Lucas hesitated looking haunted.
"She killed herself."
"What?"
Lucas swallowed. "She was my fated mate, Ava. She was loyal to your father, but he... he had another mate, his own fated mate and a son. He kept them hidden in the Bloodhound Pack."
Ava’s blood ran cold.
Lucas clenched his jaw. "To free himself from Mara, he went to the Crimson Pack alpha and demanded that they force her to be with ."
"She didn’t want to leave him." Ava whispered.
Lucas shook his head. "No. She chose to die rather than be forced into another bond."
The image was too clear in his mind. The mont she stepped onto the cliffs. The way she turned, eyes filled with sorrow. And then, she was gone.
"She died believing it was my doing. I watched her fall, Ava. I watched her, but I couldn’t reach her in ti. I was too late."
Ava stared at him, her heart hamring against her ribs.
She folded her arms across her chest, her brows knitted in deep thought as she studied Lucas. So that was the reason for his eternal grudge against the Crimson Pack. It wasn’t just about power, it was personal. It was grief, anger, and betrayal woven into a vendetta so deep it had shaped his entire existence.
Lucas simply nodded in response, his eyes distant, as if he was still watching Mara fall all over again.
Missy clapped her hands together, shattering the thick silence.
"Okay. You two have had your little brotherly bonding mont. What happens to the rogue pack?"
Dennis exhaled, his shoulders tensing again as if the weight of an entire army pressed down on him. "The council says for us to be independent of the Silver Pack, everyone has to stand trial for their cris. They want to judge every person’s actions, determine whether their reasons for becoming rogues were justified. Either that or... I challenge Lucas as the alpha of the Silver Pack."
A slow grin spread across Lucas’s face before he chuckled, a deep, amused sound that had absolutely zero respect for Dennis’s idea. "You will lose."
Ava, however, wasn’t paying attention to their little alpha-on-alpha banter. Her mind was already racing toward sothing far more pressing.
"What happens to ?" she asked.
"You co back as my Luna."
For a second, she wasn’t sure if she had misheard him.
"Are you kidding?" she demanded, as she surged to her feet. "As your Luna? I don’t understand... do you think through your anus?"
Missy snorted, barely containing her laughter.
Lucas, however, did not find it amusing.
His gaze darkened. "You are still speaking to your Alpha."
Ava’s temper flared. "No! Dennis is my Alpha now!" She threw her arms out toward the man standing behind her. "I don’t want you. I cannot want you."
Lucas took a slow step toward her, "And yet... you are still mine."
Ava’s chest tightened, her pulse hamring so fast she could barely think. "Then I will reject you!" she shouted.
The second the words left her mouth, Lucas’s entire body went rigid. His golden eyes flashed, and before she could react, he lunged.
Ava barely had ti to gasp before his hands clamped onto her waist, yanking her up against him in a fluid, possessive movent. Her feet left the ground as he held her flush against his chest, and for a terrifying, heart-pounding second, she felt the full force of his dominance, his need, his unrelenting claim.
"Tread carefully, my little virgin," Lucas warned.
Ava’s face burned. She shoved at his chest, twisting, but he was all muscle, all raw power. "I am not your anything!"
"You didn’t trust ," she seethed. "You never did. If not for Kade, I would be dead. Who would be your ’little virgin’ then?"
Lucas stilled.
"Lucas." Dennis’s voice was firm.
Lucas didn’t move. His grip didn’t loosen.
"Let. Her. Go."
Lucas’s shoulders tensed, but he didn’t release her. "It’s none of your business."
Dennis stepped forward, his eyes unyielding. "Actually, it is. She is under my protection. And you are still in my territory."
Lucas turned slowly, still holding Ava against him, his presence crackling with fury. "You an a territory I let you have?" he spat.
"I think you should go now," he said evenly. "We will talk later."
A battle of dominance simred beneath the surface, neither alpha willing to back down.
Lucas’s grip tightened once more before he turned back to Ava.
"She is my wife."
Ava sucked in a breath.
"You are my wife," Lucas repeated, his eyes locking onto hers. "Mine. My mate."
Ava’s heart twisted painfully.
"You cannot leave ."
Ava’s lips parted, a million emotions warring inside her.
"And yet," she whispered, "you pushed away."
Ava closed her eyes for a second, swallowing past the lump in her throat.
"Babe..." Lucas’s voice was barely above a whisper, thick with desperation.
Ava opened her eyes.
And then, quietly, painfully, she spoke the words that shattered him.
"Lucas... go."
Lucas didn’t move.
For a long, agonizing mont, he just stood there, his breathing uneven, his hands still lightly gripping her waist as if he was afraid that if he let go, she would vanish.
Finally, he released her.
Ava felt the loss instantly.
Lucas took a slow step back, then another. And another.
Dennis could feel his brother’s heartbreak.
But so was his.
Because even though he had reconciled with Lucas...
He still wanted Ava.
And how stupid was that?
*****
Lucas stord through the fortress gates. His muscles were tight with frustration. The guards at the entrance stiffened as he passed, sensing the storm brewing beneath his skin. No one dared to speak. No one dared to breathe too loudly.
Lucas was pissed.
He was done playing the long ga.
Done waiting. Sothing had to give.
Ava was slipping away.
For fuck’s sake, had she forgotten what they had? Had she forgotten who they were? Had she forgotten the way she used to look at him. Now the love in her eyes was replaced with hatred, disappointnt.
Yes, he had made mistakes. Big ones.
But he had spent his entire life being betrayed by the people he loved most or so he thought. Turns out there was only one villain in his story.
He needed to fix this. He needed to bring her ho.
Lucas slamd the doors open. He strode into the house, radiating pure, unfiltered rage.
His destination was the bar in the living room.
His hands were practically shaking as he grabbed a bottle of whiskey, ripping off the cap and pouring a heavy glass.
That was when Nolan appeared, tailing him from the gate.
"Alpha?"
@MD_loves_books: You are too kind. Your comnts can be hilarious.
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