Stolen by the Beastly Lycan King-Chapter 156: The Strategy

The night was finally silent, with only a few faint flickers of torchlights breaking the stillness as the council convened in the palace’s meeting room.

The atmosphere was grim, weighed down by a somber and oppressive quiet. The council members’ faces were weary and drawn, etched with the remnants of fatigue. There had been no time for rest or healing after the war, and the toll it had taken on them was evident in every strained expression.

No one dared to speak yet, the king’s absence only adding to their growing unease.

At last, the heavy doors to the meeting room swung open with a resounding creak. Rhaegar strode in, his normally unkempt curls pulled back into a loose high ponytail, secured with a black silk ribbon embroidered with gold.

The dark shadows beneath his sharp amber eyes betrayed his own exhaustion, suggesting that he, too, had not rested, likely spending every moment preparing for this critical meeting. Naveen followed close behind him as Rhaegar made his way to the long, polished table in the center of the room.

Taking his seat at the head of the table, Rhaegar let his piercing gaze sweep across the room, the intensity in his burning eyes silencing even the faintest whispers of discomfort.

"Once the aftermath is settled," he began, his deep voice cutting through the tense stillness, "people will start seeking revenge. Despite all the careful preparations we have made, our tactics must be drastically altered."

The leader of the bear tribe rose abruptly, his imposing frame towering over the table as he fixed his sharp brown eyes on Rhaegar’s calm, expressionless face.

"We have been expecting retaliation ever since we discovered the desecration of the royal tombs," he said in a low, demanding voice. "But who would have thought your own Gypsy tribe would be involved?"

"The tribe itself was not involved," Rhaegar corrected firmly, gesturing for the bear tribe leader to resume his seat. Though his expression remained defiant, the leader grudgingly obeyed, crossing his arms in front of his chest in a display of silent resistance.

"Daro was a rotten apple and has been dealt with," Rhaegar continued, his voice steady despite the heavy implications of his words. "I do not know how long he had been colluding with the queen without us noticing, but it no longer matters. The pressing issue now is determining Althea’s next move and... retrieving our queen."

His voice faltered slightly as he mentioned Lorelai. A painful spasm clenched his insides, though he masked it well. Three weeks had passed since she was taken back to Erelith, and while the war and its aftermath had consumed his days, Rhaegar’s mind had never stopped reaching for hers.

He had tried endlessly to connect with her through the bond they shared, desperately hoping for a response.

But she remained silent.

"Even if your marriage triggered the attack," the leader of the cat tribe interjected, pulling him from his thoughts.

Her low, velvety voice carried a sharpness that contrasted with the soft, round features of her face. "The intruders must have been stationed around the capital for quite some time, simply waiting for instructions. This implies that someone within our kingdom was complicit."

"Purists," Gian interrupted, his deep voice cutting through the air like a blade. His thick eyebrows furrowed as he stared blankly into the space before him, his thoughts visibly churning.

"Gian is right," Alim said confidently in a firm tone. "After the fall of King Fenrir, his supporters dwindled significantly, fearing King Rhaegar’s uncompromising stance against any form of discrimination. They must have been the ones to inform Queen Althea about the power of the King’s Gold and the locations of the tombs."

The leader of the fox tribe nodded in agreement, turning his sharp gaze to Rhaegar. "Many of them have been hiding, pretending loyalty to us all this time. They likely struck a deal with that witch, thinking that by borrowing her forces, they could regain control of this kingdom."

Rhaegar leaned back slightly in his chair, his brows knitted as he mulled over the council’s words. The purists had been his first suspects from the moment Daro revealed that Erelith had already infiltrated the royal palace.

No matter how cunning Queen Althea and the crown prince were, they could not have smuggled so many soldiers into the Beast Kingdom without inside help.

His suspicions had been confirmed when Alim reported that several of the knights killed in battle, despite wearing Erelith’s uniforms, were pure-blooded beasts.

"Then, our next steps are clear," Rhaegar said at last, his tone decisive. "We will begin by rooting out the remaining purists. Once that is done, we will accelerate our preparations to attack Erelith."

"This soon?!" one of the wolf pack leaders exclaimed, springing to his feet. His golden eyes glimmered, catching the torchlight as they burned with tension. "We have not finalized the strategy yet!"

"The strategy hasn’t changed," the king stated firmly, silencing the wolf pack leader with a stern glare. "The timeframe has. Our warriors are ready. Besides, cutting the loose ends here will still take time, and I have no intention of involving every single tribe and pack in this internal mission."

"We will do to them exactly what they did to us," Alim interjected, unrolling a large map and laying it flat on the table before the council members. "The Gypsy tribe will station its people along the border and sneak in as many warriors as possible. Even if we can’t bring in a significant number, we’ll still have the upper hand. Erelith has already lost a quarter of its forces fighting here."

"That sounds reasonable," the leader of the fox tribe said with a nod. "But what about the palace’s blueprint?"

"We don’t need it," Rhaegar replied confidently, rising to his feet. His amber eyes locked on him, exuding an air of unshakable determination. "I know that palace like the back of my hand. After all, I escaped from it once."

***

Lorelai and Kai had been in love with each other for many years.

The princess had always been happy knowing that.

Now, whenever Kai upset her, intentionally or not, her mind would drift back to the precious memories of their time together, mostly from their childhood––hiding from their parents or evading the stern nanny who would chase after them with a wooden pointer clutched in her chubby hands.

When Althea made her life difficult by forbidding her from eating more than deemed appropriate, Kai would sneak into the kitchen and steal dried raisin bread and plum juice for her. Risking being caught and punished, he would deliver them to her in secret, slipping out of his room late at night just to make sure she didn’t go hungry.

But lately, Lorelai had begun to feel an unsettling emptiness. Even the sweet memories of Kai’s love and affection, once her greatest source of comfort, failed to stir any emotion in her heart.

Don’t you find it strange, my queen?

Lorelai flinched as an unfamiliar male voice echoed in her mind, sharp and intrusive. The shock made her drop her quill, leaving an ugly ink stain to bleed across an important document.

Her wide green eyes darted around the room, frantically searching for the source of the voice. But there was no one. She was utterly alone in her study.

What is going on...? Lorelai pressed her eyes shut, her fingers massaging her temples as a sudden headache split her skull like a blade.

Before Lorelai could analyze the strange hallucination further, a knock at the door startled her, and she realized it was one of the maids sent to fetch her to see her stepbrother.

"Just a moment!" Lorelai called out, her gaze falling to the ink stain on the document she had been about to sign. Strangely, the shape of the blot reminded her of a wolf’s paw print.

Leaving her study, she followed the maid through the winding corridors. But as they walked, Lorelai noticed something odd. They weren’t heading toward Kai’s drawing room. Instead, the maid was leading her toward his trophy room.

Stopping in front of the heavy wooden door, the maid knocked politely and announced the princess’s arrival. Then, with a slight bow of her head, she left Lorelai standing alone.

Lorelai hesitated, waiting for Kai’s permission to enter. When it finally came, she stepped inside—and froze, her eyes widening in shock.

In the cold, dimly lit room, the centerpiece was impossible to miss: the taxidermied carcass of a massive black wolf. Its enormous paws were outstretched in mid-air, frozen in the act of an interrupted leap, teeth bared in silent aggression.

Her heart sank, a heavy, suffocating weight in her chest. Her limbs trembled as a surge of unfamiliar emotions washed over her.

"Do you like it?"

The voice startled her. Kai stepped out from the shadows, his pale green eyes glinting as they locked onto hers, scanning her face intently for a reaction.

"I killed it... just for you."