Babysitting The Amnesiac Lycan King

Chapter 72

Chapter 72

The car is too damn quiet.

It's been two weeks since the masquerade ball and I'm fucking impressed Liam has gotten us a way to not only enter the palace, but to move in there in that short amount of time.

The palace. It all seems like a dream.

I sit in the backseat, my folder clenched between my fingers so tightly that the edges bend under my grip. It has all the information I might need about the Alpha King, about Enoch.

Find me..."

I rub my face as I remember the words I told him that night. I asked him to find me and yet here I am, walking exactly where he is.

The city disappears behind us, swallowed by the stretch of forest leading to the Imperial Palace. The road is too smooth, the ride too effortless, like even the goddamn ground bows beneath the feet of the Lycan King.

Enoch.

I force my gaze out the window, but the palace looms in the distance, a shadowy beast carved out of stone and gold, waiting to swallow me whole.

"This is your last chance to change your mind," Liam drawls from the driver's seat, eyes flicking to me through the rearview mirror. "I can still turn the car around."

I shoot him a glare. This, what I'm doing right here isn't for Enoch, it's not even for me but for my parents and for my brother, Jesse. This is to know who exactly took them away from me, and I've seen how the Imperial Pack is connected with their deaths and I'll stop at nothing to know everything.

"I'm not backing out." I hiss.

"Didn't think so," he mutters, gripping the wheel a little too tightly. "Just figured I'd remind you that you're walking into a lion's den wearing a steak necklace."

Zoe hums from the passenger seat, twisting to look at me with a little too much enthusiasm for my liking. "More like walking into your ex's house uninvited. The royal, powerful, might-murder-you-in-your-sleep kind of ex." She taps her chin. "Have you considered bringing a weapon? Something small, discreet. A dagger, maybe?"

"Sure," I deadpan. "I'll just tape it to my thigh and hope no one notices when I go through security."

She shrugs. "Or, hear me out-flash them some leg and maybe they'll let it slide." "Fucking hell," Liam mutters.

"Have you heard?"

The tension is broken as we both turn to Zoe who's deep on her phone.

“What?” Liam and I both say in unison. Zoe lifts her phone to show us a picture and my heart drops. It's in a balcony. The same one Enoch and I kissed. It was that fucking paparazzi. I knew they're not going to let it slide.

In the picture is Enoch, although his face isn't visible as well, yet it's clear he's the Lycan King. I'd know that even with the picture a mile away from me.

But,

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Chapter 72

Do they know who the woman is?

That I was the woman?

How much do they know?

Is my face seen?

"I think it's Lady Celeste though." My thoughts were stopped as I turn to Zoe, "What?" I mutter. She shrugs. "It's just the dress, she's wearing a red one, remember?" Liam nods at her.

Right. The dress.

It's red because of the wine that woman poured on me. i guess it was a blessing in disguise, that way, they wouldn't know it's

1. me.

Liam turns to

Blush creeps into my fac and I

as we turn to a

sharpening. Massive iron gates rise like a ribcage protecting a beast, the metal intricately carved with depictions of battles older than any living werewolf. The towering walls of black

it pressing down. The history. The blood. The sheer goddamn power embedded into every

"You good?" Zoe asks.

No. I'm not good.

But I say, "Peachy."

roll to a stop before the front gates, and immediately, guards descend upon the car. Their uniforms are pristine, their weapons polished, their expressions unreadable. One steps forward, his sharp gaze flicking

he says, voice clipped.

eyes lock onto mine like he's trying to see past my skin, into my

I stare back. Unflinching.

finally, he nods to the others. The gates

car lurches forward, taking me deeper into the lion's

I exhale slowly.

Welcome to the palace.

just as suffocating

ceiling. Chandeliers drip with obsidian

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Chapter 72

leans in close, whispering, "So, uh, have you ever

☐☐☐,82%ÛÛÛ

a few night ago, Z oe. But you don't have to know

became

whistle. "Damn. So this is going

is thick enough with unspoken words and unfinished business that we continue

the central wing, where an official is waiting for us. She's tall, regal, and terrifying in that "I could destroy you with

to the file your company has sent me, your role is as a royal historian and media consultant. You

I nod.

Liam is good at making excuses. We're

out the King. You do not ask personal questions. You

get it," I interrupt. "Stay in my lane. Do my job. Keep

the first time, something resembling amusement

you to your own room for the

to follow, leading us deeper into the palace. As we walk, I swear

I'm being

it's

force pressing against

my shoulders. Let

I'm here now.

I'm not leaving without answers to what happened to my

into luxury is that it makes you

isn't a bed, it's a fucking cloud. A silk-draped, goddess-tier mattress that makes my old cot at the pack house look like a dog bed. The entire suite is bigger

Not that I'm impressed.

bouncing once. The soft, expensive sheets smell faintly

Enoch.

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Chapter 72

groan into

82%

+53)

place feel like him? The walls, the air, the way every damn person looks at me like I don't belong. Like I'm an imposter in a world

bad. I'm

of my thoughts. Before

Vaelor strides in like she