The Lycan King and his Dark Temptation novel Chapter 391

KATHERINE

In a matter of seconds, Elliot had his arms wrapped around us, pressing us protectively against his broad chest.

"Kath, we don’t have time to lose. They’re going to cut the bridge. Lavinia will be fine, trust me, my love, trust me. Don’t be afraid of that lycan—he’s my wolf, and he loves you with all his being. We both do," he confessed urgently, caressing my tear-streaked cheek.

The bridge was still vibrating. It seemed those wretched women hadn’t reached the other side yet.

There was no time for romance—only survival.

I nodded, trusting him with our lives. I did everything he told me. I was no longer afraid of the beast behind the man.

"No matter if you choke me, don’t let go of my back for anything in the world!" he roared, his voice already shifting.

"Yes, yes! Just hold onto Lavinia tight, please!" I begged, climbing onto him, my legs wrapped around his waist, my hands nearly strangling him by the neck.

I felt his body shifting beneath me—growing, doubling in strength, his skin sprouting thick fur… What?!

He was shifting on the bridge! It wouldn’t hold!

As I experienced one of the strangest moments of my life, our enemies were nearly at the other side.

*****

ALEXIA

"Come on, daughter, we’re almost there! Hurry, Alexia!" I heard my mother’s shouts as if from far away.

I moved on instinct, dark shadows blurring my vision.

Only raw hatred kept me going, pushing out the last scraps of strength I had left.

To take even a fraction of revenge for what they had done to me.

That precious daughter of hers wasn’t worth what I had lost today.

I still remembered the blade slicing my flesh—my hands, my tongue. The unbearable pain, the tears, the desperate screams, the agony.

I had lost so much blood I didn’t even know how I was still standing.

I had drifted in and out of consciousness for hours.

Maybe it was survival instinct.

Hoping for a tomorrow where I could take my revenge—a tomorrow that seemed more impossible with every step.

My mother’s screams didn’t matter. I was at my limit.

And when the bridge began to sway like a swinging rope, creaking dangerously, my soul could only accept that this was truly the end.

"RUN, ALEXIA! NO, NO, SHE’S GOING TO COLLAPSE THE BRIDGE, RUN, DAMN IT!" she shrieked, yanking at me in desperation.

My feet tangled over themselves, and I fell hard, face-first onto the planks.

Some broke away, and I sobered up at the sight of my head dangling over the void.

Below, the predators were already emerging, hungry, waiting to tear apart whatever fell into their jaws.

"I’m sorry, daughter, I’m so sorry…"

"Mother," I sobbed internally as I heard her footsteps running—leaving me behind.

She saved her own life.

I had sacrificed mine.

I abandoned the man I loved, seduced one I despised, all for the so-called well-being of our family—for the sake of climbing the social ladder, selling my soul in the process.

And just as the bridge split in two with a deafening crack that shattered the night, just like my body, I felt myself plummet into the abyss.

The moon cast its ethereal glow over the breathtaking sight of the beast protecting his two most precious treasures.

He ascended the last meters, reaching the forest’s edge once more.

Then, he moved forward, deeper into the woods.

The insects hissed. The owls hooted, twisting their flat faces from the branches.

The shadows of foxes slithered through the darkness, hunting their prey.

Everything was returning to normal—even Francis’s corpse had disappeared into the stomachs of the night’s predators.

Kath assumed they were heading back to the castle, that the Duke would shift back to his human form.

She was exhausted. Her only concern was Lavinia.

But the powerful wolf continued onward, deeper and deeper into the dense forest.

He was searching for a place to keep his family safe—a place to heal them, to introduce himself properly to his mate.

After what felt like an eternity of wandering blindly, Katherine finally saw something ahead.

A set of rusted iron gates blocking their path.

Lifting her head, she squinted through the swirling mist, catching the outline of an abandoned mansion slowly revealing itself before her.

The lycan pushed open the gate, snapping the old lock as if it were paper, stepping inside.

And then, the Duchess remembered why this place felt so familiar.

She had seen it before. In a photograph. Many years ago.

It was the house her father had bought—on the land bordering the Duke’s castle.