The King's Claim

Valerie POV.

The heavy double doors of the grand ballroom groaned loudly as I pushed them wide open, the sound echoing ominously through the cavernous space. My trembling hands fell to my sides. The Alpha's magical command still hummed viciously in my veins, physically compelling me to put one foot in front of the other. The grand ballroom stretched out before me, an opulent expanse of polished marble, glittering chandeliers, and towering columns. But none of the extravagant decor mattered. My eyes were immediately drawn to the end of the long, velvet-lined aisle.

There stood a man who was utterly impossible to ignore. He was a literal mountain of muscle clad in a perfectly tailored, dark suit that stretched taut across his impossibly broad shoulders. He stood with his back to me, speaking quietly with another towering member of his visiting Lycan clan. Assuming he was merely a high-ranking messenger or a Lycan general sent to wait for the bride, my stomach tied itself into agonizing knots. A cold sweat broke out across the back of my neck. My idle fingers nervously smoothed down the cheap, scratchy fabric of my maid’s dress. I tried desperately to focus on my erratic breathing, my nerves completely frayed as I marched down the aisle toward potential doom. Each step brought me frighteningly closer to the massive Lycan.

I licked my dry lips, mentally rehearsing the speech I needed to give. But the moment he turned to face me fully, I completely froze in my tracks. The breath caught painfully in my throat, and my eyes widened in sheer disbelief.

I was instantly, undeniably distracted by his face.

He possessed eyes as bright and piercing as raw emeralds. His facial structure looked as though it had been meticulously carved by the heavens themselves—sharp, high cheekbones, a strong, uncompromising jawline, and an imposing, magnetic aura that effortlessly entrapped you and dragged you in. But what shocked me the most was his skin. Much to my utter confusion, absolutely no scars marked his flawless face. I tilted my head, my mind racing to make sense of the man standing before me.

This could not possibly be Alpha Kravos. I had grown up terrified by the horrific stories of the Alpha of Death. The bloody rumors explicitly stated he was a monster, covered in grotesque, mangled scars that kept him violently hidden from the rest of the world for years. But this man... this man was ethereal. He was devastatingly handsome in the truest, rawest form. He was literal perfection walking the earth. How in the goddess's name was I supposed to tell this flawless Lycan that his terrifying Alpha was currently being stood up by my bully?

"You do not look like the picture provided in the treaty," the man said smoothly. His deep, gravelly voice sent an involuntary shiver down my spine as his dark eyebrow arched in pure curiosity.

"You... you are not Alpha Kravos," I blurted out, utterly dumbfounded.

The man looked highly amused by my blatant staring. He casually shoved his large hands into his suit pockets, rocking back slightly on his heels.

"No?" he asked, a dark, playful smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

I furrowed my brows, thoroughly confused. "I mean, are you... Alpha Kravos?" I whispered, my voice trembling.

"You do not think I am, so I must not be," he answered easily with a dismissive shrug.

A massive wave of relief instantly crashed over me. Thank the moon goddess. "Listen, I need you to give a message to your Alpha right now, or take me directly to him so I can deliver it myself. But it is incredibly urgent," I rushed out, the panic bubbling back up to the surface.

"I am perfectly capable of delivering a message," the handsome lycan replied, his emerald eyes glinting.

I took a deep, shaky breath. "His contracted mate will not attend the ceremony," I told him, my voice tight.

His expression barely shifted. "Are you telling me that our peace treaty is dead?" he asked coolly.

"No! No, absolutely not," I squeaked out in a panic. I frantically looked over my shoulder, desperately scanning the empty doorway for Alpha Barrett. I prayed the Alpha would hurry up and take over before the real Alpha Kravos marched out here expecting a wedding that wasn't happening. "They are going to find him a new mate. A much better one."

"Oh?" The man raised a single, questioning brow. "And who, exactly, could be better than the Alpha’s own daughter?"

My nervous mouth completely ran away with me. "Literally anyone walking the earth would be better than the cruel Tinsley," I muttered bitterly under my breath, the words slipping out before I could stop them.

The man didn't erupt into anger at my blatant disrespect toward the bride. Instead, that amused, dark smirk returned in full force. He took a slow, deliberate step closer to me. "Well," he replied coolly, "if that is the case, then I should simply choose a mate of my own liking."

I stared up at him, utterly horrified that he had heard my venomous muttering. Then, the actual meaning behind his words finally settled into my panicked brain. The air in my lungs turned to ice. My horror rapidly morphed into a cold, paralyzing terror as the realization violently dawned on me. He wasn't a messenger. He was talking about himself. Which meant...

"Y-you are Alpha Kravos," I whispered, the blood draining from my face. A lethal, terrifying awareness trickled down my spine as I forced myself to meet his deeply amused gaze. I had just casually spoken like an equal to the Alpha of Death. I had just insulted the bride to the legendary, feared Lycan King himself.

"I am?" he asked, a cocky, wicked grin spreading across his plush lips.

"I—I thought you would look entirely different," I stuttered out, frantically wringing my trembling hands together. I was completely unsure of how to act in the suffocating presence of Lycan royalty. Was I supposed to drop to my knees? Was I supposed to bow?

"You expected a face full of monstrous scars?" He leaned forward, his massive frame closing the distance between us until his scent—a rich blend of dark pine and rolling thunder—enveloped me. He lowered his voice to a dark, intimate whisper. "Oh, I have scars, little wolf. Just not where you can see them when I am fully clothed." He boldly winked at me, and despite the sheer terror gripping my heart, my cheeks flared with a sudden, betraying heat.

"Valerie!"

The frantic, panicked shout tore through the heavy tension. Alpha Barrett rushed blindly down the aisle, his face pale and shining with cold sweat. I was genuinely not sure if I had ever been actually happy to see my tormentor's father, but right now was the sole exception. His sudden arrival abruptly pulled Alpha Kravos’s intense, predatory attention away from me.

"Did you deliver the news to Alpha Kravos?" Barrett demanded, coming to a breathless halt beside me.

"She has thoroughly informed me," Kravos said. His voice dropped an octave, losing all of its previous amusement. His emerald eyes locked right back onto mine, completely ignoring Barrett, as if we were engaged in some silent, intense battle that I was not privy to.

"Alpha Kravos, please, I have found you a suitable replacement bride for my daughter to honor the treaty," Alpha Barrett rushed out, physically groveling. He practically bowed, his eyes pleading desperately for mercy from the Lycan King.

"No need," Kravos declared smoothly, turning his massive body to face me once more. A dark, dangerous mischief swirled in the air around him. "I will be choosing my own mate."

"Yes, of course, I suppose that would be more than fair, given the unfortunate circumstances," Alpha Barrett agreed frantically. He immediately grabbed a harsh hold of my arm, aggressively trying to drag me away from the terrifying Lycan. "Come along, Valerie. Tinsley is in need of you upstairs."

A vicious, deafening growl ripped through the ballroom.

The sound was utterly possessive and terrifying. Kravos’s hand shot out like lightning. He grabbed my free arm, his massive, heated fingers wrapping securely around my flesh. He pulled me gently but firmly back toward his solid chest. I gasped out loud in pure shock, my body caught suspended between the two men. I looked up at the Lycan King, my mind spinning in absolute confusion.

"I want Valerie. I will be taking her as my mate," Kravos announced to the empty room. His deep voice boomed with absolute, unyielding finality.

My mouth went completely dry. "Me?" I rasped out, thoroughly shocked. My eyebrows shot up to my hairline as my brain violently struggled to process his insane, impossible request.

"Absolutely not." Barrett tugged me toward him harder, his panic overriding his common sense.

Kravos forcefully released his gentle hold on my arm, but another, much darker growl rumbled deep within his chest. His emerald eyes instantly bled into a terrifying, pitch-black void. "Excuse me?"

"Alpha Kravos, you don’t want her! I’m not sure you realize the truth, but she is merely a lowly pack maid," Alpha Barrett stammered frantically, dropping my arm as he realized his lethal mistake. "She takes care of Tinsley, and her wolf is incredibly weak. She is entirely unfit for a king—"

Kravos completely ignored the frantic Alpha. He locked his gaze onto me. "Valerie, do you accept my offer?" he asked me directly, his tone demanding.

"She does not get to speak for herself!" Alpha Barrett hissed, aggressively grabbing my shoulder and physically pushing me behind his back to hide me from the Lycan King.

"I don’t think you fully understand the situation here, Barrett."

Kravos moved. He didn't just step forward; he practically teleported, violently invading Barrett's personal space. The Lycan King's towering, impossibly broad frame cast a terrifying, ominous shadow over the significantly weaker Alpha. The sheer dominance radiating from Kravos was suffocating, pressing down on my lungs like a physical weight. His lip twitched in barely contained, lethal anger.

"I will have Valerie," Kravos's voice boomed, dropping into a terrifying, demonic register that vibrated the marble floor beneath our feet. "Or I will slaughter you all in a war. Is that completely understood?"

Barrett choked on his own breath, completely paralyzed by the Lycan King's crushing aura.

"You don’t want me," I whispered desperately. Kravos easily reached entirely around the frozen Barrett, gently gripping my waist and pulling me firmly to his solid side. I uselessly pressed my hands against his chest, ignoring his low, pleased hum at my touch. "I’m no one. I have absolutely no status. My mate literally just rejected me." I tried like hell to get this terrifying monster to see reason. To see that he didn't actually want me. If he took me, I would eventually let him down, and then he would just brutally kill me off for being a disappointment.

"I have made up my mind," Kravos stated firmly, turning his massive body to look down at me. He didn't bother dressing his demand in sweet, romantic words. He was bluntly, ruthlessly honest. "If you wish to back out, then speak right now, and I will instantly prepare my warriors for attack. I do not have the time to make you feel like I want you for your sweet virtues or your breathtaking looks. I am taking you strictly as a necessary political move to secure a Luna for my pack. Truth be told, you are oddly small and much too thin."

His harsh words weren’t loving, kind, or comforting. I got the distinct, terrifying feeling that I was nothing more than a convenient pawn in some grand, violent game.

Yet, as I stared up into his dark, uncompromising eyes, the gears in my mind furiously began to turn. This terrifying, notoriously brutal Lycan was blatantly offering me a definitive, guaranteed way out. He was my only genuine escape from the agonizing, endless torture of staying in this pack house. If I stayed, I would be forced to watch Jace—the mate who had just mercilessly shattered my soul into a million pieces—build a happy, perfect family with Tinsley, my lifelong, cruel tormentor.

I swallowed the thick, lingering lump of fear in my throat. I desperately needed to run away. Forget the years of relentless suffering; this was my one and only chance at survival. Alpha Kravos might look like a breathtaking angel of death, but his cold proposition was the absolute only one that promised me a life away from this hellhole.

"Do you accept, Valerie? Yes or no," Kravos asked once more, his deep voice cutting through my chaotic thoughts.

I aggressively nibbled my bottom lip. I lifted my chin, staring directly into the eyes of the beast. Slowly, deliberately, I nodded my head.

"Yes," I whispered, my chest hurting wildly, the massive ballroom suddenly feeling incredibly small.

"Excellent."

The next few moments moved in a violent, chaotic blur. Someone in the background—likely a horrified pack elder—spoke up, nervously thanking everyone for gathering or something to that pathetic effect. I couldn’t focus on the noise. I was entirely too stuck staring at the giant man who was forcefully claiming me, the lowest maid in the pack, to be his eternal mate. No, he wasn't forcing me. He was saving me. But my shattered heart didn't quite know how to feel about that either.

Kravos reached out, taking my small, trembling hand in his massive one. He led me confidently to the absolute center of the long aisle, turning so we completely faced each other. Our hands remained firmly joined as he focused his intense, unyielding gaze solely on me.

"I, Alpha Kravos of the Veiled Eclipse pack and The Lycan King, choose you, Valerie, of the Obsidian Peak pack, to be my mate, my Luna."

His powerful words were firm, resolute, and completely final as he spoke loudly, his voice booming for all the lingering pack members to hear. I drew in a ragged, shaky breath. It should have been me happily saying these sacred words to Jace. I should be promising my life and soul to Jace. Yet, here I was, acting purely on impulse and a completely broken heart. A small, dark part of me viciously hoped that when Jace eventually heard about this union, it would hurt him just as much as his agonizing betrayal was currently hurting me.

Kravos cleared his throat softly, abruptly pulling my wandering mind back to the here and now. I violently shook my head, squeezing my eyes shut for a brief second as I focused entirely on the terrifying task at hand.

"Uh—I, Valerie of the Obsidian Peak Pack, choose you, Alpha Kravos, to be my mate and my Alpha," I said, my voice soft but entirely steady.

Kravos gave me a slow, tight-lipped smile. The instant the vow left my lips, my entire body buzzed violently with raw electricity. His emerald eyes instantly turned a deep, feral black as he firmly yanked me forward, pressing my small body flush against his rock-hard chest.

Unexpected, brilliant sparks fluttered wildly from his heated skin against mine. The physical contact was absolute magic. I inhaled sharply, a loud gasp tearing from my throat at the intense, burning shock of it. I genuinely didn’t realize that chosen, political mates could also physically feel the legendary mate sparks. The sudden, fiery warmth shooting through my veins made my broken heart patter aggressively against my ribs with a sudden, confusing burst of hope.

Maybe... maybe this whole terrifying arrangement wouldn’t be so entirely bad? With Jace completely out of the picture, I had absolutely nothing left to lose but my own sanity if I stayed behind. This was my only viable choice. No, as the delicious sparks danced across my flesh, I realized this was the right choice.

"Stop!"

A furious, demonic roar violently echoed off the high walls, instantly shattering the fragile, confusing moment between us.

I ripped my gaze away from Kravos's chest. Tinsley stormed furiously down the long aisle, looking like an absolute nightmare draped in a glaring, scarlet red dress that clung tightly to her curves. Her cheeks were flush pink with unhinged rage, and her eyes were entirely black, consumed by her furious wolf.

Kravos loosened his tight hold on my waist, and I immediately stepped back, nervously adjusting the bodice of my dress. A heavy, suffocating sense of dread rained down on my shoulders as the Lycan King silently watched her approach.

A sudden, frantic movement in the back of the room aggressively drew my attention. My traitorous heart completely stuttered in my chest. Jace. He was standing near the back wall. His handsome face was pale, his eyes red and puffy from crying, his entire expression screaming with absolute, agonizing confliction as he watched me standing beside the Lycan King. A wave of sickening guilt violently ripped through my core. I felt hot, pathetic tears welling up in my eyes, aggressively threatening to spill down my cheeks.

Before I could even brace myself, Tinsley lunged.

A sudden, blazing pain violently erupted across my right cheek. My head whipped aggressively to the side, the sharp cracking sound of the brutal slap echoing through the silent ballroom. I blinked back the stinging tears, completely stunned, trying desperately to understand what had just happened.

But when I turned my head back to face Tinsley, my vision was completely blocked by a massive wall of muscle.

Kravos’s reaction was terrifyingly instantaneous. He moved like a bolt of dark lightning, stepping swiftly and protectively directly in front of me. His broad back completely shielded my smaller frame from suffering any further physical harm.

"Rescind it!" Tinsley snarled viciously, her face twisted in pure, venomous rage as she glared up at the towering Lycan King. "Take back your claim on him right now, Valerie, and I promise I will forgive you for this massive screw-up!"

Kravos didn't roar. He didn't strike her. Instead, he simply threw his head back and laughed. It was a booming, deeply mocking sound that sent chills racing down my arms. He leaned down slightly, stepping aggressively closer to Tinsley, who immediately squared her shoulders, desperately trying to look tough. But even from behind Kravos, I could easily smell the sickening stench of pure fear rolling off her skin. The King's expression was completely unreadable as he slowly, judgingly tilted his head, looking her up and down like she was nothing but dirt on his shoe.

"You will forgive her?" Kravos asked, his tone dripping with absolute, mocking boredom. He took another terrifying, menacing step toward the spoiled Alpha's daughter. "Do you honestly think I am incredibly stupid? I know exactly what dark secrets you have been hiding and what you have been up to over the past few months." He released a low, vibrating growl.

Tinsley visibly flinched, but she forcefully scoffed, acting as though he were completely crazy. "I don’t know what you are talking about," she said coldly, quickly looking away from his piercing gaze. "No doubt those are just pathetic lies from a jealous servant."

"She is no servant. She is a Luna," Kravos sneered viciously. He firmly and loudly declared my new title, his voice echoing with undisputed authority. He then took a disgusted step back from Tinsley, acting completely repulsed, as if she wasn't even worth another second of his precious time.

Tinsley's facade violently cracked. Desperate, completely losing control of the situation, she quickly sidestepped Kravos's massive frame. The frantic panic in her eyes completely overtook her usual dark brown irises, raw jealousy clearly lacing its way through her scent. She quickly glanced toward the outskirt of the room, nervously licking her bright red lips, before stepping aggressively closer to me.

Kravos released a deafening, bone-chilling growl of warning, but Tinsley recklessly ignored the lethal threat.

"Jace is waiting for you right now," she whispered, lowering her voice to a venomous, manipulative hiss as she moved dangerously closer to my face. My battered heart violently skipped a beat. "You have loved him for as long as I can remember. You still have time to fix this. You can still rekindle the severed bond. I promise you my full blessing for you two to be together. All you have to do is step down and take back your pathetic oath."

Kravos chuckled darkly behind me, treating her desperate manipulation like it was a hilarious joke, but I couldn’t bring myself to look at my new mate.

My traitorous eyes slowly, agonizingly drifted toward the far wall. Jace was standing exactly where he had been, his attention solely focused on me. His handsome face was suddenly illuminated with a pathetic, desperate hope. Despite the agonizing betrayal, despite the sheer, soul-crushing pain he had just put me through hours ago, my deeply broken heart genuinely yearned for the boy I had loved my entire life. For as long as a girl could have a crush, my heart had violently beat for him alone. My skin had desperately longed for his gentle touch.

I mentally questioned everything. Was it truly, actually possible to back out of this? Could I step down right now, save our violently broken bond, and completely rewrite this morning's horrific tragedy?

I gave in to the heavy, burning stare I could physically feel from Kravos. I slowly looked up at the Lycan King over my shoulder. A dark, feral glint completely consumed his emerald eyes as he intensely studied my face, easily reading the internal, agonizing conflict tearing me apart.

Then, I stupidly looked back over at Jace. The hope written all over my former mate's face was begging me to return to him.

Suddenly, Kravos’s massive body shifted, completely blocking my view of Jace.

Before I could even blink, Kravos reached out. His large, calloused hand firmly gripped my chin. His strong fingers dug into my soft flesh just enough to assert his absolute dominance, forcefully demanding my undivided attention back to him. The feral, dangerous glint in his black eyes was absolutely lethal. He leaned down, his towering frame completely caging me in.

His hot breath ghosted right over my trembling lips as he whispered a lethal, inescapable promise so low that only I could hear it.

"You are mine now, little mate. Look at him like that again, and I will kill him."