The Lycan King and his Dark Temptation novel Chapter 58

ALDRIC

An urgent report arrived from his patrol: they found the remains of those three men at the edge of the pack's territory.

"It's obvious they eliminated the witnesses. How did they get into the pack if they were supposedly exiled?" I asked the Alpha, who looked at me nervously.

"They... it seems they blended in with the traveling theater troupe that moves between packs."

"The guards didn't properly inspect the caravan," he answered, avoiding my gaze—the kind that screamed, you're an idiot managing your security.

"Alpha, I need the information you mentioned about the Altar," Quinn suddenly spoke up.

It seemed like this time he hadn’t deciphered those damn words so easily.

"Now? But the ball..." he trailed off at my expression of: I couldn't care less about this ridiculous party.

I had attended for appearances, but I was dying to go and corner my Valeria.

"Of... of course, Guardian... I'll be right back," he stammered before standing up to open the door and leave.

I heard him nearby, speaking to a servant passing by in the hallway.

"A note for Mr. Quinn? From Miss Valeria? You must be mistaken, idiot! I'm sick of being surrounded by incompetents. Hand it over and do your job properly!"

I could clearly sense Quinn tensing beside me, and I rose from my chair, stepping into the hallway because hearing "Valeria" and "Quinn" in the same sentence made me want to kill someone.

"What's going on?" I asked Garret, surprising him as he turned and handed me a note.

"Your Majesty, Miss Valeria sent this message with a servant," he replied, and I said nothing.

I opened the envelope, finding only a short message inside: "Altar of the Goddess"—in my maiden's handwriting.

"Very well, thank you, Alpha," I said, not waiting for a response as I walked toward her room, several unpleasant ideas already racing through my mind.

I opened her door and knocked hard on the central door, calling for her.

I repeated it twice until my rage got the better of me, and I kicked the wood until it splintered.

As I expected, the room was empty.

Valeria had disobeyed me, going out alone during the night. And I knew exactly where she was.

Crushing the note in my hand, I jumped out of her window, following the same path she had taken, her scent still lingering in the air.

I ran under the moon, tracking her. She better have a damn good explanation for this.

Tonight, my mate will know me completely.

*****

VALERIA

I walked up to the majestic Altar, bending down to examine the inscriptions, circling the entire round base about a meter high.

No matter how I looked at it, nothing made sense—until some small letters, almost hidden in a corner beneath the overgrowth, caught my attention.

I memorized them because it was the only thing carved here in the language of the Dark Realm.

I tensed when I felt a presence lurking behind me, his intoxicating scent reaching my nose, carried by the breeze.