Chapter 143
143
Lucien’s POV
“My Alpha, about the socks… Can I get reimbursement?”
“Approved,” I said flatly.
+8 Pearls
Duke grinned like I’d just handed him a promotion. “ Alpha , you’re the most handsome man in the world in my eyes.”
“Keep talking and you’ll be the only one left at headquarters doing overtime.”
He snapped his mouth shut immediately and trailed behind me in silence, practically wagging his tail .
The night outside had thickened into a pitch–black shroud, stretching across the mountains like a predator on the hunt. Streetlights flickered like distant embers, and the moon hung low–nearly full, silver and sharp like a blade .
The black Rolls–Royce gleamed under the lights. My driver noticed us and quickly stepped forward, holding the door open with practiced precision.
1 adjusted the girl in my arms. Riley. Her name lingered in my mind like a forbidden spell.
She was curled up against my chest , soft and limp, completely unaware of the storm she slept through . Her breathing was steady, almost fragile, and her lashes fluttered against her cheek like trembling feathers.
I hadn’t meant to carry her this far.
I should’ve let one of the omegas take her to her room, but something about her asleep like this–so vulnerable, so trusting- kept my arms locked in place.
Then, out of nowhere, a shadow lunged at us, slicing through the warm amber glow of the overhead lamps.
A fist came flying toward my face.
It never reached me.
There was a sickening crack as Duke intercepted the attack midair . Bone snapped. The assailant let out a low grunt of pain and collapsed to one knee, breath hissing through clenched teeth.
“Lucien Duskgrave!” the man spat, struggling in Duke’s grip. “What the hell is wrong with you? You crippled my parents! You sent my sister to prison! What more do you want from us?”
I narrowed my eyes, my senses sharpening. That voice was painfully familiar .
“Kael Vale,” I said slowly, recognizing the man beneath the disheveled mess.
Once the proud eldest son of the Vale family , now reduced to a shadow–his tailored suit wrinkled beyond saving, collar torn, his face gaunt and peppered with stubble. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days . The bags under his eyes were so dark , it looked like someone had socked him in both eyes.
Tharely registered his presence before Riley stirred in my arms.
She let out a small whimper, her brow twitching. Then her lashes fluttered open , and her eyes–still glazed with sleep–met
Shut
She blinked rapidly, taking in our closeness, the warmth of my embrace. And then she saw her brother–bruised, raging.
chackled in Duke’s hold
“ Alpha put me down” she said softly, almost shyly
Thesitated
143
But I felt her tense. The moment between us shattered. I let her slide from my arms.
She smoothed the folds of her dress, clearly flustered, and avoided my gaze. The cold air rushed in between us.
+8 Pearls:
Kael saw it all . The flicker of something tender that passed between me and his sister. His jaw tightened like a coiled spring.
“Riley!” he barked, voice hoarse and cracking. “Mom and Dad are still in the hospital! You’re standing beside the bastard who had their legs broken–and you’re acting like it doesn’t matter!”
Riley’s expression didn’t change.
She stared at her brother with a calm that unnerved even me. No tremble. No panic. Just a deep, bone–deep weariness in her
gaze
“Family?” she repeated, as if tasting the word for the first time . Her voice was soft, but it cut sharper than any dagger. “When have I ever had one?”
Kael froze.
“I was just your burden. A stain on your perfect pack reputation. You used me, abandoned me, and when I finally had something of my own, you let them take it from me.”
He opened his mouth. Nothing came out.
Riley stepped forward, just once.
“I’ve been beaten, locked up, and left to rot. For what? Loyalty to a name that only brought me pain ? You want to talk about family , Kael? Family doesn’t throw their own into a prison cell. Family doesn’t let their adopted rogue daughter take my place and watch silently while I disappear.”
Her words were steady, but I could hear the strain. I knew the signs–every wolf in this cursed world had their limit . Hers had been broken a long time ago .
I stepped forward, my voice like ice.
“You should be glad it was only your parents‘ legs.”
Kael turned toward me, eyes bloodshot, body trembling.
“You like her, isn’t it?” he hissed. “You think this justifies what you did to us ? ”
I took a step closer, each movement deliberate, exuding the quiet power that had made entire rogue packs submit without a
word
Kael flinched even if he tried to hide it. He wasn’t used to looking up at someone who could end him in a single breath.
“She’s under my protection,” I said , voice low and clear. That means anyone who lays a hand on her–anyone who schemes beland her back, locks her up, starves her, humiliates her–answers to me.
Karl’s mouth twitched. “ You think because you’ve got power, you can just rewrite what’s right and wrong?
I
“No,” I said. “I think because I have power, I don’t need to explain myself to people like you.”
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