Chapter 223 - 0223

Lorelei POV

"Because I want a little girl who looks exactly like you," he murmured, his thumb gently tracing along my jaw, and heat immediately rushed to my face.

Playfully, I tapped his chest, letting out a soft laugh. "What are you even talking about? Don’t you know how genetics work? We could have a daughter, but she could still end up taking all of your features instead of mine."

Kaelen’s eyes widened for a second, as though the terrifying possibility had genuinely never crossed his mind before. "Ah... that’s true."

Then he chuckled, tightening his arms around my waist. "Well, in that case, I don’t care whether it’s a boy or a girl, as long as they inherit your features. That way, I can be hopelessly obsessed with both of you."

I scoffed at his dramatic words and rolled my eyes, even though I couldn’t stop the warmth from spreading through my chest as I leaned into his touch. Deep down, I could only hope that his words would come true and that I really would get pregnant soon.

"Do you want to take a bath together?" I asked, looking up at him through my lashes.

His lips immediately curved into a wicked, almost predatory smile. Before I could even blink, Kaelen scooped me off the floor and into his arms. His lips found mine in a deep, hungry kiss as he carried me straight toward the adjoining bathroom.

What was supposed to be a quick, relaxing bath quickly turned into something much more, exactly as I had secretly expected.

Between the slick bathroom walls and the steamy counter, Kaelen took his time with me before eventually carrying me back into the bedroom.

By the time we were done, we collapsed onto the tangled sheets side by side, completely spent, our breathing gradually falling into the same slow rhythm.

I was sure hours had passed because I had fallen into a deep, heavy sleep. That was until low, ragged groans slowly pulled me from it.

At first, I tried to ignore them, assuming they were nothing more than the wind outside or the old estate settling around us in the middle of the night. But the sounds didn’t stop. If anything, they grew louder and more strained, until my brows pulled together in confusion.

Slowly, I forced my eyes open and turned toward the source of the noise, only for my breath to catch in my throat.

It was Kaelen.

The strange, agonized sounds were coming from him, and the sight of him sent a jolt of pure terror through my chest. His face was twisted with pain, sweat dripping down his forehead and gathering along his temples.

His eyes were squeezed tightly shut, while his arms remained rigid at his sides, his hands clenched into fists so tightly that his knuckles had turned stark white.

His bare chest rose and fell in rapid, uneven heaves, every breath looking like it took more effort than the last.

Panic immediately surged through me, ice-cold fear shooting through my veins. I pushed myself upright, the thin strap of my nightgown slipping down my shoulder as I reached toward him and pressed my hand against his burning skin.

"Kaelen... Kaelen, wake up... Please, wake up." I shook his shoulder gently at first, but when he didn’t respond, my grip became more urgent. "Kaelen, please."

His groans continued, low and raw, each one sounding more painful than the last, as though he were trapped inside something horrible that he couldn’t escape. Was he having a nightmare? And what kind of nightmare could possibly push the Alpha King into this state?

I kept shaking him, tapping his chest and cheek repeatedly, desperate to somehow break through whatever had a hold of him, but nothing seemed to work. He didn’t even react to my touch.

Then I noticed his lips moving.

The words were so faint that I almost missed them, and I immediately leaned closer, pressing my ear near his mouth, hoping that whatever he was saying might give me some clue about how to pull him out of this.

"Get out..." he rasped.

I froze, my brows pulling together in confusion. Did he want me to leave?

"Kaelen...?"

"I said get out... Get out of my head... Get out..." His voice grew rougher with each word, the groan that followed sinking into a deep, guttural rumble that made my stomach twist.

Was he talking to me, or was he talking to someone else trapped inside whatever nightmare he was experiencing? Either way, I couldn’t just leave him like this.

"It’s just a dream, Kaelen," I whispered, tapping his cheek softly again and again. "It’s just a bad dream. Wake up. Please, wake up."

I kept repeating his name, my voice growing more desperate as I tried everything I could to anchor him back to reality. I just needed him to hear me. I needed him to know he wasn’t alone.

Suddenly, his whispering stopped.

His entire body went rigid, and I felt his chest expand as he dragged in a sharp, shuddering breath.

I started to relax, thinking the nightmare was finally breaking.

Then his eyes snapped open, and the color drained from my face, seeing that those weren’t his usual warm, glowing amber eyes.

They were bloodshot.

Feral.

Demonic red eyes stared straight into mine, wild and completely unfocused, burning with something so dark and lethal that every instinct in my body screamed at me to get away from him.

"Kaelen...?" I whispered, my voice trembling violently.

Before I could even process what I was seeing, his arm shot up with blinding speed, catching me completely off guard as it wrapped tightly around my neck.

His voice that came next didn’t sound human at all. It was a horrifying blend of a snarling wolf and something deeper, something almost demonic, as he roared directly into my face.

"You bitch!"

His fingers locked around my throat like an iron vise, cutting off my airway almost instantly. I gasped desperately, but no air reached my lungs. Only a choked, strangled squeak escaped my lips as he shoved me backward, forcing me flat against the mattress.

"I’m going to kill you," he snarled, his voice vibrating through my chest with a terrifying, unnatural resonance. "When you die... when you’re finally gone... this will all be over! I’ll break your fucking neck!"

Dark, unnatural veins bulged along his arms and neck, black and writhing beneath his skin like living snakes. His demonic red eyes held absolutely no trace of the man who had held me so tenderly only hours ago. The Kaelen I loved was gone. Completely gone, swallowed whole by whatever dark entity had taken control of his mind.

Panic surged through me in sickening waves.

I kicked desperately, my heels thrashing against the sheets as I clawed at his massive hands, my nails digging into his skin as I fought to pry his fingers away from my throat. I wanted to beg him to stop. I wanted to scream his name. I wanted to call for help, but his grip was so fucking tight that I couldn’t force even a single word past my crushed airway.

Tears spilled hot down my cheeks as terror took over every part of me, but even if I could speak, some part of me already knew it wouldn’t matter.

The creature staring down at me didn’t see Lorelei.

It didn’t hear me.

All it saw was an enemy.

My chest burned with a suffocating, agonizing pressure as I desperately tried to drag air into my lungs. Dark spots began swimming across my vision, the room blurring around the edges until everything melted into terrifying shadows. My limbs grew heavier by the second, my strength draining away as the last bit of air in my lungs seemed to disappear.

I couldn’t breathe.

I couldn’t get away.

And no matter how hard I fought, Kaelen’s grip only seemed to tighten.

I’m going to die here.