Stolen by the Beastly Lycan King-Chapter 103: To Be Consumed

Love. Again.

The word seared through her thoughts like a red-hot needle. ’I love him. I really do. I finally know what it means.’

The realization left her breathless, the words she had never dared to think now swirling in her mind with such intensity that she feared they might escape her mouth.

Lorelai pressed her lips tightly together, burying her face in the solid warmth of the king’s chest. For a moment, she let herself listen to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat, its distant thumping grounding her in the whirlwind of emotions that threatened to swallow her whole.

There could be no other explanation. From the moment she first laid eyes on him, her heart had known, even if her mind refused to accept it. She had fallen in love.

The constant longing, the magnetic pull, the unfamiliar yet irresistible attraction that defied reason and danger—all of it was love. Her heart, rebellious and wild, had betrayed her rational mind. And now, there was no turning back.

She had been a lonely princess, her carefully ordered world intact, until he arrived—a dangerous stranger who unraveled her with every glance, every touch. She had known better, yet she let him in, let him carve a space in her heart where no one else had ever been. And in the end, everything she had built came tumbling down.

She let him consume her. And worse still, she let herself be consumed.

But what startled her most was the realization that she liked it. She liked the chaos, the loss of control, the exhilarating freedom of snapping the invisible strings that bound her, one by one.

And this was no different. She wanted to follow him—the man who tempted her to abandon everything—and sever every tie that bound her. She longed to escape into that idyllic meadow, to lose herself among the blooming flowers, to be free. Together. With him.

But she couldn’t.

No matter how desperately her heart pleaded, something deep within her mind held fast, stronger than the tide of emotions threatening to sweep her away. It was a voice—a stern, unyielding whisper that always emerged when Rhaegar came too close to shattering her resolve.

’You are the only princess of Erelith,’ it reminded her, calm yet commanding. ’You were born here, and you will die here. Your duty is to this kingdom, Lorelai. This is your life. You cannot choose another.’

Her head throbbed under the weight of her clashing desires. The pull of her heart and the weight of her duty collided, each vying for dominance, leaving her in agonizing turmoil. She forced herself to breathe, to still her mind before she said something neither of them wanted to hear.

"...I’m sorry, Rhaegar. I can’t."

Her voice was barely a whisper, each word dragged from her lips as if they were being spoken against her will.

Rhaegar’s amber eyes bore into her, searching for something in her gaze, but she could not meet them for long.

"Erelith needs me," she continued hesitantly, her voice trembling. "I... I need Erelith."

As the final words left her mouth, she shut her lips tightly, sealing them as though she feared that if she spoke again, the truth in her heart might escape and destroy her.

The king’s piercing gaze bore into her, demanding answers she could not give. Her trembling lips remained sealed, but when she bit her lower lip again, his composure cracked. His face twisted with frustration, and the emotions he had tried so hard to suppress flickered to the surface once more.

"...You." His voice was sharp, cutting through the silence. "What did you do? Why are you like this again?"

Lorelai’s eyebrows lifted in confusion, as if his words were spoken in a language she couldn’t understand.

Rhaegar’s tone grew colder, yet his volume rose, his emotions spilling over like an untamed storm. "Your words don’t match your heart! I can feel it, Lorelai. I can sense what you truly feel. So why? Why are you fighting it? What... what makes you fight us?"

He pulled her closer, his powerful arms trapping her as he buried his face in her hair, inhaling the faint, sweet scent that was already beginning to fade.

"Didn’t it ever seem strange to you?"

Lorelai’s breath hitched as she caught sight of the fiery rage smoldering in his amber eyes. But instead of answering him, her mind was flooded with a confusing mix of emotions—confusion, rejection, even a flicker of something bordering on disgust.

No, nothing had ever seemed strange to her before. This was her life. This was how she was raised. This was her purpose. To serve, to sacrifice, to belong to Erelith. It was all she had ever known.

Perhaps what was truly strange was the man before her—the one holding her so tightly, as if his arms alone could rewrite the fate she had resigned herself to. Perhaps he was the one who was confused, trying to impose his will on a world that had already decided its course.

But then, without warning, her thoughts stuttered to a halt. A question, unfamiliar and unsettling, surfaced in her mind for the first time.

Why can’t she choose another life?

The unfamiliar doubt made her heart skip a beat, but her contemplation was cut short by the intensity in Rhaegar’s gaze. His eyes narrowed, and his jaw tightened as he bit his lip hard enough to draw blood.

Lorelai gasped, the sight startling her—and he seized the moment. Before she could react, Rhaegar leaned in and captured her lips with his own.

A fierce, overwhelming kiss claimed the princess’s lips, and the sharp tang of the king’s blood lingered on her tongue.

For a moment, she felt utterly lost, as she always did whenever their bodies touched—a sensation that consumed her completely. But then, without warning, her head began to spin. Her thoughts blurred, shrouded in a thick, suffocating fog, leaving her disoriented and unmoored.

"Lorelai!" Rhaegar caught her as she collapsed onto him, unbearable pain storming through her body.