Lycan King's Regret: Punished The Wrong Daughter

Jasmine Smith:

"Where are your manners?" I snapped, glaring at the trembling Omega. Lemonade dripped from my hair onto the polished floor, soaking the front of my uniform.

"Someone... someone hit me... that’s why..." she stuttered.

Shit!

I didn’t let her finish and went to her to hold her hair, "Stop making excuses, Omega," I hissed while shoving her head, "Get lost before I kill you!"

The poor girl immediately dropped to her knees, "I’m... I’m sorry, Lady Jasmine. It was an accident."

She lowered her head even further.

"Enough!" Lucien’s voice boomed across the hall, "Jasmine. Let it go!" I snapped my eyes to his face and bared my neck to show him submission.

"My dear," The Queen rose gracefully from her chair and walked over to me. She took one look at my soaked clothes and frowned, "Relax, love. Go and change. It will hardly take a few minutes."

I shook my head immediately, "I can’t, Your Highness," I straightened my posture, "I’m on duty."

"Jasmine!" Lucien called my name again, "Listen to her. Go and change. Now!"

"But, My King..."

"GO! IT’S AN ORDER!"

I quickly offered him a curtsy and walked off. That was what I wanted. I needed to reach the Southern gate before Arabella tried to cross it.

But first I needed to go to my room and get cleaned. While changing my clothes, my mind went to Arabella.

Goddess. She was so clumsy. The way her hands were shaking... such a fool she was.

I hurried to my room to peel off the sticky uniform and splash cold water over my face.

"What a mess," I muttered, pulling on a fresh uniform before tying my hair into a tight ponytail. The whole thing had been far messier than I’d planned. I let out a quiet sigh.

I picked up my pistol and stepped back into the corridor. I needed to check the Southern gate before going back to the dining area.

Soon...

Soon she would disappear from our lives, and there would be no one between Lucien and me. With Arabella gone, he would move on. He had to.

Soon Lucien would be mine.

After I reached the southern gate, I found four guards standing there.

"Where is the relief squad?" I asked as I approached. I needed to get it done before Arabella reached here.

"They haven’t arrived yet."

My brows drew together, "Goddess. Why didn’t you inform me? They were supposed to replace you before dinner."

After the relief squad reached the gates, I mindlinked to check the security of the other gates. I needed to go back to the dining hall, or Arabella might mess up the plan.

***

Arabella Toussaint:

The dining hall stayed quiet after Jasmine stormed out. Conversations slowly started again, and I lowered my gaze to my plate.

How long would the medicine take to work?

Sitting beside me, Lucien looked completely relaxed. He continued talking to the people around the table, occasionally turning toward me.

"Try this," He placed some lamb roast onto my plate, "You’ve hardly eaten."

Aliya was openly glaring at me while the Queen kept giving me disapproving looks. Her hatred for me was barely concealed.

"Everything alright?" The king asked me in concern.

I forced a smile, "Yes."

He studied me for another second, and I felt exposed under his gaze. It felt like I was standing naked before him, and he could see through every lie I was trying to hide.

After a few minutes, Jasmine came inside wearing a fresh uniform and with a small smile on her face. Our eyes met for the briefest second before she diverted her gaze and got busy talking to Aliya.

"I’ve a surprise for you, Princess," He whispered huskily, leaning toward me and boldly brushing a kiss against my cheek.

This was unexpected. My eyes flew open at the unexpected show of affection.

I looked up and found a few people exchanging glances. The Queen frowned but didn’t let the smile on her face falter, "Lucien. You seem happy... radiant tonight."

He smiled to himself, "I’ll tell everyone soon."

The Queen was right. I had never seen him smile this much before. The guilt was slowly settling deep inside my chest.

I took a bite of the roasted lamb and tilted my head to eye King Lucien, who was picking up his glass of water.

Just then I noticed his hand trembling. My heart leaped into my throat. The medicine had started working.

King Lucien raised his hand and frowned, "What’s happening?" He muttered.

"My King?" Bradley asked from across the table.

Lucien swallowed hard and turned to me with a bewildered look on his face, "Ara..." His voice had turned shaky, and for the first time I saw fear in his eyes, "If... anything happens to me..." he reached for my hand, "G... go to Bradley."

I stared at him, unable to breathe.

"D... do y... you... understand..." Now he was struggling to breathe, "He...he will... protect you."

The glass slipped from his hand and shattered across the floor.

"Lucien!" Someone called his name loudly.

"What’s happening to him? Call a doctor?"

Lucien’s body lurched forward, and his face crashed into his plate with a heavy thud. The entire hall erupted into chaos.

"LUCIEN!"

The Queen’s screams echoed through the dining hall as chairs scraped violently across the floor. I placed a trembling hand against my chest and watched him with wide eyes.

Jasmine was already at his side, helping him up, "Goddess. Lucien. My King!" And then she looked straight at me, telling me silently to go ahead with the plan.

"Go!" She mouthed the word.

I couldn’t move. I didn’t know what to do. Stay there and make sure he was alright or say goodbye to the palace forever. Jasmine made the decision for me,

"What are you thinking?" She snapped under her breath, "Go!"

No one realized what she said. No one was paying attention. Because every pair of eyes was fixed on Lucien.

The servants were running in every direction. It was chaos. And this was my only chance. With one last look at the unconscious King, I slowly stepped back.