A Night with the mad lycan king

Left to the Crows

Ashley

“What did you do?” I demanded, my voice breaking as my whole body trembled. My chest felt tight, as if I couldn’t breathe. The pain was too much, betrayal, grief, and disbelief crashing over me all at once. The man I had been married to for two years, the man who was supposed to protect my family, had ordered that my parents’ corpses be abandoned on enemy land and branded them traitors.

“What lie did you tell them?” I asked, tears streaming down my face.

I knew Gerald was weak—one of the weakest Alphas to ever rule a pack. Everyone knew it, my parents had been his strength. They were our pack’s strongest warriors, feared and respected by all. They had fought every battle for him, spilled blood for him, and carried his burdens as if they were their own.

The only reason he had convinced my parents to marry me off to him was never love. It was power, he wanted them bound to him, fighting for him with their lives because their daughter would become Luna.

“I told the truth,” Gerald said calmly, “Listen to me, Ashley,” he continued, his voice cold and firm. “We have to be diplomatic in situations like this. Your parents and the other warriors betrayed us. The only way for this pack to survive was to pledge our loyalty to the king.” He paused, then added without emotion, “You should be grateful he didn’t extend the punishment to their entire families.”

A sob rose in my throat, sharp and painful. In that moment, everything became clear. Gerald had used my parents to climb to the top, drained them of their strength, and discarded them the moment they were no longer useful.

“You sent them to war,” I whispered, my voice shaking as I stared at him.

“I sent them to fight our enemies,” he said calmly. “Not to stand beside them like your father did.” He paused, then added without hesitation, “Your father was secretly working with Ryker.”

The words tore straight through me, leaving a hollow ache in my chest. “No,” I whispered, shaking my head. “My father would never work for Ryker. Never.”

“My loyalty is to the Alpha King,” Gerald said flatly. There was no emotion in his voice. “And I intend to keep it that way. If you wish to remain the Luna of this pack, it would be wise for you to cooperate.”

He stepped back, crossing his arms. “The Alpha King will be arriving in a few days. You will prepare two strong, beautiful she-wolves for his stay.” His lips tightened. “Samantha is already handling the more important matters.”

I stared at him, frozen in shock. My parents had just been killed in a battle he sent them to, their bodies left to rot on enemy land and he was asking me to offer wolves to the very man responsible for their deaths.

My mouth opened, but before I could speak, Gerald lifted his hand, stopping me. “I do not care for your opinion, Ashley,” he said coldly. “This is not a request. It is a command. You will do as I say, or there will be consequences.”

The last of my strength crumbled. “I… I just lost my parents because of you,” I sobbed, my voice breaking. “And this is what you ask of me?”

Deep down, I had always known the truth. Gerald never loved me. He only pretended because of my parents’ power. The moment he sent them off to that final war, everything changed. He became distant, cruel, and unforgiving, treating me like a disease he was forced to endure, like a burden he could not wait to cast aside.

“Would you rather the king have us all killed because you want to mourn traitors?” Gerald asked coldly. There was no sympathy in his eyes, only irritation. “This is about you being a smart Luna and doing what is right for your people. If this goes wrong, your clan will suffer for it.”

I stared at him, my heart pounding in my chest. He was threatening me—with my clan. My peoples, we are the warriors of this pack, feared and respected long before Gerald ever became Alpha. We had once planned to separate from the pack entirely, to stand on our own. But Gerald and his mother had convinced my parents that an alliance between our families would make the pack strong again.

Now I saw the truth clearly. He had used us and once we were no longer useful, he discarded us without mercy.

A knock sounded at the door. Before either of us could answer, the door opened. Samantha, his Beta, walked in, followed closely by his mother.

“The pack is not taking this news well,” Wanneka said calmly to her son. “And we cannot afford disunity when the king arrives. That would not be good for us.”

“I will address them again,” Gerald replied sharply. “I’ll warn them. They need to understand how important this is.”

Wanneka finally turned to me, as if she had just noticed I was in the room. Her eyes swept over me with open disgust. “Wipe those tears off your face,” she said harshly. “You come from a clan of warriors, yet you are weaker than an Omega.”

Her words stung, but I wasn’t surprised. She had hated me from the very beginning and never bothered to hide it. “She will speak to her clan,” Wanneka continued coldly. “They are the traitors, and we are trying to mend what they broke.” Her gaze hardened as she looked straight at me. “If this goes wrong, we will wipe them out.”

My breath caught in my throat. “The council of elders requests your presence, Alpha,” Samantha said in an overly sweet voice.

Gerald turned and walked out immediately, anger radiating from him. Before leaving, he shot me a hard, warning stare, one that promised punishment if I failed him.

“Oh,” Samantha said softly as she walked toward the door. She paused and turned back to me. “Ashley, I heard about your parents.” Her voice was gentle, almost kind, but I knew it wasn’t real.

“I’m sure they did what they believed was right,” she added quietly. “Even if it…complicated things.”

I stared at her, my chest aching. Samantha’s words hurt the most. She knew my parents, she had lived with us for years after her mother abandoned her. We had fed her, protected her, treated her like family. Until the day she chose to leave and move in with Wanneka—who was still Luna then.

“You should get some rest,” Samantha continued, her lips curving into a faint smile. “Stress isn’t good for a woman.” Her eyes flicked over me coldly. “A wolfless one at that, especially one who hasn’t given the pack an heir.”

She turned and walked out of the room as if she hadn’t just shattered me. I stood there, frozen, unable to understand how the world could move on just like that when my parents, along with the warriors who defended this pack were gone. As if their deaths meant nothing.

“Are you listening to me?” Wanneka snapped, waving her fingers in front of my face.

I blinked and looked at her. “You will be selecting the king’s entertainers from your clan,” she said firmly. “Other clans may not be able to withstand the king’s strength and stamina.”

My stomach twisted at her words.

My hands slowly curled into fists as I stared at her, anger burning beneath my grief. In that moment, something inside me hardened. They had taken everything from me, my parents, my clan’s honor, my dignity.