Stolen by the Beastly Lycan King-Chapter 190: Ignorant

Lorelai blinked as she felt fingers brush against her eyelashes. Rhaegar was stroking her cheeks, his touch featherlight, and she frowned at the tickling sensation.

"Wake up, Lorelai," his deep voice urged her, laced with both warmth and impatience. "You’ve kept me waiting too long..."

Her drowsiness dissolved like mist under sunlight, and she turned her head to look up. His amber eyes met hers, steady and unwavering.

Sitting beside her on the bed, Rhaegar gently lifted her, settling her onto his thighs. Lorelai leaned into his chest, her body instinctively seeking his strength. Thanks to his blood, the wound in her stomach had almost completely healed, leaving her with no discomfort as she moved.

Resting her weight against him, she murmured softly, "...Rhaegar."

Though her body still felt a little unsteady, her eyes roamed over his form with concern. She didn’t know what had happened after she fainted, and during the past few days, even though he was always by her side, Rhaegar had refused to let her see his skin. His reluctance only fueled her unease.

As a lycan, he heals faster than others... but I still can’t help worrying about him.

"Stop squirming," Rhaegar said at last, his deep voice cutting through her thoughts. He tapped a finger lightly between her furrowed brows, drawing her gaze back to his face. "Nothing is wrong with me, Lorelai. Stop worrying."

"I can’t help it," she replied quietly, lowering her eyes to her still-flat stomach. Her voice softened, tinged with both wonder and trepidation. "I have two of you to worry about now."

"I could say the same about you," Rhaegar replied, frowning slightly. "But our baby is a lycan too; neither of us can be harmed so easily."

Lorelai let out a soft sigh of relief, but the relief was short-lived as Rhaegar’s face grew rigid, darkened by sudden anger.

"But you are human," he said quietly, his voice heavy with unspoken fear. Her heart sank at the weight of his words. "I can recover quickly from any harm. You cannot."

It wasn’t a condemnation—it was a fact. A painful, undeniable truth.

"Don’t ever leave me alone," he finished.

His expression was grim, his amber eyes shadowed with worry. Lorelai’s throat tightened as she almost apologized instinctively, but then she stopped herself.

"...I won’t," she said instead, her voice soft. Reaching out, she cupped his cheek and let her thumb graze his skin. "From now on, we’ll always be together."

Rhaegar held her gaze silently, his emotions simmering beneath the surface. Lorelai hesitated for just a moment before leaning forward and brushing her lips lightly against his. Only then did she feel the tension drain from his body.

Relaxing back against his chest, she rested her head on his shoulder, letting his warmth and steady heartbeat soothe her. For a while, they simply stayed like that, wrapped in the quiet comfort of each other.

After some time, she mustered the courage to speak.

"Kai..." she began hesitantly, her voice barely above a whisper. "No one’s told me what happened to him. Is he... alive?"

It was a difficult question, but one she needed an answer to. She wanted to know everything that had happened after she fainted, though she knew Rhaegar would likely brush her off, deeming her curiosity too overwhelming for her own good. Still, the uncertainty gnawed at her, and she couldn’t ignore it any longer.

They were still at the royal palace of Erelith. Lorelai’s chambers remained heavily protected, making it safe for them to stay there. While she was still too weak to leave her bedroom, Lorelai had noticed that only the servants from the Beast Kingdom tended to her needs—none of those who used to work in the palace before were present.

No one had mentioned him. Not even once.

The corners of Lorelai’s lips turned down slightly. Despite vividly recalling all the harm Kai had caused her in the past, his final act—while far from fully redeeming—was enough to stir a sliver of concern within her for his fate.

If Althea was dead, did that mean Kai was dead too?

Somehow, Lorelai found herself hoping Rhaegar would say otherwise.

Noticing the unease in her expression, Rhaegar let out a soft sigh and gently slid his hand over her soft blonde curls.

"He’s alive," he said quietly. Then, after a brief pause, he added, "Would you like to see him?"

***

Kai had once been a formidable figure throughout all of Erelith.

A skilled hunter, a talented horseman, a masterful swordsman. Feared and respected, not just because of his mother—the cunning and sly queen—but because of the unsettling air of authority he carried, a presence that left even those below him unnerved.

Now, as Lorelai studied the tiny body before her, she couldn’t find even a shadow of the imposing aura her stepbrother once possessed.

He was just a baby now, sound asleep in the wooden crib that had once been hers. Oblivious to the sins of his mother. Oblivious to the sins of his own.

"He’s still a ghoul," Rhaegar said quietly, standing beside her. "And now, he is the very last one."

"What will happen to him?" Lorelai asked, her gaze fixed on Kai’s serene face. His unusual calmness tightened her chest, stirring a strange mixture of pity and regret.

"There isn’t much he can do in this lifetime," Rhaegar replied. "Because of the mutations Althea inflicted on him, he’ll live the life he was meant to have—a shorter life, but a proper one. Naveen has already decided to take care of him."

Lorelai’s eyes widened in surprise. "Naveen? Why would she want to do that?"

Rhaegar shrugged. "As a witch, she’s curious. She wants to see if there’s a way to help him live a life closer to that of a human. There’s a chance he won’t remember anything from before, and maybe that’s for the best."

Perhaps it was her own pregnancy heightening her emotions, but as Lorelai looked down at Kai’s tiny face, she felt an unexpected tenderness toward him—a longing to be kind, to wish him well despite everything.

’I suppose this is the best outcome for him,’ she thought.

Leaning over the edge of the crib, she reached out and brushed her hand over his soft, white hair. A bittersweet smile tugged at her lips.

"Good luck," she whispered. "If we ever meet again, I hope you remain just as blissfully ignorant."