CHAPTER 26: LYCAN KING REVEALED
Maya’s POV
“BUT I DEMAND A FORMAL INVESTIGATION IN THE MATTER.”
My pulse roared in my ears.
It was HIM!
I forgot to breathe.
His sharp gaze, oozing danger turned soft, almost pleading when his eyes met mine.
My mind raced back to his last parting words:
“If you ever find yourself in any kind of trouble, find me. Find Sebastian Longstone, Prince of the Golden Lycan Pack. See you soon, Belle. Don’t forget this beast.”
Every mysterious word, every whisper, every stolen scent that haunted my dreams, it all clicked into place.
I shivered.
Because standing before me wasn’t just the wounded boy who had begged for help, trying to save someone he loved despite the dangerous risks he took. No. Standing in the boy’s stead was a man. A powerful man.
He had transformed, nay, ascended.
The mysterious figure who held me with those magnificent, tattooed arms like bands of steel in the most dire times was actually the most radiant, dangerously handsome man I had ever seen. He was drop dead gorgeous, oozing power and strength.
The man lived up to his name.
Sebastian Longstorm.
The name tasted like thunder and forbidden fruit on my tongue.
His deep red robes, ceremonial yet slightly undone, fell open into a V at the chest, revealing a flash of smooth, golden skin. An intricate circular inked royal tattoo, stark black against muscle that rippled with every breath was any sculpture’s chiselled delight. Veins curved like art down his arms, and his back. I remembered it too well. Sculpted, corded with strength, and marked with my name like a secret meant only for the gods.
His jaw could have been cut from crystal, sharp, commanding, yet devastatingly refined. Not a single trace of scruff, clean-shaven to an unnatural perfection that only made him look more untouchable. His high cheekbones caught the soft lighting like they had been kissed by frost, and those lips? Ah! They were full, finely shaped, tinged with a maddeningly soft red, like he had just bitten them.
And his eyes?
Gods above, his eyes.
I got lost in those ocean-blue eyes, deep and dark and fathomless, with the power to drown and consume. They burned with intelligence and danger, calm on the surface but full of storms beneath, the kind of gaze that saw everything, even the parts of me I kept buried.
His hair, once darker than ember, now shimmered like starlight, as white as pure snow, symbolizing his royal birth. His hair touselled in wild, elegant locks and tumbled just long enough to fall into his eyes when he moved. Even the arch of his long neck held pride and commanded obedience. His regal shoulders drew attention to the proud set of his collarbone and the sheer authority in his stance.
He was tall. So tall. Towering. Dominant. The broad span of his chest seemed carved for battle and the finest velvet alike. And his thighs? They were thick, powerful, the kind of strength that promised danger and shelter all in one.
He looked like Adonis incarnate.
He could lure anyone with his wild, intoxicating charm.
He was like sin and temptation wrapped in mischievous royalty.
Like he could ruin and worship me in the same breath.
And when his eyes found mine, when he really looked at me, my lungs forgot how to work.
And my body?
It remembered everything.
The spell broke when evil opened its mouth.
“Your Highness! I did not want to drag out this matter because I was trying to save the omega’s modesty but with a heavy heart, I am forced to reveal that the omega cheated on me when we were mates and carries a strange, invisible mark on her neck. Surely the king will not like to have such a loose woman in his harem,” Leo said.
Sebastian’s gaze shifted from me to Leo’s. His gaze hardened. Even Leo staggered back, taken aback by the cold and dangerous edge in the Lycan King’s gaze.
“Who are you?” Sebastian coldly asked, voice low, almost bored but there was venom coiled beneath every syllable.
Leo opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. His bravado evaporated under that stare, under the weight of royal power and something … feral.
He forgot his own name!
“Your Highness,” Quinn cried out and kowtowed at the King’s feet. “He is my mate and husband, Leo Maxwell, the Great Alpha of the Black Storm Pack. That omega doctor is his ex-mate. She tried to seduce the father of my children and kill him! She managed to bribe your royal guards. My mate forgave her, despite her heinous crime but I demand justice for him,” she sobbed.
“Is that so?” The Lycan King mused. “Do you agree with her, Mr Maxwell?”
Mr Maxwell. The King addressed the Alpha as Mister, a mere commoner! No Alpha, no title.
And just like that, everyone knew.
They knew that there was more to their beloved Alpha Leo’s story.
“Y-Yes, Your Majesty,” Leo stammered.
Sebastian’s gaze fell back on me and scanned me from head to toe. The slight vibration in his body was enough indication that he was fighting the rage that clawed under his skin.
Next, his eyes rolled towards his chained royal guards.
“Release them. Now,” he ordered and Princess Hannah’s soldiers scrambled to do his bidding.
“B-But Your Maj-jesty! They tried to kill an Alph – … ” Princess Hannah was cut off when Sebastian raised his hand. Pin drop silence descended in the hall. Everyone waited with bated breath, unaware what would happen next or what was going on in the Lycan King’s mind.
The mighty royal stepped down, every step exuding power, grace and danger. His calculated movements made everyone tremble more than his silence.
My gaze never wavered off him. I waited for him. Straight and steady.
“You don’t need to stay strong all the time, my Queen,” he whispered and wrapped his royal cloak around me. Everyone gasped as the symbol of power slid off his shoulders and draped my smaller frame completely.
My lip quivered and eyes teared up but I did not let a drop fall.
“It’s ok. I will take care of this for you.” He raised his hand to cup my cheek but I stepped back, shaking my head.
Worry shot up on his face.
“What happened?” He asked, grabbing my chin nonetheless, much to everyone’s surprise.
I hesitated. My lips parted, but no words came.
How could I tell him?
How could I look into those storm-laced eyes and speak the truth, when the truth was stained with shame, lies, and the invisible bruise still blooming on my soul?
His grip on my chin remained gentle, but his jaw flexed. A flicker of emotion betrayed the storm beneath that handsome, unshakable mask.
“I asked you a question, Belle,” he said, softer this time. Dangerous in its tenderness. “What. Happened?”
A muscle ticked in his temple. His other hand clenched into a fist by his side.
I didn’t answer. Not with words. I tilted my head slightly, enough for the soft fabric of his cloak to slip and reveal the hollow of my neck.
Gasps echoed.
Because even if the mark was invisible, its energy was not.
It shimmered. Angrily. As if its peace had been destroyed and now it radiated off heat in angry golden waves.
Sebastian’s breath hitched.
A flicker of something ancient, something primeval, danced behind his eyes.
He didn’t touch it. He didn’t need to.
His entire body went still. Too still.
Then, slowly, his head turned toward Leo.
No emotion graced the Lycan King’s face. And that was worse than rage.
When Sebastian spoke next, his voice was a whisper, yet it carried through the grand hall like thunder.
“You dared mark her?” He asked, his voice cold and dangerous.
Leo tried to back away. His foot caught the hem of his robe.
“Your Highness — I didn’t — I only — … ”
“You. Dared. Mark. Her.”
Each word fell like the blade of an executioner’s axe.
“No! That is not possible!” Quinn cried out. “Leo. Dear, please say something,” she begged. “I know that omega is wicked and tricked the King. If she can bribe the royal guards then she can do anything!”
Leo’s confidence and bravado jumped back.
“The allegations are preposterous and false, Your Highness. I demand an investigation but I need proof that the camera footage is not tampered as well,” Leo said. “I do not trust the crafty omega.”
“Very well,” Sebastian smirked. But it wasn’t amusement. It was a warning.
It was the kind of smile a predator gave just before the kill.
He turned to the side and snapped his fingers.
“Wh-what is happening?” Leo stammered.