Babysitting The Amnesiac Lycan King

Chapter 95

Chapter 95

There's a second bouquet waiting for me this morning.

11

Dead. Again. Like someone plucked the petals straight out of a graveyard and thought, You know what? This'll brighten her day.

I squint at the shriveled mess dumped right outside my door. The flowers are even worse than the last ones-crunchy, blackened, curling like they're trying to retreat into themselves. There's a note tucked inside this time.

"Matches your loyalty."

My laugh comes out flat. No humor. No real breath. Just air scraping past my teeth like it wants to be something louder,

messier.

I bend down, pick it up, and stare at the rotting stems for a few seconds longer than I should. I pocket the note before I can think too hard about how it actually fucking hurts.

Because it does.

Which pisses me off more than the bouquet.

Phone's already in my hand before I'm back inside. I call Zoe.

She answers after one ring. "You still alive, corpse bride?"

"I think Enoch's trying to hex me. Second bouquet. This one's got a fucking note."

"Jesus Christ," she wheezes through the speaker. "Does it at least smell nice?"

"It smells like pissed ex-boyfriend who can't say what he actually means."

"Ugh. I swear, that man needs therapy. Like, several sessions a day. Electroshock, if possible."

I flop onto the edge of my bed, flinging the curtains shut because I feel like I'm

being watched. Probably am.

“Tell me something distracting,” I say, rubbing my temples.

"Oh, you're gonna love this. I overheard two guards talking about some underground werewolf fight club-"

"...What?"

"Alpha Combat Training," she says, full gossip-mode. "Top-secret, no staff allowed, not even the guards can get close unless they're part of it. Guess who's gonna be there?"

My heart slams once. Then twice.

I don't answer.

"Your growly murder crush," Zoe adds like she's narrating a daytime soap. "Apparently, no one at the palace can keep up with him, so they've started flying in actual Alphas just to keep him from breaking all the training bots. Sounds like the world's horniest deathmatch."

"You think they're really fighting?"

"You think they're braiding friendship bracelets in there?"

I'm already up, grabbing a jacket, not bothering with makeup or an actual plan.

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Chapter 95

Zoe's voice trails behind me. "You're insane. Fully unwell, I love it. Please don't die."

The combat field is deep within the royal perimeter. Forest on all sides. Mist lingers low, thick enough to blur outlines but not thick enough to hide the heat.

It smells like blood and dirt and sweat.

Also power.

The kind that buzzes along the back of your neck and makes your lungs feel too small. Every inch of my skin is prickling by the time I crawl under the old warding fence behind the clearing. I duck low, keeping to the trees. My breath fogs the air in front of me.

Then I see it.

Chaos.

Dozens of wolves-some mid-shift, some shifting back-are beating the shit out of each other. Limbs snap. Regrow. Snarls rip through the clearing, teeth flashing in the sun as jaws clamp down on flesh. It's... beautiful in the most unhinged, primal way. Like watching war ballet.

And in the middle of it all?

Him.

Enoch.

Blood on his chest. Hands. His throat. Some of it his, most of it not. His hair's slicked back with sweat, his chest heaving as he throws some massive Alpha clean across the field like he weighs nothing.

He's not even trying.

I know his face well enough by now. This isn't him fighting hard.

This is him... burning time..

Holy fuck.

I blink-and get yanked backwards by the collar of my jacket.

spin, ready to elbow whoever's behind me,

The Dowager Queen.

caught me sneaking cookies, not breaking

about as subtle as your grandfather was during

She leads me out from the shadows and right into the open, where

to sink

the Dowager calls, sharp and amused. "I think she

One foot pressing into some guy's spine. His head

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11:15 Sat, 12 Apr

Chapter 95

his eyes

forget how to

100%

(+83)

way. His claws are still halfway there, teeth sharp, skin streaked with blood and mud. He

He doesn't flinch.

a show," he growls, loud enough for the trees to shake,

of them turn to look. The other half pretend not

saves my life, because Enoch doesn't come any closer. He just

Stark naked.

Fuming.

beautiful it

this angry, he shouldn't be this

I swallow.

clap. Once. Twice.

out of ten," I say, voice flat, fingers still slapping together. "Would

again."

He doesn't smile.

across his

I know

Not even close.

***

don't even know what to say. The door slams

gunshot down the

I just

off one shoulder. Heart

ankles.

got to be fucking kidding

the universe will take it

But no.

across from mine.

like it's laughing at me.

to walk into

The Lycan King's room.

His. Enoch's.

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Chapter 95

this maze of a palace,

disaster I'm trying to forget. Or stab. Or kiss. Probably all three, depending on the

should knock. I should demand a room change.

+83)

instead... I laugh. Low and dry and bitter. I clutch the doorknob of my room, press my forehead against the cool wood,

amazing. Top-tier hospitality, ten out of

as I turn it. The

Overkill, honestly. Bigger than

and a bed that looks like it could fit six Lycans and still have

bag with a thud. Walk straight to the window. Press

the glass.

below is quiet. Too quiet. The kind of quiet that makes you

even when you know you're

am being

I turn around,

in the doorway

Enoch.

damn sweatpants that hang dangerously low on his hips, like gravity has a personal vendetta. His hair is still wet from

to figure out whether I'm real

say, crossing my arms and hating how my voice

His eyes drag over me

or maybe my last

"You're loud."

jaw drops. "Excuse

It echoed. Thought someone

will to live," I

Not a smile, exactly,

one.

steps closer. Just a

to the doorway of my room without thinking. My

stiff. Fight

are you doing?" I ask, because I can't

"I live here."

"Not what I meant."

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My blood is

the the wanted and