The Lycan King and his Dark Temptation novel Chapter 379

NARRATOR

He lifted his head and roared to the skies, a guttural sound ripped from the depths of his throat, sending flocks of birds scattering in terror at the absolute predator about to emerge.

Alexia saw it all. A murky yellow liquid trickled down her legs. The stench of fear, of death, thickened the air.

Even so, she saw one last chance to escape. While Elliot wrestled with these strange new sensations—no longer suppressing them, but letting them flow like a dam fully unleashed—she stumbled to her feet, urine still streaming down her thighs, and began to run in a frantic, staggering sprint, putting as much distance as possible between herself and the beast.

Elliot collapsed onto all fours, hands and knees pressing into the ground. His nails, now black, even those on his feet, lengthened, shredding through his boots like sharpened blades.

His jaw stretched, reshaping, ready to expand into a ferocious muzzle. His skin burned as if flayed alive, every hair follicle dilating, preparing for the emergence of his fur.

The transformation seemed inevitable.

"NO!"

The shout rang out just as a massive body collided with Elliot, sending him rolling across the ground.

He roared in fury, ready to attack.

"Not here, Duke! Not here!" Aldo yelled, bracing against Elliot’s blind strikes, fighting back purely on instinct until the Duke regained some semblance of control.

"Come on, let’s move! Let’s follow that woman—farther, Your Grace, farther!" Aldo dragged him away through the trees.

Elliot stumbled forward, hunched over, his body struggling to halt the transformation. It felt as if his bones were shifting, clattering loose inside the framework of his muscles, tendons, and skin.

Aldo was right. They were too close to the battle.

If anyone realized a Lycan had appeared, it would be their downfall.

Lycans were far more conspicuous than regular werewolves—larger, more extreme, more bestial yet somehow more evolved.

"He's close! Come on, Lycan, you're almost there! Hold on, Duke, just a little longer!" Aldo practically carried him.

It was difficult—Elliot felt impossibly heavy.

The sheer force radiating from his body was overwhelming, nearly terrifying Aldo’s own Alpha wolf, despite its bravery.

"Follow me!" Aldo commanded, releasing him for a moment.

With a burst of speed, he lunged toward Alexia, who was mere steps away from escaping the forest.

Within minutes, she was on her knees, her legs and hands tied, sobbing uncontrollably.

"SHUT UP!" Elliot’s roar silenced her instantly, as if his voice had muted her very breath.

"My family… I have to go back… Aldo, I have to go back…" he repeated through gritted teeth, his breathing ragged. "I have to leave now!"

He grabbed Aldo’s shoulders, his composure unraveling once more.

"I understand, but on horseback, you won’t make it in time. There’s another way—dangerous, but faster," Aldo nodded, already formulating a plan.

"A man can’t cross it easily… but a Lycan, Duke, a Lycan can."

Aldo studied him closely.

He had realized something crucial—Elliot rejected his animal side. It was repressed, uncontrolled, wild.

The dark-haired Duke took a step back, his erratic eyes scanning Aldo, revealing the storm of thoughts raging in his mind.

Deep in his soul, Elliot feared unleashing that prison completely. But he feared losing his mate even more. Even losing Lavinia.

"I’ll do it… I’ll do it…"

"Duke, are you there? Your Grace?" I called to him in my mind.

I tensed as the beast advanced another step.

In a single breath, I could be dead.

"I’m not dangerous… I’m an ally to your human side," I told him. But at the mention of Elliot, the Lycan roared even louder.

Shit. Every inch of me was on edge.

"Yes, I hear you. Stay calm," the Duke’s deep, rasping voice suddenly resonated in my mind—commanding, powerful, pure compulsion.

The dark brown—almost black—Lycan finally stopped stalking me.

He lifted his head toward the horizon, opened his maw, and shook the heavens.

Damn it, he needed to control himself, or he would be heard.

"Elliot, take control. They can’t discover you."

"It’s… complicated. My wolf and I don’t… understand each other well," he admitted.

I knew his inner wolf wouldn’t be happy with him.

"Your mate. You share a bond over her. Find common ground, Duke—for her."

I gave him the key to a temporary truce, and it seemed to work.

Finally, we could move on to the next step of the plan.