Stolen by the Beastly Lycan King-Chapter 120: We Are Stealing the Princess

It was her. The beautiful princess. Her hypnotizing scent clung to him, embedding itself into his very being. freēnovelkiss.com

It was Lorelai—panting and heaving. Her glossy eyes were unfocused, and her hands were drenched in blood.

Rhaegar’s eyes widened in shock. The sight of the princess in such a horrible state overwhelmed him, and the countless questions he wanted to ask seemed to choke him, too paralyzing to voice even a single one.

"Lorelai, you..." Slowly, his gaze drifted down, widening even more as he finally noticed the large black dagger clutched in her trembling hands. Sticky red blood dripped relentlessly from the blade, staining her skin.

Surprised and alarmed, Rhaegar grabbed Lorelai by the arm and dragged her into her bedroom, locking the door behind them.

"What the hell happened? Whose blood is this? Lorelai, answer me!"

He shook her by the shoulders, desperation rising in his voice, but it was clear she couldn’t hear him. Her dull green eyes remained vacant, unfocused, while her hands stubbornly clung to the knife. Frustration surged through him. With a sharp yank, he ripped the dagger from her grasp with such force that he feared he might tear her arms in the process.

That single, violent motion seemed to snap Lorelai back to reality. Blinking rapidly, as if trying to shake off the dizzying haze that had clouded her mind, her eyes regained their usual sharpness. Her brows shot up in surprise when she finally registered that the Lycan king was standing directly in front of her.

"King Rhaegar..." she whispered weakly, her lips trembling. It was clear that she had come to her senses and recognized him, and despite the gravity of the situation, she couldn’t help but feel a flicker of happiness and relief.

Unfortunately, the relief was short-lived.

Shaking uncontrollably, the princess grabbed Rhaegar by his shirt, her expression filled with horror. Her voice, frantic and growing louder, nearly became a shout as she warned him, "You must leave immediately! Right now! Don’t waste another minute! They will think it was you who did it!"

Her words only deepened the king’s frustration, but he knew he had to remain calm if he wanted to extract more information from her.

"Who will think I did it? What happened, princess?"

Lorelai’s wide green eyes flickered toward the black dagger in the king’s hands, and suddenly, a sharp wave of pain split her head in two. She sank into Rhaegar’s arms, gasping for breath as he lifted her fragile form, pulling her closer to his chest.

"Lorelai, please," he said, nearly begging, his voice softer, full of concern, "you have to tell me what happened."

"I killed him... Duke Kalder... I killed him, Rhaegar..."

"What?" The king’s eyes widened in disbelief, her composure crumbling beneath the weight of her confession. "You killed the duke? Your fiancé?"

Lorelai nodded, tears streaming down her cheeks, soaking into the king’s shirt as she sobbed uncontrollably. "She made me do it... The Queen... She said I had to kill you, but... I couldn’t... I took the knife, but my feet wouldn’t move... So instead... I killed him. I killed him, Rhaegar. And you... you will be the one to blame for it."

Rhaegar frowned, his jaw clenching as he tried to make sense of the situation.

Lorelai wasn’t lying; he could smell the duke’s blood, thick with decay, still lingering on the knife. He could also feel the heavy aura of death that had followed her into the room. But why had she chosen to kill him instead of carrying out the queen’s order?

Did the queen’s spell falter, or did Lorelai somehow manage to break free from it? It can’t be the former... She still resorted to killing, to putting me in danger, which means her consciousness chose what she saw as the best possible outcome.

A faint smile tugged at the corners of Rhaegar’s lips, but it vanished just as quickly. Perhaps there was still hope for Lorelai—maybe she could break free from the queen’s influence. He had to help her.

"Rhaegar," Lorelai’s faint voice reached his ears again, and his heart stuttered in his chest. "Take me with you."

"...What?"

He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Was he still so lost in his thoughts that he had simply misheard her? Or perhaps his desperation to take her away from this place had driven him to hallucinate her words, even without the queen’s curse hanging over them?

"What did you say? Lorelai?!"

He cupped her trembling cheek, brushing away the tears with his thumb. Lorelai’s condition seemed to worsen by the second—two thin rivulets of blood trickled from her parted lips, and her shaking hands clung desperately to his shirt, digging into his body with a strength that belied her fragile state.

"It’s over anyway," she managed to whisper again, her voice barely audible as she swallowed her own blood. "I will forget you... So take me with you, please... Let me be with you until it happens..."

"You will... forget me?"

"She keeps erasing my memories... She said it will happen soon... before my wedding..."

Rhaegar’s frown deepened, his face hardening with a mixture of frustration and seething fury.

He could not, would not, allow Lorelai to forget him—not now, not ever. He would find a way to stop the queen’s cruel spell. And he would take her far away from this cursed kingdom, no matter the cost. As long as they were together, nothing else mattered.

Without wasting another second, Rhaegar adjusted Lorelai in his arms and leapt from the balcony, his heart racing as he rushed back to his delegation.

The moment his aide sensed his approach, he turned around, his face draining of color at the sight of the unconscious princess cradled in the king’s arms.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Alim gasped, his voice rising in alarm, his heart pounding in his chest.

Rhaegar gave a quick, sharp nod toward the carriage, his tone cold and commanding. "She said yes. We are stealing the princess."