The Lycan King's Outcast Omega (by Cara Anderson) novel Chapter 84

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Silver Crown’s gates loom before us, and I feel my spine stiffening automatically. After the relative freedom of Pine Valley, returning to royal pack politics feels suffocating.

Alaric reins his horse closer to mine. “Wait,” he says quietly. “Before we enter…”

The others ride ahead slightly, giving us privacy.

“We need to talk about how things will be here,” he continues. “I know we’re working through things, and I don’t want any more misunderstandings.”

My heart clenches, but the mate bond carries his sincerity. “You mean you’ll be keeping your distance again.”

“Yes.” His eyes hold mine. “Not because I’m ashamed or uncertain, but because the gathering will bring every political schemer in the territories here. While most of the kingdom would be overjoyed to see their king in love, these wolves will look for any weakness to exploit, any way to undermine us, if they think it will gain them power.”

“And I’m a weakness?” I can’t quite keep the hurt from my voice.

“No, sweetling.” He reaches for my hand. “You’re my strength. And I promise you it;s not forever. But until we deal with these threats, until we know who we can trust…” He takes a deep breath. “I need you to understand why we have to be careful. I need to know you won’t doubt what’s between us when I have to play the cold Alpha in public.”

The mate bond pulses with his need for me to understand, to not repeat our previous hurt.

“I understand,” I tell him softly. “Just… don’t shut me out completely?”

“Never again.” His thumb strokes my wrist. “You’ll feel everything through the bond. You’ll know exactly what I’m thinking when I have to pretend indifference.”

As if to prove his point, a wave of love and possession flows through our connection, making me gasp.

There’s something else,” Alaric says, his expression darkening. “Cassius.”

“What about him?”

“If he learns what you are to me…” His hands tighten on his reins. “He’s already proven he’ll hurt you to serve his purposes. I won’t give him another weapon to use against you.”

The mate bond floods with his protective rage, showing me exactly what he thinks about my former mate.

“So, you think he’ll be at the gathering too?” My voice wavers slightly. “I’ve been trying to convince myself I was worrying for nothing.”

“I’m holding out hope that he sends a representative. But even if he’s not here, his spies will be.” His eyes meet mine. “I need to keep you safe, sweetling. Even if it means maintaining distance in public.”

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Chapter 84

Seeing the fierce determination in his eyes, all I can do is nod in agreement.

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We enter the pack grounds separately, maintaining appearances. But now I feel his awareness of me, his constant attention despite his stern Alpha mask.

Eris watches our return with calculating eyes, no doubt looking for signs of what happened during our absence. But we give her nothing to work with – no public indication that anything has changed.

The council chamber erupts in chaos when Alaric announces the gathering. Noble wolves immediately split into factions – some supporting the need for unity, others protesting exposing pack secrets to potential enemies.

“The territories must stand together,” Alaric declares, power rolling off him in waves. “This threat grows beyond any single pack’s ability to handle.”

“And who will handle security for such a gathering?” Victoria’s father demands. “How can we trust-”

“We trust because we must,” Alaric cuts him off. “Or we fall separately.”

I feel his frustration through the bond even as he maintains perfect control. Feel his beast’s anger at their short- sightedness while his face shows nothing but stern authority.

Iris finds me later in the garden. “So,” she grins, “you two worked things out?”

“We’re… working on them.” But I can’t hide my small smile.

“Good.” She hugs me fiercely. “He was absolutely miserable without you. Though if he ever keeps something like that from you again, I’ll help you hide his body.”

“You kept it from me too,” I say quietly, watching her smile fade. “You knew what I was to him, knew how I was struggling to understand my feelings, and you said nothing.”

Pain flashes across her face. “Sage…”

“I thought we were friends.”

“We are!” She grabs my hands. “Moon Goddess, we are. I wanted to tell you so many times. I argued with him about it constantly.”

“But you didn’t tell me.”

“No.” She deflates slightly. “I didn’t. I thought… I thought I was protecting both of you. Giving you time to find each other naturally. But I see now that I just helped hurt you more.”

Tears fill her eyes. “Can you forgive me?”

“I’m working on forgiving everyone,” I admit. “Including myself for not trusting my own feelings more.”

She hugs me again. “I swear on the moon, no more secrets between us. From now on, I’m firmly Team Sage, even against my idiot brother.”

The sincerity in her voice makes me smile despite myself. “Team Sage?”

“Absolutely. Someone has to keep you two from making a mess of things.”

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