Lucius pov
The moment Titus ran away, the so-called Luna slowed down until we walked side by side. She did her best to rub herself against me. When she tried to place her hand in mine, I took a step to the side and glared at her.
Maybe she understood me, maybe not, but once she opened her mouth, I realized she was very well aware of everything she was doing. “Oh, don’t be like that. I’m somewhat human and loneliness without my Alpha around has its toll on me. I just want some company.”
Sure, to someone else, she might sound like a lonely woman, but in my eyes, she was nothing but a power-hungry mutt. She didn’t have an Alpha, she wasn’t a Luna and there was no saying whose child she was carrying. If she was carrying any.
“I will show you the Alpha suite. You will fall in love with the bed, it’s so comfortable, like clouds,” she beamed as she opened the door to the massive building and let me inside first.
Just like in the rest of the territory, I didn’t hear any sounds. If there were half as many pups as this woman claimed they housed, at least one of them would have trouble sleeping.
Now, my suspicions were becoming worse and the only answers I wanted was where she hid the children. The issue was that I couldn’t break my cover and just start questioning her in perfect English out of the blue.
At least not until my men reported if they found anything.
To my great displeasure, I followed her upstairs and inside the bedroom she called the Alpha suite. It was everything but a suite. In fact, the room had nothing but a shitty closet and a massive bed.
I never liked looking down at anyone, regardless of where they stood in our society, but I couldn’t help the frown that appeared on my face when I noticed the state of the said bed. The sheets were covered in blood and dirt, probably no one had bothered to wash and change them in months, if not years.
The stench in this place wasn’t even a hint better than those sheets. From the outside, the building looked expensive and well kept, but behind closed doors was nothing but filth.
My eyes caught movement to my right. I turned my head to see that while I was busy trying not to vomit because of the stench and view, she had managed to change. She was, in fact, very damn pregnant and now wore nothing but lingerie that was just as dirty as the sheets on her bed.
Slowly, she made her way to the bed, sat on it and spread her legs, flashing the little bit of fabric she could show off under her swollen belly.
“Come on, Russian, the snack is served. Drop to your knees and get to devouring,” she smirked.
A part of me was wondering if she would dare to act like this if she knew who I was.
But did it matter? Probably not, she was so stuck in delusions, she lost the ability to tell good from bad.
I didn’t move a muscle. Instead, I raised an eyebrow and gave her ‘are you fucking kidding me’ look. Her response was giggling and some encouraging words.
Words that I never thought a woman would know, especially one who pretended to be of higher ranks. To be honest, I was pretty sure that even some sailors would pale at her knowledge.
“Come on, don’t stand there like a bitch, show me what a big, great brawny brute is capable of. I have heard plenty of stories about the Alphas from overseas and they are rumored to be great lovers. Prove me right.”
I almost broke and cursed the woman out of her skin, but thankfully, I was stopped by Titus nudging at the mind-link.
“This better be good because I’m enjoying how a filthy bitch in dirty underwear is trying to seduce me.” I snapped at him before Titus had a chance to utter a word.
I could feel how he fought himself not to laugh at my misery, but I knew I would get back at him soon enough, so I didn’t mind this one, feeble victory he had over me.
“But this is good.”
I waited for more, but since he didn’t add more information, it was clear Titus wanted to be questioned, so once again, I gave in. “Details, Titus.”
“You were right.”
“As I am for most part when it comes to lowlife scums, but do tell me more.”
I knew that the woman was getting annoyed by my silence, I could nearly feel her rage warm up the air around us, so I needed to get down to the bottom of this mess as soon as possible.
“Only two adults. The man at the border is nowhere to be seen. This territory is very small, ridiculously so compared to other packs so it took no time for us to check everything. And I mean every building, room, places to hide, we checked EVERYTHING, Lucius. Nothing. I suspect he took off shortly after our arrival. The woman is the only one left.”
I wanted to scream and tear her to pieces. How was it possible that all of a sudden, there was nothing left? Where did they take the kids?
“Pups?” I forced out the word, fearing the worst.
After a moment of silence, Titus sighed and I already knew what was coming. This had to be one of those times I fucking hated being right.
“Gone, Lucius. I’m sorry, we came too late.”
“Gather the men in front of the pack house. Hand out the torches, we’re burning this shithole to the ground.” I growled at Titus and blocked him out.
As I regained clear vision, the woman still sat on the bed, legs spread wide, but now, she was fully exposed. I noticed a couple of bruises all over her skin which looked more like the aftermath of needles than any abuse. No wonder she was so detached from reality - she was a user.
I stepped closer to her and leaned down to come face to face with her. “Where are the kids?” I spat the words at her with so much hatred, she flinched.
“Y-you don’t know English,” she stuttered.
The laugher that left my lips was as wicked as her actions. I sounded like a man who was losing his soul, not someone who was about to rid the planet of another parasite.
Stuck in the state of shock, she kept stuttering as I grabbed her upper arm and dragged her outside where my men and Titus already were waiting.
“Lucius, they found more people, no children. They were hiding in the forest, all admitted helping her,” Titus called out.
“You know what to do.” I replied coldly.
One by one, they set the buildings on fire while the little number of criminals we caught were screaming and pleading. After the crimes they had committed, death in fire was far from the worst punishment I could think of.
In less than ten minutes, the entire estate was on fire. As I watched the destruction before my eyes, the woman next to me started crying. “Burn her! Burn them all!” I roared and pushed her towards them.
I didn’t listen to her pleas as they tied her to the pole and started tossing stuff at her feet to use as firewoods. If she was so adamant to act like a witch, we would deal with her as one.
The wind grew stronger, encouraging the fire to spread with more force, but along with that came the hint of the most intoxicating scent I’ve ever encountered. It reminded me of coffee on winter mornings with a slight hint of Orchid.
My beast was raging within me, fighting to gain control and the more aggressive he grew, the harder I was hit with reality. She was here, close, possibly watching me. Mate.
Lucius povMy heart started racing while I couldn’t suck in a breath. Titus, the forever observant asshole, noticed the change in my demeanor within seconds. He shoved the man he was holding in a headlock towards one of the warriors and ran to my side. Titus tossed my arm around his shoulders as if he feared I might lose my footing. “Lucius, what is it? Are you getting worse?” He whispered the second question to ensure my men didn’t hear him. I shook my head as I struggled to fight Xabat’s attempts to grasp the control. If the hothead were to succeed, he would surely scare our mate away and I wasn’t willing to risk it. The Goddess had forgiven the family sins, she had granted me a soulmate, I was willing to go down in flames along this place if it meant I could keep her. “Mate,” I choked out, only for Titus to hear. We had once discussed the possibility and the risks that were most likely to follow, especially with the brainless fool that resided within me. “Xabat, calm the fuck
Eden povLazily, I blinked awake and realized I needed to use the bathroom really badly. The thought of running around the forest to find an area I could use sickened me, but it was what it was until we found a proper living space, I had to suck it up. Only… That wasn’t quite the case. I had no idea where I was, but there was a weight pressing me down into something soft beneath me and it felt like limbs were tossed over my body. On top of that, whatever was obviously lying nearly on top of me was so hot, my clothes were sticking to my skin, I was drenched in sweat. Holding my breath, I tried to wiggle out of the vice-like grip someone or something had on me. It stirred and I froze while my heart was beating against my ribcage at such speed, I feared it might stop any moment. Then, came the sharp intake of breath and deep, husky voice. “Where do you think you are going?” A man asked. My head was spinning - where was I and why did I sleep next to a complete stranger? The surviva
Eden povAs the water hit my skin, a sigh of relief left my lips. I couldn’t remember the last time I had a proper shower, or to be fair, any shower. I spent years using a bucket of semi-dirty water and a rag to wash myself, so this feeling truly was like an out of this world experience. Since Lucius told me I could use the shower, I doubted if I could use any of the products lined along the wall, so I stuck to a bar of soap. When I looked down and noticed how dirty was the water that disappeared down the drain, I understood why he was mumbling about changing the sheets - I was, in fact, filthy. By the time I stepped out of the shower, the bathroom was filled with steam and my skin was bright red. Then, I noticed that there was a neatly folded towel left next to the sink basin. I frowned at it - when did someone enter the bathroom? Did they see me… naked? The very thought of anyone seeing me exposed like this terrified me, so I grabbed the towel and quickly wrapped it around my b
Eden povNo matter how hard I tried to make sense of his words, I still couldn’t understand why this man kept addressing me as his mate. Then, there was the detail that nagged me - Diana addressed me as majesty and Lucius as the King. Did that mean I was in the presence of the King himself? No, it couldn’t be. My guess would be that Lucius was someone crazy rich pretending to be the King, not the man himself. No one really knew much about the King besides the things that were common knowledge. For example: he was a crazed maniac, extremely powerful, literally a one man army no other supernatural could take down. There was a reason why the King ruled over everyone. He wasn’t the King of werewolves or shifters, no, he was the King of supernaturals and everyone feared him more than death for the man was the one who brought it, slowly and painfully. Even the Elders Council didn’t hold half as much power as the King. That man was above everything and everyone, close to a God of a sort.
Lucius pov I needed her close. It was so selfish of me to use the moment and give into my urges, but I needed her more than I needed my next breath. The only way to calm down Xabat was to be as near to her as possible, and that was exactly what I did. After I heard Titus mention that my beautiful, fragile mate had been fated to someone else before I found her made my blood boil. To be honest, as grateful as I was to that fuckface who was incapable of appreciating the gift the Goddess had given him, I was outraged that he had hurt my Eden by rejecting her. But then again, if we were paired, if I was given to her as the second chance, it meant she was strong enough to face him and accept the rejection to break the bond. That thought made me feel such immense pride in her strength and self-control, I nearly lost it. Once I was sure I was calm enough to carry on with our day, I finally looked at Eden and smiled at her. The way her cheeks turned bright red at the simple action made
Eden povThe food Lucius prepared was hands down the best meal I had in years. As if he knew, he didn’t shove eggs and bacon down my throat. Instead, I got some porridge with fruits and a glass of fresh orange juice. “Eat slowly, Eden. You are a divine woman, not a savage.” Lucius laughed at me. All I did was glare at him and raise an eyebrow as if I had the right to challenge the King. But he didn’t take it personally, he just laughed at my attempts to appear intimidating and added some more blueberries to my porridge.On top of already taking care of me, Lucius kept up a small talk about the most random things. He asked what my favorite color was, what foods I enjoyed, what I liked to do for fun and about a million other questions. At one point, he let it slip that he would have to introduce me as his Queen after he marked me, which I won’t lie scared me, but he quickly noticed my reaction and stirred the conversation to another topic. When we were finished with breakfast, Titus
Eden povMy breath hitched, but to my surprise, for all the reasons I never thought were possible. I wasn’t scared to kiss Lucius, but what truly worried me was if I could do it… I mean, the only man I had ever kissed was Asher and truth to be told, I didn’t think it was an actual kiss. It was him who forced himself on me. It was Asher, who tried to kiss me, but I never kissed him back. Although I was sure he had stolen my first kiss, now I wondered if it was true. Had he, really? “Whenever you’re ready,” Lucius chuckled and tapped my butt. My cheeks burned bright red when he placed his hands on my hips and lifted me off his lap as if I didn’t weigh more than a feather. It got worse all too soon, right when I noticed Titus was still present, watching us and grinning like a madman. “Let’s go, not rogue girl, we have a grandpa to see,” Titus offered me his hand. I was about to take it when Lucius’ growl startled me and I jumped back. “Come on, man, I’m not trying to seduce your mat
Titus povEver since Lucius announced that he had found his mate, I was so stupidly blinded by the happiness I felt for my best friend, I never thought of the consequences of letting Eden near the old man. At one point, I was considering keeping them apart for a bit, at least until the man calmed down and didn’t insist that the whole world was against them two and so were we. But now, it was too late. All I could do was stand rooted in my spot and stare as Lucius ran to Eden and dropped to his knees next to her. He was saying something, I knew he was, his lips were moving, but I didn’t hear a word. From the corner of my eye, I noticed the old man was about to try to grab her, so I held him back as Lucius lifted her in his arms and carried Eden to the hospital wing. He barely entered the building and growled at me though the mind-link. “Whatever the fuck happened out there, make it right. I mean it, Titus. If it means you have to come clean with that old fool, so be it. The last th