The Lycan King and his Dark Temptation novel Chapter 22

VALERIA

"Boss isn’t going to like this at all."

"What did you expect me to do? Pick up that disgusting corpse or stay there waiting for the specter?!"

"This girl’s lucky—her face is so messed up, even the specter didn’t want her."

I could hear the conversation of what seemed to be two men.

My whole body felt drained, as if I had pushed beyond my physical limits. I was confused, unable to fully recall what had happened.

Adele had tried to deceive me. We fought. That thing appeared, and then…?

I was lying across the back of one of my captors, being carried to an unknown location.

Even though I was awake, I kept my eyes shut, pretending to be unconscious just to hear more of their conversation.

"Get her on the boat!"

Suddenly, they threw me onto an old boat.

I realized I was being taken farther and farther from the King, so I began to fight back with everything I had.

"So you’re awake now? Ah, you damn woman!"

"What’s going on?!"

"She bit me! You’ll pay for that, bitch!"

The last thing I saw was a fist coming straight at my face.

*****

The next time I woke up, I was sitting in a cold cell, my hands tied behind my back, chained to the damp stone wall.

One of my eyes was swollen shut, and nausea twisted my stomach, making me want to vomit.

The stench of mold and decay in the air only worsened my dizziness.

Shadows huddled in the corners—other young women, trembling and crying, all of them terrified.

What had I gotten myself into this time? And where exactly was I?

Soon, they came for me.

I heard footsteps echoing in the dark corridor outside the massive cell.

The door creaked open, and two men grabbed me by the arms, dragging me out.

No matter how weakly I resisted or how much I begged, they didn’t stop.

I was hauled up a staircase, through a series of hallways, and shoved through a door into an office.

BAM!

I hit the ground hard, my forehead slamming against the stone floor.

Pain shot through me, and I hissed in discomfort as someone began untying the bindings on my wrists.

Footsteps approached.

A strong scent of cologne filled the air before a pair of black leather boots stopped right in front of me.

"Do you know how to interpret what’s written on the Goddess’s Altar?"

A low, icy voice questioned me.

"N-no, sir," I replied, trembling but determined.