Chapter 53: Ch 53. Stoner’s Promise

"If I tell you, will you think badly of me?" Stoner asked softly, causing Selena—who had been enjoying her meal—to look up.

She stared at Stoner, who looked somewhat hesitant, then smiled cynically and said casually, "Ever since my Extinction Healer power awoke when you tried to force me to die, I’ve already thought badly of you. No, not just you—all five of you."

Stoner swallowed hard and grimaced. "At least this is different; it’s about my honor, but it’s not my fault," he said, taking a deep breath.

Selena narrowed her eyes. "Is your father to blame?"

Stoner nodded.

"Then why do you find it so hard to talk about it?"

Stoner looked down, took a sip of water, and took a deep breath. "My father is a bastard of a king," he said heavily.

"Oh?" Selena raised an eyebrow, wearing a look of disbelief. "You’re a jerk, too."

Stoner stared at her, while Selena kept her eyebrow raised as if challenging him. Knowing that he’d truly wronged this woman, Stoner didn’t deny it. Besides, Selena didn’t seem afraid—if he did anything, it would only hurt him.

"My father was always cheating—he had many unofficial mistresses and was also known as the Brainless King. Hundreds of times he made the wolf people suffer because of his strange rules and arbitrary, crazy decisions. He only thought about his own gain and ignored the foolish things my three uncles did."

"My mother suffered greatly while living with him; in fact, my father often resorted to violence because she always advised him and asked him to stop. Finally, as I was approaching adulthood, I gathered my own alliance and seized the throne. My father was furious because he had intended to make his younger brother the King to succeed him."

"That didn’t make sense and wasn’t approved by the Moon Goddess, because the only one who could become king of the Wolf clan was the king’s son. That’s why, back then, I was able to gain strength and the support of the Moon Goddess’s forces, which allowed me to win the struggle for territory and power. But because of that, my father kidnapped my mother when I let my guard down in the midst of my victory. He sealed my mother inside a tower and has kept her imprisoned there ever since."

Selena fell silent upon hearing Stoner’s heavy and complicated story. She hadn’t expected the situation to be this serious, so her expression turned somber.

"For the past few years, I’ve been trying to find a way to save my mother, but I’ve failed. My father uses all his abilities and werewolf powers to hide the location of the tower where my mother is imprisoned. That often causes me to lose track of the tower’s location, because it seems to keep shifting."

"Because of my failure to save my mother, the Moon Goddess was furious with me and considered me a foolish, useless king. She placed a curse of extinction upon me—a torturous curse. She knew my mother was everything to me, and she made me slowly forget her face."

"That was the greatest failure of my life. To this day, I haven’t been able to do anything because my powers keep fading and weakening. That’s also what made me angry—because back then, you never offered me any support when you first became my wife. I was just afraid of losing my mother, afraid of losing my memories of her, and finally, afraid I wouldn’t be able to save her in time because of my father’s madness," said Stoner, bowing his head deeply.

Selena felt sad hearing his story; she even put down her food and stared at the large man with the title of King but a tragic fate standing before her.

Selena knew that all of her husbands had complex, unusual problems that they couldn’t solve on their own. They were driven by something, which made them impatient and reckless—they were even willing to sacrifice Selena once they deemed her useless.

"Your problem is huge—more complicated than the Fox King’s," Selena said, causing Stoner to let out a heavy sigh.

"Yes," he said, nodding. "My powers are growing weaker, and I can only strengthen them through the moonlight on a full moon. But unfortunately, now I can’t even enjoy the moonlight because you said it would actually bring back more of my memories. I’m truly at a loss—my only hope of saving my mother is the very thing that intends to kill me."

Selena was silent for a moment, then sat up straight. "Let me check your pulse."

Stoner immediately held out his hand, allowing Selena to grasp his hard, strong wrist. Her delicate hand felt for Stoner’s pulse, trying to locate it—after all, a human’s pulse is different from that of a beast.

While Selena focused on finding and checking his pulse, Stoner silently held his breath and suppressed his desire as he felt a surge of passion rise within him from Selena’s touch.

"Damn it, damn desire, get a grip! This isn’t the right time! You’ve got a huge problem to deal with, you bastard body!" he cursed in frustration, closing his eyes and trying to channel pure energy to quell his desire.

Selena watched Stoner’s face, which looked as if it were about to shiver—trembling and hypersensitive. She saw sweat beginning to form on his face, and his hands clenched her fingers tightly, as if he were holding back something unbearable.

"Desire? Oh no, I just remembered that he’s the Wolf King! They’re quite sensitive, and their desires are easily aroused. Especially since the full moon just ended last night—this time of year is a pretty phenomenal mating season for the Wolf clan," Selena muttered as she recalled a novel she’d once read in the real world.

After she felt she’d checked the man’s pulse long enough, Selena quickly pulled her hand away and sat up straight. No, she couldn’t let herself be swayed. She couldn’t let this man think he could treat her however he pleased like he used to.

Selena had worked so hard to establish her current persona; if she were to give in so easily, her goal of ruling over them all and conquering Eldoria would fall apart!

"The method to heal and suppress your memories is actually quite simple, but the necessary ingredients are somewhat hard to come by and only grow in a certain region of the Wolf Clan," Selena said after calming herself down.

Stoner took a deep breath, mustering the courage to look at Selena sitting across from him. In the shadow of the desire he was struggling to control, she looked even more beautiful and enchanting.

Stoner swallowed hard, continuing to fight to keep himself in check—after all, he couldn’t let his wolf side emerge and pounce on this woman.

"What’s that hard-to-find ingredient? Maybe I can find it for you," Stoner said, his voice trembling slightly under the influence of his desire.

Selena swallowed silently, focusing on the serious discussion and refusing to acknowledge the man’s state at all. Even though Stoner was her husband, dealing with his desires was also Selena’s responsibility. But Selena had absolutely no desire to do that.

Not while her life was hanging by a thread!

"Moon leaf—a type of plant with star-shaped leaves that are a deep green. It’s extremely rare and only grows in hard-to-reach areas, and it’s unpredictable when it will sprout. It’s the only plant that can erase your memories forever."

"Then there’s the Moonwater Lily, shaped like a white lotus flower with a blue center. This plant is even rarer; it grows only in a lake within the Wolf Clan. That lake is the only one capable of reflecting the moonlight back. It blooms for just a few minutes before closing again, and the area around it is filled with a strong and pure wolf aura."

"That is the source of its life, and this plant will restore all your memories as well as your lost wolf powers," said Selena after reading the clues from her mind.

Stoner swallowed hard. "That sounds really complicated—I’ve never even heard of that plant before. Do those plants grow in the Wolf clan? Are you sure?" he asked, causing Selena to nod.

"That’s the clue I received. You have to find it immediately if you want to save your mother. Not many people know about these two plants, but those who do will guard them like treasure. For now, I can sense that the plants are already growing. I just don’t know where they are," Selena said, making Stoner smile broadly.

"Don’t worry—I’ll have all my best spies search the entire Wolf Clan for them. You’ve given us a clue; that’ll make their job much easier," Stoner said cheerfully, then rose from his seat and stood in front of Selena.

Selena watched him and was a little surprised when she saw Stoner kneel right in front of her.

"Thank you for your help. I swear that if I recover, I’ll treat you as well as I possibly can. My mother is my life—I’ll treat you just as well as I treat her," Stoner said with complete sincerity.

He made the promise while resting his face on Selena’s lap, acting like a moved little child.

That made Selena smile slightly; she felt quite proud because, with her sitting in a chair and Stoner kneeling on the floor, she felt like the ruler everyone feared the most.

"If you break your promise, what will happen?" Selena asked pointedly.

"Whatever you want will happen—I swear," Stoner replied firmly.

Selena smiled slightly, then touched his head as if she were petting a puppy. "All right, I’ll hold you to your promise... Go find out about that plant; once you find it, I’ll heal you—"

"What are you two doing?" John’s voice sounded a bit sharp, as he struggled to hide his jealousy, causing Selena and Stoner to suddenly look up in surprise toward the door.

They looked panicked, as if they’d been caught red-handed!

Meanwhile, John stared in disbelief at Stoner’s head resting on Selena’s lap.

"Queen, are you playing favorites? Why are you pampering the Wolf King behind our backs?"