Chapter 3
3.My Wolf Mate Comes Crawling Back
“Lucien has crossed the border.”
Maerra’s words knocked the air out of her. She looked at Kael. He was already out of bed.
“Where?”
“At the eastern gate. He demanded to see her.”
Kael’s expression hardened. “He can demand all he wants.”
Maerra turned her blind eyes toward her. “He won’t leave without seeing her.”
She sat up, suddenly aware that she was still wearing nothing but a sheet. Of all the men in the world, Lucien had chosen now to come crawling back. After rejecting her. After choosing Seraphina. After watching her run from that hall like a humiliated fool.
“He wants to see me?” she asked.
Kael looked at her. “You don’t have to.”
That was becoming his favorite sentence. You don’t have to. You can leave. Tell me what you want. She should have appreciated it. Instead, it made her chest ache. Because Lucien had never given her choices. He had simply decided she wasn’t worth choosing.
“I’ll see him.”
Kael’s jaw tightened. “Lena.”
“I said I’ll see him.”
Something passed through his eyes. He didn’t like it. But he nodded. “Fine.”
The eastern throne room was already tense when they arrived. Guards lined the walls, weapons drawn. And there he was. Lucien. He looked terrible. His clothes were dusty, his hair was a mess, and dark circles bruised the skin beneath his eyes. The confident future Alpha she remembered was gone. He looked like a man who hadn’t slept in days.
His eyes found hers immediately. Then they dropped to her stomach. The dragon mark was visible beneath the thin fabric of her dress. Lucien went still. His face drained of color.
“What did he do to you?”
Kael stepped in front of her. “Careful.”
Lucien ignored him. He was staring at the mark. “He claimed you.”
She felt anger flare. “You don’t get to sound hurt.”
His eyes snapped back to hers. “Lena, I made a mistake.”
She laughed. A bitter, ugly laugh. “A mistake?” She walked closer. “You don’t get to reject me in front of everyone and come crawling back because you suddenly regret it.”
“I know.”
“No. You don’t.” Her voice shook. “You watched me stand there while everyone stared at me. You watched her take your hand.”
“I had no choice.”
“You always have a choice.”
Lucien flinched. “I didn’t.”
“Then explain it.”
He opened his mouth. Nothing came out. She folded her arms. “Explain it.”
His eyes moved toward Kael. “My father.”
Kael’s expression changed. Lucien swallowed. “He threatened you.”
She froze. “What?”
“My father told me that if I didn’t reject you, you would disappear.”
The room went silent. “You’re lying.”
“I wish I was.” Lucien stepped closer. “He said he’d kill you.”
Her anger faltered. Just for a second. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I thought I could protect you by staying away.”
She stared at him. “That was your plan?”
His eyes filled with something painful. “I thought if you hated me, you’d stay away from me. I thought you’d be safer.”
A strange ache twisted inside her chest. He had hurt her. But now she understood there had been something underneath it. Not enough to forgive him. Not yet.
Kael’s voice cut through the silence. “You should leave.”
Lucien turned. “I came for Lena.”
“And she’s not yours anymore.”
The tension in the room exploded. Lucien’s eyes flashed gold. Kael’s dragon power surged through the chamber. The guards stepped back. She felt heat crawl over her skin.
“Enough!”
Neither moved. Kael’s eyes stayed locked on Lucien. “He rejected you.”
“I know.”
“He doesn’t get to come back because he regrets it.”
“I know.”
Lucien’s voice sharpened. “But that doesn’t mean I stopped loving her.”
Kael took a step forward. The stone beneath his boots cracked. “Say that again.”
“Kael.” Her hand caught his arm. He stopped. For a second, he looked down at her fingers on him. Then at her. He realized she wasn’t afraid of him. She wasn’t asking him to save her. She was telling him to stop.
Slowly, the fury left his face. Lucien watched them. Something in his expression broke. “You really chose him?”
She didn’t answer. Because she didn’t know. Not completely. Not when Lucien was standing there looking like the man she had wanted him to be before he shattered her.
He noticed her hesitation. “Lena…”
“No.” She stepped back. “Don’t.”
His lips parted. “I love you.”
Her heart gave one painful beat. Then another. Before she could answer, Lucien said something that turned her blood cold.
“Ask him how he knew about your mother.”
She looked at Kael. He didn’t move. Lucien laughed bitterly. “You don’t know, do you?”
“Know what?”
Kael’s voice dropped. “Lucien.”
But Lucien kept going. “He knew about your mother before you ever met him.”
Her stomach tightened. She remembered what Kael had said last night. The night you were born. She had thought it was strange. Now it felt terrifying.
“Why?” she whispered.
Lucien stared at Kael. “Tell her.”
Kael said nothing. “Tell her who her mother really was.”
“Enough,” Kael warned.
Lucien looked at her instead. “He lied to you.”
Her pulse began racing. “What did he lie about?”
Kael moved toward her. “Lena, this isn’t the place.”
“Then where is?”
His eyes hardened. “Not with him standing here.”
Lucien shook his head. “He knows what you really are.”
She stared at Kael. The mark on her stomach suddenly felt hotter. “You knew about my mother.” Silence. “You knew about me.” Kael’s face gave nothing away. Her voice trembled. “How?”
He still didn’t answer. The room seemed to shrink around them. She took one step toward him. “What aren’t you telling me?”