DOOMED INCUBUS: MATED TO THE LYCAN KING

POV: AUREN:

"He's dead."

The words shattered the silence like a blade through glass.

My mother staggered backward. My father stood frozen beside the bloodstained bed, staring at the body sprawled across the sheets.

My brother's body.

The kingdom's most sought-after incubus.

Murdered.

A dark slash stretched across his throat. Blood soaked the white silk beneath him. The odd scent of black roses filled the room.

My stomach twisted.

I knew what this meant. We all did.

Three days ago, the royal messenger had arrived with the Lycan King's seal. The king wanted my brother. Not for love. Not for companionship. But because he was desperate. Desperate enough to summon an incubus to his bed. Desperate enough to pay any price. Desperate enough to kill anyone who disappointed him.

My mother dropped to her knees. "We're finished."

"No." My father shook his head violently. “We can explain."

“Explain what?" She snapped. “That the king's solution was murdered before reaching his palace?"

My father didn't answer. Because we all knew the truth.

The Lycan King wasn't known for mercy. He was known for executions.

A sharp, heavy knock thundered against the front door before we could think.

Every drop of blood drained from my face.

Mother began to sob.

Father looked at me. And for the first time in my life... I was afraid of him. His eyes weren't grieving. They were calculating.

"No." The word escaped too fast.

He took a step toward. “You have the same eyes."

I backed away. Nothing about this was aiming good.

"Height. Hair."

"Father—?“

"That’s it."

Panic exploded inside my chest. “That’s what, father?”

The pounding came again. Louder.

The front door groaned.

Father grabbed my shoulders. “You are going to the palace."

My entire body went cold. “What?"

"You are going in your brother's place."

I laughed. A broken, hysterical laugh. Because surely this was a joke.

"I'm wolfless."

"Incubus doesn’t need one. You'll wear his Glamour."

"I can't seduce anyone!"

"You won't have a choice."

The door downstairs splintered. The guards were coming inside.

Mother clung to father. “They'll kill him!"

Father's expression hardened. “If we don't send someone..." His voice cracked. “They'll kill all of us."

Footsteps thundered up the stairs. The room shook.

The royal guards had arrived.

My father pressed a trembling hand against my cheek. Then he spoke the words that destroyed my life. “From this moment on..." He swallowed. “You are incubus Zephyr."

The bedroom door exploded inward. And the soldiers of the Lycan King entered, filling the doorway.

Silver armor. Black cloaks. Golden wolf insignias. Death.

That was all I saw.

My death.

One of the soldiers eyed my brother's body as if it were nothing more than discarded trash.

My stomach churned.

Just hours ago, Zephyr had been alive. Laughing. Complaining about royal summons. Rolling his eyes at Mother's endless worrying.

Now he was gone. And somehow, I was the one being dragged into his grave.

The captain's sharp gaze swept across the room. His nose twitched.

He was scenting the air.

The blood. The magic. The fear.

Especially the fear.

His eyes landed on my father's pale face. "The incubus?”

My father's hands trembled. "He is ready."

I almost choked.

I stared at him. My father couldn't even meet my eyes. The betrayal hurt worse than my fear.

"Father. Please.”

His jaw tightened.

The captain frowned. Something in his expression told me he wasn't entirely convinced. He looked from my brother's corpse to me.

My pulse hammered.

Did he know?

Could he tell?

The real incubus was dead.

If he figured it out... We were all dead.

Or I was spared.

The captain slowly approached. Every step echoed through the room.

My lungs burned.

Then he stopped directly in front of me. His eyes narrowed. “Raise your head."

I obeyed.

He studied my face. Too long. Far too long.

Then his gaze drifted to the rope coiled around my waist. The mantle Zephyr always wore. The incubus Glamour.

One important piece of the disguise. One excellent lie.

The captain reached toward it.

I flinched.

His hand froze.

He noticed. Not the rope. My reaction.

"You seem frightened."

Because I'm not an incubus. Because my brother is dead. Because my family just offered me to a viscous king. Because everyone in this room is lying.

But I swallowed every word.

"Should I not be?”

For a moment, something almost resembling amusement crossed his face.

He stepped back. “Bring him.”

Two guards immediately moved to my sides.

My mother let out a broken sob.

I looked at her.

She looked as though someone had ripped her heart from her chest.

Because maybe they had.

I wasn't sure which was worse: Losing one son. Or sacrificing another.

"Auren—“

My father grabbed her arm. Her words died.

The captain noticed. I noticed. Everyone noticed.

But nobody spoke.

The guards started leading me away.

"Zephyr!" My mother’s voice echoed again.

I turned.

She tore herself from Father's grip and rushed toward me. Her shaking hands cupped my face. Tears streamed down her cheeks. "My baby..."

My throat tightened.

I hadn't heard those words in years. Not since I was a child. Not since the village decided wolfless boys were burdens instead of blessings.

She pulled something from her pocket– A small moonstone pendant. Old. Worn. Beautiful.

She hooked it around my neck.

"Your grandmother gave me this. It belonged to you."

Belonged?

I stared at it.

The stone felt strangely warm. Almost alive. A strange sensation crawled beneath my skin. Before I could ask anything. Mother leaned forward. Her lips brushed my forehead. Then she whispered: “Never take it off. It is your gateway."

She wasn't asking me to succeed. She wasn't asking me to fool the king. She wasn't asking me to save our family.

She was begging me to survive.

The guards pulled me away.

I didn't resist. It was pointless.

Outside, a massive royal carriage waited beneath the moonlight. One of the guards opened the carriage door.

I climbed inside.

The door slammed shut behind me. The sound echoed like a prison gate closing.

And I understood again…

I wasn’t being sent to serve a king– a cursed ruler. A man who hadn't felt love in years. A man who would execute my family if he learned the truth.

I was being sent to my doom.

Auren:

The journey lasted three days.

Three days trapped inside a royal carriage. Three days of wondering whether I would survive the week.

The worst part wasn't the soldiers. It wasn't the fear. It wasn't even the fact that I was pretending to be someone I wasn't. It was the silence. The unspent grief.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw my brother.

His blood. His lifeless stare. The black roses. The dark magic.

And every time I woke hoping it had all been a nightmare. It never was.

Zephyr was really dead.

The carriage rocked violently as it climbed a steep hill. I pushed aside the curtain.

My breath caught.

The capital.

I'd never seen anything so massive. Towers pierced the clouds. Stone walls stretched farther than my eyes could follow. Countless banners displaying the royal wolf fluttered in the wind.

The Kingdom of Vargan.

The heart of every wolf territory. The home of the Lycan king.

My future e