Chapter 3

                       Lucious 

I leave the house going to the clinic, where I find crying mates and the families of the wounded men standing out front waiting to know the condition of the men. I look at the crowd, seeing families and mates of the men who didn't make it back from the fight. Tears stain their faces as others try to comfort them with hugs,

I watch helplessly as many break over the loss of their mates, brothers, fathers, sons, and uncles. I can hear the howls of wolves in the distance, crying out to the moon. I knew there was a chance that we would've suffered some losses in the fight, but I thought we would've come out on top then those few lost lives wouldn't have been lost for nothing.

My jaws clench as this anger build up inside of me, feeling like this is all my fault. Those men died because they were loyal to my father and I. They believed we could take down the Lycan King, but we didn't and only gotten them killed, leaving families and mates broken. 

They were good loyal men and good friends. I won't let their deaths go without consequence. I will make them pay for what they have done.

I head inside the clinic where more mates and families are waiting. I make my way into one of the rooms where the pack healers are stitching up the wounded men who aren't healing for some reason. She looks up at me and slightly bows her head as she continues to stitch up the guy wounds. 

"Why aren't they healing?" I look around the room at the men laying on the beds. It's been nearly two days since they suffered these wounds. While other men have healed, these men don't seem to be healing at all.

"As a girl I was told stories of how the Lycan King had the ability to attack the inner wolf, wounding it, stopping it from helping the body heal." She tells me, causing me to frown as I think about the fight with my mate's brother and how I didn't heal as fast as I normally do after fighting him. "Have you been affected this way also?" She tilts her head slightly as her eyes scan over me, looking for unhealed wounds.

"I healed, but not as quickly as I normally do." I look at her, waiting for her to explain why I healed but not at my normal rate. 

She looks at me for a second, thinking to herself. "I'm not completely sure, but maybe it has to do with you only being half-werewolf. While the wolf part of you was affected and couldn't heal, the vampire part of you continued to heal, healing your body half as fast as normal." She says making sense of it all.

I frown now knowing why I didn't heal at my normal rate after fighting my mate's brother. My jaws clench, thinking about it. Not only was he able to slow down my healing, but he managed to get the best of me twice now! I underestimated him the first time, and the second time I wasn't completely focused on killing him. Because of the mate bond, a part of me was concerned about my mate's safety, and I was half focused on seeing if she was okay during the fighting.

Maybe he would've succeeded in killing me if my mate didn't get involved. My blood boils at the thought of him sparing my life like I'm some weakling! I don't need their mercy! I will have them all begging me for the mercy that I will not give to them!

I look around at the broken, clawed and chewed up men."When will they start to heal." I look back to the healer for an answer. 

"They're in bad shape, but it's nothing they can't survive with the proper care. I'm sure once their wolves have had enough time to heal itself, then it will start to heal them." I watch the healer crush herbs into a cup before adding water. "Drink, it will help you rest." She moves the cup to the guy's mouth, letting him take a few sips, before pulling the cup away and move to the next guy, starting to stitch up his deep open wounds. 

A few other healers enter the room and start help with stitching them up. I look around the large room that's filled with wounded men, unable to do anything about it.

Once the healers finished with the men, their families and mates are allowed to come in to see them. The men mates continue to cry as they make their way over to them on the beds.

These men fought bravely. They fought loyally. They fought to keep themselves from under the ruling of an unfit king. I wasn't around during the Lycan King time as ruler over the wolves, but I've heard the stories. The stories of how he killed wolves, slathered whole families, and packs without a drop of mercy.

Everyone feared him, but not my father. And instead of doing nothing, my father helped the wolves, freeing them from under his savagery. My father wasn't the best of kings, but he wasn't the worst of them. He didn't rule over the wolves the way the Lycan King did and he didn't go around slathering wolves over broken laws. 

My father stopped him once and so will I. I'm going to end them all for good! They're going to regret letting me walk away from that fight alive! 

I leave out of the room, knowing that those men will be okay. A few of the other men who fought alongside me wait outside of the clinic as I come out. 

"How are they?" My uncle Jax asks, walking up to me.

"They'll be fine," I tell him.

"And what about you?" He asks, reaching out placing his hand on my shoulder. I can see the pain that his eyes now holds. I've lost my father and he has lost his brother. My father was the best man I've known and I'm sure he was the best brother my uncle could've had, but now he's dead. Killed by the Lycan King. 

The men watch my uncle and me, listening. My jaws clench, before relaxing again. I take in a breath, holding back the emotions that wanted to spill out. "I'll be fine," I tell my uncle before walking away, heading into the forest.

Once I'm deep into the forest, I slam my fist against the thick trunk of a tree. I hit it, again and again, welcoming the pain that shoots through my hand with each punch to the thick tree trunk. 

My father's dead headless body laying on the ground, along with many good friends fills my head. I can still hear the cries of my mother as she cries out in pain at the loss of my father. I let out a loud roar that echoes through the night of the dark forest, releasing the anger and pain that has filled me.

Over and over again I slam my fist against the trunk of the tree. The skin on my knuckles gives away, letting the blood from my fist stain the tree. Pieces of the bark start to break away as I continue to swing, unleashing my anger upon this innocent tree. 

I continue to slam my fist against the tree until my arm becomes heavy and I'm unable to lift and swing them. I breathe heavily, glaring at the dents I've left in the trunk of the tree. If they think this is over, then they're sadly mistaken. It won't be over until I've killed them all.

 I leave the forest, going back to the house.

I go to the room and check on my mother to see that she's still asleep. I stand at the side of the bed looking down at her. My jaws clench, looking at those dried up tears that stain her face.

For the first time, this glow of joy she always has isn't there. The whole walk here today she didn't say anything as I carried her. She just stared blankly as if the inside of her is now empty. She loved my father and he loved her, but now he's gone and she's broken. 

I leave out the room, going to my room where I find my mate asleep on the bed. I stand at the door watching her as she sleeps, unable to deny how beautiful she is. 

I've been waiting to find my mate. I knew the day I found my mate I would love her the way I've seen my father loved my mother. From the moment I saw her, I finally understood why my father would always look at my mother the way he did. When I saw her, it was like time had frozen and all I could see was her. She's more then I could've ever imagined. But finding her turned out to be some twisted joke that the goddess has played on me. 

Now when I look at her, all I can think about is killing her family. Taking away from her what has been taken away from me.

I want to hate her, but I can't. Thoughts of hurting her to make her family pay have crossed my mind, but I could never bring myself to cause her any harm. I don't know much about her, but I've seen enough to know that she's a good person. She tried to free my mother and me from that prison to avoid all of this, but it was something that just couldn't be avoided.