Stolen by the Beastly Lycan King-Chapter 59: Are You Good At Gambling, Princess?

"Good evening, princess. I hope I did not make you wait too long."

Lorelai flinched and tried to withdraw, utterly flustered, but the man beside her only tightened his grip around her waist, pulling her closer to his own body. His dark brown eyes smiled down at her through the black wolf mask that covered his entire face.

For a brief moment, Lorelai was confused; but the large, strong physique and a subtle, yet painfully familiar aroma of herbal cigars finally made her recognize the man behind the mask.

"King Rhaegar?!"

Although his eye color was clearly altered with magic, there could be no mistaking his real identity—at least not for Lorelai.

The man pressed his index finger against her lips, frowning. "Hey, we are not supposed to use our real names here. Exposing real identities is not allowed."

The princess was left dumbfounded for a second, but then regained her composure and asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I am here to escort you, Your Highness."

His nonchalant response made Lorelai realize what had transpired—the lycan king was the one who lent Count Elion the entrance fee money!

But why would he do something so outrageous? There was literally no reason for him to waste his money like that.

"You were the one... Why did you do that?"

The man shrugged his shoulders, smiling lightly. "Apparently, that was the only way I could see you. And I really wanted to see you, princess."

Once again, his brazen response made the princess blush. He never cared to choose his words carefully; he always said whatever was on his mind, and perhaps that was exactly why she could not resist him.

"Are you saying you gave Count Elion ten thousand gold just so that you could see me?"

Rhaegar shrugged again.

"Yes." He was clearly mocking her.

"That is absurd!" Lorelai exclaimed, her frustration growing. "If this is a joke to you—a mere plan to humiliate me, then I won't take it! I will—"

She could not finish her frantic chastising as the king pressed his long finger against her lips once again, cupping her left cheek with his other hand. "Calm down, don't cause a scene. Once Count Elion told me about your plan, I couldn't just stand by idly. It was too dangerous for someone like you, and I had no choice but to step in."

Lorelai felt offended by his words. "Someone like me? You clearly have a rather strange perception of me, King Rhaegar. I need neither your help nor protection."

The man couldn't help but scoff again. "Maybe not."

Then, he leaned closer to her, their faces almost touching, and locked his dark eyes on hers, his lips curving up. "But are you really that good at gambling, princess?"

His question made Lorelai bite her tongue and turn away, embarrassed.

She was not good at gambling. In fact, tonight would mark her very first attempt at it. However, regardless of her lack of gambling skills, she hated the idea of depending on someone like the lycan king to win.

Watching her inner struggle against his remark, Rhaegar stretched his lips into another arrogant grin. "That answers my question, I guess. I cannot let you gamble all your money and lose everything in the end. Besides, we have a shared goal, don't we?"

Lorelai paused in her tracks, widening her eyes, stunned. "So you know?"

The man nodded and then suddenly stopped as well, his dark eyes scanning the princess from head to toe. "Lorelai," he said her name quietly, his attention focused on her flustered face. "Something is wrong..."

"What...?"

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The princess was caught off guard by his words again. She thought she had already gotten used to his audacious comments, but this time, his voice was too serious to simply brush off.

'Something is off,' the man observed silently while the princess continued to look at him, bewildered. 'Her scent... it's different tonight.'

"What is it?" Lorelai finally asked, and Rhaegar blinked himself back to reality.

"Did you," he started, still uncertain, "eat something... ugh, never mind."

He brushed his curly brown hair back in frustration, letting out a short, suppressed groan. "Just follow my lead and trust me. I will make sure the two of us end this night as winners."

"Alright..." Still uncertain, Lorelai accepted the king's hand again and nodded at him. As if by magic, right at that moment, a tall, slender man dressed in a black costume approached Rhaegar and whispered something into his ear, discreetly sliding a small golden card between the fingers of his right hand.

The king nodded, and once the man departed, he looked down at Lorelai and said, "It is about to start. Are you ready, princess?"