Babysitting The Amnesiac Lycan King

Chapter 71

Click. Flash. And another click.

They definitely know what they're doing.

I feel it before I see it.

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That sharp prickle at the back of my neck. The kind of awareness that slithers up your spine and whispers in your ear- you're being watched.

And then, a flicker. A glint of light where there shouldn't be any. In the deep forest below the balcony. The only thing a human would see is the eternity of trees along the horizon.

But no, not me. Especially not Enoch.

I shift in his hold, my breath still uneven, my pulse an erratic drumbeat against his chest. The warmth of his lips lingers on my skin, but my focus sharpens on the dark patch of trees below the balcony. My wolf hones in on movement, on the nearly imperceptible rustling of leaves.

There.

A human crouches behind a tree, their camera lens reflecting the ballroom lights like a fucking beacon.

My stomach plummets.

Stupid paparazzi.

I can't believe I'ms saying that because I too, am one.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Every single alarm bell in my head wails at once.

Enoch-his face-undeniable proof of who he is. A ghost, a myth, the king who rose from the dead, caught in the middle of a secret rendezvous with some mystery woman. Me.

If this gets out, it's not just me who's screwed.

Liam's company will burn. I will burn-or worse, fired. I already made two records of humiliation, putting the company on blacklist from most events they could have had scooped on simply because the company had a...

"Mad woman"

If I get caught in this, it would already be strike three. The final fucking nail in my coffin.

My pulse hammers in my ears. My brain kicks into damage control even as Enoch's lips trace my jaw, completely unaware of the fire about to consume us both.

I react on instinct.

I shove him.

Hard.

His grip tightens for half a second, his body unmoving, his wolf-dark eyes locking onto mine in stunned refusal.

"No," he growls, voice rough with those red eyes beginning to surface. No, no, no. This can't happen now. I bite my lip when

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Chapter 71

his hands tighten on my arms. He'd rather be caught a werewolf by the entire human race than risk letting me go?

I can't do this. Not here. Not now.

My mind races, my options thinning. I need him to let me go.

So, I do the only thing that I know will make him pause.

I kiss him.

Soft. Slow. A whisper of goodbye against his lips.

Enoch stills. His body goes rigid, his fingers twitching on my waist like they want

to hold me tighter-but then his lashes Autter, his grip loosens, and his breath catches.

There he is, the obedient dog I raised.

Turns out, I still hold his leash.

I take advantage of the fraction of hesitation, pressing my lips to his forehead, his nose, his mouth-our usual rhythm of calming him down. Memorizing the feel of him, the scent of him, the way he always-always-leans into me as though I'm the only thing that makes sense.

And then, as my lips graze his ear, I seal it.

"Find me again."

before I rip away. Before

don't look back. If I do,

bolt through the balcony doors, plunging back into the masquerade, into the faceless sea of bodies and gilded masks. My hands yank my own mask back into place, securing my anonymity as I weave through

and expensive liquor. Laughter swirls around me, oblivious, while my skin burns with

moving.

the grand driveway. The driver doesn't question me when I

I say, voice

midnight one, but

streaks of neon and late-night bustle, but I barely see it. My pulse is still somewhere back on that

I never wanted

my fingers to them, trying to steady

Find me.

me, I want him

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Chapter 71

next morning, I wake up in my apartment with the

known to man.

night, one shoe kicked off, my hair an

and burying my face in

told him to find

Brilliant. Fucking brilliant, Taryn.

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dress off and trudging to the bathroom. A cold shower brings me back to

coffee, I almost convince myself that last night was

Almost.

door open like a human

can't

sloshing dangerously

I ask, schooling my

her phone. "The King. Last night. How he danced with that mysterious woman in

you said that like a hundred times

there to see the scene! It was so perfect."

stare at her. Blank.

the inside,

mug. "Huh." I take a slow sip. "How

a chair. "Ugh, I know, right? The way people are describing it, it was like something

Yes. Yes, I can.

hum noncommittally, turning back to my coffee machine so she doesn't see the twitch at the corner of my lips.

"Hey, Taryn."

junior staffer peeking into the breakroom. She looks nervous, shifting her weight from foot to foot like she'd

for you,"

wrong way. I

the dramatic best friend, slams her palm onto my back

to force a demon out

do now?"

"Maybe he just wants to give me a

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Chapter 71

snorts. "And maybe I'm secretly mated to

It's Liam."

to shove that entire part of my life into a dark, locked box and throw it into the fucking ocean. I tried so hard to avoid that paparazzi and run off, did they still get

a woman marching

cracked open. I don't knock-I never do, and he never complains. Liam's behind his desk, fingers steepled, eyes

Close the door."

that's not

I'm told, stepping into the office and

"So, what's up, Boss?"

studies me for a beat, something unreadable shifting

blue eyes.

up for

words feel like

my mouth parting

The assignment.

The investigation.

The goddamn Alpha King.

inhale burns my

After everything? After clawing my

pushing through the wreckage of the last few months? But I

when I

I've already

leans back, watching me with the

this conversation will end.

half-smirk. "What, you want me to act

Maybe I grew a