Stolen by the Beastly Lycan King-Chapter 117: Do You Remember Your Mother?

"What did you just say? Lucia killed herself?"

Even as she repeated the words in her head, Lorelai struggled to believe they could be true. Lucia was Althea’s favorite lady-in-waiting—her shadow, her most loyal servant. She followed the queen around like an obedient dog and never hesitated to carry out any task, no matter how unsavory. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm

More than that, Lucia was widely known to be Kai’s lover. She visited the crown prince’s chambers frequently, flaunting the expensive gifts he lavished upon her.

There was nothing in her life that seemed dire enough to warrant suicide—especially not when her ambitions were so clear. Everyone knew Lucia’s ultimate goal was to become the king’s concubine.

Unless...

Unless someone else killed her.

Lorelai didn’t bother waiting for the weeping lady-in-waiting to gather herself or offer a clearer explanation. Determined, she stormed down the corridor, heading straight for Althea’s chambers.

When she reached the queen’s door, she didn’t even knock. Something within her—call it instinct or desperation—fueled her confidence. But that confidence crumbled the instant her wide green eyes landed on the queen.

"Since when have you become so rude?"

Althea’s voice was low and cold, slicing through the silence of the room like a blade. The air seemed to chill further with every word she spoke. As Lorelai stepped inside, the door behind her closed with a resounding thud. She flinched at the sound, the cane in her hand slipping to the floor.

The queen watched the wooden cane roll across the marble floor, its dull clatter echoing in the vast room. It came to a stop at her feet, and without a moment’s hesitation, she stepped on it. The crack of splintering wood echoed sharply, the cane snapping cleanly in half.

Lorelai gasped, her blood running cold. Althea’s strength was shocking, completely at odds with her slender, elegant frame. It was a jarring display, one that made the queen’s presence all the more menacing.

"Why are you so shocked?" Althea’s voice was icy, drawing Lorelai’s attention to her cold, ivory face. "You don’t need it right now anyway, do you?"

It was only then that Lorelai noticed it—Althea’s eyes. They weren’t dark anymore. They glowed crimson.

At first, she thought her mind was playing tricks on her. She blinked rapidly and even rubbed her eyes with her fists, but nothing changed. The queen’s eyes weren’t human anymore.

"Take a good look, princess," Althea hissed, her figure moving so swiftly it was almost a blur. Suddenly, her face was mere inches from Lorelai’s, close enough for the princess to smell the sharp tang of red wine on her lips. "Look into these eyes, Lorelai. Whose eyes are they?"

"It can’t be..." Lorelai finally managed to stammer, her voice weak and trembling as her legs threatened to give way beneath her. "...A vampire?"

Althea’s laughter erupted like a storm, deep and resonant, shaking the very walls of the room. Before Lorelai could react, the queen’s icy hand shot out, gripping her neck. Long, pale fingers tightened with terrifying strength, as if ready to crush the life out of her fragile body.

"Vampire? No, my dear child, I would never have survived if I were as weak as those laughable creatures," Althea sneered, her voice dripping with disdain. "I am a ghoul—a monstrous creation of the vampires. Remember this face, Lorelai. This is the face of someone who will enslave every race on this continent!"

Her chilling declaration echoed through the room, punctuated by another burst of her wicked laughter. To Lorelai’s horror, as Althea spoke, her long crimson hair began to shift in color, turning a stark, ghostly white—white as the pristine sheets on her bed.

’It’s impossible... A ghoul in the royal family? Then what about Kai...?’

As though she had read Lorelai’s thoughts, Althea’s features softened back into her usual human visage. The queen pressed the thumb of her left hand against Lorelai’s trembling lips, a cruel smirk tugging at her mouth.

"The crown prince is a ghoul too," Althea said with unnerving calm. "I made him that way. He was at death’s door when I found him, but I was generous enough to save him. I couldn’t execute my plans alone, after all. Don’t you find it ironic, princess? The very creatures you humans sought to obliterate in your quest to dominate this land will be the ones to reign over every single one of you instead."

Lorelai swallowed hard, her throat tightening as if a jagged shard of ice were lodged within it. She struggled to breathe, her mouth dry and her tongue heavy, rendering her almost speechless.

"Why... Why are you telling me this?" she finally managed to whisper, her voice barely audible.

Althea’s grin widened, her free hand trailing over Lorelai’s cold, pale cheek with unsettling intimacy. "Because you won’t remember this, my dear. I can erase and rewrite your memories as I please. I’ve been doing it for the past ten years."

Lorelai’s breath hitched, and her knees began to tremble so violently that if not for the queen’s iron grip, she would have already collapsed to the floor.

Another shocking revelation—one she couldn’t begin to comprehend. It felt as if the world she knew was crumbling around her, shattering the very fabric of her existence.

"I... I don’t understand..."

"Of course you don’t, darling," the queen replied, her mocking tone softened by a disturbingly warm smile. "You’ve already forgotten so much that the life you live now seems perfectly normal. But think, Lorelai. Try to remember."

The queen paused, her dark brown eyes boring into Lorelai’s wide, trembling green ones. "What was your mother’s name? Do you remember what she looked like?"

Lorelai’s eyebrows shot up, her entire body shuddering as a fresh wave of pain tore through her skull. Althea’s grin widened as she finally released her grip on the princess’ neck. Without support, Lorelai crumpled to the floor, clutching her head in both arms as the agony overwhelmed her.

Something warm trickled down her face, and she realized with a jolt that her nose was bleeding.

She didn’t remember. Or rather—she was fighting against remembering something else.

"Your mother, Lorelai," Althea pressed, her voice dripping with cruelty as she placed her foot on the cascade of Lorelai’s disheveled blonde hair. "What is your mother’s name?"

"Althea..." Lorelai finally whispered, her voice hoarse and broken, each word a struggle as the pain shattered her from within. "My mother’s name is Althea Erelith."