Babysitting The Amnesiac Lycan King

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Chapter 69

Chapter 69

As the day he lost me...

Right. He did lost me.

My mistake is pausing as I stare at him. Just for a second. Just enough to catch my breath, to feel the warmth of his hands on me before I remember exactly where I am. Who I am.

Shit.

The music stops.

Silence.

For a fleeting moment, I wasn't a nobody. I was the woman wrapped in the King's arms, with every eye in the room pinned on us like we were a goddamn fairy tale.

I need to leave. Now,

A thick, pressing quiet, shattered only by the rapid clicks of cameras and the murmurs slithering between the guests. A scandal is unraveling in real-time, and I'm standing right in the center of it.

My heartbeat pounds in my ears. I can't afford another trouble. I'm on strike two on Liam's list, I'll be fired for another one.

I try to step back. His grip tightens.

I swallow hard, my throat burning like I just downed a shot of acid. "Enoch."

His name feels foreign on my tongue, forbidden after years of avoiding it. Like saying it too many times might make it real.

His jaw clenches, the muscle twitching like he's at war with himself. "Stay."

The word punches straight through me, through the layers of this gorgeous dress.

And I almost do.

But the spell breaks when a reporter shouts, "Who is she?!"

That brief hesitation-the scrape of his thumb over my wrist, the unspoken resistance-uncoils something deep in my gut. But I rip myself away, breath hitching, forcing myself to move.

Now. Now, Now.

Run.

"Taryn-"

I don't look back. I can't.

back, I'll hesitate. If I

I can't stay.

heels hit the marble floor with sharp clicks, each step reverberating through the grand ballroom like a gunshot. The moment our dance ended, silence swallowed the room, only for it to be devoured by a frenzy of

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Chapter 69

Who is she?

did the King dance with

the fuck is

I shove past people, the weight of countless eyes burning into my back. The air feels thick, suffocating, and the last thing I want is to be cornered by the hungry, sharp-toothed press ready to rip me apart for breathing the same air as their untouchable King.

from tripping and faceplanting my way into tomorrow's

a glance

standing in the middle of the ballroom, a statue carved from shadow and steel, unmoving except for his piercing, predatory, locked onto me with an intensity

fists at his sides, and

Mine.

me

in haywire as crimson

eyes-

as I can without breaking my goddamn neck.

I don't slow down.

that

"Taryn."

Oh, for fuck's sake.

into Jacob, who's leaning against a carriage like he had nowhere better to be

running. Why

have

sweeps over me, unimpressed. "You look like

I snap. "Change me

He blinks. "Excuse me?"

dumb," I seethe. "Make me unnoticeable. Before someone comes out here

exhales sharply, reaching into the carriage and tossing me a bundle of fabric.

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Chapter 69

The same stained, wrinkled thing

screams I

at him.

you back." He shrugs, entirely too pleased with himself.

a curse and yank the gown over my head, my movements frantic. The silky midnight fabric of my disguise crumples at my feet, forgotten. The second I'm back in

me with a critical eye, then nods. "Yeah. No one's looking twice

"Thanks, asshole."

Anytime."

The last thing I need is for someone to realize the King's mystery woman just made a fucking Cinderella exit. I take off, slipping into the growing crowd of guests leaving the ball. No one spares

woman who stole the King's attention. The thought makes my stomach churn. I