Babysitting The Amnesiac Lycan King

King Novel 1

CHAPTER 1

"RUN!"

It starts the same way every damn time.

My father's voice shouting behind us as the last rogue slit his throat, "Run, Taryn! Just run!" I'm running away with my brother, his hand's squeezing mine, so hard I can barely feel my fingers. Behind us, the sounds-no, growls-are closing in.

My lungs burned. I wanted to stop. But I couldn't.

The forest blurred around us, trees rushing past in streaks of dark and light, the sound of paws thudding against the earth growing louder, closer.

"Keep going!" My brother's voice was frantic, but his grip was slipping. I turned, just in time to see the flash of fur and teeth before it lunged at me—No!

I wake up gasping, my heart hammering in my chest.

Shit, it's that stupid dream again.

My jerked, my hands slamming onto the scattered papers all over Kallias' desk. The dream fades into the gray-lit office, papers littered with "Riverstone Pack Quarterly Summaries" stamped in his neat handwriting.

All mine, technically.

My muscles ache from sleeping in that awkward position, and I let out a groan, half from pain, half because I was dumb enough to fall asleep here.

Three hours of sleep. Not bad, considering the nightmare marathon I've been running lately.

Of course, there's no Kallias to do his own assignments. That would be too much work for the soon-to-be great Alpha of the Riverstone Pack, God forbid.

I rub my eyes, trying to shake it off. It's been years, but the memory of that night never seems to go away. Every time I close my eyes, it's like I'm back there, running through the forest with no way out.

Before I can even stretch, the office door bangs open, and Seraphina storms in. "Taryn, you ready? Tonight's the big night!" Her voice is all excitement, but I'm not feeling it. Not even a little.

She throws a wrinkled dress at me like it's something worth more than the dust it'll gather.

I stare at it, frowning. "What...is this?"

"Oh, come on," Seraphina rolls her eyes, "Kallias bought it for you. Thought you'd be excited, seeing as it's for the Lunar Eclipse tonight." Her words are as sweet as poison, and as soon as she's done talking, she drops her gaze to her own haul—a pile of bags in her arms, all bulging with clothes. Fancy clothes. New clothes. Way more clothes than she'll ever wear.

My stomach turns, but I grit my teeth. "Just the one dress for me, huh?"

She shrugs, "You're not mad, are you? It's all for tonight. This is your big chance." She pouts, practically dripping with feigned innocence. "I mean, who know, maybe you'll get a pack warrior as a mate or something? And don't worry about Kallias being all distracted tonight; I'll take care of him."

"Sure," I mutter, tugging the dress up like it's a dead rat. "I'll try not to be too touched."

Seraphina barely hears me, too busy admiring her reflection in Kallias' full-length mirror, spinning in one of her own damn dresses. She's got the bags, the attention, the affection-even the best friend. It's twisted, watching her act all dainty while Kallias treats me like... well, like his secretary. A placeholder.

I'm his fucking girlfriend for Pete's sake.

The door opens again, and there he is, Kallias himself, with that classic, cocky Alpha smile on his face. He was always the most gorgeous man of his age in the entire pack He scans the room, attention zeroing in on Seraphina as though I don't even exist in the space. My heart clenches as he turns to me with a bored expression.

It's fine. It's fine.

"Taryn, you done with those documents?"

"Yeah," I say, trying to sound bored. I mean, it's not like I'm losing hours of sleep to his damn work, right?

"Good girl," he says, giving me a pat. Crimson immediately crawls up my cheeks. He barely glances at me as he walks past, his attention zeroing in on Ser, who is now preening under his gaze. "Taryn sure did help. I'm sorry I wasn't able to help yu even with that late-night studying we did." Seraphina's eyes turned gloomy with helpless ness as she looks up at Kallias. Kallis pulla s her in for a hug. "Don't worry, you're all the help that I would need." He replies. My heart pounds hard as I clench the dress he bought.

They're close friends. They're close friends. They're close friends.

"Are you ready?" he mutters, more to Ser than me, though, but I'm sure they're just close like that.

I nod as Kallias steps closer towards me, his hand brushing my hair back from my face. “You'll be fine," he says softly, almost like he cares. But there's always this distance between us, a wall I can't quite figure out how to break down. Yet he can easily do that with Ser.

Maybe I don't even want to.

"Get dressed," he adds, glancing at the time. "The ceremony starts in an hour. Don't keep everyone waiting."

I try not to watch the way he lingers, how his hand brushes her arm just a little too long. My stomach twists, the suspicion I've tried so hard to ignore bubbling up again. I can feel it, that gnawing jealousy clawing at me, but I swallow it down. Now isn't the time.

But...

could you give us a

to talk to with my boyfriend." I emphasize the last word, although I'm not even sure why I did.

fuck are you doing?" Kallias grits his teeth to look at me. "She wants to

just have something to ask, Kallias. You and Ser... is there something

came, if you ask me. Maybe

familiar sting of rejection. Just a friend. It shouldn't hurt, but it

tightens, and for a moment, I think he might say something else, but he turns on his heel. "Finish up

him, leaving me standing there, frozen. I try not to think about the sting of his words, but they stick, lingering in the air like

move to the stack of documents on his desk. I start arranging them, forcing myself to

Get it done. That's all that matters. That's

***

and cold, the kind that settles in your bones. The whole pack is gathered outside, preparing for the Lunar Eclipse. I can see them all

“gifted” me. Shabby, even compared to the basics Seraphina tosses on when she's bored.

who am I trying to

for you.

simply... A sigh leaves my lips as I tugged at the hem of my dress. It's okay, Taryn.

she even

hoping to be

someone like her who's been trying to for

pitiful at this point."

don't have time to bite

by one, the wolves around us start to shift, bodies twisting, muscles tightening as fur bursts through skin, like they've done it

should have shifted years ago, and yet for some reason I never did, until I became an adult. Every year I

when I first arrived without so much as a family—I was an orphan with no background. "Argh!" The kids

there, my heart pounding in

It's always going to be the same thing. I'd stand here as they all shift

slows, and then, like a switch flipped, I feel the

"Ah!"

limbs. It hurts. It

I did it! After all those years, I finally

hit the cold dirt, I look up, and my eyes land

though just for formalities, his massive brown wolf towering above the others, and he's looking straight at

Right at me.

Mate!

ripples through the crowd like a

can focus on is Kallias. My

My mate.

other sound. Clinging to whatever dignity I have left, I pull the dress back

he backs away, hackles raised, teeth bared

can't be."

girlfriend, aren't I? Shouldn't he be

mate? This-this can't be happening. That's a joke. There's no way I'm

"Kal, don't be too harsh," she says, reaching toward me like I'm going

into my arm as she helping me up. It wasn't gentle though; it was rough, almost

arm, and without thinking, I yanked it back. The movement was pure reflex. Seraphine's eyes widened as she stumbled back on the ground. "Ah! I-I'm sorry, Taryn . . .

"You!"

the sting of the slap ringing in my ears, and the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth. Did

head snapping to the side from the impact, and the crowd's whispers shifted from shock to something darker. I couldn't focus on their faces, just the throbbing

turning to the blood moon hovering above us.

widen in realization as to what he's doing. "No . . . No,

over to his feet, tears collecting in my eyes. "-reject you, Taryn

and future

Shit.

erupting through me, sharper than the slap, ripping

this what

vision swims, and the whispers grow louder, drowning me, until all

in my ears. Every breath is

"She deserves it,"

she think he actually loves

As he wanted

No ... No!

Then I run.

face as

pounded the dirt barefoot but I

the ground turns uneven, roots grabbing at