The Lycan King's Outcast Omega (by Cara Anderson) novel Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Alaric

Her scent lingers on my skin – honeysuckle and rain, with an undertone of something ancient that calls to my wolf. I force my attention back to the council meeting, where raised voices echo off stone walls.

“Three more attacks in as many days,” Garrett reports, pointing to marked locations on the territory map. “The pattern is clear – they’re testing our defenses.”

“Then we strengthen them,” Elder Marcus growls. “Double the patrols, set more wards-”

“And stretch our resources thinner?” Another council member interrupts. “We’re already—‘

“Enough.” I don’t raise my voice, but the authority in it silences the room. My lycan paces beneath my skin, agitated by the threats to our territory, to our mate-

I clamp down on that thought. Hard.

Movement at the door catches my eye. Ms. Winters, our ancient librarian, hovers at the threshold, her wire- rimmed glasses glinting in the morning light. Her gaze holds mine with unusual intensity.

“The wards along the northern border,” I say, turning back to the council. “Have they been breached?”

“No, Alpha.” Our head warlock spreads his hands. “But they’re… different. The magic feels corrupted somehow. Twisted.”

Like the wounds that won’t heal. Like the mutant wolves that speak with human voices. Another piece of a puzzle I can’t quite solve. 1

My grandmother’s voice echoes in my memory: Watch for the moon’s chosen one, little king. When darkness spreads across our lands, she will bring healing. 1

I’d dismissed it as another bedtime story. Now… it certainly feels like darkness is spreading. If there is such a thing as a “chosen one” I hope they show themselves soon. I could use the help.

The council meeting drags on, but Ms. Winters doesn’t leave. When I finally dismiss everyone, she approaches with the silent grace that makes younger wolves nervous.

“My King,” she murmurs, bowing slightly. “A word, if I may?”

I nod, catching Garrett’s eye. He positions himself near the door – close enough to hear trouble, far enough to give privacy.

“The girl,” Ms. Winters says without preamble. “The one you brought from Blackthorn. She was in the library this morning,”

“I know.” The image of Sage with that ancient book, violet eyes wide with wonder, flashes through my mind. “Her eyes.” The librarian’s voice drops lower. “Touched by the moon herself. Just like the old stories of the blessed ones.”

Phantom surges forward, suddenly alert, protective. “What do you mean?”

! never know when to take her seriously or chalk up her words to the ramblings of an old lady. This certainly seems like the latter, but I need to hear her out. Sage doesn’t even have a wolf. The last thing she needs is Ms. Winters spreading ridiculous ideas about her to the pack, setting her up to fail.

Chapter 23

+25 BONUS

“The book she found – it called to her. The histories of the lost healing packs. Such things don’t happen by chance, my King.”

I only just manage not to roll my eyes. Maybe I need to give the old lady more to keep her busy, less time to indulge her fanciful imagination. But before I can respond, running footsteps approach. The door bursts open, revealing a breathless scout.

“Alpha! Attack at the northeast border. They’ve got Marcus’s son cornered.”

I’m moving before he finishes speaking, my wolf rolling beneath my skin. “Garrett, with me. Ms. Winters-” But the old librarian is already gone, as silently as she appeared.

The forest blurs around us as we race toward the border. Four of my best warriors fall into formation behind me, our paws eating up the distance. The scent hits us before we reach the scene – blood and fear and something else. Something wrong.

Cain, Marcus’s youngest, is backed against a cliff face. Three wolves circle him, but they’re… wrong. Their fur is patchy, with scales showing through in places. Their movements are jerky, unnatural.

I launch myself at the nearest one, my larger size bowling it over. Up close, the wrongness is worse. Its eyes are clouded, like cataracts, but glow with a sickly yellow light. When it snarls, I see rows of teeth like a shark’s.

The fight is brutal but brief. We drive them off, but not before one of them gets its teeth into Cain’s shoulder. The wound immediately turns black around the edges.

“Fuck,” Garrett breathes, examining it in human form. “This is worse than the others.”

Cain’s eyes are glazed with pain. “They… they said to give you a message, Alpha.”

My blood runs cold. “What message?”

“They said… ‘Everything burns.“”

We rush Cain back to the pack house. The wound is spreading, black lines creeping from it like poison in his veins. Our healers crowd around him in the medical wing, their expressions grim.

Then I catch her scent.

Sage stands in the doorway, arms full of fresh herbs. She’s been helping here, I realize. Learning our ways, making herself useful despite having every reason to hide away after what she’s been through.

She takes one look at Cain’s wound and moves forward, her small hands sorting through herbs with surprising confidence.

“Yarrow won’t work on this,” she says softly to the head healer. “But if you mix nightshade with silver–leaf…” She trails off, biting her lip. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t interfere.”

The head healer stares at her for a long moment, then nods. “Show me.”

I watch from the doorway as she works, her movements sure despite her obvious nervousness. When they apply the poultice she helps prepare, the black lines stop spreading.

My beast rumbles with pride. “Our mate. Strong Wise.”

But she’s not ours Not yet. Maybe never, if she can’t forgive my deception. If I can’t be what she needs. The thought sends a shard of pain through my chest.

Chapter 23

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