Chapter 339
339
Lucien’s POV
The forest reeked of blood and pursuit. My wolf strained against my ribs, urging me to turn and fight, to rip through the Western warriors baying for our blood. But I couldn’t-not when her hand was locked in mine, trembling yet unyielding. Not when fate had given her back to me after five long years of tormenting silence.
Aria-Riley. Even with her face hidden beneath the mask, even when doubt clouded her eyes, I felt the truth in every heartbeat that tethered us. She was mine. She had always been mine.
But the West would not stop. Their growls rolled through the trees like thunder, their footsteps pounding the soil in relentless rhythm. I pulled her forward, lungs burning, refusing to slow even as the terrain tore at my boots.
And then-paws. Heavy, disciplined, coming from ahead. The scent hit me-sharp steel, cold wind, home. Eastern Pack. Relief washed through me like ice water. They had come.
From the darkness burst Carmen and Duke, their soldiers at their heels, armor glinting faintly beneath the moonlight. Carmen’s sword caught what little light there was, her aura blazing with authority. Duke’s wolf padded beside her, low growls promising blood.
They had come because I had ordered them to. If I did not return by the full moon, they were to march west. And they had obeyed.
The Western pursuit faltered the moment they saw the Eastern crest. Growls turned uneasy, the pack shifting as hesitation rippled through them. They might have hunted us, but they would not provoke outright war with the East. Not tonight.
Carmen’s eyes snapped to mine as she broke through the line, urgency tightening her words. “Alpha. You gave the order. If you hadn’t returned, we were to bring you home. We waited until the last hour. And ther we came.”
Duke shifted back from wolf to man, his broad shoulders gleaming with sweat. “We’ll clear the path. You’ve been gone too long.”
My chest tightened. For the first time in weeks, I felt the tether of my own pack tighten around me. “Good Hold them off.”
The Eastern warriors spread like a wall, shielding us from the West’s advance. Carmen and Duke pressed close, guiding us until the forest swallowed sound and pursuit dulled behind us. Only when we reached the cover of a cliffside hollow did we stop.
Carmen turned on me then, her eyes sharp as daggers. But it wasn’t me she looked at-it was her. At Riley At the woman still masked.
“Who is this?” she demanded, voice cold, laced with suspicion. “I heard the whispers on the way. The white wolf of the West. Their champion.” Her gaze hardened into steel. “Tell me you didn’t drag her with you.”
Riley stiffened, her wolf bristling in answer, but before she could speak, I stepped between them. My chest rose and fell with the weight of what I had to say. “She is mine. My mate.”
1/1
Carmen’s face twisted in shock, pain flashing raw across her features. “Your mate?” Her voice cracked, grief bleeding into anger. “Lucien, no. She is the enemy. The white wolf who tore through our warriors, who carries Western blood on her claws. And you claim her?”
Her words cut, but I did not yield. My wolf surged with dominance, my voice low, certain. “She is not my enemy. She is fate.”
Carmen flinched as if I’d struck her. Her hand flew to her sword, blade sliding free with a hiss. Her pain was naked in her eyes. “How dare you? Riley’s body is barely cold in our hearts, and you would forget her for another? For this?”
Riley. Her name on Carmen’s lips nearly undid me. My throat tightened, memories clawing forward-her laughter, her scent, the bond that had been ripped from me. Five years of silence, five years of believing her gone. And now-now she stood beside me, her identity veiled only by a mask.
But Carmen couldn’t see it. Not yet.
Her blade leveled toward Riley, her voice trembling with grief and rage. “I will not let you disgrace Riley’s memory. I will not let you betray our pack by claiming a Western wolf.”
Riley’s breath hitched, and my own wolf snapped, golden eyes blazing as I stepped closer, dominance pressing hard. “Put your sword down, Carmen.”
But Riley’s hand rose-not to strike, not to shield, but to her mask. She tugged it free, slow, deliberate, her gaze locked on Carmen’s.
The world held its breath.
Carmen’s sword slipped from her grip, metal clattering against stone. Tears welled instantly, her lips trembling as recognition crashed through her. “Riley…” Her voice was broken, hoarse. “It’s Riley…”
And then she surged forward, arms flung around Riley, clinging to her as if afraid she might vanish again.
My chest ached watching them-sisters not by blood, but by something deeper, stronger. Carmen wept openly, her body trembling against Riley’s.
“I am Carmen…Riley…I am your sister, do you remember me?”
Riley gasped against Carmen’s embrace, clutching her back. “I remember you,” she whispered. “Always calling me sister. Always by my side.”
Carmen sobbed, pulling back just enough to cup her face. “We thought you were dead. We mourned you. We buried you in our hearts.”
My hands shook as I touched Riley’s back, needing the anchor of her warmth, her reality. My voice broke as I spoke the truth I had carried like a blade in my chest. “I told you,” I said to Carmen, to the world, to anyone who would listen. “She is mine. Fate does not lie.”
“Her memory is only temporarily sealed, but she is Riley.”
Carmen’s gaze flicked between us, still dazed, still swimming with grief and wonder. She shook her head, choking on emotion. “Why? Why here? Why with them? Why now?”
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