Lycan King's Regret: Punished The Wrong Daughter

Arabella Toussaint:

I was taking a stroll in the garden, trying to divert my attention from the headache. The queen wasn’t letting me sleep, and I didn’t know how to stop her.

"Do...you need something?" I spun around at the Omega’s voice who accompanied me in the garden. I knew that face.

I saw her in the royal farms, the day that man tried to grab me.

"N...No. Thanks," I tried to smile, in hopes that I might make a new friend, but she kept herself at a distance.

I decided to come here because I wanted some fresh air

My gaze drifted around the quiet garden before I frowned. In the distance, someone was walking toward us.

A beautiful woman was approaching us with blonde hair woven into a thick braid that rested over one shoulder. She was lean, and every step she took carried effortless confidence.

"Wasn’t this supposed to be a private garden?" I glanced at the Omega beside me. The Omega stiffened a bit as she followed my gaze.

"It is..." She lowered her voice, "She is the head warrior Jasmine. She usually stays near the borders..." She trailed off as the blonde got closer, "She just returned after three years."

"What’re you doing in the private garden?" The moment she reached me, she asked. I blinked at her question. Too stunned to answer.

"I ... I’m sorry," I lowered my head a little, "His Highness gave me permission..."

She frowned, studying my face. Then her eyes widened ever so slightly, "Wait a minute..." She tilted her head, "Are you that slave who saved Zara?"

I offered her a small smile with a nod, "Yes."

She remained silent for a moment before letting out a quiet scoff.

"He actually allowed you to stroll here?" she muttered more to herself then her grin returned, "If I were you, I’d go back to my room."

She folded her arms across her chest as she leaned her weight onto one leg, looking me up and down. She wasn’t even trying to hide her contempt.

"People around here don’t like you," she shrugged, "No one would even know if someone killed you."

What?

I didn’t like the way she was looking at me. That mocking smirk refused to leave her face.

She then looked at the girl beside me, "Learn your place, Omega, or someone might decide to kill you too. Trust me, nobody would care, and nobody would question it."

Without waiting for my reaction, she spun on her heels and walked away.

Seeing her heading out of the garden ignited a wave of white-hot fury inside me. What did she think of herself?

A sudden sting shot through me, and I sucked in a breath. For the briefest moment, tiny sparks burst inside my head, and something warm raced through my veins before disappearing just as quickly.

I frowned in shock. What is that?

I raised my wrist, and I swear I saw something crawling under my skin. Something dark.

Goddess! Was there a parasite living inside me?

***

After returning to King Lucien’s room, I rushed into the glass bathroom and stepped beneath the shower without caring whether I was even allowed to use it.

Cold water poured over my head, but it did nothing to calm the storm inside me. What was that?

Why the fuck was I so angry?

My fingers curled into fists.

Anger.

That was the only emotion I had never allowed myself to feel.

Fear, humiliation, pain. I knew them all too well. But anger?

No!

Wasn’t I already used to insults like hers? Wasn’t I used to people looking down on me? Then why had her words made something inside me snap?

For the first time in my life, I didn’t want to cry. I wanted to fight.

I closed my eyes and let the cold water take all my worries. Was that the reason my pack used to give me Wolfsbane?

To suppress this anger?

When was the last time I received my wolfsbane dose?

"Umm... a person needs to undress first if he wants to take a shower."

My breath caught in my throat when I heard the familiar deep voice behind me. I spun around quickly and found him standing by the entrance, his one shoulder resting against the frame.

His golden eyes remained fixed on me. Heat rushed to my cheeks as my mind raced, looking for suitable words.

He sighed as he pushed against the frame and walked over to the rack to pick up the towel. I quickly reached over to turn off the shower. The moment I turned around, I found him standing inches away.

"Stay still!"

His deep voice sent an unexpected shiver racing down my spine.

Before I could react, the towel settled on my head as he started rubbing it gently. He then moved to my body, and his hand went still when it reached my chest.

It got more awkward when he knelt to clean my bare legs, "I’ll do it!" I quickly said. His hand froze for a second as he looked up lazily.

Without acknowledging if he had heard me, he kept doing his job and then tossed the towel.

Goddess, what was his problem? Why was he doing this?

His family, and now that Jasmine would eat me alive.

A small gasp escaped me when, without warning, he lifted me effortlessly. My hands instinctively gripped the front of his open shirt, revealing all the dark tattoos that climbed to the side of his neck.

I swallowed hard, unable to look away.

Instead of taking me to the bed, he carried me to the sofa and gently placed me down, before kneeling on the floor beside me. My thoughts came to an abrupt halt when he lifted the hem of my soaked t-shirt.

Without thinking, I struck his wrist, and we both froze. Surprise flickered across his face. Horrified, I scrambled to my feet and nearly lost my balance, landing back on the sofa.

"Shit... I’m sorry... Your Highness!" I blurted, squeezing my eyes. What was happening to me? First Jasmine and now...

"I’m sorry... I forgot my place."

I glanced up and found him looking at me. Slowly, he lifted his hand, and I tensed.

Another slap?

But no. His fingers brushed against a damp lock of my hair, gently moving it away from my cheek before tucking it behind my ear.

"Your hair..." he murmured, "Is it... white?"

I couldn’t bring myself to meet his gaze and kept my eyes fixed on my lap, "Y...yes..."

I still didn’t know why Vanessa dyed my hair before presenting me to the king.

I could feel his eyes on me, studying me as though he were thinking hard, "Today I came to know about something," he told me casually, "Did you try to kill your parents at the age of..."

I looked up with a gasp and got up from the sofa, "Punish me," To my horror, tears gathered in my eyes, "Please... punish me," I whispered in a shaky voice, "Slap me. Drag me back to that Omega chamber, Your Highness," I fell to my knees beside him.