Stolen by the Beastly Lycan King-Chapter 42: Watching Her Leave

As the orchestra started playing the first melody, Kai and Lorelai stood in the middle of the dancing area, their dark, solemn demeanor was completely out of tune with the festive atmosphere surrounding them.

The prince made the first move, pushing his sister's foot back and thus initiating the dance. He watched Lorelai's face frown in pain, but somehow, he enjoyed it. He had noticed it a while ago––despite her demure appearance and careful behavior, her wild, untamed side would still show through, and the only way to control her was with either violence or pain.

Lorelai hated pain the most. But in this palace, she could never escape it.

"I thought I had warned you before," he finally said once their bodies came closer in another dance move. "I told you not to get close to that animal."

The princess lowered her eyes, her lips trembled as she answered. "It was not my fault. He approached me first."

"What does he want with you then?"

"I––I am not sure. He said he felt offended that I did not greet him properly as a member of the royal family."

Kai scoffed, annoyance evident in his every feature. "That bastard! He really thinks he can be treated in the same way we treat humans, huh? How absurd!"

Lorelai said nothing. She recalled Rhaegar asking her not to talk about him like others did and his words carved deep into her heart.

'Then how would you treat them?'

She desperately wanted to voice that question but she knew better than to stir trouble with her brother. It was better to just leave it be. She had no authority to defend the lycan king anyway.

"Stay away from him, Lorelai," Kai spoke once again. "Your marriage is an important deal and Duke Kalder is a jealous man. Do not ruin this for us. Do you understand me? They will leave once the celebration is over anyway. It is not worth ruining your life for this."

This time, Lorelai wanted to laugh. Could it really ruin her life more than it was shattered already?

She did not reply to these words either.

As the dance neared the end, their bodies got closer once more, and Kai gently slid his hand all the way down his sister's back, sending trembles all over her body. He then leaned a little closer and inhaled her scent, his eyes glistening with something bizarre for just a moment.

Then, as if none of that ever happened, the Crown Prince smiled at Lorelai and concluded. "Go to Duke Kalder after this dance. He will throw a tantrum if his fiancee keeps ignoring him like this."

"...yes, brother."

Once the dance was finally over, Lorelai curtsied before the prince and left his side, allowing herself to limp a little as the pain had now turned unbearable.

Although she had promised Kai to find Duke Kalder and spend time with him, all she truly wanted at that very moment was to find a place to sit down and take a breather.

She felt sick from all the pain and discomfort she had to go through; truthfully, she felt like dying.

Just as she thought she could catch a break in one of the empty private resting rooms, a tall, powerful figure blocked her way, and she was forced to look up to see who it was.

'Ugh,' she groaned soundlessly, 'the opposite of what I need right now.'

"Princess," Rhaegar looked down on her pale face, frowning with worry. "I still have your cane."

"Thank you," she stretched her hand out, waiting to receive it, but the king had something else in mind. Still frowning, he measured her with an attentive gaze before continuing. "Why did not you let me help you?"

Perhaps driven by the blend of exhaustion and frustration, Lorelai allowed herself to snap. "It does not concern you, Your Majesty. It was not your place to help me. It will never be."

"What?"

Lorelai snatched her cane from Rhaegar's hand and offered him a brief nod, concluding coldly. "Please excuse me. I need to be with my fiance right now."

And just like that, she simply left him. Lately, it felt that all he had been doing was watching her leave.

***

Lorelai walked slowly through the crowd, scanning the guests with her tired eyes in hopes of finding Duke Kalder faster, but the old man was nowhere to be seen.

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"Your Highness?" A female voice caught her attention and she turned around, recoiling slightly at the sight of Lucia, the queen's lady-in-waiting.

Lorelai did not like her and always tried to stay away from her; just like she usually did with other people directly involved with Althea and Kai.

"Yes, Lady Lucia?" The princess was worried that it was Althea who sent her because she failed to find Duke Kalder and Lucia's next words confirmed her fears.

"You look like you are searching for someone. Is it, perhaps, His Grace Duke Kalder?"

"Y––yes, it is. Did you see him?"

Lucia faked a friendly smile, wrapping her long, lean arm around Lorelai's shoulder. "As a matter of fact, I did! He has prepared a nice and quiet room for the two of you to spend some time together, let me guide you there. It looks like you need some help walking."

The princess felt strangely alerted by Lucia's words but on the other hand, loyal to Althea, she used to run after Vincent Kalder as well, so it was not really surprising that the old man would make her his messenger too.

"Alright, thank you, Lady Lucia."

"Of course!" Lucia faked another smile and led Lorelai out of the banquet hall, walking carefully through the palace hallway in the direction of the guest wing.

'Let's see what everyone will think of you once this is over. That disgusting pervert Kalder will never forgive you for this.'

"Uhm, Lady Lucia?" As Lorelai noticed that they came to the guest wing of the main palace, she could not help but suspect that Lucia had made a mistake by bringing her there. "Why are we in the guest wing?"

"Oh, Duke Kalder is going to stay for a couple more days in the palace so naturally, the royal family got him a nice guest room. He wishes to meet you there, Your Highness."