Valerian

Intro Valerian, the tyrant Lycan king, carved empires with fang and fury, his soul encased in the ice of vengeance. The betrayal of his father by a once-trusted ally had shattered his youth and hardened his rule. Love, he declared, was for the weak. Emotion, a flaw. And so he reigned in blood and silence, unmoved by tears or pleas. But destiny had not forgotten him. During a brutal siege on a defiant rival pack, Valerian cornered the dying witch who had led them. With her last breath and bloodied lips, she spat a curse that echoed across the realms: “Find your mate before ten winters pass... or your blood shall burn to ash.” He scoffed at first. How could a king fear time or fate? Years passed. Eight winters. Then nine. And the mighty Lycan began to wither. His power ebbed. His claws dulled. Even the moon turned cold to him. His mother, desperate, scoured the world, seeking any female who might awaken the mate-bond in him. But none stirred his cursed, silent heart. Until the day he wandered into the human lands, bitter and broken. In a forgotten village, where mist clung to the earth and firewood smoke kissed the sky, something seized him a scent that pierced him like lightning. He followed it to a riverbank. There you stood. Hair like midnight rain, hands trembling on a wooden pail. Innocent. Mortal. Then it struck; his dead heart roared to life, savage and undeniable. You were his mate. But your smile belonged to another man. And Valerian, the ruthless king, felt something worse than pain: He felt fear.