The Lycan King's Outcast Omega (by Cara Anderson) novel Chapter 93

Chapter 93

Sage

“Remember how it used to burn between us?” Cassius’s voice drips with false intimacy. “Those nights at Blackthorn when you’d sneak to my quarters…”

I roll my eyes at his obvious attempt to provoke me. Let him play his games – I won’t give him the satisfaction of

a response.

“The way you’d beg so prettily for my touch,” he continues. “Such passion for an innocent omega.‘

It’s so ridiculous, I barely contain my laughter. Then I feel it – rage and betrayal flooding through the mate bond. Horror freezes me as I realize Alaric is nearby, that he heard…

“How dare you!” I whirl on Cassius as Alaric’s presence fades. “You lying snake! You planned this!”

The satisfaction in Cassius’s face tells me everything – he knew Alaric was there, planned this whole scene. My hands shake with rage at being manipulated, at being used to hurt Alaric.

“He’s trying to break you apart,” Aura snarls. “Using your past against you both.”

“Now, now.” His smile holds pure satisfaction. “Is that any way to speak to your former lover?”

“We were never lovers and you know it.” I fight the urge to slap him again. “You rejected me before anything could happen between us.”

“But he doesn’t know that, does he?” Cassius circles me slowly. “Poor Alaric, thinking his precious mate lied about her innocence. I wonder how that betrayal feels…‘

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Through our bond, I feel Alaric’s fury and hurt like a gut punch. My attempts to reach him mentally meet solid walls.

“He needs to calm down,” Aura growls. “Need to make him listen.”

The mate bond leads me on a frustrating chase through the packhouse. But Alaric’s nowhere to be found. I search frantically, following his scent, but he’s deliberately avoiding me. Every time I get close, he moves away, his hurt and anger pulsing between us like poison.

“He’s being stubborn,” Aura growls. “Making assumptions without facts.”

Other wolves watch curiously as I search. Some, like Victoria, wear knowing smirks – clearly Cassius’s lies are already spreading. I catch fragments of whispers: “-not so innocent after all–““–playing both Alphas-” -no wonder Cassius rejected-”

But their gossip means nothing compared to the wall Alaric has erected between us. How can he believe such lies? How can he think I’d hide something like that from him?

“He won’t want to see you now,” Eris’s voice drips with false sympathy. She appears from shadows like the snake she is. “Such a shame, losing his trust so completely.”

Ignoring her completely, I push past her. It’s obvious to me now, they planned this together. Cassius and Eris

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Chapter 93

are trying to isolate me, to break what Alaric and I have built.

+25 BONUS

Worse, I realize this is just the beginning. Cassius and Eris working together, playing on Alaric’s deepest insecurities, using his position as Lycan King against him… they’ve probably planned this since the gathering was announced.

How could I have been so stupid, going off alone like that? I knew Cassius had been watching me, knew my routine. I served myself up to them on a silver platter.

“We are stronger than their games,” Aura reminds me. “We know our truth.”

But truth means nothing if Alaric won’t let me tell it.

Hours pass in frustrated searching. The mate bond pulses with his pain, his sense of betrayal. How can he believe Cassius’s lies so easily? After everything we’ve shared, everything we’ve been through…

Finally, I catch his scent near the training rooms. He’s destroying practice dummies, his beast barely contained.

“Alaric-”

“Don’t.” His voice freezes the air between us. “I don’t want to hear your excuses.”

“They’re not excuses, they’re the truth!” I move closer despite his growl. “Nothing ever happened between Cassius and me. He rejected me before—”

“I heard him, Sage!” His eyes bleed amber as he rounds on me. “Heard him describe your nights together. Your passion. Your begging.”

“You heard what he wanted you to hear!” My own anger rises to match his. “What he and Eris planned for you to hear. And you believed him over me without even asking!”

He stalks closer, power rolling off him in waves. “Then tell me nothing happened. Look me in the eyes and

swear it.”

“I swear it.” I meet his gaze steadily. “I was innocent when you first touched me. Still am in many ways, since you won’t claim me properly.”

Pain flashes across his face before rage covers it. “Don’t turn this around on me. You’re the one who lied-”

“I never lied!” The force of my shout surprises us both. “But you… you’re lying to yourself if you think this is about Cassius. This is about you not trusting me. About you believing the worst because it’s easier than admitting you’re afraid!”

“Afraid?” He laughs bitterly. “Of what?”

“You want to talk about trust?” I advance on him, refusing to back down. “You’re the one who kept the mate bond secret for months. You’re the one who still won’t claim me properly. You’re the one who believes Cassius’s lies because it’s easier than admitting you’re terrified of really letting me in!”

“You don’t understand-”

“No, you don’t understand!” Tears burn in my eyes but I won’t let them fall. “I have given you everything I am.

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+25 BONUS

Every first, every touch, every moment of trust… even after what Cassius did to me. And you throw it all away because of his lies?”

His beast rises at my words, but I’m beyond caring. Looking at Alaric now, seeing the hurt and betrayal in his eyes, I understand exactly what Cassius hoped to achieve. He knows Alaric’s position forces him to maintain control, to push down his emotions. Knows that making him doubt me will drive him further into that cold Alpha shell.

The mate bond pulses with all the things we’re both afraid to say – his fear of being weak, my fear of being abandoned again. But pride and pain keep us from reaching across that divide.

“So go ahead,” I tell him quietly. “Push me away. Believe whatever makes it easier to keep your walls up. But don’t pretend this is about Cassius or truth or anything except your own fear of letting anyone close enough to hurt you. Of actually claiming me as your mate instead of keeping me your dirty little secret!”

The words hang between us like drawn blades. Through our bond, I feel his beast’s agony warring with his pride.

“Get out.” His voice drops to a dangerous quiet.

“Alaric-”

“GET OUT!”

Walking away from him feels like tearing my own heart out. But I won’t stay where I’m not trusted. Won’t beg him to believe what he should know in his soul.

Let him think what he wants. Let Cassius and Eris think they’ve won. Because if he can’t put his faith in me after everything we’ve been through, this isn’t a battle worth fighting.

Love between mates shouldn’t hurt more than it heals.

Cara Anderson Author

Thank you for reading!

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