Stolen by the Beastly Lycan King-Chapter 133: A Foreboding Sign

"He helped me," Naveen said softly, her voice carrying a distant tone as she gazed at the growing disk of the moon. "Just as he promised, he did. He helped me escape the palace and took me to safety. After that, I never saw him again—nor did I want to."

She paused, her shoulders stiffening ever so slightly. Lorelai swore she could hear the subtle shift in the witch’s tone, a fragile tremor of pain and despair woven into her words. Naveen took a deep breath, forcing a strained smile onto her face before continuing.

"I knew his name. I knew everything about him. And, for some reason, I knew that one day—sooner or later—they would either find him and make him pay for helping me, or they would come for me instead. And, if I’m being honest, I wasn’t sure which option was worse."

Lorelai’s heart tightened at the confession. Listening to Naveen’s story felt like a weight pressing down on her chest. She wanted to say something, anything, to comfort her—but the words refused to come. What could she, a sheltered princess, possibly offer to someone who had endured so much?

She felt pathetic.

The more she learned about those entangled in the brutal world of the beasts, the smaller and more insignificant her own struggles seemed. Lorelai had once believed her life was filled with suffering, but compared to what others had endured, her pain now felt shallow, almost inconsequential.

"Did they hurt him?" she finally asked, her voice trembling. She wasn’t sure she wanted the answer, but the question spilled out of her anyway.

Naveen shook her head, her lips curling into a faint, bittersweet smile. Relief flickered in her eyes, though it was tinged with lingering sorrow.

"King Aladar’s men found me several years later," she said, her voice steady but heavy with the weight of memory. "Even before they approached my house, I knew why they had come. They wanted his name—the name of the man who helped me escape. And I knew, deep down, that if they tortured me long enough, I would give it to them."

Naveen fixed her glowing blue eyes on Lorelai, her gaze piercing through the cool night air. Without hesitation, she reached up and pulled down her black mask, unveiling what she had hidden beneath it.

"This..." she said, her voice trembling. "This will forever remain the shameful reminder of my pathetic attempt to protect the man who loved me."

Lorelai’s breath caught in her throat, her eyes widening in shock as they took in the sight before her. free𝑤ebnovel.com

Thick, jagged scars marred the skin around Naveen’s lips, twisting and branching out in cruel patterns that stretched across her cheeks. The princess had never seen anything like it, and the sight left her heart aching with a mixture of pity and sorrow.

Naveen held her silence, allowing Lorelai to fully absorb the image of her disfigurement. The princess’s gaze lingered, filled with a quiet sadness that mirrored the witch’s pain. After a few moments, Naveen slowly replaced the mask over her face and released a weary sigh.

It was the first time in years that she had revealed her scars to anyone. Yet even now, the act of baring them felt like reopening an old wound—a reminder of a past too painful to forget.

"I boiled water," Naveen began, her voice eerily calm. "And I shoved my mouth into it."

Lorelai flinched, horrified.

"I thought..." Naveen continued, her tone steady, as though recounting a memory that had long since become a part of her, "that if I destroyed my ability to speak, his name would never escape my lips. And it worked. When they found me, I was unconscious, bleeding, and trembling in agony. I couldn’t speak for years after that."

She paused, her eyes flickering with something unnameable. "But somehow... I was not entirely happy."

Naveen fell silent, and Lorelai felt the weight of the witch’s words settle heavily between them.

In that silence, the truth became clear to Lorelai. They had both survived—the human witch and the pure-blooded beast she had protected. But survival alone was not enough.

Neither of them had found happiness in the aftermath of their suffering.

Sometimes, it seemed that no matter what you did, freedom and happiness were destined to remain apart.

***

Once again, Lorelai fell asleep. She didn’t want to—she fought against it with all her might—but the weight of her exhaustion was too much to bear.

In her dream, she was running.

She didn’t know from what, but she was running frantically through an endless void of pitch-black darkness.

Something was chasing her. It was close—too close—its presence looming like a shadow on her heels. No matter how hard she tried, her legs refused to move faster. The indistinct, ominous creature stayed right behind her, relentless and silent.

Then, through the suffocating darkness, a voice broke through. A voice so familiar it made her heart skip a beat.

"My daughter..."

Lorelai froze. Her knees buckled, and she nearly collapsed as the words echoed around her. How long had it been since she last heard that voice?

"Lorelai..."

Again, the voice called her name, warm and full of affection. Her father’s voice.

Tears welled up in her eyes, spilling down her cheeks as sobs wracked her chest. She couldn’t help it. She hadn’t realized just how much she missed him—how much she longed to hear that tender, loving voice once more.

She missed him—her father—the man who had once been so caring and sweet when she was just a little child. Was he finally back from his long slumber? Would he finally embrace her, wrapping her in his arms and whispering that everything had just been a terrible dream?

Suddenly, the world around her fell silent.

The suffocating darkness thickened, pressing in on all sides as Lorelai frantically looked around, desperate to find her father standing nearby, ready to shield her from whatever harm awaited.

"Father!" she cried out, her voice echoing into the void. The sound startled her, jerking her body violently in the stillness.

With a gasp, Lorelai’s eyes flew open. It felt as though she’d been pulled out of deep, suffocating water.

Her chest heaved, and cold sweat dripped down her face. But as soon as her gaze locked onto a pair of familiar amber eyes staring down at her, calmness washed over her like a soothing wave. She let out a shaky sigh of relief.

Rhaegar frowned, concern etched into his features. He stroked the back of his hand gently across her damp forehead, wiping away the beads of sweat. Then, without hesitation, he pulled her closer, cradling her against his chest. Pressing a soft kiss to the crown of her head, he whispered tenderly, "Was it a nightmare?"

A mixture of confusion and frustration churned inside Lorelai. Now that she was awake, she wasn’t entirely sure if it had been a nightmare. No, it wasn’t frightening, but it had been strange—bizarre in a way she couldn’t quite explain.

She had dreamed of her father. The man who had not spoken to her in years. He had been calling her name, his voice filled with warmth and love.

Could it mean something? Could it be a foreboding sign?