns back inside. The door doesn’t close all the way, leaving the conversation wide open.

I exhale. Fuck, that was so close.

Seraphina exhales louder, and I glare at her. “Would you-

“You better have a damn good reason for dragging me,” she hisses, voice muffled against my palm.

“Do you ever shut up?”

Before she can knee me in the shin, the argument inside flares back up.

“You don’t know what you’re doing, Alpha,” Gamma Abel says, his voice edged with frustration. “The Imperial Family already played a role in his downfall once. You think they’ll reward us for bringing him back?”

The Alpha scoffs. “They can’t touch us. Their precious Alpha King-”

He spits it out like a curse.

-already wronged our pack once. We both know he killed one of our own. The head maidTM

My blood runs cold.

Killed.

A sharp, deafening silence rings between my ears. Enoch… Enoch really did it.

“No one can prove that,” Abel snaps.

“But we know it,” the Alpha counters. “We both know the Imperial Pack won’t act recklessly,” the Alpha continues. “Not when he also cherishes someone in this pack.”,

My breath catches in my throat. Cherishes?

Seraphina slowly turns her head toward me, her wide eyes burning into the side of my face.

“Enoch,” the Alpha finally says, sealing my fucking fate.

2/6

10:34 Fri, 21 Mar

Chapter 38

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I finally risk a glance at Seraphina. Her expression is unreadable for exactly two seconds before her lips part in stored

realization.

Her eyes drop to me, then flick back toward the office, then back to me again. Connecting dots, Drawing conditions. Ber shock morphs into something else entirely-

Disbelief. And something nastier lurking underneath.

Disgust.

“You,” she mouths.

I don’t move. Don’t blink.

Because there is nothing–nothing–I can say right now that would make any of this better.

And I think I’m just realizing, for the first time, that maybe…

I don’t know Enoch at all.

***

Morning arrives, dragging in a thick, uneasy atmosphere that clings to the pack like humidity before a storm.

The training grounds are packed, bodies shifting uncomfortably as they try to make sense of what the hell is going on.

The Alpha never makes announcements himself. That’s what the Gamma is for.

But here he is, standing on the raised stage with an unreadable expression, which is honestly more terrifying than his usual overcompensating displays of dominance. The murmurs start slow, then roll through the crowd like wildfire, picking up theories and assumptions along the way.

“The Pack has been through a lot these past few days, has it not? I want to call someone on stage for today’s announcement.” His eyes drops on Enoch beside me. W–what is he doing?

“Our lovely Taryn’s partner, Enoch. Come on up.” He smiles.

The crowd collectively stiffens. Even the wolves who had been trying to pretend they weren’t nervous around the Lycan King suddenly look like they want to melt into the ground.

Kallias’s glare burns hot from across the way, sharp enough that I can practically feel it slicing across my skin.

Enoch, standing a little ways off. He doesn’t react right away. Instead, he turns to me, those dark forest eyes searching my face as if asking for permission. It’s almost childlike, that small hesitation, that unspoken, Can I go?

My throat tightens.

I don’t know what the Alpha is playing at, but my gut twists with warning. Still, I nod. “Go,” I murmur.

Enoch moves.

As he steps onto the stage, the Alpha’s entire demeanor changes. His spine stiffens, his hands clasp behind his back, and he barely tries to hide the fact that he’s kissing Enoch‘ ass.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen this man act so respectful toward anyone, let alone an amnesiac stray who had nearly broken his son in half just a few days ago. But I get it. He sees the opportunity. If Enoch ever remembers who he is, being on his good side would come with rewards.

I hate that it makes sense.

3/6

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Chapter 38

“From this day forward,” the Alpha’s voice booms, drowning out the murmurs, “this man will be treated with the respect he deserves.” He pauses, “And the same goes for his mate, Taryn Sinclair.”

Silence.

Then the whispers come, thick with shock.

I freeze.

Mate? Oh, fuck no. I mean, sure, that’s what the bond says, but how the hell does the Alpha know that? Enoch doesn’t even feel the same way as I do.

Enoch, for his part, doesn’t react much. He tilts his head slightly, almost like he’s trying to understand, but he doesn’t look particularly concerned. I, on the other hand, am on the verge of throwing myself into a ditch.

“Anyone who dares to cross them will answer to me,” the Alpha finishes, his gaze sweeping the crowd.

I don’t even have to look around to know what’s happening. People are trying to rationalize it. Others are already finding loopholes. But mostly, they’re just relieved, because none of them wanted to be anywhere near Enoch anyway. Not after what he did to Kallias.

Speaking of-

Kallias is still watching me.

The day drags on, Enoch training alone while I pretend I don’t notice the way the omegas carefully avoid me. They don’t sneer. They don’t whisper. They just stay the fuck away. I should be relieved, but it’s unsettling. The silence of it. The isolation. All of it.

I’m wiping down a hallway table when I spot him. Kallias.

He’s limping, his left arm strapped into a brace, his face still bruised from where Enoch pummeled him into the dirt.

He looks like shit, which makes sense considering his father left him to die just to prove a point. And, well, considering my so–called boyfriend was the one who put him in that condition, I feel… responsible? I guess?

I slow my steps. “Hey.”

His jaw tightens, but his eyes flicker with something I can’t place. “What?”

“Are you…” I swallow, “Are you okay?”

Kallias exhales sharply, as though he can’t believe I just asked him that. His gaze drops, settling on my neck where the Alpha’s dagger had sliced.

“Are you?” he asks, voice quieter.

There’s a beat of hesitation before we both answer at the same time.

“Yeah.”

It’s a lie. We both know it.

“Kallias!”

Seraphina.

She glides over, immediately latching onto his arm like a leech. She doesn’t look at me–doesn’t even acknowledge me–but her grip tightens, her nails pressing possessively into his skin.