The Lycan King's Second Chance Mate: Rise of the Traitor's Daughter
Chapter 278: Baiting

Chapter 278: Baiting

Natalie~

I couldn’t believe my eyes. My heart stopped, a jagged shard of ice lodged in my chest as I stared across the blood-soaked floor. Nathan. His name clawed its way through my mind, a poison that burned hotter than any flame. The man who had made Zane and his father suffer so much was suddenly standing in front of me. He stood there, smirking, his dark hair gleaming under the flickering chandeliers like some twisted mockery of a king surveying his kingdom. The bodies of his own kin lay broken around him, their blood pooling in ugly distorted patterns, and yet he stood untouched, his arrogance a living thing that choked the air all around us. How could he be here? After everything, how could he stand there, grinning like a demon?

"It’s Nathan," I whispered through the bond, my voice trembling with a fury so raw it felt like it might tear me apart. Jasmine snarled within me, her rage vibrating through my bones, a primal drumbeat urging me to rip and tear.

"I know," Zane’s voice growled back, low and lethal, his massive wolf form quivering with barely contained violence. I could feel his crimson eyes burning through the dim hall, locked on Nathan like twin embers ready to ignite a wildfire. His fury pulsed through our bond, a strong wave threatening to drown us both.

I swallowed hard, sweat beading at my temples despite the cold air biting at my skin. My mind raced, clawing for answers. "Why is he here?" I sent to Zane, my thought a quiet thread weaving through the storm of our connection. "What does he want?"

Zane’s response was a snarl that thundered through my skull, shaking me to my core. "Does it matter, Natalie? He’s breathing. That’s reason enough for me to rip his throat out."

My chest burned with the same rage, a molten anger that begged me to let Jasmine loose, to let her tear into him until there was nothing left. But I forced myself to breathe, to think. I studied Nathan’s posture—the way he stood, relaxed, hands clasped behind his back like he was strolling through a garden instead of a slaughterhouse. His dark eyes glinted with something sinister, something calculated. Every fiber of my being screamed that this was a trap.

"Wait," I urged Zane, my voice sharp and desperate through the bond. "Don’t attack him yet."

His growl grew louder, a low rumble that made my skin prickle. "Why not?" The question was a challenge, his fury straining against the fragile thread of our connection.

"He wants you to," I whispered, my gaze narrowing as I locked eyes with Nathan. I pushed Jasmine’s power outward, silver threads of light weaving through the air, invisible to all but me, probing the shadows of his mind. Flashes of his thoughts assaulted me—twisted satisfaction, cruel anticipation, a sick hunger for chaos. He was baiting Zane, daring him to charge, to lose himself to rage. The realization hit me like a fist, stealing my breath.

Nathan tilted his head, his black hair sliding over one eye like a curtain of oil, his smile slow and venomous, curling across his face like a wound. "A little birdie told me that you and your father have been looking for me for years now, dear nephew. So I decided to pay you a surprise visit. I’m here now. What’s wrong, little prince?" he drawled, his voice slithering through the hall, smooth and rancid as decay. "Scared to face me? Or are you hiding behind your pretty little toy there?"

A savage snarl ripped from Zane’s chest, his massive paws gouging trenches into the marble, sending chips flying. I felt his fury explode through our bond, a wildfire scorching everything in its path. It was hot enough to burn me from the inside out, and for a heartbeat, I thought he’d break free and tear Nathan apart. _{fre/ew.ebnovel.c om}

"Zane, don’t—" I started, but Nathan’s dark chuckle cut me off, sharp and mocking, baiting him in.

"You know, Zane," he purred, his eyes glittering with sadistic glee, "your father begged so pathetically when I ripped your siblings apart. ’Please, Nathan, spare them... they’re just children.’" His voice twisted into a high, cruel mimicry before dropping to a hateful hiss. "Weak. Just like you."

The world froze. My heart stuttered, the air grew denser with the weight of those words. I felt Zane’s rage spiral beyond control, a feral roar tearing through the hall as he crouched, muscles coiling, ready to launch himself at Nathan with lethal intent. His pain and fury crashed through our bond, a storm that threatened to sweep me away.

"No!" I shouted, thrusting my power through our bond like a torrent of molten gold. The air crackled, shimmering with energy as I slammed his body still, roots of golden light erupting from my will, wrapping around his paws, anchoring him to the ground. My chest heaved, my pulse pounding in my ears as Jasmine’s power surged, lighting the dim corridor in a radiant, ethereal glow. Holding him back felt like holding a hurricane, and every muscle in my body screamed with the effort.

Zane’s mind roared in protest, a storm of fury battering against my hold. "Natalie, let me GO!"

"No," I hissed, my voice steady despite the strain. "That’s exactly what he wants. I don’t know why yet, but he’s baiting you."

Nathan’s smile widened, his teeth stained with blood from a split lip, the crimson glint catching the light like a warning. "How precious," he sneered, his voice dripping with mock affection as he tilted his head, studying me like I was prey. "Your little toy has a voice. Maybe I’ll rip it out after I’m done with him."

His words ignited something inside me, a dark, electric fury that roared to life, Jasmine’s savage snarl echoing in my chest. My skin prickled with heat, every nerve alight with the need to tear that smug grin off his face, to make him pay for every life he’d taken, every wound he’d inflicted. But I held myself steady, my eyes burning into his, refusing to give him the reaction he craved.

"Let me handle him," I said to Zane, my voice low, deadly, each word a vow carved in stone. My gaze never left Nathan’s, my body thrumming with my powers and of Jasmine rising like a tide.

Zane’s growl shook the blood-splattered walls, a sound so deep it seemed to rattle my bones. "Finish him," he ordered, his voice a blade dipped in venom, dripping with the promise of death.

I smiled, cold and lethal, as I stepped forward. Jasmine surged within me, a goddess of vengeance, her white-hot power blazing across my skin, illuminating me in a halo of radiant fury. Nathan’s cruel grin faltered, just for a heartbeat, his eyes flickering with something—uncertainty, maybe, or the first whisper of fear—as I stalked toward him, every step deliberate, every inch of my body alive with deadly intent.

"Oh, I intend to," I whispered, my voice a low, dangerous purr that echoed through the hall. The air thickened, charged with the promise of violence, as I unleashed Jasmine’s power, the silver light flaring brighter, sharper, a beacon of retribution in the shadowed slaughterhouse.

And then, I lunged.

The fight erupted, a clash of light and shadow, fury and cunning. I moved like a storm made flesh, every strike fueled by the weight of betrayal, loss, and the unyielding need to protect what was mine. Nathan met me blow for blow, his movements fluid and vicious, his laughter twisting into a snarl. But I was no prey. I was a force, a reckoning, and I would not stop until the blood on the floor was his. My heart pounded, my breath burned, and with every move, I poured everything I was into ending him—because this wasn’t just a fight. It was justice.