Chapter 98

[ 1,225 words ]

Arabella’s pov:

The guest building was quieter than the main palace, which was probably why Lucien had chosen it for me. My room was on the first floor, at the end of a wide corridor overlooking the gardens.

An Omega opened the door and stepped aside to let me enter.

The room was surprisingly spacious. A large bed stood against one wall with a small couch near the window, while pale curtains softened the afternoon light coming through the glass. There was a dressing table, study table, an attached bathroom, and even a walk-in closet that looked ridiculous considering everything I owned could fit inside one suitcase.

Speaking of which, my suitcase was already waiting beside the bed. The Omega asked if I needed anything before leaving, but I barely heard her. My fingers had already closed around the phone Lucien had given me.

I sat on the edge of the bed and called Maya. She answered after the second ring. “Hello?”

“Maya, it’s me.” There was a brief silence before a scream blasted through the speaker.

“ARA! You fucking bitch! Where the hell have you been?” I jerked the phone away from my ear, laughing despite myself.

“You disappeared with the freaking Lycan King for three days, and I was so worried!” Her voice cracked somewhere between anger and relief. “Do you have any idea what we’ve been going through? I swear, Toby was ready to drive there himself.”

“I’m sorry for not contacting you.” I fell back on the bed with a sigh. “I didn’t bring my phone.”

“Well, whose phone are you using now?”

I looked down at the device in my hand. “Lucien’s. I mean, he gave it to me. It’s mine now.” Another silence followed, but this one felt different.

“You’re telling me the Lycan King gave you a phone and told you that you could call us?”

“Yes. And before you start imagining the worst, I’m fine. Actually, I’m more than fine. I’m out of the dungeon, and I’ve been given a room in the guest building, and you won’t believe…”

“Hold on. He sent you to a fucking dungeon?” I heard movement on her end, followed by her yelling for Toby and Tessa to come over. “I’m putting you on speaker because I’m not explaining this crazy shit twice.”

Within seconds, familiar voices crowded around the phone.

Tessa sounded genuinely relieved to hear me, while Toby immediately demanded to know whether anyone had hurt me. I smiled as I listened to them talking over one another, and for a few moments, it almost felt like I was back at YaRa with all three of them surrounding me.

“Guys, calm down. Nobody hurt me,” I assured them when they finally gave me a chance to speak.

God, I missed them. The realization took some of the amusement out of me. I stared at the ceiling while they continued asking questions.

I told them enough to stop them from worrying. When I explained what the king wanted in return, Maya went silent. “So… he wants you to help find whoever helped Victor kill his sister, and in exchange he’s promising you your freedom? I don’t believe it. It’s too good to be true. Ara, listen to yourself.” The playfulness had disappeared from her voice. “He brings you back after three years, locks you up, then suddenly offers you freedom, a nice room, and a phone? Doesn’t that sound a little too convenient?”

I sat up and tucked one leg beneath me. “You think he has some hidden agenda.”

“I absolutely think he has a hidden agenda,” Maya replied without hesitation. “And before you call me paranoid, remember who we’re talking about. He’s a King, Ara. Men like him don’t bring someone back after three years just because they need a little help solving a mystery.”

Maybe she had a point. Still, something inside me refused to believe Lucien had lied to me.

“I… don’t know what else he wants,” I admitted, “but if the king says he’ll give me back my freedom, he will.”

A small smile tugged at my lips. She didn’t know him the way I did. Or maybe I didn’t know him anymore either.

“I trust his word,” I finally said. Lucien had never been a man who needed to hide behind false promises. If he wanted something from me, he was perfectly capable of demanding it to my face.

For a few seconds, Maya didn’t respond. “Fine. I’m not going to fight you over it right now. But promise me you’ll keep your eyes open.”

“Do you know you’re an idiot, Maya?”

“And I love you too, bitch.” Her laugh came through the phone, joined by Toby and Tessa in the background.

***

A knock on the door made me glance up from my phone. “Yes?”

I expected an Omega to walk in, probably to ask if I needed anything before bed. Instead, the door opened, and Lucien appeared in the doorway. I immediately sat straighter. “You?”

I hadn’t expected to see him again tonight. Especially not while I was sitting on my bed in a silk robe. I quickly got to my feet and pulled the lapels closer together, suddenly wishing I’d worn something less revealing.

“Yes.” His gaze rested on me briefly before he raised the thick folder in his hand. “I thought I’d hand these over personally.”

Only then did I notice that he was wearing pajama pants only. His chest was bare, showing off the hard lines of his muscles and the tattoos stretching across his skin. His shoulders looked broader than I remembered, and I quickly dragged my gaze back to his face before he caught me staring.

He stepped inside and held the folder out to me. “These files have everything we’ve collected so far. Names, statements, reports. Go through them tomorrow. If you need anything else, contact Bradley or…” He paused for a fraction of a second. “Come to my office.”

I accepted the folder, surprised by its weight. I looked at him, wondering if he planned to leave without another word. Maybe one of us needed to stop making it so awkward.

I offered him a small smile. “Thank you for this, Lucien.”

The change in him was instant. First, he froze, and then his expression hardened. And before I could figure out what had gone wrong, he was already moving toward me. Without warning, his hand closed around my throat—not hard enough to choke me, but firm enough to send me stumbling backward. The folder slipped from my fingers as he pushed me onto the bed and came down over me.

A startled cry escaped my lips, and for several seconds, I couldn’t move. His face hovered above mine, his golden eyes cold as they searched my stunned expression.

“And what right do you have to call me by my name, huh?” he demanded in a low, icy tone. I stared at his face in shock that was dangerously close.

My heart hammered against my ribs as my mind scrambled to catch up with what had just happened.

“Call me Lucien again and be ready to go back to the dungeon. And this time, it will be a real one …” He spat, releasing my throat but didn’t move away. “It’s Your Highness to you. Or Your Majesty !”

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