"What did the vampire look like?" Grae asked quietly as the two males walked through the pack house.
"You were in Violet’s room?" Lucas scrunched his face up, scenting the female on his Alpha. "So did it help with your mory?" he nudged Grae with his elbow, earning a sharp glare.
"I wasn’t in there for that," Grae growled. "And I am asking you what the vampire looks like. Obviously my mory is the sa as it was."
"That’s a missed opportunity," Lucas mumbled.
Grae shot his arm out, slamming a hand against the wall next to Lucas so that his thick, veined forearm was blocking the male’s path.
"I have had enough of your smart mouth," he snarled threateningly, leaning in close to the male’s face. "I will not violate my mate bond. Do not speak of it again or you will lose parts of yourself that won’t grow back."
Lucas’ eyes went wide at the sudden explosion of Grae’s temper. Perhaps he had indeed pushed the topic too far.
"I understand. I’m sorry, Grae. I was just trying to help," he put up his hands in a show of submission.
"By suggesting I hurt my mate? Have you already forgotten what it was like to have one?" Grae growled.
Lucas swallowed hard, a shadow of pain passing over his features. "No," he choked out. "I just—I thought you had."
"I still feel her," Grae withdrew his arm. "I just can’t rember... anything about her. Or about us," his voice faltered at the end, and he cleared his throat as he started down the staircase toward the front door once again tonight.
"That would be hell. I can’t imagine," Lucas said quietly, following him. "Your mate is... spectacular, Alpha," he added, rembering how August had defended herself when she was surrounded by him and the other guards in the woods when they were instructed by the elders to bring her in. "I do not wish for her to be hurt or hard, forgive . She is a true Luna. She... visibly glows with the presence of your heir in her womb. She is strong and brave and if anyone can stop that bastard vampire, it is her," he nodded with the conviction of this truth. "The Goddess has chosen for you wisely."
Grae huffed the rest of his frustration toward Lucas out of his nose. "I appreciate that," he said gruffly, feeling both pride and the painful longing for his own mories.
"If you are concerned the vampire has returned, I don’t imagine he would sneak around in the shadows. He seems like soone who goes straight for what he wants," Lucas told him.
"What does he look like?" Grae asked again, seeing the golden orbs from Violet’s room in his mind. It had to have been his imagination, but he needed to be sure there wasn’t soone else trespassing on their land.
"He had dark hair and eyes, tall and thin, wearing black. Pretty vampirish in appearance, I guess," Lucas recalled. "Why are we checking around the pack house?"
"I thought I saw sothing outside Violet’s room, but I’m not convinced. It could have just been... a play of light. What do you know about what happened to her?" he asked, looking around to make sure no one was in the vicinity.
"Violet?" he asked. "I don’t know anything."
"It seems like a very long story—one she probably would not want everyone knowing. But soone might be after her," Grae told him.
That sounded like a typical Violet predicant, Lucas thought, though he didn’t voice the cynical opinion. Perhaps she really was hurt. "What did you see?" his eyebrows pinched together in question.
Grae arrived at the front door, looking out the side windows to see if anyone was around in the yard. "Golden eyes," he said distractedly.
"Like August’s?" Lucas asked.
Grae’s eyes snapped to Lucas, but he didn’t respond.
"Have you considered that Violet may be lying? She is not exactly the most honorable female in the pack," Lucas mumbled.
"I had thought of it, yes, but I don’t believe she is lying. Her fear is genuine. Plus, it would not explain what I saw," Grae replied. "Are you healed enough to do this?"
"Yes, sire," Lucas replied without hesitation.
Grae opened the front door and both males slipped through onto the front deck. Grae nodded, and they both shifted into their wolves before taking off in separate directions around the periter of the pack house before arriving back at the front. Lucas snorted, shaking his head to indicate that he found nothing.
Grae shifted back. " either," he said, grabbing his clothes from the deck. "Not even a strange scent. Perhaps it was just my imagination."
Lucas shifted back more slowly, groaning as he did and clutching his side where his ribs were not yet healed. "Maybe it’s the story Violet has been feeding you. Is she trying to turn you against your mate?" he asked, slipping back into his clothes with so difficulty. It couldn’t be a coincidence that the boogey man had gold eyes, could it?
"I should not have asked this of you in your state," Grae grimaced, watching the pain Lucas was in.
"No, I’m fine," Lucas said through clenched teeth. "I will always run with you, Alpha."
Grae nodded his thanks. Lucas surprised him. Clearly whatever had occurred these last few months had changed the dynamic between them. He would have imagined Lucas resisting Grae’s return and claim to leadership.
"Thanks for your help," Grae said, silently considering the question Lucas asked about Violet trying to turn him against his mate. She had asked Grae not look for her—to just let August go. She even went as far as to suggest that August was trying to manipulate him for power. "I should return to check on Violet," he mumbled.
"Can I make a suggestion?" Lucas asked, leaning against the wall as he continued to clutch his side.
Grae stopped and waited to hear what the male had to say.
"If she is truly injured, have the healer or Sylvia stay with her," Lucas gritted his teeth, feeling the way his ribs were shifting to realign. "She will take advantage of your attention and this situation now that August is gone. Everyone in the pack knows how Violet is, always craving attention—especially yours. Sohow she continually finds herself as the victim. Don’t let her get in your head."
"I understand what you’re saying, Lucas," Grae replied. "I will take it under consideration."
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