Ava looked at her.
"My only use for years was to go on missions," Zoe said. "Kill fathers. Mothers. Children." Her voice didn’t break, but her eyes shimred. "If I so much as grew a conscience and let soone go, I’d be tortured for weeks."
Dennis looked like he wanted to rip soone’s throat out.
Zoe went on. "And do you know who did the torturing? My own father." She laughed dryly, but no one else did.
Lucas’s fists clenched.
"If he gets his claws on you, Ava... we’re all dood. He’ll beco unstoppable. And you—you won’t even be you anymore. You’ll just be his puppet. His tool. And your child..." She hesitated. "Your child will be the fiercest supernatural being the world has ever seen. And he’ll raise him to be a monster."
"Have you ever known to run from a challenge?" Lucas asked.
"No?" she whispered, uncertain not of the answer but of what ca next.
"Then trust with this," he murmured, one hand brushing a strand of hair from her cheek with a gentleness that contradicted the feral beast everyone else saw. "Maybe, just maybe... we’ll be adding the North to our conquests." His mouth curved into a slow, confident smile as he wrapped his arms around her, strong and sure. "Trust ."
She nodded into his shoulder, her heart thudding but she wasn’t sure if it was from hope or fear.
*****
Lucas was the picture of iron control. But inside? Inside he was chaos and worry.
Not for himself, but for her. Ava. The one who had stord into his life and refused to leave, even when the world tried to burn her down. He couldn’t lose her. Not after everything.
Not after she’d already been torn from him once.
She walked beside him now, as they entered the towering structure he had renovated for her. Her house tucked within the fortress. It still stood as proudly as the day she’d moved into it, though it had barely been lived in.
"This feels strange," she said, eyes scanning the space as if expecting ghosts to leap from the walls. "Being back here."
"And yet," Lucas replied, placing a steadying hand on the small of her back, "it’s exactly where you need to be. You’ve got guards everywhere. You’re the safest person in this entire territory."
"There’s sothing I need to discuss with you," he said. "I would’ve told you earlier, but... well, Zoe ca with enough chaos to make the moon fall out of orbit."
Ava tilted her head, suspicious. "What is it?"
"Sarah’s pregnant," he said flatly.
"I’m sorry, what the fuck did you just say?"
"If you would just let finish speaking," Lucas tried again.
"What do you have to say?" Ava snapped, storming forward. "You! You sentenced to death, Lucas. Death! For sothing I knew nothing about! No trial. No second chances. Just a cold-hearted, public execution order. A few hours before, you were screaming your love for in front of the whole pack and the next minute you go back to your little routine? Hopping into bed with your pretty little concubine? The sa one who helped fra ?!"
Lucas held his ground. "Ava! The baby isn’t mine!" he shouted, because subtlety clearly had no place here. This was her first day back, and he was already teetering on the edge of another full-blown disaster.
"What?" Ava blinked, caught mid-rage. "Wait—what do you an? If it’s not yours, then who? How?"
Lucas ran a hand through his hair. "It’s Dorian’s," he said simply.
"Fucking piece of shit Dorian?!" Ava launched herself onto the bed. "That’s what he calls being loyal to you? Sticking his little thingy in your concubine?"
"That’s so vivid phrasing..."
"You know what? No, I’m not even surprised," Ava said, flopping backwards dramatically.
"I promised myself, that you would be the one to judge the people who hurt you. Not . Not the elders. You. She awaits your judgnt."
Ava was quiet for a mont. "They really did make a ss of things," she said finally. "And now there’s a child tangled in this disaster. A child will be born from betrayal. He will be raised in sha."
She sighed, "But we don’t have ti for this. We need to focus on the North. The Alpha King. Whatever his sick plan is."
Lucas nodded. "When do we leave for the High Council?" she asked.
"I’ll put so things in place and let you know," Lucas said quietly. "It has to be soon though."
Ava nodded, her eyes trailing to the floor.
"It’s nice to have you back," he murmured. "Do you want to stay?"
Ava shook her head slowly. "I just... I need to think."
It wasn’t a lie. Her thoughts were a ss. She needed space, and Lucas had been through enough shouting for one day. She wasn’t sure whether she wanted to cry or scream.
Lucas nodded, stepping forward to plant a soft kiss on her forehead. His lips lingered for a second longer than they should have. Then, without pushing his luck, he turned and left the bedroom in silence.
*****
Zari burst through the fortress. She barely managed to slow down before reaching the Luna’s quarters.
"Ava!" she squealed as she barged into the sitting room, almost tripping over a side table in her enthusiasm.
Ava turned around, startled, but quickly broke into a smile at the sight of her. She opened her arms wide in welco.
Zari hesitated mid-run, her feet doing a weird shuffle of excitent and panic. She didn’t know if hugging the Luna was appropriate.
She settled on standing awkwardly for a second before saying, "What the hell," and launching herself into Ava’s arms anyway.
The hug was tight but Ava didn’t care.
"Oh my goddess, you’re so skinny," Zari said as she stepped back, examining Ava. "Didn’t you get all the food I delivered to the Rogues’ pack?"
Ava blinked, then narrowed her eyes. "You smuggled food to the Rogues? Are you crazy? That’s dangerous, Zari!"
@cherryOPR0Ba, @Elsa_Chacaltana: I hope I haven’t lost you.
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