Lycan King's Regret: Punished The Wrong Daughter

Lucien Volkov:

I carefully gathered both of them into my arms. Even in her unconscious state, Arabella was holding Zara protectively.

Without wasting another second, I jumped off the tree, clutching them against me to lessen the impact. I broke into a sprint, moving through the forest with both of them pressed securely against me.

"Bradley!" The moment I moved forward, I roared my Beta’s name through the mindlink.

"Lucien..." He came to me with wide eyes as soon as he spotted the girls in my arms.

"Holy shit!" Jasmine, who was behind him, whispered. I could hear gasps from the warriors around me.

"Send word to the pack hospital. Have every doctor waiting," I ordered Brad.

As soon as we reached the clearing, Amy and Noah came running, "My baby!" Amy cried and reached for Zara. But the moment she tried to take her daughter away, she couldn’t. Arabella’s arms were still locked around the little girl’s body.

Noah also tried to pry one of her hands free, but it didn’t move.

"Don’t force it!" Bradley said quietly, "They probably stayed like this for two days. We can’t take a risk right now."

Amy’s eyes filled with fresh tears, but now I wasn’t in the mood to stay there anymore. I tightened my hold on both girls and howled loudly.

They all parted, making way for me. I sprinted towards the hospital with every ounce of speed my beast possessed.

I didn’t look back. The only thing that mattered now was getting them to the doctors before their exhausted bodies gave up.

***

Within seconds, I could see them surrounded by needles, tubes, and medical equipment. They were severely dehydrated, and their body temperatures were dangerously low.

I stayed there when the medical staff checked their pulses and cut away the dried vines and leaves tangled around them.

A senior doctor gently tried separating them, "Easy."

To everyone’s surprise, Arabella’s fingers slowly loosened from around Zara, but Zara’s tiny arms remained locked around Arabella’s neck. Her tiny arms refused to let go of Arabella’s neck.

A nurse turned to the doctor, "I’ve never seen anything like this."

Standing there, wearing nothing but shorts, I didn’t know what to do. I turned my head and saw Amy crying silently behind me in Noah’s arms.

The doctor frowned, "They stayed in this condition for so long. We can’t force the child. They both need IV drips and immediate treatment. We can’t delay any of it."

"Then go ahead," I snapped.

"Tsk... I told you. That slave must have placed some kind of spell on Zara," My mother scoffed.

I turned my head slowly. Without saying a word, I walked towards her.

"Lucien..." she tried to smile through that frown. Without warning, I grabbed her by the elbow and marched her out of the room. The door shut behind us.

"Lucien... what do you think..." I didn’t let her finish and kept walking towards the end of the corridor.

"Lucien!" she hissed, trying to pull her arm free, "Have you lost your..."

I finally released her, "Enough, mother," I said, keeping my voice dangerously low.

She glared at me as she straightened her gown, "Lucien... I was only saying..."

"I don’t care what you were saying, mother..." I said coldly and heard the hospital room door open. I caught Amy and Jasmine in my peripheral vision, stepping out of the room. They took a few steps towards us before stopping in their tracks.

Mother drew in a breath, "Lucien... my son... that girl..."

I stepped forward and bent down until our faces were just inches apart, "Listen to me very carefully, mother," I knew Jasmine and Amy could hear me, "If another word of poison leaves your mouth. I will personally have you escorted to the royal dungeons until both girls wake up."

I didn’t need to turn around to know what my words had done. The silence behind me was enough. Even Amy and Jasmine had nothing to say.

My mother’s eyes widened in stunned silence as she started shaking her head, "You... you wouldn’t dare."

"Try me!" I hissed, "Do not mistake the fact that you’re my mother for immunity. If I hear you accuse her again without proof..." I held her gaze, "You will answer to me as a subject. Not as my mother."

The color drained from her face.

I stepped aside and pointed down the corridor, "Now either pray for their recovery or leave my hospital."

***

Mother had left. So had everyone else. Only Bradley and Amy stayed back. Amy would peek inside the glass window after every few minutes to watch her daughter.

Her gaze was filled with questions whenever she would glance towards me. Questions I wasn’t ready to answer.

The doctors had managed to stabilize both girls. Arabella’s vital signs had improved more quickly than Zara’s. However, my niece was finally out of danger. Even now, her arms were around Arabella’s neck despite everything the doctors had tried.

"They’ll be alright," I said quietly. Amy looked at me. But my own eyes never left Arabella’s pale face beyond the glass.

The senior doctor had already explained to us why it had taken us so long to find them.

"The herb paste they covered themselves with... it masked their scents," he had said, "It fooled the rogues... and it fooled our trackers as well."

"So that was what you did, little wolf?" I asked her quietly, "You hid yourself and Zara from the rogues... Who are you, Arabella Toussaint? And what are you doing to me?"

The girl was sleeping peacefully, completely unaware of the war raging inside my head, and there were so many questions racing through my mind.

Every time I decided she was guilty, the Moon Goddess handed me another reason to doubt myself. Every piece of evidence against her was followed by something that made me question it all over again.

The more I tried to hate her, the harder Moon Goddess made it for me. Perhaps the Moon Goddess wasn’t testing Arabella. Perhaps she was testing me.