Chapter 5: When the Alpha Breaks

Lucien felt it before he heard it.

A sharp, violent pull tore through his chest, like something inside him had been yanked too hard, too fast. Pain exploded beneath his ribs white-hot, unforgiving.

He dropped to one knee.

The clearing went dead silent.

“Alpha!” someone shouted.

Lucien braced one hand against the ground, breath coming in hard, uneven pulls. His vision blurred at the edges. He tasted iron.

Blood.

His blood.

That had never happened.

Not in three hundred years.

The wolves around him froze, panic rippling through the pack like a shockwave. An Alpha did not weaken. Did not falter. Did not bleed where others could see.

Selene was at his side instantly. “Lucien.”

Her hand reached for his arm.

The moment she touched him, the pain worsened.

Lucien snarled a deep, feral sound that ripped from his chest without permission. His eyes flashed silver as he jerked away from her touch.

“Don’t,” he growled.

Selene recoiled, shock flickering across her face. “I was only trying to help”

“Step back,” he commanded.

The clearing trembled under the weight of his voice.

Wolves obeyed instantly, retreating several paces. Fear sharpened the air, thick and sour.

Lucien forced himself upright, every muscle screaming. His heartbeat thundered in his ears too loud, too fast. He pressed his hand to his side.

It came away red.

A collective gasp rippled through the pack.

Selene stared at the blood staining his fingers, horror flashing across her expression before it hardened into something else.

Calculation.

“This started when she arrived,” Selene said quietly, her voice carrying in the silence. “The human.”

Lucien lifted his head slowly.

The entire clearing seemed to darken.

“You will not say her name like that,” he said.

Selene met his gaze, defiant. “You’re bleeding, Lucien. You’re weakening. And you’re protecting her.”

Lucien clenched his fist, the pain spiking again sharp, punishing.

Below.

The chamber.

His wolf howled inside him, frantic now.

She’s in danger.

Lucien straightened despite the agony. “No one touches her.”

Selene’s lips parted in disbelief. “You don’t even know what she is.”

“I know enough,” Lucien snapped.

Dozens of eyes flicked between them, tension snapping tight. Selene took a slow step back, bowing her head but her scent betrayed her.

Anger.

Jealousy.

Resolve.

“As you command, Alpha,” she said.

But Lucien felt it then clear as instinct.

She would not stop.

The pain worsened the farther Lucien moved from the mountain.

Every step away from the inner chamber felt like tearing something loose inside him. His breathing grew shallow. His vision dimmed.

This was madness.

He turned sharply, ignoring the concerned voices behind him.

“Lucien where are you going?” Selene called.

“To end this,” he said.

He didn’t explain.

He didn’t slow.

Seraphine felt it too.

The pressure in her chest intensified, sharp and sudden, stealing her breath. She staggered back, palm pressing hard against her sternum.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

The runes along the chamber walls flared violently, burning bright enough to sting her eyes. The air thickened, humming with raw power.

“Stop,” she whispered instinctively to  what, she didn’t know.

Her skin prickled.

Then she smelled it.

Blood.

Not hers.

His.

Seraphine’s heart slammed hard against her ribs.

“No,” she breathed.

Footsteps thundered toward the chamber.

The door flew open

Lucien staggered inside, one hand clutching his side, blood seeping between his fingers. His face was pale, jaw clenched so tight it looked painful.

Seraphine moved without thinking.

She crossed the space between them in two strides and caught him as his knees buckled.

The moment she touched him

The pain vanished.

Lucien sucked in a sharp breath, body going rigid in her arms. His heartbeat slowed. His breathing evened.

The blood stopped flowing.

Seraphine froze.

Lucien froze.

They stared at each other, realization crashing between them like a breaking wave.

“What did you do?” he whispered.

“I didn’t” Seraphine shook her head, panic rising. “I just touched you.”

Lucien looked down at his side.

The wound was closing.

Healing.

Impossible.

His hands came up slowly, gripping her arms not rough, but desperate, grounding himself in her presence.

“My pain,” he said hoarsely. “It’s gone.”

Seraphine swallowed hard. “I can feel you too.”

His eyes snapped to hers.

“You feel me?”

She nodded once.

Outside the chamber, Selene watched from the shadows just long enough to see Lucien standing, uninjured, with the human woman in his arms.

Her eyes widened.

Then narrowed.

“So that’s it,” she whispered.

Selene turned away silently, already forming a plan.

Because if the human girl was the Alpha’s weakness

She would make sure that weakness bled.