The Lycan King and his Dark Temptation novel Chapter 168

NARRATOR

"How do you sign a deal you can't even read, you idiot? Are you a Selenia, a descendant of my royal bloodline?"

Zarek mocked him, tightening his grip around Merkall's throat, the blood already seeping down his strong arm and dripping onto the floor.

"What a shame you can't kill me and truly claim ownership of the castle and the army. Tsk, tsk... Should I have your daughter executed by the very man who was once your enemy?"

"I don’t think so..." Merkall suddenly laughed, while behind Zarek, two hands rose, clutching a sharp dagger ready to strike.

Merkall was hurled forcefully into a corner of the balcony, and below, the excited commotion of the undead creatures grew louder once more.

Zarek turned swiftly, and the dagger’s tip landed right against his heart, just above his shirt.

"Tell me, Celine, what choice will you make? Will you kill me, or will you finally accept me as your mate in your heart?" His voice was cold, harsher than ever before.

Celine’s trembling hands gripped the dagger’s hilt tightly, every fiber of her being screaming in resistance.

She bit her lips until they bled, and tears rolled down her cheeks; the internal battle raging within her was undeniable.

"KILL HIM! I COMMAND YOU, YOU DAMN HYBRID! FINISH OFF THAT BASTARD!"

Merkall screamed, consumed by hatred and fury at having been deceived and outplayed.

He had to regain control somehow—without the puppeteer, the puppets would fall, and those monsters wouldn't be able to harm his daughter.

"Stop me... I beg you, stop me!" Celine could barely hold back the compulsion surging in her mind.

She fought against it as the dagger's tip pressed into Zarek’s skin, and yet he merely watched her, making no move to defend himself.

"ZAREK, DO SOMETHING, DAMN IT!"

"Do it yourself! Stop repressing yourself, Celine. No one is imprisoning your will here; you're the one keeping your powers locked away. Let them out! Let my other mate come forth!"

Zarek's voice roared through the chamber, and for a moment, time seemed to stand still.

Celine made the terrifying decision to break through the thorny barrier of pain and roses within the depths of her mind.

She had met her wolf at eighteen, but this other being had always been there—protecting her, watching over her—but she had hated it. She loathed it because it was a reminder of the bastard father who had cursed her with this bloodline.

Behind that wall of pain, which she had built herself, was the other half of her soul—the powerful being that had longed to be set free. She and her wolf had repressed it mercilessly.

"AAAHHHH!"

Her scream tore through the air as the barriers shattered, her mind breaking apart and rebuilding itself—stronger, sharper, crueler, and more resolute.

Zarek’s eyes gleamed with satisfaction, sensing the change in his mate’s aura. The wild essence of roses that had always driven him mad now turned bloodier and more primal, sending shivers of anticipation through him.

Celine's hair lengthened, streaked with golden highlights like the sun. Her canines sharpened into deadly fangs, grazing against her parted crimson lips, and her pupils glowed crimson at last.

"Camilla," Zarek rumbled, calling out the name of his vampiric mate.

She had whispered it to him once in secret, through the bars of his prison, without Celine’s knowledge.

That's why the Goddess had imprisoned him, and he had been such a fool to think he could control the uncontrollable.

As his body was hurled through the air toward the pack waiting below, tears of blood streamed from Merkall’s eyes.

Perhaps that prophecy had been meant to save his life, warning him that if he ever found the woman with the crimson seed on the inside of her thigh, he should either flee a thousand leagues away or kill her on the spot.

As his body was seized and swallowed into the depths of the earth, becoming a part of the very castle itself, Merkall still couldn't grasp the truth—no one fully owns their fate, and he had merely done what was always destined.

*****

Camilla raced through the labyrinthine corridors of the castle, the sound of her boots echoing off the ancient stone walls.

She knew the way through Celine’s memories, and the pull of her beloved's blood called to her soul.

Her heart recognized him as her mate; she would never be confused like Celine—this was her man.

She arrived in front of the heavy wooden door and shoved it open without hesitation.

Her crimson pupils narrowed as she saw her prince, clad in tattered rags hanging from his hips, sitting on the floor with his arms resting over his bent knees.

Suddenly, he lifted his head, his dark hair falling over his shoulders, and gazed at her through the darkness—full of love.

She was his light, the brightest and most beautiful thing in his world.

"I've been waiting for you, my love... I've been waiting for you for far too many centuries."