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Author: Gem Lynne
last update Last Updated: 2025-09-13 23:57:40

Lucian's POV

I turned away, toward the bathroom, needing the hollow of tiles and the sharpness of water to focus my thoughts. The room spun faintly on the weight of my uncertainty. I rubbed my forehead and closed my eyes for a second; fatigue and adrenaline warred in the edges of my vision. The wound throbbed like a second heartbeat; the handkerchief had darkened to a ring of crimson I could not scrub away.

Sabrina called from the doorway as she left; the sound of her footsteps retreated like a tide. “Hurry, Lucian. Don’t let it get worse.”

I closed the bathroom door behind me and leaned my forehead against the cool wood. The world blurred, lines smearing like wet ink. I tried to steady my breath. Cade’s voice echoed in the hollow I’d been attempting to drown out; she’ll understand if you explain. The line might as well have been a razor.

My vision fractured; the edges went gray. I took one step to the vanity and the bathroom tilted. The tiles beneath my boots seemed to rise and drop
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  • BOUND TO MY ALPHA ENEMY    87

    Lucian's POV I turned away, toward the bathroom, needing the hollow of tiles and the sharpness of water to focus my thoughts. The room spun faintly on the weight of my uncertainty. I rubbed my forehead and closed my eyes for a second; fatigue and adrenaline warred in the edges of my vision. The wound throbbed like a second heartbeat; the handkerchief had darkened to a ring of crimson I could not scrub away.Sabrina called from the doorway as she left; the sound of her footsteps retreated like a tide. “Hurry, Lucian. Don’t let it get worse.”I closed the bathroom door behind me and leaned my forehead against the cool wood. The world blurred, lines smearing like wet ink. I tried to steady my breath. Cade’s voice echoed in the hollow I’d been attempting to drown out; she’ll understand if you explain. The line might as well have been a razor.My vision fractured; the edges went gray. I took one step to the vanity and the bathroom tilted. The tiles beneath my boots seemed to rise and drop

  • BOUND TO MY ALPHA ENEMY    86

    Lucian's POV The gym felt like a forge tonight; the machines hissed and the lights buzzed, and my breath came out in hot, staccato chords. I moved from one equipment to the next, heavier work each time, as if piling weight onto my chest would flatten the ache I could not name. The treadmill had been a drum; now it was the rower, the sled, the heavy ropes I slammed until my arms trembled and my hands were raw. Each motion was precise, surgical, controlled in motion, the only antidote I had for the memory of her falling and not being the one to pull her out.I pushed until my muscles sang. The gym smelled of iron and old leather; sweat coated my skin and my shirt clung like a second, unwilling skin. Every rep became an argument with myself; each lift a refusal to stay still and wrestle with the thought that Cade had been the one to dive when I had hesitated. The idea scraped raw inside me like gravel.Then my forearm spasmed. A tight, sudden knot pain I had been ignoring; the handkerc

  • BOUND TO MY ALPHA ENEMY    85

    Lucian’s POVThe rhythmic pounding of my feet against the treadmill drowned out the faint hum of the gym’s overhead lights. Each step was heavier than the last, like I was trying to outrun my thoughts, but they clung to me like shadows stitched to my heels. Sweat rolled down my temples in beads, tracing hot paths down my face before dripping onto the dark, rubber surface beneath me.The air in the gym behind the packhouse was humid, thick with heat and salt, as if the walls themselves were suffocating me. My black singlet was plastered to my chest, soaked through, and my shorts clung stubbornly to my thighs, the fabric damp where the sweat pooled. Every muscle in my legs burned with each stride, but I welcomed the ache, it was easier than feeling the gnawing weight sitting in my chest.I had skipped dinner on purpose. The thought of facing Alina across the table, pretending like today hadn’t happened, pretending like I didn’t watch her fall, sink, and nearly not come back, I couldn’t

  • BOUND TO MY ALPHA ENEMY    84

    Alina’s POVMaybe I was foolish for jumping off.I had thought, naively, stubbornly, that I could control the outcome. That testing him would mean something. That if I pushed him hard enough, if I dangled my life right at the edge of danger, I’d force him to show me that I wasn’t just… replaceable.But the second the icy water swallowed me whole, the truth hit harder than the fall.I wanted to bounce back to the surface, to break free, to gasp, to prove my point, but instead, I was sinking. Fast.Cold needles stabbed into my skin, the weight of the water pulling me down like unseen hands gripping my ankles. My lungs screamed, my arms flailed, and the world around me blurred into chaotic shadows and muted roars. Panic clawed at my chest, wild and consuming, like fire set loose in a locked room.I kicked hard, thrashing upward, but something tugged at my foot, thick, unyielding. My toes scraped against something rough, something like a tangle of vines or debris beneath the surface, wrap

  • BOUND TO MY ALPHA ENEMY    83

    Lucian’s POVMy jaw clenched, and I forced my face into a grim mask as I released her. My gaze shifted sharply to Kane, cold and deliberate, as though I hadn’t just moved faster than instinct should’ve allowed. I needed control back, needed the silence in my chest to return. Most importantly, needed to get myself back.“You went soft,” I said flatly, voice slicing through the thick air. “I told you not to be lenient.”Kane blinked, startled, confusion etched deep in his frown. “But, Alpha, I was…”“Enough.” My tone cracked like thunder, shutting him down before he could finish questioning me. I turned, walking away, ignoring Cade’s wide-eyed stare, the one that looked at me like I’d just singlehandedly ended a war.I had almost reached another tree when her voice cut sharply and uninvited through the air.“You’re bleeding.”I stopped, turned halfway, and met her gaze. Her expression was stiff, as though the words had slipped out before she could swallow them.“I know.” My tone was coo

  • BOUND TO MY ALPHA ENEMY    82

    Lucian’s POVAlina’s gaze darted to me the moment the knife glimmered in Kane’s grip. Her brows shot up, lips parting slightly, disbelief flashing across her face like she couldn’t decide if I was cruel, insane, or both.I stared back, expression deliberately unreadable, even though my chest was tight and my jaw ached from grinding my teeth.Then Kane moved, fast, precise, lethal.The blade sliced through the air in a vicious arc, aiming clean for her arm. For a split second, she froze, and my lungs locked, an involuntary panic clawing its way up my throat.But she shifted just in time.Her body twisted smoothly, instincts taking over where her hesitation had failed her. She sidestepped the strike, her bare foot digging into the dirt, and spun into a sharp kick that landed cleanly against Kane’s ribs.The sound echoed, short and sharp.My jaw tightened, but I didn’t move, forcing myself to remain rooted despite the thundering in my chest.She turned her head, her eyes locking onto min

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