Lucas barely spared Kira a glance. His face remained hard as stone as he sidestepped her, pushing past as if she were nothing but an annoying obstacle in his path. His eyes locked on mine instead, filled with concern.
“Hazel,” he said, his voice softer than I’d ever heard it before. He rushed toward , his hands imdiately checking for injuries. “Are you hurt? What happened?”
The stark contrast between his coldness toward Kira and his tenderness toward broke sothing inside . The tears I’d been holding back spilled over before I could stop them. The sobs ca from deep in my chest, ugly and raw.
“Hey, hey,” Lucas murmured, pulling against his chest. “It’s okay. I’ve got you.”
His body stiffened as he turned toward Kira and lanie, who stood watching us with identical expressions of shock and outrage.
“What did you two do to her?” His voice had transford from gentle concern to pure fury in an instant.
Kira recovered quickly, stepping forward with her hand outstretched. “Lucas, baby, she attacked us first! Look at my dress—it’s ruined!”
“I don’t give a damn about your dress,” Lucas growled. “What I want to know is why my mate is crying.”
lanie crossed her arms over her chest. “Your ‘mate’ is delusional. We were just having a friendly chat when she went crazy and broke the sink.”
I flinched at the blatant lie, but Lucas didn’t seem to buy it for a second.
“Friendly chat?” he repeated, his voice dangerously calm. “Is that why she’s in tears while you’re both standing here looking pleased with yourselves?”
“Lucas,” Kira purred, moving closer and trailing her fingers down his arm. “Don’t let her fool you. She’s manipulating you with those tears. Rember all the good tis we had? How could you choose her over soone like ?”
Lucas jerked away from her touch as if burned. “Don’t touch . Ever again.”
The venom in his voice seed to finally penetrate Kira’s confidence. She took a step back, eyes wide.
“Listen carefully, both of you,” Lucas continued, his arm tightening around my shoulders. “Stay away from Hazel. If I hear that either of you has so much as looked at her wrong again, you’ll be out of this pack before you can blink.”
“You can’t be serious,” lanie scoffed. “You’d choose this... this nobody over pack mbers who’ve been here forever?”
“This ‘nobody’ is my mate,” Lucas said, each word clipped and precise. “And yes, I would choose her over anyone and everyone. Is that clear enough for you?”
The silence that followed was thick with tension.
Finally, Kira’s face crumpled into an ugly scowl. She stomped her foot indignantly before she grabbed lanie’s arm and pulled her toward the door, both of them dripping water across the floor.
When the door slamd behind them, Lucas imdiately turned his full attention to . His hands cradled my face, thumbs gently wiping away tears.
“Co on,” he said softly. “Let’s get you sowhere dry.”
He led out of the bathroom and down the hall to what appeared to be a guest bedroom. It was tastefully decorated in neutral tones with a large, plush bed against one wall. Lucas disappeared into an adjoining bathroom and returned with a stack of fluffy towels.
“Here,” he said, wrapping one around my shoulders. He took another and began gently drying my hair. “What happened back there? The truth, please.”
I took a shaky breath. “They cornered in the bathroom. Started saying things...”
“What things?” he pressed when I trailed off.
“That I was nothing but a charity case. That you and your brothers never wanted as your mate.” I swallowed hard, unable to et his eyes. “That you... that all of you had been with them before. Intimately.”
Lucas’s hands stilled in my hair. “Is that what they said?”
I nodded miserably. “lanie said she and Levi were together right before your birthday. And Kira implied the sa about you two.”
A muscle ticked in Lucas’s jaw. “And you believed them.”
It wasn’t a question, but I answered anyway. “I don’t know what to believe. Your past relationships have not exactly been low-key.”
Lucas sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed, pulling down beside him. “Look at , Hazel.”
I reluctantly raised my eyes to et his.
“Yes, we’ve dated other girls before. But those relationships weren’t what you think.”
“What do you an?” I asked.
“For , at least, it was never... serious. I never felt for Kira even a fraction of what I feel for you.” His gaze was intense, unwavering. “And I never slept with her. Not once.”
My eyes widened in surprise. “But she—”
“She liked to imply otherwise,” Lucas cut in. “It made her feel important. But the truth is, I was never attracted to her that way. Never wanted her the way I want you.”
The sincerity in his voice made sothing in my chest flutter. “Really?”
“Really,” he confird, reaching up to brush a strand of wet hair from my face. “None of them ever ant anything to us. Not the way you do.”
“But they’re so beautiful,” I said quietly. “So perfect.”
Lucas actually laughed at that, raising an eyebrow. “Perfect? Did you see them just now?”
I giggled a little at his words.
His hand moved to cup my cheek, his thumb tracing my lower lip. “You, Hazel Bailey, are everything. Do you understand ?”
The intensity of his gaze made heat pool low in my belly. When he leaned in, I t him halfway, our lips colliding with newfound urgency. His hand slid to the back of my neck, pulling closer as his mouth moved against mine with growing hunger.
I gasped when he nipped at my bottom lip, and he took advantage of my parted lips to deepen the kiss. The towel fell from my shoulders as his hands moved down my back, leaving trails of fire in their wake.
Lucas shifted us so I was lying back on the bed with him hovering above , his body pressing into the mattress. His lips left mine to trace a path down my neck, and I couldn’t hold back a moan when he found a particularly sensitive spot just below my ear.
“You have no idea how attractive you are,” he murmured against my skin.
His hands skimd my sides, fingers playing with the edge of my bikini top. Every touch sent shivers racing across my skin, building a need inside I’d never experienced before.
When his hand finally cupped my breast over the thin fabric, I arched into his touch, desperate for more. He groaned, the sound vibrating against my neck before he claid my mouth again in a kiss that left breathless.
“Lucas...” I whispered, my voice shaky with need.
He pulled back just enough to look into my eyes, his own dark with desire. “What is it, little mate? Tell what you want.”
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