Lycan King's Regret: Punished The Wrong Daughter

Arabella Toussaint:

We remained like that for a while. He simply held me against his chest, and I kept thinking why I wasn’t scared of him.

If in this room, he decided to feast on me, nobody would even know. This dangerous beast might kill me and bury me here.

He slowly pulled back, his fiery orange eyes traveled over me from head to toe, almost inspecting me. I was still in his arms, my feet dangling in the air while he held me effortlessly. He looked down, and his gaze lingered on the bruises on my hands. He then looked up at my cheeks; one of them must be swollen.

Something flashed in his eyes. Rage.

With surprising gentleness, he lowered me onto my mattress, and I honestly thought I was dreaming. He was too large yet so caring. Then unexpectedly, he crouched in front of the bed, bringing his face to my eye level.

I stared at him, and the beast reached out, brushing my messy hair away from my face. Unexpectedly, he was being too tender. He took my hands, wrapping his claws around them. As compared to his, mine were too small.

He lifted my hands and slowly rubbed his cheek against them, like he was seeking comfort. Or maybe he was trying to provide me with some.

His attention shifted to my injured knuckles, and a strange rumble vibrated in his chest. My heart skipped a beat. He was angry. His brows furrowed as he turned my hands carefully, checking for a scrape or some kind of injury.

Without warning, he lowered his head, letting out his tongue. A startled gasp escaped me when he started licking my wounds like a dog.

The deliberate strokes of his tongue over my injured area were meant to soothe the pain. I sat there frozen, not knowing what to do. How to react.

”Wh...who are you?” I asked him in a whisper, but he gazed at my swollen cheek and started licking it too.

That made me giggle, ”Stop!” I shook my head, but it didn’t stop. I placed my palm on his face to push him away but he didn’t even budge.

When was the last time someone was this caring with me?

”You know what?” I looked into his eyes, ”If someone sees you here... they might... kill you,” I whispered, and for some reason, my eyes began to sting. He found me in the forest, sitting in a tree, and then he followed me here. Why did nobody smell him? He might get into danger.

The beast immediately lifted his head as his fiery gaze locked onto mine. For a moment, neither of us moved.

Then a light rumbling sound escaped his chest. Like it didn’t appreciate what I had just said. I laughed weakly, ”Don’t look at me like that. The residents of this palace are too cruel. They won’t even give you a chance to explain yourself.”

He tilted his head, and I swallowed hard with a faint nod of my head, ”You don’t understand. These people are powerful,” My gaze drifted toward the door, ”You should go.”

His expression darkened, and his massive arms crossed over his chest. The gesture was strangely human. Too stubborn.

I tried to bite back the smile, ”Are you refusing?” I reached out to touch its cheek, and he leaned into my palm.

My smile widened, ”You’re a very good doggy!” I started rubbing my hand on its furry chest, feeling the soft fur under my palms.

His huge, clawed hand rose and carefully touched the electric collar around my neck. The smile vanished from my face. I had almost forgotten about my collar.

The beast froze as if he could feel my pain. Then his eyes slowly lifted to mine, and something terrifying flashed across his face. Pure fury.

The temperature in the room seemed to drop. A low growl vibrated in his chest. I quickly placed my hand over his, ”Hey. It’s okay. It’s just a collar.”

His claws tightened around the metal, and for a second, I thought he was going to rip it off. And honestly, a small part of me wished he would.

My hand curled around his wrist as I tried to smile, ”It’s okay. You will get into trouble, pal. Just... ignore it.”

And then I swallowed hard. Something inside me broke, and I threw my arms around him, burying my face against his chest.

The beast seemed to go still. For a moment, I thought it might push me away, but it didn’t, and I didn’t let him go either. My fingers tightened over its fur as tears spilled from my eyes.

After Maya, I had finally found someone’s shoulder to cry on. I hated crying, but my tears kept pouring out of my eyes. The beast remained motionless before one massive arm slowly wrapped around me.

And then the other. Offering me all the warmth and comfort I needed. His huge paw patted my back awkwardly like he understood everything. A teary laugh escaped me.

”Look at you!”

Without warning, he scooped me up. A startled squeak left my lips. The next second, he dropped onto my small bed with me tucked against his chest.

The mattress creaked alarmingly beneath him. Forgetting my tears, I looked at my bed in horror, ”The bed will die tonight.”

The beast didn’t seem to care less. He adjusted me against his massive frame and continued patting my back.

”Just look at you, love,” my voice was muffled into his fur, ”You break into my room. You scare me half to death. And now you’re trying to murder my bed.”

After so many days, my laughter felt genuine to my ears. I yawned loudly as my eyelids grew heavy, ”Goodnight, doggy.”

The patting continued on my back. A smile tugged at my lips as I slowly drifted into a deep sleep. I didn’t know if this furry sweetheart planned to stay in my room or flee before I woke up.