The Lycan King and his Dark Temptation novel Chapter 302

IN THE ELEMENTAL REALM, BEFORE SILAS OPENED THE BARRIER TO THE SUPERNATURAL REALM

KATHERINE

The stench of dampness and rot clung to every corner of my small "room"—or rather, the cell that held me captive, hidden from the world.

I hugged myself, curled up in a filthy corner, trembling, pressing my knees to my chest.

My wrists were raw from the chains, my bare feet covered in grime, and my skeletal body barely concealed by a tattered white gown.

My teeth chattered against the gag that kept me silent, my entire system drugged to the brink by the powerful sedatives that he injected into me.

Laurence. My “caretaker” or, more accurately, my personal executioner in this prison. I struggled to take in a deep breath.

It felt like I was suffocating, my congested chest rising and falling slowly as my mind started to drift.

I hated feeling like this, hated how my will to hold onto life faded more and more along with my strength.

Footsteps echoed in the distance, and I tensed with hatred. It was probably him. What was he up to today?

I only hoped he wasn’t coming to do disgusting things to my body.

To survive in this “Retirement Hospital,” I had endured unspeakable things just to get a single plate of warm food after days of starvation.

The lock rattled with a metallic clink, and I thought I heard voices outside.

From behind the leather mask covering my entire face, my eyes flicked toward the entrance.

Something was happening—this was different from the other days.

Then, before I even saw her, I smelled her. A floral scent filled the air, and my heart pounded in recognition.

The sharp click of heels echoed over the stone tiles, and she stepped into the cramped, miserable space.

Her chestnut hair was elegantly styled, her matching brown eyes swept the cell with disdain—until they landed on the beast crouched in the corner. Me.

Her eyes widened in shock, but she quickly concealed it behind that mask of hypocrisy.

"Do you want me to stay with you, Duchess…?"

"I already said I don’t want my status or name mentioned," she cut him off coldly, pulling a delicate handkerchief from her lavish gown and pressing it to her nose in disgust.

"Leave us alone. And make sure no one interrupts."

Laurence nodded and shut the door, but not before giving me a look dripping with malice and hidden intentions.

Even though I wore a mask to hide my identity, he had already removed it in secret once before.

He knew very well that the so-called "Duchess" and I were twin sisters.

BAM! The iron door slammed shut with a dull echo.

She stood in silence, and from behind the small openings in my mask, I glared at her with pure hatred.

I weighed my options, contemplating whether I could lunge at her and strangle her with the chains that bound me.

I loathed her with every fiber of my being. My breathing turned ragged as rage overtook me, my vision turning red.

My fists clenched so tightly my nails dug into my skin. How dare she stand in front of me?! HOW DARE SHE?!

"I know exactly what you’re thinking, Katherine," she said with unbearable calm. "I didn’t come here for forgiveness. I know what I did to you is beyond redemption."

I just stared at her. I couldn’t speak, but I screamed at her in my mind. The lump in my throat grew heavier, and the storm raging inside me threatened to tear me apart.

"You don’t need to stain your hands. Fate has already taken care of that," she said as she began unfastening the luxurious buttons at the neckline of her sapphire-blue dress.

She loosened the silk laces of her undergarments. I had no idea what this bitch was trying to do.

"I’m dying, as you can see," she murmured, finally peeling back the fabric and revealing the darkened veins, twisted like cursed tattoos over her pale skin.

"I don’t know if I was infected by the dark mist that lingers in the air, surrounding the realm, or if… it’s that thing. And because I never knew how to handle it, never accepted it, this is happening to me."

That "thing" was magic.

The child I believed to be dead. The one I had mourned every night in bitter remembrance… was alive. My mind was in chaos.

"Things are more complicated than you think. If I die, the child will be left unprotected, at the Duke’s mercy. He knows she isn’t his legitimate heir and could cast her out of the Duchy without hesitation. Father and he made a deal, and you need to know everything I do."

I lifted my head, my disheveled, dirty hair falling over my face. I stared at her, my mind swirling with a thousand turbulent thoughts.

"I want to leave in peace, Katherine. I stole your life, and now I wish to give it back to you—the chance for you and Lavinia to be safe and secure. All you have to do is take my place. You only need to become the Duchess of Everhart."

Rossella proposed it as casually as discussing the weather, making me immediately suspect a trap—but then I saw it.

The dark marks on her chest. A death sentence.

I didn’t respond right away. I looked around at this tiny cell, the place that had been my entire world for the past ten years.

The place where I had lost myself. Where I had been forced to do so many degrading things just to survive.

Even when I had wanted to die, they hadn’t allowed me to do so in peace. Now, she was offering me a new life.

But more importantly, she was offering me my daughter. This time, I had to protect her. No one would take her away from me.

I stood up on unsteady legs, my body weak and frail. She reached out to steady me, but I shoved her away in disgust.

It didn’t matter that I was the filthy one and she the refined lady.

After a few seconds, I nodded. I still couldn’t speak clearly, but my determination was unmistakable.

"Thank the Heavens you accepted," she sighed in relief.

"I’ll speak to the head of the sanatorium today to arrange your transfer to the countryside. You need at least a month of training before presenting yourself at the Duchy."

My entire world shifted in a single second. I didn’t know if I had just accepted my salvation… or my damnation.

How could the Duke not recognize his own wife? What kind of man was he?

If he ever discovered magic ran through my veins, my head would roll on the very first day.