The Lycan King's Second Chance Mate: Rise of the Traitor's Daughter-Chapter 118: Whispers Of The Forgotten God

Jacob~

Natalie’s piercing gaze was locked onto me, unblinking, unwavering. The firelight flickered across her face, highlighting the slight furrow in her brow—the only outward sign of the frustration simmering beneath her calm exterior.

I had seen her like this before. She hated waiting. Hated uncertainty.

I exhaled slowly, running a hand through my dark hair as I leaned back against the wooden armrest of the couch.

"You really are enjoying dragging this out, aren’t you?" she asked, crossing her arms.

A smirk tugged at my lips. "Maybe a little."

She groaned, flopping onto the couch beside me, legs curled beneath her. "Jacob, if you don’t start talking in the next three seconds, I swear I’ll—"

"Alright, alright," I cut in, chuckling. "No need for violence, Little Moon."

Her glare deepened. "Then start explaining."

I hesitated for just a moment, not because I didn’t want to tell her—but because what I was about to say wasn’t just a story. It was history. A history she had never been told.

I took a slow breath, gathering my thoughts.

"You ever wonder why night falls, why the moon rises, and why darkness always seems to creep into the hearts of men?" I asked, my voice softer now, almost hypnotic.

Natalie frowned slightly. "I mean... I never really questioned it. That’s just how things work, isn’t it?"

"That’s what most people think," I said. "But the truth is far more complicated. And it all started with three gods."

Natalie shifted closer, intrigued despite herself.

I let my voice drop lower, making her lean in. "In the beginning, before wolves, before packs, before the world knew light and darkness as it does now... there were three divine rulers. The God of Light, the Goddess of the Moon... and the God of Darkness."

Natalie blinked. "Wait. There was a god of darkness?"

I tilted my head. "Of course. The world has always had balance—light and dark, sun and moon, good and evil. The God of Light ruled the days, while the Moon Goddess and the God of Darkness ruled the nights. Together, they created harmony, a cycle. As the sun set, darkness would sweep across the land, blanketing the world in shadows, and then the Moon Goddess would rise, her silver light cutting through the void."

Natalie nodded slowly, processing. "So they worked together?"

"At first," I said. "For centuries, the God of Darkness had no issue with his role. He accepted his place in the cycle. But over time, resentment festered."

I leaned forward, my fingers intertwining. "He began to believe he was living in the Moon Goddess’s shadow. The mortals revered her, worshipped her, admired the beauty of the night she created with her silver light... but they feared him. They whispered about his presence, his darkness. He was never honored, never loved. Only feared."

Natalie’s expression hardened. "Let me guess... he didn’t take that well?"

A humorless chuckle left my lips. "Not at all. He wanted more. He wanted worship, admiration, devotion—just like the other two gods received. But instead of earning it, he did what all desperate beings do."

Natalie’s jaw tensed. "He took it by force."

I nodded. "He whispered into the hearts of mortals, filling them with dark desires. He fed their greed, their lust, their hunger for power. He twisted them, made them see the night not as a time of rest and beauty, but as a time for cruelty and chaos. He gave them his own gifts—rage, envy, deception. And they flourished."

Natalie let out a slow breath. "He created monsters."

"In a way," I agreed. "He didn’t force them to be evil. He simply... nudged them in the direction they were already leaning. And they embraced it."

Silence stretched between us. The flames in the fireplace crackled, casting shadows along the walls.

"What did the other gods do?" Natalie asked finally.

"They tried to reason with him at first," I said. "The Moon Goddess pleaded with him, told him that he didn’t need to manipulate mortals to earn devotion. That his role was just as important as theirs. That without darkness, there could be no light."

Natalie scoffed. "Yeah, I’m guessing that didn’t work."

I smirked. "You guessed right. The God of Darkness refused to listen. He was too far gone. So, the God of Light and the Moon Goddess made a decision."

I met her gaze. "They trapped him. Bound him in chains of celestial silver and locked him away in the deepest void, where no mortal could ever reach him. They erased his name from history, ensuring that his influence would slowly fade over time."

Natalie’s fingers curled into the fabric of the couch. "But..."

"But," I echoed, "he didn’t disappear. Not entirely."

Her brows furrowed. "But you just said—"

"There was a rule among the gods," I interrupted. "A divine law. Any god who did not fulfill their role in the cycle would eventually fade into nothingness."

Natalie’s breath caught. "But the God of Darkness still had a role, didn’t he?"

I nodded. "He was still responsible for bringing night to the world. And so, even from his prison, he fulfilled his duty. Every sunset, his power still sweeps across the land, allowing night to fall. And as long as night exists, so does he."

A shiver ran through Natalie, but she quickly masked it with a forced smirk. "So... let me get this straight. There’s an ancient, bitter god of darkness who was locked away for being too power-hungry... and he’s still out there? Still watching?"

I shook my head slowly, watching Natalie’s smirk fade. "No, Natalie. He’s not just watching."

She stiffened beside me, her body coiling like a spring. "What do you mean?"

I exhaled, dragging a hand through my hair. The memory clawed at me from the past, an echo of something I had spent centuries trying to bury.

"The God of Darkness," I murmured, my voice a whisper, "he found a way to escape."

Natalie flinched, her sharp inhale cutting through the thick silence.

"But you said he was bound," she argued, her voice trembling with something between disbelief and barely-contained fury. "Chained in celestial silver, locked away where no mortal could reach him!"

"That’s what we all thought," I admitted, leaning forward, elbows resting on my knees. "But we underestimated him. We assumed that just because he was imprisoned, he would fade. But Shadow... he’s not like other gods. He’s not like our mother. He doesn’t just exist—he seeps, Natalie. He infects. And he waited. Centuries. Millennia. Watching. Twisting the world in ways we didn’t even notice."

Natalie swallowed hard, her throat bobbing. I could see the thoughts racing in her head, the way she wanted to deny it—to shove it back into the realm of myths and forgotten warnings. But she couldn’t. Because deep down, she already knew.

She had felt it.

"Have you met him before?" she whispered.

I exhaled sharply through my nose. "Once."

Her eyes widened. "When?"

I let my gaze drift to the fire, watching the flames lick hungrily at the wood, consuming, devouring—just like he did. "I was a child. A long, long time ago."

A bitter chuckle escaped me. "I remember the scent before I even saw him. That’s what struck me first. Not his power. Not his presence. But his stench."

Natalie wrinkled her nose. "His... stench?"

I nodded, my jaw clenching. "It wasn’t just darkness, Natalie. It was death. Decay. An endless abyss where nothing good could survive. It was the kind of scent that clung to your soul, that made your instincts scream at you to run—even if you had nowhere to go."

Natalie’s fingers curled into fists on her lap, but she stayed silent, letting me continue.

"He appeared before our mother once," I murmured. "I don’t know how. He shouldn’t have been able to, but he did. One moment, the air was still—the next, it was thick with shadows, like the entire world had forgotten how to breathe.

"And then he was just... there."

I leaned back, rubbing the back of my neck, the memory tightening around my throat like a vice. "I was too young to understand what was happening. I only knew that Mother, was standing before him—unwavering, unafraid. She didn’t recoil. She didn’t tremble. She just... faced him."

Natalie’s brows furrowed, her expression intense. "What did he want?" freewebnσvel.cѳm

I scoffed. "What do you think? He wanted her dead."

Natalie’s breath hitched.

"He came to destroy her, to take revenge for what she and the God of Light did to him. He swore she had stolen everything from him—his power, his name, his legacy." I clenched my fists. "And I remember how he looked at her, like he wanted to tear her apart, to reduce her to nothing but a whisper lost in the wind."

"But she fought him off," Natalie said, half statement, half question.

A slow smirk pulled at my lips. "Oh, she didn’t just fight him off. She wrecked him."

Natalie blinked. "Wait, what?"

I laughed, the tension in my chest easing just a little. "Our mother isn’t just the goddess of the moon, Natalie. She’s a warrior. And when Shadow came for her, she met him head-on. She didn’t cower. She didn’t falter. She fought him with everything she had, and she won."

Natalie exhaled a breath she must have been holding. "So she can defeat him."

"She did once," I admitted. "But that was centuries ago. Before he got stronger. Before he found a way back."

Natalie’s expression hardened. "You don’t think she can do it again?"

I hesitated.

Because honestly?

I wasn’t sure.

Shadow had been bound for so long. We had all thought he was nothing but a dying whisper, a fading stain on the past. But now... now he was back. And he wasn’t just hiding in the void. He was moving. Spreading.

And he was working with Darius, under the name Dexter.

That part? That part made my blood run cold.

Natalie must have seen the shift in my expression because she suddenly leaned closer, her eyes sharp. "Jacob. What is it?"

I inhaled deeply, trying to steady the storm inside me. "I don’t know why, but he’s chosen now to reveal himself. And more importantly... he’s doing something with Darius."

The name alone sent a violent reaction through her. Her lips curled back slightly, and I swore I could feel Jasmine stir beneath the surface.

"Darius," she spat, the name like venom on her tongue.

I nodded. "I don’t know what their connection is yet, but it’s not a coincidence, Natalie. Shadow doesn’t form alliances. He corrupts." I met her gaze. "And if he’s taken an interest in Darius and Nathan... it means something big is coming and we need to figure out what."