The Lycan King's Second Chance Mate: Rise of the Traitor's Daughter Chapter 344 344: Contemplating

Vincent/Vaelthor

I just stared at Nancy, her words hanging in the air like a trap I hadn't seen coming. A child from each of us? The thought slamd into , cold and haunting, like ice flooding my veins. My chest tightened, my heart hamring so hard it felt like it might break through my ribs. How could she even suggest sothing like that? Sothing so personal, so… permanent.

I stole a glance at Winter. Her eyes were wide, stunned, her shoulders shrinking in against as if she could hide from the weight of the mont. She looked just as lost as I felt, maybe even more.

"No." The word cut out of , sharp and final. My voice was low, but there was steel behind it. "I'm not planning on having kids. Not now. Not ever. That's not my path."

Winter nodded quickly, her fingers twisting the fabric of my shirt, holding on like I was her only light in all this madness. Her voice wavered, but there was strength underneath the fear. " neither. I... I don't see that ever happening. We've already got too much to deal with—too much on our plate. Kids? That belongs to another life. Not ours."

Nancy's violet eyes sparkled with amusent, her lips curling into that sly, knowing smile that made my skin crawl. She leaned back against the table, crossing her arms over her flowing dress, the firelight dancing across her pale features like flickering secrets. "Oh, darlings, that's perfectly fine. If you never have any little ones scampering about, then you owe nothing. No paynt, no strings. But..." She paused, her gaze sharpening like a blade. "If you do—whether by choice, by fate, or even by so happy little mistake—you pay up. One child from each of you. Simple as that."

The room seed to shrink, the crackling fire now a roar in my ears. I could feel Winter's breath hitch beside , her fear seeping into our shared bond like ink in water. What kind of ga was this? I searched Nancy's face for cracks, for lies, but she just stood there, patient as a spider in its web, waiting for us to decide.

I narrowed my eyes, suspicion coiling in my gut like a serpent ready to strike. "What do you gain if we never have children? This whole deal feels off—too suspicious. You're offering us everything: scents changed, paths to the Lycan kingdom, all for a 'maybe' paynt that might never co? What's the angle here?"

Nancy chuckled softly, that low velvet sound that sohow eased the air but didn't dissolve the tension completely. She slid off the table, her dress brushing against the worn wood as she started pacing in a slow circle, like a predator that hadn't decided whether to bite or not.

"Suspicious?" she said, tilting her head, her eyes glinting. "I suppose it is, to minds like yours, forged in shadows and betrayal. But honestly, demon boy, if you never have kids, I gain nothing. Zip. Nada. And that's truly okay by . Call it a gamble on my part—life's full of them. Sotis you win big, sotis you walk away empty-handed."

She pressed a palm lightly to her chest, smirking. "But I swear—cross my witchy-demon heart—it'll be fine. There are no tricks here, no hidden curses. Just a fair deal."

Her words hung in the air, curling around us like smoke rising from a dying fire. I looked at Winter, and she looked back—her wide blue eyes mirroring the storm tearing through my chest. We needed this. Desperately. The hunger for revenge burned hotter than blood in my veins, every heartbeat echoing the nas that haunted : Zane. Natalie. Sebastian. Cassandra. Their imagined faces were carved into my rage.

But this bargain… it felt like standing on the lip of an abyss, knowing one wrong step could swallow us whole.

Through the thread of our mind link, I reached for her. Shadows of thought brushed against each other until they rged. "Syl, what do you think? She's handing us everything we've been praying for—ways to hide our scent, secret paths to the royals, a clear shot at revenge. But the price…"

Her reply ca soft but jagged, her ntal voice shaking like glass about to shatter.

"It's insane, Vaelthor. Trading away a child we don't even have? What if… what if sothing changes? What if we end up with families soday? I don't want to give up a piece of myself like that."

I felt her turmoil echo in my soul, a raw ache that made my demonic strength feel fragile. "I know, Syl. It twists my gut too. But think about it—we're not planning on that life. No mates, no heirs. Our heritage is vengeance, not cradles and lullabies. Mother and Father's legacy demands we end those who slew her. If we never have kids, we pay nothing. It's a risk, but one we can control. We say no now, and we're back on the streets, hunted like animals. The Wardens, vampires, werewolves—they'll tear us apart before we even glimpse the Lycan palace."

She hesitated, her thoughts flickering like candlelight in a draft. "You're right... but it scares . This Nancy—she's part demon, like us. What if she's weaving sothing darker?"

"Then we face whatever she weaves together," I pushed back through the link, my thoughts carrying the raw edge of defiance. I wrapped every word in the sa fierce protectiveness that had bound us since the day we clawed our way into this cursed world.

Images rose with the thought—Winter's tiny hand clutching mine in the dark tunnels of the underworld, the two of us pressed back to back against horrors most children only et in nightmares. We'd survived starvation, the crack of whips, the sound of chains dragging across stone. We had lived through the nights when Mother's voice was only a mory and Father's image, sowhere far away, crying for our help, echoed through our skulls.

"We've already walked through fire," I continued, my voice a promise as much as a thought. "We've survived the depths of the underworld itself. This? This is just another shadow to conquer. For Mother. For Father. For every cruel day we were forced to grow up too fast, for every piece of our childhood stolen from us. We'll carry their ghosts with us into this fight—and we'll make them proud."

My chest burned as I sent the words, fury and love tangled into one. Across the link, I felt Winter's heart tremble, her doubt colliding with the steel of my conviction.

A long pause stretched between us, the fire popping like impatient applause. Finally, Winter's resolve hardened, a cold steel in her mind. "Okay. Let's do it. But promise , Vincent—no regrets, no looking back."

"Promise," I replied, my heart swelling with a mix of dread and determination.

Out loud, I broke the silence, my voice steady despite the whirlwind inside. "Alright, Nancy. We accept your offer."