Stolen by the Beastly Lycan King-Chapter 41: But She Did Not Look Back

"Here, drink some wine, Your Highness," Lucia offered the Crown Prince a glass of red wine, her face beaming with warmth as she smiled at him.

Kai, however, could not care less for her subtle ways of expressing affection. Without even looking at her, he accepted the wine and downed it all in one go, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, ignoring his manners.

His attention was focused exclusively on his stepsister and the lycan king, parading around her like a hungry predator salivating at her body and ready to pounce.

Even though Lucia had noticed Kai's uninterested state, she did not want to give up just yet.

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"I have noticed that Queen Phaora and her ladies-in-waiting were quite smitten with you earlier when you came to officially greet their delegation. If I can be completely honest with you, I was very jealous of your interactions with them. Your charms can pull in absolutely everyone."

She had hoped that her flattering words would finally help her get his attention but Kai continued to ignore Lucia, his deep green eyes still firmly focused on his stepsister.

"Your gift," she tried again, "has attracted a lot of attention too. I was showered with compliments."

That remark was met with cold silence once more and Lucia gritted her teeth, groaning desperately under her breath. She handed him another glass of wine in hopes the growing intoxication would make him finally loosen up, but the prince simply chugged the liquor down and then threw an empty glass at Lucia, spilling the leftovers of wine on her new dress.

"Stop hovering around me, this is not your place. Do I have to keep choking you until you finally get it?"

With that harsh scowl, Kai left her side, stomping away angrily while Lucia's eyes watched his every move, her own irritation soaring.

'First him, then that old Duke Kalder, and now even that animal is obsessed with her… what the hell is so special about that limping skeleton anyway? She has nothing to look at except for her pretty face, but she looks like a ghost without makeup anyway!'

The frown on her face deepened and she looked at the empty glass in her hands while something unexpectedly devious began to brew inside her mind.

***

As the Crown Prince walked up to Lorelai and Rhaegar, he completely ignored the lycan king, focusing his attention solely on his stepsister.

"Lorelai," he started and the princess' body instantly shook with anxiety, her trembling fingers tightening their grip on her cane.

She turned pale and was visibly uncomfortable in her stepbrother's presence and Rhaegar noticed it right away. It was yet another thing that bothered him about her.

'She shrinks down even more when she is around him and turns as white as a sheet. Is this a normal behavior for siblings in this kingdom?'

But what bothered Rhaegar the most was the strange look in Kai's eyes whenever he was looking at his sister. On top of that, he sensed something so rotten in his scent, something so unnatural and wrong that it made his lycan instincts stand on high alert.

'He has a similar scent to her which confirms that he is related to her by blood, but still... Not quite...'

While Rhaegar's sharp amber eyes watched the prince, Kai stood closer to Lorelai, offering her a scolding glare, yet still pretending to sound calm and friendly.

"Lorelai, the dancing is about to start. I would like to have the first dance with you."

The lycan king's eyes narrowed as he heard the prince's outrageous request, his hot blood starting to boil in his veins.

Taking a step toward Kai, he interfered, "I apologize, Your Highness, but Her Highness has just told me that she was in no state to dance. Her leg is bothering her, you see, she is in too much pain at the moment and definitely needs some rest."

Infuriated by Rhaegar's words, the Crown Prince grabbed his stepsister by the right wrist which made her drop her cane. Fortunately, the king skillfully caught it before it hit the floor, his face hardening with anger as his eyes shifted to Kai's painful grip on Lorelai's wrist.

The prince, too, glared back at him with unconcealed animosity but decided to let it go and turned his attention back to the princess.

"I am doing a huge favor to you right now, Lorelai. Let us go. Since you are still unmarried, your first dance of the evening must be with a member of your family. Trust me," he threw the lycan king another mad glare before adding. "It would be better for you to accept my generosity."

With that, he pulled her hand closer to him and started walking when Rhaegar nearly jumped in front of them and stretched out Lorelai's cane, preventing them from making another step.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Kai growled, scowling at the man before them.

Before Rhaegar could say another word, Lorelai gently touched the wooden cane with her fingers, subtly brushing them over the lycan king's fist, and smiled at him unexpectedly gently.

"It is alright, Your Majesty. I have to do this and I am feeling absolutely fine. Thank you for worrying about me. I appreciate that."

Rhaegar found himself speechless, utterly stunned by her blatant lies. Was she always that good at pretending? But more importantly, did her brother not care about her condition at all?

Once again, he was not able to say a word as Lorelai subtly shook her head, warning him to not get involved anymore.

Then, she fisted her hands at her stomach and nodded at Kai, leading him over to the dancing area, gritting her teeth as the throbbing in her hip continued to torture her.

Rhaegar felt his heart contract with both anger and hurt.

He watched the two of them walk away from him and could not help but hope that Lorelai would turn around and ask him to help him with those big green eyes.

But it did not happen.

She did not look back.