Stolen by the Beastly Lycan King-Chapter 77: The Stench of Blood
Chapter 77: The Stench of Blood
"You shouldn't have gone to her," Alim frowned at his king and handed him the small silver cigar case which the latter rejected with a brief motion of his hand.
Alim exchanged glances with Gian who only shrugged his tattooed shoulders, offering his friend a confused expression.
Rhaegar crossed his arms before his chest and sighed. "I could not wait it out and it would have been wrong to ask someone else for help. Even after our first night together, I knew that nothing would work for my pain anymore."
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"Well, it makes sense since she is your mate," Gian agreed with a sigh of his own, brushing his long curly hair backward. "Still, you should have gone to Naveen instead. The princess is too fragile for you and getting involved with her like this... can only bring you both more trouble."
"Did you mark her?" Alim's sudden question made Rhaegar wince a little and he rolled his eyes as his aide seemed to know the answer already.
Alim groaned helplessly, wiping his face with both hands. "It won't heal on her for a very long time because she is a human. What will her ladies-in-waiting say? What if they report to the queen or her fiance?"
"Every other beast from our entourage will know too," Gian chimed in, "since they will be able to sense you on her now."
"This is not what is important right now," Rhaegar cut the two of them off in a stern voice. "I think the queen has realized something."
Two pairs of eyes widened at their king in bewilderment as they spoke in unison, "What do you mean?"
"Lorelai's scent has started to change. Perhaps they have been adding something to her food or drinks. Her scent is still quite strong for me since she is my mate but I know it has started to disappear while I can also sense something rotten in it."
Alim scratched his chin, diving deeper into contemplation for a short while before he spoke again. "Must be a repellant. Perhaps the same one that the purists used on the beasts who found their mates in humans in the past."
Rhaegar nodded, but his expression remained that of concern. "Not many outside the Beast Kingdom know about this, yet somehow, the queen is aware not only of that part of our history but has also managed to lay her hands on that repellant. I think she knows that Lorelai is my mate."
He paused, glaring over his aides from beneath his shapely brows. "And since she managed to get the exact same repellant, I guess our suspicions are now confirmed."
Alim nodded too. "The stench of blood was not just our imagination then."
"Yes," the king looked outside his window, his deep amber eyes shifting in the direction of the princess' palace. "The queen is not a human. She is a ghoul."
***
Lorelai leaned against the cracked headboard of her bed and closed her eyes, feeling the soreness all over her body slowly dissipate under the influence of the herbal tea served by Queen Althea.
Just like before, the princess could not help but feel utterly confused. While the rest of her body was in pain thanks to Rhaegar's vigorous lovemaking to her the night before, the throbbing in her right hip no longer bothered her as it used to.
'I have heard that the beast's blood can heal wounds and even health afflictions if taken regularly, but he never gave me any of his blood. My left hip hurts because he spread me so wide last night, but not the right one...'
As her mind drifted back to the lycan king, Lorelai suddenly felt a little sad.
When she woke up after her feverish night with Rhaegar, she found herself alone in her room again, carefully cleaned and tucked under fresh sheets. The man was gone.
Even though she had barely survived that night with him, Lorelai had to admit that she still missed him. He could be so rough with her during sex, but after they were done, he treated her with the utmost tenderness, and perhaps that was precisely what she was missing.
He completely destroyed her body. The princess felt so broken and torn that she even had to lie about being sick in order to be able to stay locked in her room, away from everyone's curious gazes, and delegate her daily duties to Marianna instead.
'I don't know how he managed to wash me and even change the sheets but I guess I should be grateful. If the maids and ladies-in-waiting saw me in this state, with so many bite marks and bruises all over my body...'
She sighed, her hand involuntarily reaching to the back of her neck where she instantly felt a deep bite mark that stung painfully even at the slightest touch of the soft fabric of her silk nightgown.
'How long will it take for this one to heal? The queen forces me to wear my hair up at formal events... What kind of excuse can I give to her in the meantime?'
Hopping from one thought to another, Lorelai was alarmed when a loud and persistent knocking shook her bedroom door.
"Your Highness, it's Marianna!" The princess' aide declared loudly and Lorelai sighed in relief at the sound of her voice.
"Yes, come in."
The woman entered the room almost instantly, a look of distress on her tired face. It seemed she had been working without a break all day, her face almost completely devoid of color and life.
"How are you feeling, Your Highness?" Even though she herself was on the verge of collapsing, the first thing she asked was about the princess' health. Her sweet and caring nature made Lorelai smile.
"Marianna," the princess started, but the rest of the words suddenly stuck in her throat, refusing to come out. Somehow, she felt like crying and she could not tell why.
"Your Highness..." Marianna dropped the stack of papers she was holding and rushed to Lorelai's bed, pulling her in her loving and warm embrace. "What's wrong, Your Highness? Are you in pain?"
"Marianna," Lorelai sobbed into the woman's chest. "I really need to tell you something."
