The Lycan King and his Dark Temptation (Valeria) novel Chapter 405

KATHERINE

I hesitated before slipping my hand into an unknown space again. I glanced at my fingertip—it was already healing.

The insane thought crossed my mind that maybe this hidden compartment would only open with my blood or my sister’s.

"If you’re already on the donkey, might as well keep riding it," I thought, twisting my lips into a sarcastic smirk as I took the final risk, praying I wouldn’t lose a limb.

I reached inside the hole and felt something hard and metallic. Gripping it in my hand, I lifted it—it felt heavy.

Through the dim light, my pupils narrowed to focus, revealing that I had found a small jewelry box.

The bronze details shimmered beautifully, and the opal-like surface reminded me of the necklace I had given Elliot.

I was so absorbed in examining it that I didn’t notice the shift in the atmosphere—the moonlight fading behind storm clouds, the air thickening, the darkness creeping in around me.

Everything happened in a flashback.

My entire body trembled. My eyes rolled back, staring at the ceiling as images flooded my mind—so many that I couldn’t process them all.

«A brown-haired woman kissing a man, rolling across a bed covered in white sheets.

I didn’t recognize either of them.

She was so happy. I felt her joy flood my soul—until overnight, it twisted into resentment and hatred.

Lies. Everything he had told her was a lie. The life he painted for her didn’t exist.

That wasn’t his real name, he never lived where he claimed, he wasn’t an orphan, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to marry her.

I saw her receiving a letter with no sender, inviting her to a place a poor girl like her could never enter. But she did. She made it into the castle as a servant, and there, she learned the truth.

Who he really was. His real name. His glamorous life and the woman he was truly going to marry.

She wanted to confront him. She waited for him in secret. She had her chance—he was just a few steps away—but before she could act, someone dragged her into the darkness, covering her mouth, capturing her.

The real bride already knew about the mistress’s existence. And worse—she knew she wasn’t just a passing fling but a real threat.

He loved her. He was doubting his commitments because of her.

The poor girl never saw daylight again. Thrown into the cold dungeons, tortured until, one day, she was sentenced to death. But her executioner took pity on her and let her live.

She ran. Ran as far as she could, like a lost soul, her only company the elderly mother who had nearly died of anguish during her disappearance.

They hid in the swamps, deep in the abandoned ruins, fearing the wrath of the crown.

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