The Lycan King's Forbidden Craving novel Chapter 244

244: You shouldn’t blame me

+25 BONUS

Fire crackled, casting a warm glow in the room. Valoreth stood bye window frame, drowned in thought.

“So, have you found out who this mysterious savior of the realm is” Damaris, seated behind him, asked.

Valoreth rolled his eyes. “What’s the point of investigating? Aren they doing us a favor already? There’s no need to waste time on it. Instead, we should focus on the upcoming gathering and claim the saving efforts as our own.”

“But still, Valoreth, we need to see it through. Remember the scrolls in the king’s study went missing. Someone stole and tended to them. Don’t you think we should know who it really was” Damaris looked uneasy.

Valoreth turned sharply from the window to face him. “Could be one of the lower–ranked lords. Lord Merek or Lord Atheon, maybe. Probably trying to show off. Why are you so troubled about this? Did you find something?”

Damaris sighed. “Well… one of the Alphas on our side overheard something strange. Someone claimed they saw a male with silver hair.”

“Again with the Ouroboros nonsense,” Valoreth scoffed. “They’re all dead,” he muttered, returning his gaze to the window.

Silence settled over the room.

“You believe them? The soldiers who survived the war? Do you think they’re telling the truth?” Damaris asked.

Valoreth’s jaw tightened as he took a deep breath. He wasn’t sure if he was trying to convince Damaris or himself that the Ouroboros couldn’t have survived the brutal war he had unleashed

“I let myself not to think about it. I suggest you do the same, Lord Damaris. Look behind you.”

Damaris turned, fixing his eyes on the table where two skulls rested.

“That’s Duncan and Arianna’s skulls. The devil and the one she possessed. The realm will thank me once this is made public.”

Damaris silently stared, fingers drumming against the armrest of His chair. Unconvinced.

“I’ve been wondering,” he said after a long pause, “why don’t you become king yourself?”

A beat of silence.

Valoreth scoffed. “It’s not my call. The crown doesn’t give power. Fear does. Having the throne wrapped around my hand is enough.”

“You mean by using the female newborn of the late mistress, claiming she’s the king’s heir, and having Sahrak pretend to be Toran?” Damaris raised a brow. “How long do you think we can keep this up?”

Valoreth’s eyes darkened. “What are you trying to say? If you have something stuck in your throat, spit it out. I won’t tolerate anyone questioning my preparations.”

“I’m saying you’ve grown too obsessed to think clearly. You haven’t been yourself, Lord Valoreth. I might’ve overheard you… screaming in your sleep.”

Valoreth slammed his hand into the nearby tray of ale, the metal clashing as its contents splattered across the floor. The room went silent, except for his heavy breathing.

“I’m sure you’re perhaps stressed from the journey. You should get some sleep.”

Damaris didn’t argue. His eyes sparked, as though he had caught a hint of something.

“Goodnight, my lord.”

As Damaris left, Valoreth sank his fingers into his hair, lips parting in a deep exhale.

“Scream in my sleep?” He scoffed, pouring himself some ale. “The damn nightmares,” he mumbled.

1/3

244: You shouldn’t blame me

+25 BONUS

Nightmares haunted him these days, and for some reason, he felt his was the work of someone using magic. Sahrak was the only one with magic in the palace, but he wouldn’t dare… So who?

Who kept showing him the image of Duncan, watching him burn?

Duncan was dead.

Dead!

That shithead had disrespected him centuries ago. Duncan was the only royal who never liked him, despite Valoreth being close to the family and serving as Beta. The last prince of the Thornevale family had never given him a second glance.

Back then, Valoreth didn’t mind, since Duncan wasn’t the crown prince. But Valoreth had wanted to earn every of the royal families‘ trust, so one day, he challenged Duncan.

‘Why should I like you?‘

That one question had made Valoreth speechless. He didn’t respond. He couldn’t, or he’d sound desperate. So, he stayed away. Watching and simply getting closer to the crown prince, Duncan’s older brother.

Then the war with Ouroboros came. The Lycans won, and Duncan was chosen as the king.

The first thing that bastard did was replace him with Lucas.

Valoreth remembered facing Duncan in his study room:

“Why, your Grace? I’ve been the second ruler, the Beta of the moon realm for as long as I can remember. I’ve served the realm with all my heart. So why? Why are you taking this position from me?”

“Because you are fake,” Duncan said, looking up from his scrolls. “Why do you think the Ouroboros gathered their heads and attacked us? You think it was only because of their princess’s death? It was because of your letter, Valoreth. The one you gave my father, urging him to wage war on them, turn them into slaves, steal their dragons. You even began preparations. That made them believe my father was planning to strike first.”

“They are too strong, Duncan. Having them mix with us was a mistake. I was trying to protect the realm. I knew this war was going to happen. I wanted to stop it…”

“With a massacre?!” Duncan snapped. “The war happened. Are you happy now? Most of the Lycans are gone. There are barely any werewolves left. The ground is soaked in blood and ash. The air is full of dreadful whispers. My father always listened to you, and even though he ignored that letter, you went behind his back and leaked it, to prove yourself right.”

Valoreth’s fists clenched. How Duncan had found out remained a mystery. But he had underestimated how capable Theale was.

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