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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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

Enoch.

locking up as I

by the shelves now, his broad frame cloaked

fucking eyes. I've seen them

The Lycan King.

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pissed the fuck

expression is unreadable. But his eyes... they flicker to the broken lock on

drawer.

Shit.

able to get

doesn't move. Doesn't

to explain what the fuck you're doing in my

throat is so dry

Think, Taryn. Think.

the words lodge in my throat when he steps

voice drops lower.

screaming at me to say something. Anything. But my mouth refuses

cooperate.

between

Fuck. He knows.

care?"

some fucking defiance into my voice. But it's weak. Even I

81%

you're walking into shit that's

words hangs heavy in the air. His body is close now-too close-and the heat radiating off him is

can't

My throat tightens.

"Why?" I whisper.

as he stares at me. His chest rises and falls, the tension

I fucking said

into me, but not for the reasons they

he says

Like it's a plea.

for that shit again. Not now. Not after

another

shoving down the chaos swirling in my

not a

Silence.

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Chapter 74

eyes...

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Taryn." His voice is softer

the man I used to know.

was his

But that man's gone.

hallway casts sharp shadows across his face, carving his features into something almost

hate him

my chin up, fighting against the weight pressing down on

the broken lock, then

the question almost makes

chest.

even though my insides

nerves and resentment. "Didn't realize I needed permission to

muscle in his jaw jumps.

I don't owe you an

in that moment I realize-he can

The way it's thrumming, erratic

uneven.

and his stupid fucking

and measured,

back.

curl, just slightly, but it's not a smile. It's something darker. Something

he murmurs, voice deceptively smooth. "You weren't running the

we were

My blood turns molten.

"Oh, fuck you."

his head.

something at him.

of books, and knowing my luck, I'd just

myself by missing.

I

right," I grit out, voice

after what you did."

expression doesn't flicker.

Oh, he's serious.

Something inside me snaps.

arrogant son of a bitch," I spit.

stupuid forest and you lied. You

standing here like you have any right to

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Chapter 74

doesn't respond.

me want

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

here, Enoch?"

of

you