The Lycan King's Forbidden Craving - Chapter 175: Chapter 175

{Flashback}
{The night of the last full moon}
Cries. Miserable, painful cries.
He thought he could handle it, but fuck! Every fiber in him was on fire.
He wanted to reach out and stop them.
The male’s groan went still, silent. A clear sign he had just lost his father.
As if that wasn’t enough, another scream followed. A female.
"Stop! Please, stop! Don’t do this! Arrgghhhhh!!!"
He was shaking, staring into the tearful pleas in his sister’s eyes.
"Stop them, you son of a bitch! Why are you doing this?! What exactly do you want from me?! All I’ve done was everything you and Father wanted... Why won’t you just let me be?! I was finally having a life there!... I was finally getting a fucking life! Why did you drag me back to this hell?! Why can’t you just fucking leave me alone?!... Ahhh!!!"
Her high-pitched scream turned into a roar. Blades sank into her, dragging along her flesh, making him clench his fists. He shut his eyes as the sickening tear of skin echoed through the chamber.
"Open your eyes and watch," a dark, calm voice said, echoing like venom. "It’s part of the Cor Triantha ritual."
Stiffening, he looked at the dark figure carrying out the task. An epitome of darkness.
Tears blurred his vision as he watched more tears fall from his sister’s now-lifeless eyes. Body limp.
I’m a monster. I’ve always been. There’s no changing that. It’s unstoppable when it comes to getting what I want.
Finally, the last victim was dragged in. Even though he had never admitted it, this male had been his closest friend.
They drank and laughed together, despite having different kinks.
"Do you have any idea who you’re dealing with? I am a Lord from the Lunaris Citadel, you asshole! Let me go this instant, or I will kill you all!" the male, clad in a black ritual robe, snarled as they dragged him to the altar, laying him there in chains.
They removed the bag from his head, and his eyes squinted at the dim light that hit his retina.
He sneered, barking questions and demanding to know why he’d been brought here.
But he froze when he saw two battered bodies, lifeless, blood drained. He recognized them... but couldn’t believe it. Couldn’t accept that they were who he thought they were.
Fear licked his core. He trembled, wanting to shift—but his wolf wasn’t responding. It had to be the drug they’d forced into his system.
Panicking, his eyes darted around the room frantically, only to land on the last person he ever expected.
"Toran...?" Pericles paled. His bones shook with shock.
Tears slipped down Toran’s face as his jaw ticked so hard he could feel his teeth ache.
"What’s going on? Wh-what..." His voice trailed off at the shrine-like space. He caught sight of the dark mage preparing to drive the blade into the left side of his chest.
"Toran!!!" Pericles screamed in terror. "Fuck!!! Toran, stop them! You can’t fucking do this! Why would you kill your father, your sister, and me?! What the fuck is wrong with you?! You fucking sicko!… Ahhh!!!"
Again, Toran almost shut his eyes. All he did was clench his fists tighter, until his knuckles turned white.
Pericles’ scream shook the walls, slowly fading as they pulled his heart out. The male coughed out blood, slipping into death.
The mage dropped the heart into the plate, where the others had been placed.
Father, sister, and best friend.
Three people he had loved even though he rarely showed it.
And now, he had their blood on his hands because of his greed.
An hour later, Toran was crying hard in his room, knees pulled to his chest as the brutal scenes replayed over and over in his head, guilt tearing him apart from the inside out.
Valoreth sat in the corner, watching with a blank gaze.
Stifling, Toran buried his face in his folded knees.
He had thought he could handle it. But no. Fuck no. It was too much to bare.
They'll haunt him forever.
Will he be sane after this?
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’m really sorry... please forgive me... I'm really sorry.”
••••••••••••••
Present
It was painless. Deadly, but painless.
Lucas couldn’t feel a thing.
It came like sleep. A sleep he would never awaken from.
Lucas's eyes were slowly losing their light, his vision blurring as he sat there on the floor, head tilted back and resting against the wall.
His breaths were shallow, and he was too weak to move even a finger.
Mearina finished wiping her tears. "It’s for the sake of the realm. For the sake of my children. I’m sorry. To protect what you love the most... you sometimes have to seek the devil itself.”
She sat up, reached out to cup his face, and kissed his forehead. “For what it’s worth… you were my first love, Lucas Ardyn. May you find a true mate in your next life. The one you truly deserve.”
She pulled a knife from her dress, its blade glinting under the dim light.