Lycan King's Regret: Punished The Wrong Daughter

By late afternoon, the three of us had wandered far enough into the forest that the palace was barely visible through the trees. Maya and Toby were arguing about something when I spotted Bradley coming toward us.

”Bradley!” I called before he reached me. ”Can you please arrange rooms for my friends? Preferably somewhere near mine?”

”Sure, Arabella. That won’t be a problem.” His gaze briefly moved to Maya and Toby, and he gave them a polite smile. ”I’ll have someone take care of it.”

”Thank you.” He nodded before continuing toward the palace.

The moment he was out of hearing range, I turned back and found both of my friends staring at me. Maya was the first to speak. ”That’s the Royal Beta, right?”

When I nodded, her eyes widened. ”And you just asked him to arrange two rooms.” She glanced in the direction Bradley had disappeared. ”And he actually said yes.”

Toby looked equally impressed. ”Seems like you’re pretty important around here now.”

”No, I don’t think so.” I laughed lightly, but even I had noticed how differently everyone in the palace treated me this time.

The smile remained on my face for another second before it slowly disappeared. There was a lot I needed to tell them. I drew in a long breath. ”Guys, there’s something I need to tell you.”

Toby’s attention immediately returned to me as he lifted one brow. ”What else?”

I tried to smile and was sure it faltered, but Maya noticed it. ”What is it?”

Instead of answering, I lowered myself onto the grass and crossed my legs. Maya and Toby exchanged a glance before joining me without another question. Maya sat close to my side while Toby settled across from us, resting his arms loosely over his knees.

For a moment, I stared at the grass, then I started talking. I told them everything that had happened since I returned to the palace.

I told them about Victor and how terrified he had been when I questioned him about Anika’s murder. About the woman he claimed came into his dreams every night and threatened to kill him if he revealed what really happened. Then I also told them about Queen Theodora...

... and about waking up somewhere outside my own body and then finding myself in the queen’s room. Watching Lucien enter my room only to discover my physical body still asleep on the bed.

Maya’s face slowly lost all color while Toby sat there, open-mouthed, and I kept going.

I also told them what happened last night. How I had somehow transported myself to Victor’s bedroom and found Theodora there. And finally, I told them what I had done.

”I pushed her out of the window.” I paused, then added quietly, ”And punched her in the ribs.”

Maya’s lips parted while Toby blinked at me in surprise. But neither of them interrupted.

”And this morning,” I continued, ”Bradley told me Queen Theodora woke up with fractured ribs.”

Neither of them was able to speak for a few minutes. The forest suddenly seemed too quiet around us. Maya was the first to move. She reached for my arm and wrapped both hands around it. ”Arabella, you’ve been dealing with all of this by yourself?”

I looked down at her hands. ”Half the time, I wasn’t even sure if it was actually happening or if I was losing my mind.”

”You should have told us,” Toby said gently. There was no anger in his voice. He rubbed both hands over his face before staring at me for several seconds.

”So let me understand this.” His expression was unusually serious. ”You can leave your body while you’re sleeping, travel wherever you want, and apparently beat the hell out of people while doing it? That’s insane.”

Maya tightened her hold on my arm. ”And she used to enter your dreams three years ago too?” I nodded.

I was still talking to Maya and Toby when a male omega approached us. ”Miss Arabella, the King wants to see you in his office.”

I immediately got to my feet and brushed the grass from my clothes. ”Maybe he wants to discuss you two being here.” I had taken a few steps when I stopped and turned back. ”You’ll manage to find your way back to the palace?”

They both nodded together. ”Yeah. Go,” Maya said, waving me away. ”Don’t make him wait.”

I smiled and headed toward the royal building. When I reached Lucien’s office, he was leaning back in his chair with a file open in his hands. He looked unusually serious, so absorbed in whatever he was reading that he didn’t notice me immediately.

”May I come in? You called me?”

His eyes lifted to mine. ”Hmm. Come in.” I stepped inside and closed the door behind me.

I was about to ask why he wanted to see me when, for some reason, my mind suddenly went back to an old memory. To the beast who saved me.

I hadn’t thought about him in a while, but standing there suddenly reminded me of that enormous creature.

”Your Highness, can I ask you something?” Lucien looked up from the file without answering.

”There used to be a beast in this palace.” A smile came to my face at the memory. ”He saved my life twice, actually. I used to think of him as my friend.” I walked a little closer to the desk. ”Do you know where he is? Or who he belonged to?”

I was always sure the beast belonged to a high-profile royal. Lucien stared at me for several seconds without saying a single word, then his shoulders started shaking with mirth.

I blinked at the unexpected reaction. The laugh grew louder until he lowered his head, his hand covering his face. I stood there like a fool trying to understand what was so funny about the question.

When he finally looked up again, there was moisture in his eyes. The longer I watched him, the more uncomfortable I became. That was when I realized his laughter lacked humor. ”Your Highness?”

Lucien pushed his chair back and got up. He rounded the desk without saying anything, came straight toward me, and pulled me into his arms. My body stiffened against him.

His hold was so tight that my cheek was pressed against his chest.

What had gotten into him? Had he gone crazy?

”Lucien?” I didn’t realize that I had called his name without adding a title.

”My sweet Arabella.” His voice was quieter now, the laughter completely gone. ”Are you really that innocent?” I tried to pull back enough to see his face, but his arms tightened around me.

”What are you talking about?”

”That beast you’re looking for...” He paused. ”You killed him.”

Everything inside me went still, and I felt like I would stop breathing and die right there. ”Excuse me?”

”You poisoned me before you left, remember?”

I pushed against his chest, finally managing to look up at him. Poison?” Was he stupid? Why would I ....

”He was my Lycan. Zorro.” I stopped struggling. Lucien held my gaze, and there was no trace of amusement left on his face.

My lips parted, but nothing came out. That beast who got so close to me was the royal Lycan? Lucien’s beast? I poisoned him?

”After you left, Lilith managed to save me that night.” His eyes remained on my face. ”But she couldn’t save him.” He paused, as though saying the words was a struggle. Then he looked away, pressing his lips. ”Zorro died, Arabella.” For the first time, I saw tears in his eyes. ”You killed him. Why do you think the whole palace has started using phones? Because... because they can’t mindlink their king anymore!”