Defying the Lycan King

Chapter 203: The Toothbrush

Back at Brian’s hideout, Kira had just finished brushing her teeth, and the older woman led her out of the small bathroom and back into the bedroom.

Brian was there, dressed in his usual black hoodie, the one he always pulled up to hide most of his face. Kira watched in silence as he tipped a scent suppressant into his palm and popped it into his mouth.

He was really trying his best to remain completely off the grid, hiding his Lycan scent from anyone who might be sniffing around the area.

Over the past three days, Kira had spent every waking moment using her eyes to search the room for a weapon. But Brian was meticulously thorough. The bastard had cleared the space.

He had stripped the entire place bare of anything sharp, anything she might turn against him or use to free herself. He had left her completely helpless.

Or so he thought.

Because an idea had come to her in the dark the night before, and she had already set it quietly in motion.

Soon, very soon, she was going to walk out of this wretched place. She just had to play her part well enough first.

The woman brought in a tray of food, and to both her and Brian’s astonishment, Kira smiled.

"Thank you so much! This smells so lovely."

She picked up the fork with her bound hands, and happily tried to eat a mouthful of the food, but with her wrists pinned so closely together, she awkwardly fumbled, nearly dropping the contents back onto the plate.

Seeing her struggle—and being so thrilled that she was finally smiling instead of wishing death upon his entire lineage, Brian moved quickly to the bed.

"Here," he said. "Let me."

Kira looked up at him, blinking innocently, and gave a gentle nod. "Alright. Thank you, Brian."

Brian froze for a second, clearly not quite believing his luck. Then, almost reverently, he sat down on the edge of the bed, adjusted the chains to give her wrist more rooms apart and took the spoon, and began to feed her himself.

"What changed your mind?" he asked, after she had managed a few spoonfuls.

Kira sighed and gave him a small smile.

"Maybe you’re right," she said softly. "Maybe there’s no point in fighting you every single moment. In struggling against all of it. Maybe I could try. Try to get along. Try to actually be happy here."

Brian’s face lit up instantly. He smiled sheepishly, his chest swelling with pride as he scooped up another portion of food.

"I’m so happy to hear you say that, Kira. You have no idea how much this means to me."

And for just a moment, Kira caught the genuine, unguarded happiness shining behind his eyes, the look of a man who had wanted one thing his whole life and could not believe it might finally be within reach.

And despite everything, she felt a tiny, weird pang of pity for him. The man was completely delusional, living in a fantasy world of his own making, but his twisted joy was real.

She chewed the spoonful he’d put in her mouth and smiled at him again. He smiled back.

"So, where do you always disappear to every single day?" she asked.

Brian’s smile widened. "To work."

She blinked. "Work?"

"I want to live like a decent man, Kira," he said. "An honest one. Earn my keep. Provide for our family with my own two hands."

There was something almost shy in the way he said it. "I’m starting over. Properly. And I’m working very hard at it, so that one day I can be the kind of man you actually deserve."

Kira nodded along, looking deeply moved by his completely unhinged speech. She took a sip of water and then leaned in slightly, looking right into his eyes.

"Tell me the truth, Brian. Do you truly love me?"

"If you’d only let me," he said, his voice low, "I’d spend the rest of my life showing you exactly how much."

Kira let out a thoughtful hum, playing her cards carefully. "Why? What about your actual wife, Olivia?"

The bright smile instantly vanished from Brian’s face. He looked down at the tray, and a shadow of something like shame crossed his features.

"I never loved her," he said quietly.

"Then why did you marry her?"

Brian was silent a moment. Then he swallowed hard and met her eyes.

"I took advantage of her," he said.

Kira’s expression hardened, but before she could speak, Brian lifted both hands quickly.

"I didn’t do it with a clear head," he said, the words tumbling out. "It wasn’t... I wasn’t myself. My father drugged me that night. An aphrodisiac."

He dropped the plate.

"He wanted me married and have a family legacy just so I could legally contend for the throne of Dravengard against Derek."

Kira took it in slowly, the picture of Crane growing darker and uglier by the second.

"You didn’t have to marry her," she said, "just because you slept with her."

Brian shrugged his shoulders helplessly, looking bitter.

"She fell pregnant. And her family threatened to drag my name, and the royal name, through every gutter they could find if I didn’t do right by their daughter."

His mouth twisted. "Gold-diggers, the lot of them. They were greedy status-seekers who didn’t give a damn about their own daughter’s emotional wellbeing, as long as there was royal money involved and they could brag about being in-laws to the royal family."

He stared at the wall, his jaw tight.

"I hated her for the longest time," he went on. "I was certain she and her family had planned the whole thing, and trapped me on purpose. I was the nastiest husband you could imagine. Especially after she lost the baby. The very baby the entire marriage had been built around."

"You abused her," Kira said. It wasn’t quite a question.

Brian didn’t answer at first. Then, slowly, he nodded. "Nothing heavy," he whispered, trying to minimize it.

He looked up at her at once, his eyes earnest, almost desperate.

"But I will never raise a hand to you," he said. "Never. I promise you that, Kira. On my life."

Kira said nothing, only watched him.

"Once I found out my father had orchestrated all of it," Brian continued, "I drew up divorce papers and left Olivia with everything in my name. I just wanted to build a life of my own, with the person I actually love, and make our home filled with peace and laughter."

Kira forced herself to nod, offering him a reassuring smile while internally logging him as psycho who needed therapy and not family.

***

A few minutes after Brian had finally pulled on his hoodie and left for the day, the older woman came in to clear away the plates.

Kira waited until she reached for the tray, then spoke up.

"I need to use the bathroom," she said.

The woman gave a small nod and moved to lead her in.

As they crossed the threshold, Kira’s heart began to pound, but she kept her face calm.

Her fingers closed around the toothbrush she had hidden, the one she had snapped in two the day before.

She had spent hours patiently rubbing the broken plastic edge against the rough concrete floor behind the toilet until the tip had turned into a razor-sharp point.

She slipped behind the bathroom door.

And let out a sharp, frightened cry.

The woman came hurrying in at once, alarmed. "What is it? What’s wrong—"

But Kira was already moving. Before the woman could even turn to find her, Kira stepped in fast behind her, one arm snapping around to pin her in place, and pressed the sharpened edge of the broken toothbrush firmly against the soft skin of her throat.

The woman froze instantly, her breath hitching in terror as the sharp plastic poked into her skin.

"Now," Kira said, her voice low and dangerous. "Hand me the damn keys to these chains."