The Lycan King and His Dark Temptation – Chapter 67

Chapter 67

“THANK YOU FOR FREEING ME, VALERIA!” he screams at me, and it’s terrifying to see Edward’s distorted features twisted into cruel, adult expressions.

I reach into my neckline and pull out the star, its sharp tips stained red with my blood.

He extends his small hand and steps closer. I stretch mine too, trembling.

Something screams inside me that he must not have it, that I’ve already revealed too much. My mind races frantically, trying not to look behind him so I don’t give away Celine, who is slowly approaching.

I tighten my grip on the relic, the metal shimmering like moonlight. Just before it falls into his grasp, he tenses and suddenly spins around to face the ambush from the Alpha. Dark shadows project from the boy’s small body as he now battles Celine.

“So, you managed to defeat my sentinel. You’re quite a girl full of secrets… I wonder what Aldric Throne would say about this,” he mocks.

I watch in horror as sharp claws grow from Edward’s hands, his speed almost impossible to track, and a veil of darkness wraps around his skin.

What kind of dark spell is this?

Celine seems strange too. I thought she would shift into a wolf, but instead, her eyes have turned blood red, bulging veins around them, and she hisses with long, sharp fangs exposed.

“NOOO!” I scream in fear when Celine’s claws slash Edward’s arm.

That damn vampire was fighting with the boy’s body without a shred of conscience, not caring about the massacre because it wasn’t his flesh suffering.

I had to do something! Celine wasn’t winning, and I could feel the shadows around us twisting and shifting—more danger closing in! I looked at the sacred relic, soaked in my blood.

I don’t know what madness I was thinking, but light had always driven out darkness. I had learned to trust my instincts, to stop resisting my oddities.

Without thinking, I ran toward the fight. “Celine, be ready!” I shouted in her mind while raising the star and stabbing Edward’s shoulder in a sneak attack.

I felt sorry for the pup, but it had to be done. A blood-curdling scream tore from his lips as the dark energy around his body began to unravel.

I pulled him against my chest, clutching his small frame as Celine grabbed the shadowy figure of a man and wrenched it from him, like a macabre exorcism.

I hit the ground hard, my head slamming against the stone floor, hissing in pain—but nothing mattered more than the stiff body in my arms.

“Edward, hold on! Stay with me, little one!” I lifted him and carried him to a corner, away from the danger.

“Edward…” My trembling hands brushed his pale face. His breathing was barely there, and blood dripped from his lips. The coldness radiating from his skin pierced my bones, sinking deep into my soul.

He was dying.

“No, no, no… stay with me, little one! Please hold on!” I cut open my hand, trying to make him drink. I wasn’t an Alpha, not even a powerful she-wolf. I couldn’t heal myself, let alone someone else.

But I did everything I could, desperation and pain consuming me.

“Edward, please drink. You have to make it. We’ll play at the park later, okay? Just hold on, Edward. Don’t give up… please…”

My tears fell onto his face, my blood dripping uselessly onto the floor.

“Thank you… Miss Valeria… thank… you… for freeing… me…” he whispered his last words, and I saw innocent eyes untainted by evil for the last time. A faint smile lingered on his lips as his heart stopped forever.

A guttural sob tore from my chest. Pain and rage consumed me as I cradled him close, calling his name, though I knew I had lost him right before my eyes.

I blamed myself for not realizing someone had been using this innocent child. It was him—it was that soulless vampire!

Still kneeling, clutching Edward’s lifeless body, I turned to see the fight. More of them had emerged through dark rifts in the walls—five of them—surrounding Celine, striking and wounding her from all sides.

She wouldn’t hold out.

Then I saw him. Emerging from one of those holes, reclaiming the dark energy that had inhabited Edward’s body, controlling him like a puppet.

His malicious eyes locked with mine. “Now you’ve seen the consequences of playing games with me, Valeria. Stay right where you are. I’ll be back for you shortly,” his voice echoed cynically through the chaos.

“Valeria, run! Escape while I hold them off! Find my brother!” Celine’s desperate screams echoed in my mind.

But I couldn’t process anything. My whole body trembled with rage. Still kneeling, something deep inside me screamed to be released. The pain twisted into hatred and fury.

I watched him draw a strange sword, the blade coated in the same dark magic, and he advanced toward Celine, who was now in her massive brown Alpha wolf form, struggling against his men.

“Celine, look out!” I roared, breaking free from my shock as I saw him raise the weapon and plunge it into her back.

The agonized howl of the wolf echoed through the eerie basement.

I already had a corpse in my arms. I wouldn’t let anyone else die because of me.

I couldn’t allow myself to be captured—I would rather die first.

The red haze covered my vision.

KILL. KILL. KILL.

A deafening roar erupted from my lips, shaking the walls and rattling their souls.

It cried out to be freed—and I no longer resisted what was inside me.

It wanted blood.

And tonight, I would kill again.

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