The Lycan King’s Forbidden Craving

The Breast’s Confession

Chapter Three: The Beast's Confession

Elara's POV

I didn't sleep that night.

How could I? Every sound made me jump, footsteps in the hallway, wind rattling the windows, the distant howls of lycans somewhere in the castle. I sat on the edge of the enormous bed, still wearing my white ceremonial dress, watching the door and waiting for King Rael to return and finish what he started.

But he never came.

When dawn finally broke, pale light filtered through the windows. I felt exhausted but restless. Mira had told me I was the first human the King had ever kept alive. That meant something, but I didn't know what. Was I special, or was I just a meal he was saving for later?

The door opened, and Mira entered with fresh clothes draped over her arm. "Good morning. Did you sleep?"

"No."

She gave me a sympathetic look. "I understand. This must be terrifying for you." She laid the clothes on the bed, a simple dark dress, much more practical than what I was wearing. "The King wants to see you after you've eaten breakfast."

My stomach dropped. "Why?"

"He didn't say. But don't worry. If he wanted to hurt you, you'd already be hurt." Mira moved to the window and pulled back the heavy curtains, letting in more light. "King Rael is many things, but he's not cruel without reason."

I wasn't sure if that was supposed to be comforting.

After Mira left, I changed into the new dress and forced myself to eat some bread and fruit from the tray she brought. My hands shook the entire time. When I couldn't delay any longer, I walked to the door and tried the handle. It was unlocked.

The hallway outside was empty. I had no idea where I was supposed to go, so I just started walking. The castle was like a maze, endless corridors, staircases leading up and down, doors that could lead anywhere. Everything was built from dark stone and lit by torches that cast dancing shadows.

I turned a corner and nearly crashed into someone. A man in armor, tall and broad-shouldered with kind brown eyes. He caught my elbow to steady me.

"Careful," he said with a gentle smile. "You must be the girl everyone's talking about."

"Everyone's talking about me?"

"The King hasn't brought a human to the castle in three hundred years. Of course people are talking." He released my arm and bowed slightly. "I'm Gareth. Knight of the Shadowfang Guard."

Something about him felt safe. Maybe it was his smile or the warmth in his eyes, so different from the cold stares I'd gotten from the other lycans. "I'm Elara. I'm supposed to meet with the King, but I don't know where to find him."

"I can take you." Gareth gestured down the hallway. "He's in the throne room. Fair warning though, he's in a mood this morning."

"Worse than usual?"

Gareth laughed. "Much worse."

We walked through the castle together, and Gareth pointed out different areas, the training grounds, the kitchens, the library. He talked like he was giving me a tour, like I was a visitor instead of a prisoner. It made everything feel slightly less terrifying.

"Can I ask you something?" I said as we climbed another staircase.

"Of course."

"Why did the King take me? Mira said I'm the first human he's kept alive."

Gareth's expression grew serious. "I don't know the full story. But I've served King Rael for fifty years, and I've never seen him react to anyone the way he reacted when he came back with you last night. He looked... shaken."

"Shaken? He's the Blood King. What could shake him?"

"That's what everyone's wondering."

We reached a massive set of double doors carved with images of wolves and moons. Two guards stood on either side. When they saw Gareth, they pushed the doors open.

The throne room was enormous. Pillars stretched toward a vaulted ceiling. Windows lined the walls, letting in streams of morning light. And at the far end, sitting on a throne made of black stone and iron, was Rael.

He looked different in the daylight. Less like a monster and more like a man, though still dangerous. He wore dark clothing and no armor. His black hair was tied back, revealing the sharp angles of his face. Those silver eyes tracked my movement as Gareth led me forward.

"I'll leave you two alone," Gareth said quietly, then bowed to the King and left.

The doors closed behind him with a heavy thud.

I stood in the middle of the throne room, my heart pounding, waiting for Rael to speak first.

He studied me in silence for a long moment. Then he stood and walked down the steps from his throne, closing the distance between us. He stopped a few feet away, close enough that I had to tilt my head back to look at him.

"You didn't sleep," he said.

"How did you know?"

"I can hear your heartbeat from here. It's been racing since you entered." He tilted his head slightly. "Are you afraid of me?"

"Yes."

"Good. Fear will keep you alive." He turned and walked toward one of the tall windows. "Come here."

I didn't want to obey, but refusing a king, especially this king, seemed like a bad idea. I walked over and stood beside him. From this height, I could see the entire castle grounds and the dark forest beyond.

"Do you see that forest?" Rael asked.

I nodded.

"Beyond it lies your village. Your mother. Your old life." He looked down at me. "You could run. Try to make it back. But you would die before you reached the tree line. My guards would hunt you down, or the wild lycans would tear you apart. Either way, you would not survive."

"Then why tell me this?"

"Because I want you to understand your situation. You are alive because I allow it. You will stay alive as long as you obey me." His voice was cold, but something flickered behind his eyes. "I did not bring you here to torture you, Elara. But I did not bring you here for your comfort either."

"Then why am I here?"

He was quiet for so long I thought he wouldn't answer. When he finally spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper. "Because three hundred years ago, I loved a woman who looked exactly like you. And when she betrayed me, I killed her and everyone she loved. The Moon Goddess cursed me for that m******e. Every full moon, I must feed on human souls or lose my mind to the beast inside me."

My blood ran cold. "What does that have to do with me?"

"When I smelled your blood last night, something inside me changed. The hunger quieted. For the first time in three centuries, I felt something other than endless craving." He turned to face me fully, and the raw emotion in his eyes was almost painful to see. "You are either my salvation or my destruction. I have not decided which yet."

I took a step back. "I'm not whoever you think I am. I'm just a healer from a cursed family."

"You look like her. You smell like her. You even move like her." His hand shot out and grabbed my wrist, pulling me closer. Not rough, but firm. "Tell me you don't feel it. The pull between us."

And gods help me, I did feel it. That same rope around my heart that I'd felt last night, yanking me toward him. It made no sense. I should hate him. Fear him. But standing this close, all I felt was a strange, terrifying connection that I didn't understand.

"Let me go," I whispered.

He released me immediately and stepped back. "Tonight is the full moon. My curse will demand to be fed. I will lock myself in the lower dungeons where I cannot reach you. But Elara…" His silver eyes burned into mine. "If I ever lose control around you, I need you to run. Promise me you will run."

"I promise."

He nodded once, then walked past me toward the throne room doors. Before leaving, he paused. "There is a library on the third floor, east wing. Ask Mira to show you. You will find answers there about who you really are."

Then he was gone, leaving me alone with more questions than I started with.

Who was the woman I looked like? What really happened three hundred years ago? And why did my heart ache for a monster I should despise?