---- "Mom, it's so big! I like it. Look-there's a swimming pool inside!" Just then, the roar of an approaching engine cut through the stillness. Asleek black Maybach rolled toward the gate, its headlights slicing through the darkness like blades of light. Julia stepped forward, directly into its path. The car came to a sudden, jarring stop. Before the driver could even open his mouth, Julia spoke, voice firm but breathless. "Is the Lycan King in this car? I'm a friend of Kendra's. I need to speak with him." The driver blinked in confusion, eyeing Julia's worn clothes and modest shoes. Suspicion flashed in his eyes. "What's going on?" came a deep, steady voice from inside the car. The tinted window slid down halfway-revealing ---- Shawn. His expression was unreadable in the shadows. The driver quickly turned to him. "Your Majesty, she says... she's a friend of Kendra's." A minute passed after the car stopped, but Shawn. didn't move. He just sat there, unmoving, cold eyes staring ahead. Then, without a word, he finally stepped out of the vehicle. The scent of a powerful alpha immediately thickened the air. He glanced at Julia, his tone filled with contempt. "You say you're her friend?" Julia had prepared herself. She had told herself over and over again: You're going to face the Lycan King. ---- But when Shawn stood before her, tall and exuding an overwhelming aura, she still instinctively lowered her eyes. She nodded slightly, avoiding his gaze. Shawn sneered, the corner of his mouth curling. "Didn't she mate with an alpha? And yet... she made friends with an omega like you?" That stung more than Julia expected. He still hates me so much, even after all these years... even enough to humiliate my friend. I wanted to stop him, to scream at him not to hurt her-but I couldn't. I was just a drifting soul. Julia frowned and straightened her spine, forcing herself to hold her ground. "The Lycan King doesn't need to speak like that," she said sharply. "Yes, it was Kendra who rejected you. But now, haven't you already claimed another mate?" Shawn's face immediately darkened.