The Lycan King's Outcast Omega (by Cara Anderson) novel Chapter 140

Cassius whirls back toward me, shock giving way to fury as he sees me rising from the extraction table. "How did you—"

The stone wall behind him explodes inward, ancient power yielding to something more primal – a Lycan King claiming his mate.

Alaric stands in the rubble, eyes blazing pure amber, power rolling off him in waves that make even the temple stones tremble.

For one perfect moment, everything stills – Alaric and I connected through our bond, Cassius caught between us, the extraction equipment still humming with corrupted energy.

Then chaos erupts.

Cassius slams his hand onto an emergency control, and corruption energy floods the chamber – not through the equipment now, but as raw power filling the air. "If I can't have those abilities," he snarls, "no one will."

The corruption surge heads directly toward me, a wave of destructive force that would burn out any healing abilities it touches. But my powers have been studying this corruption, learning it, understanding its fundamental nature.

Instead of backing away, I step toward it. Hands extended, powers flowing to meet corruption with evolved understanding.

Through our bond, Alaric's alarm spikes, but I send back absolute certainty. This is what my abilities have been preparing for since the poisoning. This is what they evolved to counter.

The corruption hits my outstretched hands and... stops. Suspended between us like black lightning frozen in time.

Cassius's triumph fades to disbelief as I do what should be impossible – not just blocking corruption, but redirecting it. Understanding it so completely that I can turn its nature against itself.

"Impossible," he whispers.

"Evolution," I correct, echoing his earlier words. "Taking the next step that lesser wolves are too afraid to imagine."

The corruption reverses course, flowing back toward its source. Toward Cassius.

His scream echoes through ancient stones as corruption he created, corruption he thought he controlled, finds its way home. The dark energy engulfs him, his body convulsing as it tears through him.

His hand cups my face, eyes searching for injuries, for lingering effects of what I've endured. "He'll resurface," he says grimly. "Wolves like Cassius always do."

"And we'll be ready when he does." I cover his hand with mine. "Together."

For now, the immediate threat has passed. The extraction equipment stands destroyed, the conspiracy exposed, evidence secured for the council to see. Whatever Cassius plans next will take time – time for him to recover, to regroup, to plot new strategies.

Time we'll use to prepare.

"Let's go home," Alaric murmurs against my hair. "The council can wait one more day."

Through our bond, I feel his beast's satisfaction, his king's determination, and beneath both, the man who nearly lost everything he truly values.

"Home," I agree, letting him lead me from ancient stones that have witnessed too much darkness. "And then we finish this. Once and for all."