The Lycan King and his Dark Temptation novel Chapter 390

KATHERINE

"Come closer with Alexia, but leave that monster behind, or there’s no deal!"

I looked at Elliot; he didn’t seem willing to let me go.

"I need to do this. Don’t worry, I can handle it, I can," I told him, trying to calm him down.

He wasn’t happy at all. He shifted restlessly, growling.

"Besides, you can’t step onto the bridge. You’re too heavy; it wouldn’t hold," I pointed out another logical reason.

I wasn’t exactly sure how his transformation worked.

In the end, after much persuasion, I placed my feet on that rickety, swaying bridge. It was narrow. I held the woman in front of me, keeping a tight grip on her.

She kept struggling to break free, but I wouldn’t let her. My Lavinia’s life depended on it.

"Stop resisting. If you cooperate, this will be over soon." I shook her slightly, gripping her tied-up arms tighter, enduring her stench along with the swamp gases rising like the smell of rotten eggs.

I moved forward, nearly dragging her. She nearly slipped through one of the old boards that gave way beneath her weight.

"Alexia, hold on!" her mother shrieked in distress.

As I kept her upright, moving carefully across the bridge, I saw the housekeeper inching toward us, holding my little girl.

Step by step, meter by meter, we moved closer.

In her desperation, Mrs. Prescott even got ahead of me.

"Give her to me! Let’s count to three!" she shouted, barely two meters away.

"Fine, but understand this—if you mess with my daughter’s life, that predator back there will hunt you through the forest. Think carefully—you can’t outrun him!" I threatened her coldly, wary of her tricks.

"I won’t do anything, but you have to let us go! The deal is that you’ll let us leave! I know you must have killed my son! I won’t let you take Alexia from me too!"

We finally reached an agreement.

Anyone listening might think she and her thugs were the real victims here.

"Sweetheart, run to me when I say one… Three!" I began counting, locking eyes with Lavinia.

I was so proud of her.

"Two!" My heart pounded—boom, boom, boom.

The swamp water splashing below squeezed my chest with anxiety.

"One!" I finished the countdown, watching as she let go of Lavinia. I did the same with her daughter.

Despite everything, I had intended to honor the exchange. I truly meant to return Alexia, at least for now. We would deal with the rest later.

Like in slow motion, I saw Lavinia move nimbly across the wooden planks, dust rising in the air with each step.

The kicking stopped, and I heard their footsteps retreating across the planks.

It didn’t matter that I was in excruciating pain or on the verge of passing out—I held onto that tiny hand with every ounce of my determination.

"Arrrgh!" I pulled with all my strength. Suddenly, the bridge rocked violently.

No—it couldn’t be that they had reached the shore and were already trying to collapse it! It was too soon!

Even in my agony, I could feel Lavinia’s grip weakening. Her glassy eyes fluttered half-shut.

"No, no—Lavinia, keep looking at me! Don’t fall asleep, baby! Don’t pass out!"

I kept pulling, harder and harder, but she was too heavy. She was barely cooperating now, her hands slipping from mine.

Then, she lost consciousness, her body hanging limp in the air. Holding onto her was nearly impossible.

"Aaahhh, come on!" I growled like a madwoman, panting, gasping.

My feet scrambled against the planks; I tried to at least get on my knees for better leverage.

Just when I thought my world was about to shatter, a powerful masculine hand shot past my head, grabbing Lavinia’s wrists and yanking her up with the strength needed to save her.

She fell onto me with a dull thud, sitting on the worn-out planks, sobbing, clinging to me in sheer terror.

"Elliot…" Through my tears, I called out his name, lifting my head to find him standing before me—my Duke, my powerful werewolf, my anchor.