妻子的欲望

"Mother... please tell me everything," Nicholas held his mother's hands and looked her in the eye. "While I was in the royal villa, I was haunted by the question of how I became a lycan and what if everyone in Riga found out that their king was a lycan."

Queen Marianne raised her face and stared back at her son. "You are the king now, to hell with other people..."

"Huh?" Nicholas thought he was dreaming. Did his mother just let out curse words? "What do you mean, Mother? Don't you feel worried if other people know my condition?"

The queen bit her lip. The only opinion that mattered to her was her husband's. She was terrified if someday King William would find out about Nicholas' condition. He was the king and he hated lycans with all his heart.  Being the monarch, he could easily kill Nicholas.

However, now that there was no other power higher than her son, how could she fear anyone? Nicholas was the king now and his words were the law.

Queen Marianne's eyes filled with tears as she listened to Nicholas' story about how he was so confused when he found out he was a lycan. These past 24 hours, she had been so angry with Nicholas, she didn't know that her son was in such a big problem.

At this moment, she felt both guilty and very surprised because she had thought that Nicholas had recovered from his lycanthropy. She felt guilty for suspecting her son of doing immoral things when in reality even if he might do it he didn't do it willingly. It might be the lycanthropy taking control of himself.

When he saw that his mother was silent while she stared at him with teary eyes, Nicholas became even more convinced that his mother knew something, the reason why he was turned into a lycan.

"Mother, do you know what happened to me? You said you knew I am a lycan. So, did you know how I became one?" Nicholas thus began to issue the questions that were bothering him one by one.

Queen Marianne, who was sobbing, tried hard to regain her composure so she could reply to his questions. She realized at this point Nicholas must be dying to know  the truth. She nodded weakly.

Nicholas grabbed his mother's hand, which was on the table. He repeated his question desperately, "Mother, I beg you, if you know anything about this, please tell me. There are so many questions in my head about this right now, and they are weighing heavily on me. Mother, I beg of you to tell me what really happened?"

Queen Marianne cupped Nicholas's hand that was holding hers and with tears in her eyes, she then answered Nicholas's question.

"Fourteen years ago... when you were thirteen.. you were kidnapped by the enemy, a dangerous werewolf pack called Blood River Pack." Tears were streaming down harder as the queen relived the horror and recounted the story to her son. "You were missing for almost two months."

For a moment, Queen Marianne wiped her tears. As she slowly calmed down, she took Nicholas' hand back and continued her story.

"Your father and I were very worried about you… sobs… I thought that I had lost you forever. Luckily your father didn't give up. He and the rest of the royal family continued the search, and after two months of searching, they finally found you near a small town called Hauntingen. … sobs…." Queen Marianne always felt scared when she remembered the incident when she lost Nicholas.

Nicholas was surprised to hear his mother's explanation, but there were still many questions that needed to be answered.

"Then what happened? When they found me, was I already a lycan? Did Father and the people who found me know that I'm a lycan?" Nicholas asked. He was very curious about what happened next.

"No, son," Queen Marianne said. "You were found in good condition. It seemed that someone had helped and nursed your wounds until they were healed. Unfortunately, they didn't know who had helped and cared for you because when they came to the hut you pointed at them, they couldn't find anyone else there."

,m Queen Marianne added that after being found, Nicholas was fine and did not appear to have any abnormalities, but after a month, it happened.

Nicholas shifted into a lycan after being awakened from his nightmare.

"I'm grateful that at that time, I was the only one by your side. Apart from me, no one knew that you were a lycan. I immediately hid the fact from anyone. I don't know what your father would do if he found out. Maybe he wouldn't hesitate to kill you even though you are his own child."

Nicholas gripped his mother's hand tightly. The woman's hand felt very cold.

Queen Marianne continued her story as new tears were streaming down her cheeks. "Thinking of what your father would do if he found out that you are a lycan, I was so scared that I tried to get you out of the capital, away from your father and the Royal Lycan Hunter. I immediately made an excuse that I would take you on vacation to calm you down and relieve the trauma you experienced after being kidnapped."

A mist of sadness appeared in Nicholas' eyes. He was moved to hear the efforts his mother made to save him.

"Then?" Nicholas waited for the continuation of his mother's story.

After she wiped away her tears and caught her breath, Queen Marianne continued that afterward, Nicholas was taken on a trip to several of the queen's siblings. But most often to Hastings, where Baron Ferdinand lived.

"We traveled often because of that. You like my uncle's place the most. So, you spent a lot of times in Hastings."

"Hastings… " Nicholas muttered very quietly. A slight pain stung his head the moment he heard the word 'Hastings'. Gradually, fragments of his past flashbacks appeared in his memory.

The flashback showed Nicholas of his young self turn into a lycan, and he held his breath as the image of a young girl flashed through his mind. He felt that the girl had something to do with the person who had helped him.

Besides that…

Nicholas furrowed his brows as the girl's figure still flashed in his mind.

The girl's hair . . . it was gray with some pinkish streaks, reminded him of Sophia Romanov.