Chapter 3 3 - The Lycan King’s Human Bride

Chapter 3

...

He tilted his head slightly, his deep blue eyes fixed on me. Something about the darkness surrounding him made me feel impossibly small, as though every ounce of courage I'd ever possessed had vanished the moment I met his gaze.

His eyes slowly traveled over me, lingering on my half-naked body sprawled across the wild grass.

I wanted to cover myself. I wanted to move. But my body refused to obey.

Before I could even cover myself—before I could hide the exposed skin that had somehow become the object of his attention that morning...

ROAR!

A deafening roar erupted from deep within the forest, shattering the silence like a clap of thunder.

My throat tightened as I stared into the darkness, and for a moment, I couldn't force myself to make a sound.

Death!

Not again.

I tried to scream with everything I had, but no sound escaped my lips. I bit down hard on my lower lip until I tasted blood, hoping the sharp pain would force my frozen body to move.

It didn't... Even the pain couldn't pull me free from this nightmare.

Boom.

Each thunderous impact shook the ground beneath me. A massive creature cloaked in darkness was charging straight toward us.

I'm going to die...

Again?

I turned to the stranger, silently pleading for him to save me.

I didn't want to die.

The scream trapped inside my chest threatened to suffocate me, yet all I saw was the faint curve of amusement on his lips.

He was smiling. As if my terror amused him.

Boom. Boom.

The Titan's enormous tail smashed through every towering tree in its path, sending splintered wood flying in every direction. The forest trembled with each deafening impact.

Then...

Swoosh!

In the blink of an eye, he caught the monstrous black Titan with one hand. A violent shockwave exploded through the air as his fist struck, the force alone sending a powerful gust tearing through the forest.

I could only stare.

Something that should have existed only in fantasy novels or movies was unfolding right before my eyes.

"Hah..."

Every breath burned my lungs as I stared at the breathtakingly handsome man with those piercing blue eyes. He had just killed the monstrous Titan... with a single punch.

"Hm." He glanced at his hand as if nothing remarkable had happened. "Using my bare hands really is easier."

His expression remained completely calm even as the Titan's enormous body crashed lifelessly to the ground.

Only then did he look back at me.

"I've been tracking this Titan all night, but it hid in the darkness, masking its scent." His voice was calm, almost casual. "It only came out because it smelled your blood..." A flicker of curiosity crossed his eyes.

"How strange." He walked toward me at an unhurried pace before stopping beside my head.

Then he leaned down, tilting his head ever so slightly. Those piercing blue eyes glowed like blue flames, quietly burning in the darkness.

“Perhaps...” His gaze locked onto mine. “I should use you as bait and lure out more Titans.” The corners of his lips lifted into the faintest smile.

"What do you think... little girl?" His voice never rose. It remained calm. Yet somehow, that made him far more terrifying than the Titan he had just killed.

What?

Bait?

Damn it... Who the hell is this terrifying man?

Why can't I speak...?

Why can't I even move?

My chest rose and fell unevenly.

He looked at me one last time, his piercing blue eyes impossibly cold.

For a brief moment, I couldn't tear my gaze away from him. The invisible pressure around him was so overwhelming that my body instinctively recoiled beneath it.

"This time..." he said calmly, shifting his gaze away from me, "I'll spare you, human." He turned and began walking away. "But if you ever dare appear before me again..."

He paused, his voice dropping to a quiet whisper that seemed to stir the wind itself. "I'll devour you."

The forest fell silent.

Never in my life had I felt so completely insignificant or so utterly powerless.

In this strange world, I was nothing more than a fragile human, surrounded by creatures powerful enough to kill me without a second thought.

Even after he disappeared into the forest, my muscles remained tense, as though my body still remembered the weight of his presence.

"Princess Swan!"

"Princess Swan, where are you?"

Distant voices echoed through the forest.

Someone was looking for me.

My maids... They must have discovered I was missing from my room.

Only then did the invisible weight pressing against my body finally disappear.

I sucked in a shaky breath and lowered my eyes. The birthmark on my wrist was still there.

I ran my thumb over the birthmark, feeling it beneath my fingertip. Without a doubt... This was my body. I hadn't awakened inside Layla Swan's body. I'd awakened in my own. Yet somehow, everyone believed I was Layla Swan.

The ache in my head hadn't faded, but I forced myself upright and slowly made my way out of the forest.

A gentle breeze swept through my wavy hair while my green eyes wandered across the unfamiliar surroundings.

There had to be a reason I'd been brought back to life. There had to be a reason I'd ended up in this world. And the only way to uncover the truth was to survive.

"Oh, Moon Goddess! Princess Swan, what happened to you? You look terrible!" A young maid dressed in simple clothes rushed toward me, immediately wrapping a thick fur cloak around my shoulders.

"Who are you?" I narrowed my eyes.

Her face instantly turned pale. "It's me... Rina, your maid." Her voice trembled. "Oh, Moon Goddess... what happened to you, Princess? Did you hit your head? Have you... forgotten me?" She looked as though she was about to cry.

Before I could answer, she blurted out another question.

"Is this because Alpha Hendry Gargan came to scold you this morning? Oh, Princess... what should I do?"

I couldn't help the faint smile that tugged at my lips.

Rina really was talkative. But I could tell she genuinely cared about Layla Swan.

"If you're Rina..." I looked past her shoulder. "Then she must be..."

Before I could finish, another young woman stepped forward and bowed respectfully.

"Yes, Princess Swan. My name is Shana."

I studied her in silence.

Shana—a half-human who secretly served as a spy for my father, King Herman Darges Noir. The King of Humanity.

A brilliant ruler with countless wives and even more children. I was his forty-ninth daughter, a princess handed over to the noble werewolves as proof of my father's loyalty and a means of maintaining trade with the Werewolf Kingdom.

To him, Layla Swan was nothing more than a bargaining chip. A disposable daughter who could die at any moment.

But I wasn't Layla Swan. I was Layla Luris. And I refused to die.

The first person I needed to find was the Lycan King—Alexander Hagard Raizel, the breathtakingly handsome man with piercing blue eyes, and the most powerful ruler alive. He was a ruler who despised humans because of everything his past had taken from him.

He had countless enemies. But I was going to help him. I was going to change everything.

Wait...

Alexander Hagard Raizel.

The name made me stop in my tracks.

I turned toward the towering forest behind me, suddenly seeing those ancient trees in a completely different light.

The memory of those piercing blue eyes sent a chill down my spine, and the thought of having already crossed paths with the Lycan King made my stomach twist with unease.

Could it be...

Had I just met him?

No.

There was no way I could have crossed paths with the elusive Lycan King by coincidence.

What kind of twisted fate had brought us together so soon?

Just the thought of meeting the King of the Werewolves made my heart pound harder.

I remained frozen where I stood as the world around me slowly blurred.

Only then did I realize what had happened.

The overwhelming aura the Lycan King had unleashed earlier had drained every last bit of strength from my body.

"Princess Swan!"

I faintly heard Rina calling out to me… And then I couldn’t hear anything anymore.