Lycan King's Regret: Punished The Wrong Daughter

Jasmine’s pov:

I watched Lucien walk off the stage. For several seconds, I simply stood there, staring at his retreating back. He didn’t even look at me.

Not even once.

"Lucien!" Aliya called. She gathered her dress in one hand and rushed after him, her face red with anger... or maybe embarrassment. I couldn’t tell.

My fingers slowly curled against my palm. What the hell had just happened? I turned my head.

The Queen was still standing near the edge of the stage, looking utterly confused. Her eyes moved from Lucien’s retreating figure to me and then toward the crowd.

My parents were furious. My father’s face had turned dark, while my mother was whispering something to him, probably trying to stop him from doing something stupid in front of hundreds of people. And then I made the mistake of looking at the crowd. Everyone was staring at me.

The hall that had been filled with cheers only moments ago was now buzzing with whispers.

"What happened?"

"Why did the King leave?"

"Did they have a fight?"

"He just left her standing there?"

"Wasn’t this supposed to be their engagement?"

My stomach twisted. I could hear them. Every fucking word. They weren’t even bothering to hide their curiosity. One woman actually leaned toward the person beside her while keeping her eyes fixed on me.

Was I a joke to them? Had Lucien just turned me into one?

My vision blurred for a second.

No! I blinked hard. I would not cry here. Not in front of these people.

"Jasmine." A hand wrapped firmly around my arm. I flinched before realizing it was my mother.

"Come with me, sweetheart."

"I can walk on my own," I whispered.

"I know you can, love." Her voice was gentle, but she didn’t let go. She helped me down the steps anyway.

I kept my chin high as we walked through the crowd. My legs felt strangely numb beneath me, but I forced them to keep moving. People stepped aside to make way for us. Their whispers followed.

I wished I could kill them. I wished I could kill myself. The moment we reached the corridor outside the hall, I sucked in a deep breath.

"Jasmine?" Mother tightened her hold on me.

"I’m fine, Mom." My voice cracked on the last word.

Shit. Her expression immediately changed.

"Get some water," she ordered an Omega standing nearby. "Quickly."

"I don’t need water," I said through clenched teeth. Goddess. Why was she doing it here? Couldn’t she wait till I get to my room?

"You look like you’re about to faint."

"I’m not going to faint!" My voice echoed through the corridor, which made my father stop walking.

"Enough." His furious voice made me turn. "What Lucien did in there was unacceptable."

"Not here, Dad. Please," I hissed.

"I don’t care who hears me, Jasmine. He humiliated my daughter in front of the entire kingdom!"

"Father, please." I couldn’t listen to this. Not yet. The Omega hurried back with a glass of water. Mom took it and pushed it into my trembling hand.

"Drink." I stared at the glass. The water was shaking. No. My hand was shaking. I tightened my fingers around it. Anger burned hotter inside me.

I was Jasmine Smith. Head warrior of this kingdom. I had stood in battlefields covered in blood. I had watched men die at my feet without flinching. And now I couldn’t even hold a fucking glass of water? I shoved it back into Mom’s hand.

"I need to go to my room," I whispered.

"Jasmine—"

"My room, Mom!" That at last silenced her, and she nodded. By the time we reached my room, my throat hurt from holding everything back. Mom entered behind me, followed by Dad. The door had barely closed when my father started again.

"I am going to speak to Theodora. Right now." My father spat.

"No."

He stared at me. "No? Jasmine, he left you standing on that stage!"

"I KNOW!" My scream tore through the room.

Silence. My chest rose and fell rapidly. Mother’s eyes softened. That made it worse. I didn’t want sympathy, especially not from her.

I turned my face away quickly when my eyes began burning. "Both of you... Please leave."

Mother stepped toward me. "Sweetheart—"

"Mom." My voice broke again as I squeezed my eyes shut. "Please."

She stopped. For a moment, neither of them moved. Then Dad muttered something under his breath and walked toward the door. Mother remained. "I’m right outside if you need me."

I nodded without looking at her and sighed when the door finally closed. I stood completely still.

My lips began trembling. I pressed them together so hard they hurt. No. I wasn’t going to cry. I wouldn’t give Lucien my tears. I lifted my hand and wiped furiously beneath my eyes before a single tear could fall. Then my gaze landed on the mirror. The beautiful dress. The perfect hair. The jewelry chosen for the future Queen.

I stared at the woman reflected there. Everyone had come here to watch Lucien choose me. Instead, they had watched him walk away. My hand shot out. The glass of water sitting on the dressing table went flying across the room. It smashed against the wall.

"Fuck!" My breath came out in a broken gasp. I grabbed the first piece of jewelry I could reach and ripped it from my neck.

Then another until I peeled everything off my body... until I stood there trembling, staring at myself through tears I was still too damn stubborn to let fall.

"What did I do to deserve this, Lucien?" This time, there was no one in the room to hear me. A knock sounded at the door.

"Go away!" I shouted. "I don’t want to see anyone!"

When there was another knock, I couldn’t hold it back. "For fuck’s sake—" Before I could scream every curse I knew, the door opened, and the Queen stepped inside.

"Oh, Jasmine." Her face was filled with concern. "I’m so sorry, sweetheart. I don’t know what got into him."

Something inside me snapped. I crossed the room before she could say another word, grabbed her throat, and shoved her against the wall. She gasped.

"You don’t know?" I hissed into her face. "Then fucking find out."

Her eyes widened. I didn’t care that she was the Queen. I didn’t care that I could be punished for putting my hands on her.

"You promised me this wouldn’t happen." My fingers tightened around her. "You told me your son would marry me. You convinced me to announce this fucking ceremony to the entire kingdom, and then you let him make a joke out of me in front of everyone!"

"Jasmine, calm—"

"Don’t you dare tell me to calm down!" I slammed my palm against the wall beside her head. "You want me as your son’s queen? Then start acting like his mother and control him. Because I swear, Theodora, if I go down because of your son, I will drag this entire fucking family down with me."