Babysitting The Amnesiac Lycan King

Chapter 74

Don't fucking breathe.

Dust coats my throat, clogging my lungs as I press my lips together, trying not to cough. I'm crammed under the antique desk like a damn contortionist, my body wedged into a position that's making my muscles scream. But I don't move. Can't.

Footsteps. Slow. Calculated.

They know this room.

The door creaks as it swings open, a low groan slicing through the suffocating silence. My pulse pounds against my eardrums, each beat louder than the last. My eyes sting from holding back the tears that threaten to spill, and my chest heaves with the effort of staying fucking silent.

I peek through the tiny gap between the desk and the floor. Just enough to see.

Boots. Polished to a fucking shine. Black. Expensive.

Not a servant. Definitely not.

The figure moves deeper into the room, their presence dominating the space. Whoever the fuck this is, they're dangerous. I don't need to see their face to know

that.

Shit.

My body's frozen, but my mind's racing a mile a minute. Did I leave the damn drawer slightly open? I swear I shoved the file back in before hiding, but fuck... I was panicking. My hands were shaking.

What if they see it?

A bead of sweat rolls down the side of my temple, trailing along my cheek. I ignore the prickle of discomfort as the figure lingers by the desk-right fucking above me.

My eyes track every movement. A hand. Large. Calloused. Familiar. It brushes against the edge of the drawer I just pried open, and my stomach clenches so hard I might puke.

Fuck. Did I close it all the way?

Seconds drag into eternity.

One.

Two.

Three.

My body is on high alert, heart slamming against my ribcage. My knees ache from pressing into the marble, and my fingers dig into the cold floor to keep me grounded.

The hand pauses. Hovers. Then...

It retreats.

Oh, thank fuck.

I don't breathe. Not yet.

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Chapter 74

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Then, just when I think I'm about to be yanked out from under this goddamn desk and dragged into a nightmare I am not prepared for-

He moves away.

Not fast. Not urgent. Just a slow, almost calculated retreat toward the far side of the room.

The moment his back is turned, I act.

I inch forward, my body screaming at me to run, but I can't afford to be sloppy. One wrong move, one stupidly loud breath, and this all goes to shit.

My fingers brush against the smooth wood of the desk as I push myself out from under it, my movements painstakingly careful. My feet find the floor. I straighten, pivoting toward the door.

Almost there.

Three steps. Two. One-

The door slams shut,

I fucking jump.

The sound echoes like a gunshot, rattling the walls, reverberating through my goddamn soul. My breath catches, my body locking up as an icy wave of dread slams into me.

No. No, no, no, no-

A voice, low and dangerous, slithers through the silence.

"I was hoping I was wrong."

A chill spreads down my spine. I don't turn immediately. I can't. My fingers twitch

at my sides, nails biting into my palms, and I focus on the sting, on the way it grounds me.

Then, finally, I turn.

And there he is.

My blood runs cold.

No.

No.

No.

That voice.

Commanding. Dark and

Enoch.

my body locking up

the shelves now, his broad frame cloaked in shadow, but

that face. Those fucking eyes. I've seen them haunt my dreams and torment

The Lycan King.

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And pissed the fuck

unreadable. But his eyes... they flicker to the broken

drawer.

Shit.

whisper, barely able to get the word

move. Doesn't

fuck you're doing in my

is so dry

Think, Taryn. Think.

words lodge in my throat when he steps

voice drops lower. Dangerous. "Lie to

to say something. Anything. But my mouth refuses

cooperate.

between my face and the

Fuck. He knows.

you care?"

defiance into my voice. But

81%

jaw clenches. "Because you're walking into

words hangs heavy in the air. His body is close now-too close-and

I can't let that

My throat tightens.

"Why?" I whisper.

his jaw ticking as he stares at me. His chest rises and falls,

fucking said

lurches. His words slam into me, but

the way he says it. It's not a

Like it's a plea.

I can't let myself fall for that shit again.

for another

my teeth, shoving down the chaos

not a

Silence.

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eyes...

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Taryn." His voice

see the man I used to

his whole

But that man's gone.

dim light from the hallway casts sharp shadows across his face, carving his features into something almost inhuman.

him for

against the

the broken lock, then back to

of the question almost makes me

chest.

arms, mirroring his stance, even though my insides are

"Didn't realize I

jumps. "That's

don't owe

nostrils flare slightly, and it's in that moment I realize-he

The way it's thrumming, erratic

uneven.

his stupid

step forward, slow and measured, and

back.

not a smile. It's something darker. Something

smooth.

were this

My blood turns molten.

"Oh, fuck you."

tilts his head.

everything-I almost throw something

reach except a stack of books, and knowing my

myself by missing.

I

voice shaking

after what you did."

flicker. "What

Oh, he's serious.

Something inside me snaps.

of a bitch," I spit. "You walked

saved you-in that stupuid forest and you lied.

here like you have

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Chapter 74

respond.

me want to

my head, forcing down the burn in my throat. "Why are you

here, Enoch?"

of silence.

you the same