Chapter 7

Chapter 7

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Elena was staring at her ruby necklace, which was always fastened around her neck, a gift from her grandmother as a protective charm for her.

“Grandma, I’ll be home soon, so don’t be too sad, I’m fine…” 

“I won’t leave you, Grandma. Please don’t look for me in the Black Forest…” Elena whispered softly. She closed her eyes, and tears streamed down her beautiful cheeks.

Elena was sure her grandmother must be very worried right now, and she truly didn’t want her grandmother to enter the Black Forest alone.

“I have to go home. At least I have to let Grandma know.” Elena clenched her fists. She was certain she had to return immediately. Even if Pack Blackthorn drove her away again, it didn’t matter. What mattered was that she could tell her grandmother she was still alive and well.

“Huh…” Elena gripped her necklace, about to put it back around her neck, but in her haste, it slipped from her hand and fell straight into the lake beneath the apple tree branch where she was sitting.

“OH NO!”

Panicking and without thinking, Elena jumped into the lake. She wasn’t afraid of the Black Lake at all. It wasn’t called the Black Lake without reason—it was because the lake was so deep that it appeared black.

“My necklace…” Elena stretched out her hand to grab her red ruby necklace.

At the same time, Lucien watched everything. He was already standing at the edge of the lake near the large apple tree, his hands behind his back, his blue eyes fixed sharply on the water.

“Hm?” 

“She jumped again. Why does this little girl love jumping into the lake so much?” Lucien muttered coldly. His blue eyes were like ice, his aura truly cold and dark. His sharp gaze followed the ripples Elena had caused when she leaped in.

Lucien’s jaw tightened, and for some reason, his breathing became heavy when Elena still hadn’t surfaced. Unconsciously, his foot moved forward, as if he were about to jump in and save the girl again…

“What is this? There’s no way I would want to save her! She’s no one to me! I don’t care about her!” Lucien growled at himself.

Even though his body was tense and his eyes grew sharper, he kept staring at the lake.

And then...

Ba-dump.

Lucien’s heart pounded violently when Elena finally surfaced. His brows furrowed. He didn’t like this feeling.

He didn’t like that he seemed to not want Elena to drown in this lake.

“Ah…” 

“HUH!”

“Cough… Cough… Cough!”

“Thank goodness, my necklace!” Elena crawled to the edge of the lake, clutching her necklace that had fallen in. Even though her breathing was heavy and tight, she didn’t care at all.

“Huff!” Elena let out a long breath. She quickly put the necklace back around her neck, and that was when she realized someone was standing in front of her.

“Huh?” Elena’s eyes widened. Still sitting at the lake’s edge, she slowly lifted her face—and she was utterly shocked to see who was standing before her.

THUMP THUMP THUMP.

It felt as if a massive rock was crushing her chest. Her breathing grew tight as her wide eyes stared in shock. Before her stood the man she hated the most, the man who had caused Lecy to drown when she was little.

The man who had treated Elena as lower than trash. The man who was the young king of the Lupus Kingdom.

Lucien Noctyrr Valecrest.

Strangely, Elena couldn’t lower her gaze. Her eyes remained wide as she looked up into Lucien’s blue eyes. She looked like a servant standing at her master’s feet.

Lucien tilted his head and smirked sharply at her. His icy blue eyes examined Elena’s hazel eyes that truly resembled jewels, her delicate nose, her naturally pink lips, and her extraordinarily beautiful face.

Not only that, her wet golden hair fell in soft waves, making her appearance even more stunning, so beautiful that something inside Lucien seemed to burn.

“You’ve come again, to my territory!” 

“Are you offering your body to me, little girl?” Lucien whispered as he stepped closer, making Elena freeze and her breathing grow heavier.

She wanted to run. She would rather drown in the lake than stand near this man. But she truly couldn’t move her body.

“Hk!” Elena bit her lower lip. With difficulty, she forced herself to respond.

When Lucien stood directly before her, staring down arrogantly with cold eyes, Elena finally dared to answer him.

“Forgive me, Your Majesty, for boldly entering your territory again. But I truly have no other intention. A half-human like me is not worthy of offering her body to someone like you.” Elena replied very politely, but of course her words were a firm rejection.

“Hm?” Lucien felt a vibration in his chest. His eyes scanned her body. Her torn and tattered dress exposed her beautiful figure clearly.

“Oh, little girl, you reject me with your lips while displaying your entire body before me. And you seem to forget, you have no right to reject me!”

“If I tell you to die, you must die. If I tell you to remove your clothes before me right now, you must do it!”

“And if I tell you to become my pleasure in my bed, you must do that as well! You know that, don’t you?” Lucien whispered cruelly.

Elena didn’t understand why Lucien was so cruel to her. What mistake had she made to deserve such treatment?

She clenched her fists and lowered her head, seeing how her body was nearly exposed because her dress was torn everywhere.

“Hk!” Elena quickly covered herself with her small hands, feeling extremely ashamed and angry. She bit her lip and could no longer hold back her tears.

Her life was truly miserable. Last night she had been rejected by the Alpha; now she was being bullied by the king. She didn’t know what other bitterness awaited her.

“Pfft!” Lucien chuckled softly. Arrogantly and coldly, he spoke to Elena, who stood there lowering her head in shame and anger.

“Stand up, half-human. Don’t make me say it a second time!” Lucien ordered.

Elena felt as though she was being toyed with, but as a half-human, she had no power to refuse.

With feelings of anger, shame, and heartbreak, she slowly stood up, still lowering her head and covering her chest with her small hands.

Seeing this made Lucien want to toy with her even more. He wanted Elena to cry and look at him helplessly. He didn’t know what kind of madness he felt, but he desired it intensely.

Lucien stared at her sharply, then whispered, “Remove your hands and lift your face. Look at me, half-human!”

“H-h!” Elena’s breathing grew heavier. She cried bitterly, utterly powerless before Lucien. She couldn’t run. She couldn’t refuse. She could only cry.

“Oh, half-human…” Lucien lowered his head, his aura suffocating and oppressive as he whispered near her ear. “Didn’t I tell you not to make me repeat myself? I am not a patient man.”

Elena’s breath caught.

The fear and suffocating pressure she couldn’t explain drained all her strength. Trembling, she lowered her hands and slowly lifted her face.

Their eyes met again, her crystal-like hazel eyes and Lucien’s sharp, icy blue ones.

THUMP THUMP THUMP.

Something stirred in Lucien’s chest. He didn’t understand what he was feeling, but he liked seeing Elena’s tear-filled crystal eyes. He liked her tears.

Lucien smirked sharply. He grabbed Elena’s chin, his thumb pressing against her wet lips. He studied them seriously before looking back into her wide eyes.

“You really look like a whore right now... with your torn dress, your wet body almost fully exposed. You come to my territory looking like this. Doesn’t that mean you’re tempting me?”

“As a lowly half-human, you are truly bold!” 

“But I won’t sentence you to death for your insolence. I will reward you, half-human. A reward for your bravery in standing half-naked before me. I will give you the chance to serve me…”

“So you must serve me well. Then we’ll see whether your skills in bed can save your life or not!”

Lucien whispered with a sharp grin. There was obsession in his eyes, suspicion and anger as well.

Lucien felt that the traitorous wolves in the underworld had deliberately sent Elena, a half-human, to trap him.

But Lucien didn’t care. He would use Elena like a toy and then throw her into the underworld so that the traitors allied with the Demon King would know he was not someone who could be trapped with a beautiful girl like Elena.

As for Elena, hearing those words shocked her deeply. Her breathing was heavy, but she couldn’t move at all.

‘Why is this happening again? Why am I trapped with this cruel king? I’m scared… What will happen to me after this?’

Elena could only scream in her heart...

Terrified of what she would have to endure next.

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