chapter 5

Alpha Lucien’s POV

Revenge was the only reason I had set foot in this pathetic territory. I was the strongest Lycan alive—no one came close, and no one dared to challenge me. Years ago, the cowardly Alphas in this region had betrayed my father, slaughtering him unjustly.

My primary target was Alpha Vincenzo, the hypocritical bastard who owed my father an immense debt and helped orchestrate his death just to avoid paying it. As a Lycan, I didn't even need an army to raze his pack to the ground; I could slaughter him and his guards single-handedly. Bloodshed was my nature. I had planned to slip into his territory at midnight and tear his head from his shoulders.

But as I moved through the dark woods, a sharp restlessness seized my wolf, Guru. He clawed at my chest, thrashing inside me as if pulled by an invisible chain.

Then it hit me—the mate bond.

A sudden, fierce heat flooded my veins, a sensation I had never experienced in my life. Women had thrown themselves at me for years, but I had never cared for them; my only focus was conquest. Yet the pull was undeniable. I followed the intoxicating scent through the trees until I stumbled upon a brutal execution.

I cut down her executioners before their blades could touch her, dragging her into the shadows and claiming her right then and there. It had been a long time since any woman had driven me to such absolute frenzy.

I hadn't even caught a clear look at her face in the dark, but a sudden, possessive need to keep her forever took root in my soul. When she insisted she had business to handle before coming with me, I restrained myself. I gave her until noon the next day.

Killing Vincenzo was no longer on my mind that night. I never slaughtered when I was in a good mood, so I returned to my quarters, completely consumed by thoughts of her.

The next morning, my Beta, Ronald, interrupted my rest to inform me that the High Council had summoned me. Ordinarily, I would have slaughtered the messenger, but my surprisingly good mood made me tolerant. I decided to attend their tedious gathering.

The old fools on the council spent hours begging me to abandon my vendetta, well aware of my reputation for mercy-less destruction. As they babbled on, my mind drifted constantly back to the girl in the woods. I could hardly wait until noon to see her face in the daylight.

Finally growing sick of their weak chatter, I stood up and fixed a cold glare on Vincenzo.

“Fine,” I cut through the room, my voice silencing every elder present. “Bring me one of your daughters. A virgin of Alpha blood to serve as a sacrifice for my father's memory. And don't try to deceive me with a decoy—I will know if she bears your blood.”

I leaned over the table, watching the color drain from his face. “I will break her slowly. And when I am done with her, I will come back for your other child. I want to shatter you piece by piece until you have nothing left.”

Turning to the trembling elders, I sneered. “I have nothing more to say to weaklings. My word is final. I have been far too patient with you old men, and you are starting to irritate me.”

Without waiting for a reply, I walked out.

By noon, I was standing at our designated meeting spot in the woods, waiting for her arrival. But as the minutes bled into hours, the clearing remained empty.

My impatience turned to agitation. *Was something holding her back?*

I paced the damp earth, my blood boiling. I was just about to shift and hunt her down when a violent tear ripped through my chest.

My breath caught. The mate bond suddenly shattered—snapping clean in half as if her very presence had been erased from the world.

A cold rage gripped me. *What just happened?* Was she hiding her scent? Had someone taken her? She hadn't seemed afraid of me the night before—she wasn't the type to run.

I stormed back to my estate, pacing my study like a caged beast. Was she playing games with me?

“Ronald!” I roared, summoning my Beta. “Send spies into every neighboring pack immediately. Search for a female bearing my mark on her neck. Find her and bring her to me alive.”

Ronald bowed his head respectfully. “Right away, Alpha. However... Alpha Vincenzo has just arrived at the gates with one of his daughters, as you demanded.”

A dark sneer touched my lips as I left my study and descended to the main hall. Vincenzo stood trembling near the entrance alongside a girl draped in heavy velvet. Beautiful as she was, I felt nothing. I only wanted my mate.

I closed the distance in three strides, reaching out to grip her slender neck, forcing her head to the side to inspect her skin.

No mark.

Disgust flared in my chest as I shoved her back. “I assume your father made it clear what you are to me,” I growled, watching her shudder violently under my gaze. “You are merely a sacrifice to be broken and discarded at my leisure.”

She didn't speak a word, her whole frame trembling beneath the heavy dress. Yet as I stepped back, my eyes drifted over her pale face, her bowed shoulders, and the quiet defiance hidden beneath her terror. A strange, suffocating sensation wrapped around my chest—a terrifying pulse beneath my skin that made my wolf growl in confusion.

Something about this girl was entirely too familiar.