The Lycan King's Outcast Omega (by Cara Anderson) novel Chapter 96

Focusing on work is the only thing keeping me sane. As long as there are wounds to heal, herbs to prepare, techniques to teach… I can almost ignore the constant ache of the mate bond. Almost.

“He tries to apologize,” Aura reminds me for the hundredth time.

“After believing the worst about us,” I counter, grinding herbs with more force than necessary. “After letting Cassius manipulate him so easily.”

But even as I maintain my cold distance, I feel Alaric’s presence nearby. He’s been finding excuses to stay close all morning, though I refuse to acknowledge him.

The first howl of warning barely registers – we’ve grown used to attacks. But the second howl carries notes I’ve never heard before, pure terror that makes my blood freeze.

They bring the first victims in seconds later – warriors torn almost beyond recognition. The wounds… Moon goddess, I’ve never seen corruption like this.

“Lady Sage!” The head healer’s voice carries panic. “We need you. Now!”

I move without thinking, hands already glowing with power. But the moment I touch the first victim, I know this is different. The infection feels wrong, spreads too fast.

“Clear the room!” Alaric’s voice carries Alpha command. I start to protest – I need the other healers – but then I feel it. We need more than just healing. His power floods the room as he kneels beside me. “Tell me what to do.”

These wounds are different from anything we’ve encountered. Not just physical damage, but something that attacks the very essence of what makes a wolf. I watch in horror as one warrior’s partial shift gets stuck, his body caught between forms as the corruption spreads.

“Hold him!” I command, not caring that I’m ordering around ranked wolves. No one questions me – they see what I see. If we don’t stop this, we’ll lose more than just lives.

Alaric’s power combines with mine as we fight to stabilize the shifting warrior. Through our bond, I feel his own beast recoil at the wrongness of what’s happening to these wolves.

For a moment, our eyes meet. All our hurt, our pride, our anger feels small compared to the lives at stake.

“Channel your power through me,” I instruct. “Like we did before.”

His hands cover mine over the warrior’s wounds. The mate bond hums as our powers sync naturally, his strength flowing into my healing.

We fall into a natural rhythm despite our recent distance, His strength flows perfectly into my healing, like we’ve done this a thousand times. Like our bodies remember what our hearts are trying to forget.

More victims arrive. We work in perfect harmony despite everything between us, moving as one to save lives. But the corruption fights back, spreads faster.

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Chapter 96

“It’s not enough,” I grit out, sweat soaking my clothes. “We need-”

“What? Tell me?” Alaric grunts as he restrains another victim.

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The infection’s changing,” I tell him, tracking its spread through another victim’s blood. “Adapting to-”

My words cut off as dark energy shoots toward his throat. Without thinking, I throw myself between them, taking the hit instead.

His roar of fury fills the room as corruption races through my veins. But even as pain blinds me, I feel his power wrap around me, shielding, protecting… taking the dark energy into himself instead.

“No!” I watch in horror as black lines spread up his arms.

“Save him!” Aura screams.

Instinct takes over. I grab his face, pouring everything I have into cleaning the corruption from his blood. Our powers tangle, combine, create something new.

Light explodes around us.

When it fades, the wounded warriors breathe easier. The corruption retreats. But I barely notice because Alaric’s eyes hold mine with an intensity that steals my breath.

“I’m sorry,” he says roughly. “I’m so sorry, sweetling. I should have trusted you. Should have known-”

“You could have died!” The words burst out before I can stop them. “Just now, taking that corruption… you could have…”

“Couldn’t let it take you.” His hands frame my face. “Can’t lose you. Not to corruption, not to my own stupid pride…”

“You believed him.” But the words hold less heat now. “You believed Cassius over me.”

“I believed my own fears.” His thumb catches a tear I didn’t know I’d shed. “Feared losing you so much I pushed you away first. Feared appearing weak so much I weakened everything we had. Feared…”

“Feared what?”

“Feared loving you as much as I do.”

The confession hangs between us. Through our bond, I feel his truth, his regret, his desperate need to fix what he broke.

“I can’t…” I swallow hard. “I can’t go through that again. Can’t have you doubt me every time someone lies about us.”

“Never again.” His forehead presses to mine. “I swear it, sweetling. On my crown, on my life, on everything I am… never again.”

I sway slightly, and suddenly his arms are around me, pulling me tight against his chest. The familiar scent of pine and winter wind wraps around me as his face buries in my hair.

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Chapter 96

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