Chapter 228 - 0228

Kaelen POV

At those words, my expression hardened almost immediately.

I looked into her green-flecked eyes and noticed the fear she was trying so hard to hide. She was doing everything she could to remain calm for my sake, but I could still see it there, faint and unmistakable.

"From everything we’ve seen, I go completely berserk," I admitted, my voice turning grim. "I lose control of my mind, and my wolf takes over entirely."

Her gaze searched mine for a few seconds before she spoke again.

"Was that why you locked me in that cell back then?" she asked quietly. "Were you trying to find out if I was your cure?"

The question hit me so hard that my eyes widened.

For a moment, I was back in that memory, where I had made my guards drag her down into the damp cell where my wolf raged beneath the full moon, completely consumed by bloodlust.

"How... how did you know that?" I asked, the words stumbling out before I could stop them.

I had made sure that information remained strictly classified, known only to a handful of my closest guards. No one else was supposed to know the truth behind that night.

Lorelei only shrugged, a small, bittersweet smile touching her lips as her hand moved from my scalp to gently stroke through my red hair.

"It just seemed like the only explanation that made sense," she murmured. "A massive wolf with that kind of distinct red fur, one so unusually large that not a single person in this empire had ever mentioned seeing it..."

Her fingers moved slowly through my hair.

"It could only mean you were deliberately keeping it hidden. Like it was some kind of dirty secret."

I could only stare at her.

She had really figured it out.

Not just the wolf, but the reason behind the cell, the calculated decisions I had made while trying to save myself.

She had pieced together every painful detail I had tried to keep buried, especially since I started falling for her.

I should have known a secret like that could never really remain hidden.

My throat tightened until it felt raw. I couldn’t bring myself to meet her eyes anymore, so I lowered my head and pressed my forehead against her shoulder, the shame settling heavily in my chest.

When I finally spoke, my voice came out rough and barely audible.

"I’m sorry..."

I braced myself for the coldness that should have followed, for the anger, betrayal, or resentment I had every reason to expect. After everything I had done, she had every right to pull away from me.

But she didn’t.

Her fingers continued moving gently through my red hair, slow and soothing, while her thumb brushed lightly against the curve of my ear. That small, familiar touch somehow hurt more than any accusation could have.

"I really don’t care about that anymore," she whispered, her voice carrying a warmth I knew I didn’t deserve. "I’m just happy that... somehow, in some way... I’m your cure."

Her words settled heavily in my chest.

For a few seconds, she said nothing. Her fingers slowed against my scalp, and I could feel the hesitation building in the silence beneath the blanket before she finally spoke again.

"But if I’m your cure..." Her voice grew quieter. "Then why aren’t you getting better? Why are you still relapsing like this?"

I slowly shook my head against her shoulder, but when I lifted my gaze, I found fresh tears gathering in her green-flecked eyes. She was trying to hold them back, yet the pain was still there, clear enough for me to see.

"I don’t know," I admitted hoarsely, the helplessness in my voice making my throat tighten. "I still don’t know why. All I know is that the curse seems to be getting stronger every day. And today..." I swallowed hard. "Today, I crossed a line I can’t forgive myself for."

The fear I had been trying to suppress came rushing back, cold and suffocating, spreading through my veins until my hands began to tremble against her waist.

What if it happened again?

What if the next time I lost control, I couldn’t find my way back?

What if I actually killed her?

The thoughts came one after another, each more horrifying than the last. I had spent years fearing what I could become, but that fear had never felt as real as it did now, with Lorelei in my arms and the memory of what I had almost done still fresh in my mind.

I tightened my hold around her, careful not to hurt her, then buried my face against the crook of her neck as panic clawed its way up my chest.

"I don’t want to lose you," I choked out, my voice breaking despite how hard I tried to control it. "Lorelei, I can’t... I can’t hurt you again. I don’t want to hurt you."

She didn’t pull away or even flinch.

Instead, her arms slipped tightly around my neck, pulling me closer until my face was pressed against her chest. The warmth of her embrace immediately surrounded me, and for a moment, I could do nothing but hold on.

"You’re not going to lose me, Kaelen," she whispered into my hair, her voice so calm and certain that it slowly steadied the panic twisting inside me. "You’ve survived this nightmare for ten long years. You’re going to keep surviving it. We’ll figure this out together... I promise you."

We.

Together.

That one word hit me harder than I expected.

Despite everything I had put her through tonight, despite the fear and pain I had caused her, she was still choosing to stand beside me.

That washed away the crushing guilt weighing down my chest, replacing it with a warmth so raw and overwhelming that I could barely breathe through it.

I allowed my body to relax completely against her, letting her hold me together when I no longer had the strength to do it myself.

Her scent of sweet vanilla filled my senses, calming something deep inside me as I tightened my arms around her waist and silently memorized the feeling of having her this close.

I had known that I loved her. That truth had stopped being something I could deny a long time ago.

But beneath that blanket, in the quiet darkness, wrapped in her forgiveness and the certainty of her love, something inside me finally settled. My heart wasn’t just hers anymore. It had always been hers, and I knew there was no part of me that would ever be able to belong to anyone else.

Oh, Moon Goddess... how the fuck was I ever supposed to live without this woman?