Stolen by the Beastly Lycan King

Chapter 25: Call Me by My Name

Chapter 25: Call Me by My Name

The two men left promptly, following their king's order, and the princess was left alone with the king, surrounded by the refreshing evening serenity of the garden.

Without saying a single word, Rhaegar picked up his glass of red wine and returned to his meal, biting his sharp teeth into a rather large slice of dried meat. Silent as well, Lorelai looked away as if offended by the view of the king eating, and refused to look back at him even once which eventually annoyed Rhaegar.

Dropping both the meat and the glass onto the blanket, he furrowed his brows and finally asked, "So why can't you eat? You did not get your poison so you are trying to starve yourself to death instead?"

As the lycan king mentioned the word "poison"––Loelai's failed attempt at rebelling, the princess visibly flinched and shifted in her seat. She was so frustrated and ashamed that she remained speechless for quite a few moments, but then it finally sank in. Why should he care?

Letting out a long sigh, she answered in a serious tone, "I am getting married, I need to watch my figure."

Her words made the king frown and that single change in his expression made Lorelai flinch again. There was something utterly frightening in his face; that animalistic glare of his amber eyes sent a chilly shiver down her spine and she swallowed an invisible stone stuck in her dry throat.

That single frown of his made her think that every word she had spoken thus far was entirely wrong and offensive. That was the power his glowing amber eyes had on her now.

"What is wrong with your figure?" Rhaegar finally asked again. "Does your fiance not like skeletons? You are already one. If you starve yourself any further, one day you might disappear entirely."

Those words were simply too much.

"Did you know who I was from the start?" The princess tried to defuse the tension by changing the subject of their conversation.

Rhaegar's face softened and he only shrugged his shoulders. Lorelai's eyes narrowed in anger.

"Did you approach me on purpose knowing who I was?"

"If I let you treat me like a man of no morals, will you ask me to sleep with you again?"

The princess' face turned red at his outrageous words; anger overcame her and at the same time, she felt frustrated that she couldn't come up with a proper and witty retort. Where did he even get the nerve to talk to her like that?

Seconds went by but Lorelai's head remained empty.

Finally, perhaps tired of waiting for her attempt at fighting back, Rhaegar leaned closer to the woman and sighed.

"Fine. When we are in public, we can treat each other accordingly. But when we are alone like this... I'd like you to feel comfortable around me. I am... not going to hurt you."

"What do you mean?"

"I like it when you act confident and a little prickly," he said leisurely as he played with the golden cigarette case in his big tanned hands. "It certainly suits you better than acting like a scared little mouse."

Lorelai froze again. Did he really see her like that? She knew she was usually quiet and timid around others because that was the attitude Althea wanted to see, but she could never imagine that a total stranger would be able to see through that mask so easily.

She was a little flattered but she had to make her point across regardless.

"In public... Make sure to respect the boundaries. Do not talk to me so freely and do not touch me so––"

Before she could finish speaking, Rhaegar suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled her right hand closer to his lips as if to repeat what he had done on the day of his arrival. With a smug smile on his lips, he said,

"Like this? But we are alone here, so I guess it doesn't count."