The Fated Anchor

POV: Rhydian.

I braced my palms flat against the cold windowsill, glaring out at the sprawling grounds of my estate. The meticulously manicured gardens and imposing stone walls offered no comfort today. Everything I had built felt like a hollow monument to a dying man. "What do you see?"

Vespera stood behind me, her presence a mere whisper in the vast, echoing room. She wore an elegant white dress, her long flowy hair tied in a loose bun. "It does not work like a simple command, my king. I cannot summon visions on a whim."

A heavy, exhausted sigh left her lips, carrying the weight of a thousand untold futures.

I spun around, my boots thudding hard against the pristine hardwood floor. Frustration boiled in my blood, searing through my veins. "Make it work."

Vespera flinched but held her ground. She smoothed out the folds of her dress, her movements painfully slow.

"How much time do I have left before this curse consumes me? Give me a number, Vespera. I need to know when my body will finally give out," I pressed, stepping into her personal space. The primal authority rolling off my shoulders usually brought people to their knees, but she only blinked.

She lowered her gaze, unable to meet my burning stare. "I am not certain. It could be a few weeks. Perhaps just two days."

A dark, mirthless chuckle scraped up my throat. I tipped my head back, staring at the vaulted ceiling. The irony tasted bitter on my tongue. I was the supreme, feared Lycan King. Men cowered at my name. Rival alphas bowed at my feet. Armies shattered before my claws. Yet here I stood, a prisoner in my own grand castle, at the mercy of a witch's fickle fate.

"I cannot help you if you refuse to help yourself, my king. We all have our fates prewritten. Your destiny requires you to finally walk the specific path you have been avoiding for years," Vespera stated firmly, her voice devoid of fear despite the lethal tension in the room.

Feral anger sparked in my chest. My inner beast scratched frantically at my ribs, demanding blood and destruction. I forced the rising growl down, swallowing the venom. It was not her fault. Lashing out at the messenger would solve nothing.

"Fine. I will go take a look. But mark my words—I promise nothing," I conceded, my jaw clenched tight.

Half an hour later, the leather interior of the luxury SUV smelled of stale tension. Dante gripped the steering wheel, his broad shoulders stiff as he navigated the winding road toward the prominent packs under our rule. Vespera sat beside me in the back, silent as a ghost.

Dan flicked his eyes to the rearview mirror, breaking the stifling silence. "What exactly are we searching for on this impromptu trip, my king?"

I leaned my head against the tinted glass, letting out a long, ragged breath. "An anchor."

The heavy vehicle swerved. Tires shrieked against the asphalt. Dan’s knuckles turned white as he fought the steering wheel, wrenching us back into our lane just before we kissed the metal guardrail.

"Sorry, my king. But... an anchor? What made you finally change your mind?" Dan muttered, his voice strained with undisguised shock.

I glared at the passing trees, ignoring his question. I loathed the ominous weight of Vespera’s words. I despised the very concept of relying on some mystical tether to save my life. I had accepted my death long ago. Yet she had proven the accuracy of her sight time and time again. I had no choice. I had to trust her guidance to prevent my entire kingdom from turning to ash when I perished.

We drifted further down a secluded, unremarkable road. The trees grew sparse, giving way to barren stretches of land. The air inside the cabin suddenly shifted.

An intense, sickening claustrophobia crawled up my spine. The AC blasted chilled air over my skin, but sweat beaded on my forehead. The leather seat felt like a vise tightening around my ribs, crushing me inward.

My heart seized. Agonizing pain spiked through my chest, radiating down my arms. I doubled over, clawing at my own shirt, desperate to relieve the pressure.

"Stop the car!" I yelled, the command ripping out as a half-growl.

Dan slammed on the brakes. "What? Here?"

The tires screeched to a halt. Before the vehicle even settled, I threw the heavy door open. I stumbled blindly onto the pavement. The rough texture of a stone wall met my palms. I leaned against it, gasping for air as an invisible pressure crushed my lungs. My vision blurred into a dizzying smear of grays. I had never felt such crippling weakness before.

Footsteps hit the concrete behind me.

"My king!" Vespera’s voice pierced the ringing in my ears.

Dan flanked her, his hand resting on the hilt of his blade, eyes scanning the perimeter for threats. "We need to secure the area. There is a facility right here, a human school. Let us get inside and take a break."

I wanted to refuse, but my body betrayed me. I lacked the breath to argue.

The frail human dean practically toppled backward over his rolling chair the moment we stepped into his office. Papers fluttered to the floor in a messy cascade. He scrambled to his feet, a pathetic display of panic. "K-King Rhydian! If I had known... I would have arranged a welcome party! Please, accept my apologies..."

I ignored his endless stammering. The stench of his fear irritated my heightened senses, making my headache pound harder. Bypassing his desk, I walked straight to the window and parted the plastic blinds with two fingers.

Down in the courtyard below, the scene unfolded like a crude play. Dante stood like a titan among sheep. He had one hand wrapped around a lanky human kid’s throat, hoisting him effortlessly into the air. The boy's legs kicked helplessly in empty space.

I watched with cold apathy. Dan had always been a hothead, fiercely loyal to my name. The foolish boy must have mocked my cursed status. Humans were stupid creatures, prone to flapping their mouths about things they did not understand. The whole world knew the fate that awaited me—the cursed Lycan King who would never possess a mate. If Dan snapped the boy's neck for such an insult, I could not bring myself to care. They were nothing to me.

Then, the terrified crowd broke.

A girl shoved her way to the front. She possessed a strange aura, one I could not quite decipher from this distance. She was ordinary. Remarkably skinny. Clad in a worn, oversized sweatshirt, she stood a good two heads shorter than my deadliest warrior. Yet she planted her feet, placed her hands on her hips, and tilted her chin up.

I could not hear her words through the thick glass, but the sheer fury in her rigid posture screamed at Dan to drop her friend.

Dan did not even flinch. He dismissed her small presence as if she were a nuisance.

The girl didn't back down. She grabbed the straps of her heavy backpack, twisted her torso, and swung it straight into Dan’s rock-hard abdomen with audacious force.

A low chuckle rumbled in my chest. The absurd display of bravery amused me. It took guts to stand against the beta of a Lycan King.

I opened a mind link, letting my voice slide into Dan’s head. 'That hit must have hurt, Beta.'

Dan’s massive shoulders stiffened. He did not turn around, but his mental voice shot back, laced with a feral growl. 'I should just put this kid and the little girl six feet under the ground right now.'

I snorted, leaning closer to the glass. My golden eyes drifted back to study the feisty girl. The hood of her worn sweatshirt obscured her face, shielding her features from the afternoon sun. I watched her bend down to the pavement to retrieve the backpack she had dropped after her futile attack.

As she leaned forward, the fabric of her hood slipped back. The sunlight caught her delicate features, illuminating her pale skin.

The very second my eyes locked onto her face, the world stopped spinning.

That odd, suffocating, agonizing chest pain returned with a vengeance. It struck me like a physical blow, driving the breath from my lungs. But this time, the crushing pressure tangled with a profound, overwhelming sense of relief. An inexplicable, soul-deep familiarity washed over my frantic mind. It felt as though missing pieces of my shattered soul were suddenly snapping into place.

My pulse hammered in my ears, drowning out the ambient noise of the office. I gripped the windowsill, the wood cracking and splintering under my tightening fingers. My mind raced, baffled and disoriented. Why was I suddenly gripped by this intense, primal need to keep a stranger close to me? The urge to claim was a raging fire in my blood. I had never laid eyes on her before, yet I would slaughter anyone who dared touch her.

Down below, Dan tightened his grip. The boy’s face turned a dangerous shade of purple.

Before Dan could snap the kid's neck and escalate the scene, I issued a hard alpha command through the link. 'Let the kid go and come here.'

Dan froze. Reluctantly, his thick fingers uncurled. He dropped the gasping boy onto the hard concrete.

The girl dropped to her knees, scrambling on the ground to gather her friend's scattered belongings. As she shoved notebooks and pens into a canvas bag, she tilted her head back.

Our eyes met directly through the window pane.

The strange unease surged back through my veins with a fierce, blinding intensity. It felt like lightning striking my core, incinerating my self-control. I physically gasped for air, my chest heaving as if I had just run a thousand miles.

Every single instinct, every frayed nerve in my Lycan body screamed at me to act. Break through the glass. Jump down there. Grab her. Hold her tightly in my embrace. Claim her sweet lips and show her exactly who she belonged to. The urge was a biological imperative, wild and untamed.

The force of the need hit me so hard I staggered backward, my boots scraping against the floorboards.

Vespera was at my side in an instant. Her hands hovered near my arms, her eyes wide with frantic alarm. "My king? Are you alright?"

I could not answer. The words died in my parched throat. My golden eyes remained transfixed on the girl in the courtyard.

She hoisted her skinny friend up, wrapping his arm over her shoulder. As she walked away, supporting his dead weight, she looked back up at the window one last time. Her gaze bore into mine, sending a fresh shockwave down my spine.

Deep within my mind, my inner Lycan slammed against the bars of his cage. He let out a furious, possessive growl that shook my very soul, enraged that she was leaving our sight. She was walking away, and we were letting her.

Weird. What was going on?