The Wolf King

Lauren Palphreyman’s 2023 paranormal romance novel, The Wolf King, is the first book in a trilogy of the same name. The story introduces Princess Aurora, a young royal from the Southlands who feels trapped by her duty to marry a cruel lord for political alliance. When she is kidnapped by Callum, a powerful alpha werewolf from the rival Northlands, she is pulled into a violent conflict between their peoples. Callum intends to use Aurora as a bargaining chip to retrieve a sacred wolf relic, but as they travel through the rugged northern landscape, an unexpected and forbidden attraction grows between them. The novel explores themes including The Importance of Choosing One’s Own Path, Challenging Bias through Intimacy and Trust, and The Duality of Man and Beast.

Before publishing The Wolf King trilogy, Palphreyman gained a significant online following by writing serial fiction for platforms like Wattpad, where her stories accumulated over 70 million reads. The Wolf King was initially self-published and became a viral success within the “BookTok” community on the social media platform TikTok. This grassroots popularity led to its acquisition by traditional publishers Bloom Books in the US and Transworld in the UK. The second book in the series, The Night Prince, was published in 2025.

This guide is based on the 2025 Bloom Books (Sourcebooks) edition.

Content Warning: The source material and this guide feature depictions of graphic violence, physical abuse, emotional abuse, animal cruelty, sexual content, sexual harassment, rape, and cursing.

Plot Summary

Princess Aurora of the Southlands attends a barbaric dog fight in the Borderlands, where she is to marry the local ruler, Lord Sebastian, in an alliance arranged by her father. Disgusted by the violence, as captive werewolves are forced to fight in both their human and animal forms, she watches as a large, powerful alpha wolf is pitted against a much younger opponent. When the alpha prepares to kill him, Aurora stops the fight.

Aurora is mocked but saves their lives. However, Sebastian suggests he might throw her to the wolves in the kennels after their wedding. That night, Aurora sneaks into the kennels with stolen medical supplies. She finds the young wolf, Ryan, in a cell next to the alpha, who reveals they are from the same clan and instructs her on how to help Ryan’s injury. He also implies his intentions to escape, but—resentful of Sebastian and her father—she tells nobody.

The next morning, Aurora’s wedding day, wolves besiege the castle. Callum informs Aurora he is kidnapping her to help him end the war. He carries her through the fighting, and when faced with a choice to flee back to her people or go with him, she places her hand in his. They escape and meet a group of waiting wolves. As they ride into the forest, the alpha reveals his plan is to use Aurora as leverage to retrieve a stolen relic. They cross the destroyed Border Wall into the Northlands. Fearing for her safety, the alpha decides to travel with her alone, telling her he is taking her to the Wolf King.

As they travel, the alpha, Callum, tells Aurora the wolves’ legend of the Cridhe na Ghealach, or Heart of the Moon, a relic that allows wolves to shift at will. He confirms they believe Sebastian has it and that they want to trade her for it. They arrive at the Wolf King’s stronghold, Castle Madadh-allaidh. To protect Aurora, Callum introduces her as a rescued prisoner named Rory. Callum takes Aurora to meet the king, but the true king, James, is away. In his place is Robert, a cruel and sexist werewolf. Also present is a mysterious, dark-haired alpha named Blake, who has a Southlands accent and knows Aurora’s true identity. Blake convinces Robert to let Aurora stay.

In a private meeting, Blake agrees to help keep Aurora’s identity secret but insists she have her own chambers. Callum agrees on the condition that she wear a special collar marking her as “his,” which will grant her protection under Wolf Law. Aurora initially refuses, finding it demeaning, but later agrees to wear the collar. A few days later, the other wolves return from the siege. Ryan has been mortally wounded with a wolfsbane-laced weapon. In the courtyard, the crowd is hostile toward Aurora until Callum reveals her collar, declaring she’s his. Blake is revealed to be the castle’s healer and saves Ryan’s life with an antidote. He finds a letter on Ryan from Sebastian, confirming the attack was a message for Aurora.

In the week before the full moon, Callum grows distant, which Fiona explains is him suppressing his wolf instincts around Aurora. On the night of the full moon, Aurora leaves her room after hearing screams and finds Blake in his chambers, struggling to prevent himself from shifting. He transforms into a massive black wolf and chases her into the forest, where Callum, also in wolf form, intervenes and fights him off. The next morning, Callum explains Blake was protecting her by marking her with his scent to ward off other hunting wolves.

Later, in Callum’s chambers, the two share an intimate moment that is interrupted by Blake, who brings news that the Wolf King, James, is in trouble. The following night, Callum, overwhelmed by his wolf instincts, nearly acts on his arousal for Aurora but is stopped by Fiona. He later goes to Aurora’s room, where they share a passionate encounter, stopping short of intercourse because he feels she is not truly free to choose him while she is his prisoner. The next morning, Callum leaves to find and assist James without saying goodbye.

While Callum is away, a jealous woman named Isla steals Aurora’s collar. Unprotected, Aurora is cornered by a threatening werewolf, but Blake intervenes, placing his own black collar on her and claiming her as his. Callum returns from battle, wounded by a silver bullet laced with wolfsbane. He is enraged to see Blake’s collar on Aurora, and in the ensuing argument, he collapses. Blake saves Callum’s life by provoking him into a fight, forcing his powerful inner wolf to combat the poison. Afterward, Callum and Aurora are sexually intimate. The next day, Aurora meets the Wolf King, James, who is revealed to be Callum’s brother. She insults him by refusing to kneel.

In a private meeting, James is furious that Callum has “dishonored” their hostage but still wants to trade her for the Heart of the Moon. Callum argues he shouldn’t, as he loves her. James acquiesces and throws a feast. That night, Callum tells Aurora they must run away, as James was lying—he intends to trade her nonetheless. They flee toward his clan’s castle, and on the way, they are fully sexually intimate, confessing their feelings for one another. However, they’re captured the next morning.

In James’s captivity, he gives Aurora an ultimatum: marry him to become his queen or be traded back to Sebastian, which would likely result in her death. When she refuses, James has her chained in a dungeon. Blake urges her to marry James to survive; however, she maintains her refusal. James takes her to meet Sebastian’s army for the trade, giving her a hidden knife in case she is able to kill Sebastian. The trade is made for a glowing white rock, the Heart of the Moon, whose power allows James and his men to shift into wolves. As battle erupts, Sebastian escapes with Aurora in a carriage. Inside, he reveals that her father murdered her mother with poison. Aurora slits his throat.

Immediately after, James, in his wolf form, attacks Aurora and bites her severely. Callum and Blake arrive and incapacitate him. Blake reveals that Aurora is a half-wolf and James’s bite has activated her wolf gene; she will either die or transform. To save her, Blake performs a ritual, sharing his “life force” with her. The act heals her wound but creates a psychic bond between them. Aurora awakens in Blake’s castle and learns of the bond, which means if one is harmed, the other feels it. Blake also says her mother was a wolf.

Realizing he cannot hurt Blake without hurting Aurora, Callum agrees to an alliance. Blake will help Callum rally the clans to challenge James for the throne. Aurora then realizes that Blake has ensured that once Callum becomes king, he can challenge him for the throne. The bond will mean Blake can’t be killed without killing her, so Callum will be forced to forfeit to protect her life.