The Lycan King's Second Chance Mate: Rise of the Traitor's Daughter

Chapter 280: Damning the Consequences

Jacob~

I’d been dying to kiss her again. I swear on my immortality, every time she looked at me with those big emerald eyes, my chest ached with the force of it. Easter... my little spring blossom. The woman I swore to protect with every breath in my lungs – the same woman I’d been forced to erase from my world for her own safety.

It was fine that she didn’t remember. Not the nights she curled up in my arms, trembling from nightmares even I couldn’t chase away. Not the mornings she nearly burned the kitchen down making pancakes, her laughter ringing out as the smoke alarm screamed. Not even the promises I breathed against her lips between hungry, stolen kisses under the blanket after our first night tangled together.

I had taken all those memories from her. Torn them from her mind with my own hands, ripped my presence from her life so thoroughly she wouldn’t even ache for what she’d lost. I did it to keep her and her children alive. I did it because I loved her.

But then Brandon happened. That scrawny little classmate with too-slick hair and eyes that roamed over her body like she was his for the taking. When I saw him hovering around her today, smiling like he’d already unwrapped her in his head, something snapped inside me. noveldrama

Jealousy wasn’t a strong enough word for what I felt. Rage coursed through me like fire in my veins, burning away reason. I didn’t care about the consequences. I didn’t care if damning myself meant damning her too. All I knew was that I needed to touch her. To taste her again, even if it was just one last time before fate tore her away from me once more.

And so, here I was – kneeling before her in my barely furnished living room, my fingers pressed into the soft flesh of her calf. Her skin was warm under my touch, trembling slightly as if she could feel every sinful thought racing through my mind.

"Jacob..." Her voice was so small, so unsure, it nearly broke me. She tried to pull her leg back, but I held it firmly, massaging up to her swollen ankle. fr\(e)ew(e)b.(n)o (v)(e)l.com

"Shh," I murmured, not trusting my voice with the words threatening to spill out. Words like I love you and I’m sorry I ever let you go and please let me keep you this time. Words I didn’t have the right to speak.

I looked up into her eyes. Freckles dusted across her nose, her cheeks blooming with that natural pink blush that made her look like she’d just stepped out of a fairytale. My little fairytale girl, bruised by life but still so damn beautiful it hurt to breathe.

"You deserve to be taken care of, Easter," I said softly, my thumb brushing a circle into her calf.

Her lips parted, trembling. "Why are you doing this...?" Her eyes searched mine, wide and vulnerable, desperate for an answer I couldn’t give.

Because you’re mine.

Because every part of me howls your name in the dark.

Because losing you once almost destroyed me.

Instead, I leaned forward, my breath ghosting over her lips. I heard her soft inhale, the sharp hitch of her chest, and something primal took over. I kissed her. Hard. Fierce. My hands slid up her arms, feeling every trembling muscle beneath my fingers as I pulled her into me.

Her taste hit me like a drug. Cinnamon and honey and that little spark that was just... Easter. She melted into me, her fingers tangling in my hair, tugging me closer like she was drowning and I was air.

Ah, yes. This. This was what I’d been starving for all these months, wandering my own house like a restless ghost. She whimpered softly into my mouth and I deepened the kiss, sliding my tongue along hers, swallowing her sweet, desperate moans.

I wanted to consume her completely. To make her forget every bruise she’d ever hidden beneath her clothes, every tear she’d wiped away alone at night. I wanted her to forget that bastard Brandon, to erase the bitter sting of her worthless ex-husband and every careless touch he’d ever left on her skin. I wanted to rewrite it all – to cover every painful memory with my own, so deeply that even if her mind lost the details, her body would still remember me. Remember the way I held her like she was the only thing keeping my heart beating. Remember the way I kissed her like I was learning how to breathe for the first time.

She pulled back, gasping, her cheeks flushed deep pink. "Jacob... we can’t... I..."

I pressed my forehead against hers, my breath ragged. "Why can’t we?" I whispered, brushing my nose against hers. "Tell me why."

"Because... because you’re you... and I’m... I’m just me," she whispered, her eyes brimming with tears. "You don’t want someone like me."

A soft, broken laugh tore from my chest. "Don’t want...?" I cupped her face, forcing her to look at me. "Easter, I’ve never wanted anyone the way I want you."

She shook her head, tears slipping down her freckled cheeks. "You don’t mean that..."

"I do," I said fiercely, kissing away her tears. "You’re mine. You’ve always been mine."

Her lips quivered under mine as I kissed her again, softer this time. Slower. My fingers traced her jaw, memorizing every line, every curve. Gosh, I was so happy in that moment. I’d damned the consequences, yes – but feeling her melt against me again, feeling her hands clinging to me like I was the only thing keeping her anchored... it was worth it.

I kissed her deeper, tasting the salt of her tears mixed with the soft sweetness of her sighs. Her swollen belly pressed gently against me, a quiet reminder of the life growing inside her. That baby... even if he didn’t carry my blood, he was still mine. My heart had already claimed him, and it always would.

But then – it happened.

A searing pain sliced across my skull and I froze, my vision blurring. My entire body went rigid against hers as the living room melted away, replaced by blood and steel and screams.

No...

I saw the palace under attack. Stone walls shattered and fell like sandcastles in a storm. Flames roared across the training grounds, swallowing everything in their path. Amidst the chaos moved my little moon, Natalie, weaving through broken bodies and blood, her hands glowing as she healed the fallen and pulled life back into dead. Beside her was Zane in his massive wolf form, a silent storm of teeth and claws, ripping down enemies with savage, effortless grace. But even then, they were surrounded, the tide of darkness closing in on them from all sides.

My heart stopped when I saw Nathan standing there, smiling with blood dripping down his chin. He was the distraction.

The real threat... oh no.

Kalmia.

I saw her slip through the chaos like a serpent, her eyes locked onto the king’s chambers. She moved with dark magic rippling around her fingertips. And then... Alex. Little Alex. I watched in horror as she reached for him, magic wrapping around his tiny body like chains.

"NO!" I roared, ripping out of the vision, gasping for breath. My heart thundered in my chest.

"Jacob!" Easter’s voice was shrill with panic. Her hands cupped my cheeks, trying to anchor me back to her. "Jacob, what’s wrong?!"

I stared into her eyes, guilt crashing over me in a suffocating wave. My family... they need me. I have to go. I have to...

But looking at her, flushed and breathless and trembling from my kiss, broke something inside me. She deserved better than this. Better than a man who would always choose duty over her. Better than being left behind again and again.

I pressed one last kiss to her forehead, tasting the salt of her tears. "I’m sorry," I whispered, my voice hoarse. "I’m so sorry, Easter."

"Jacob—" Her voice cracked, her eyes frantic with confusion and hurt. But I was already standing, running a trembling hand through my hair as I forced my powers down, fighting the teleport right there.

"I have to go," I said, my tone dead and empty. "I’m so sorry, Easter. I didn’t mean to... I’ll be back soon."

"Jacob?" She whispered, her voice breaking. "Jacob wait!"

I clenched my jaw, forcing myself to look at her one last time. Her lips were swollen, her eyes wide with unshed tears, her chest heaving with every ragged breath. My little fairytale girl. My light in this eternal darkness.

But my family needed me. Alex needed me. Natalie needed me. And Kalmia... she would kill him if I didn’t get there in time.

Without another word, I turned and walked out the door, slamming it behind me. The roar of my car engine was deafening in the silent street. I gripped the steering wheel so tightly my hands hurt, my eyes burning with tears I couldn’t shed as I drove away from the only happiness I’d ever known.

I didn’t dare look back. If I did, I’d never be able to leave her again.

And as the wind whipped through my hair, carrying the scent of pine and rain, my chest ached with a pain so sharp it almost brought me to my knees.

Forgive me, Easter, I thought, my vision blurring. Forgive me for leaving you again. Forgive me for damning you with my love.

But there was no time for forgiveness. No time for tears. My family was in danger, and like always... Easter would have to wait.

Again.

Without another thought, I teleported – taking the car with me.