Chapter Five – The News About Lucas

The fire crackled in the silence after Adrian left, but it didn’t warm me.

I stood there in the middle of the lounge, my pulse still uneven from his touch, my thoughts a dangerous tangle of defiance and… something else I refused to name.

I wasn’t supposed to feel this way about him.

Adrian Blackthorn was a weapon, not a man to be trusted. He was supposed to be my means to an end.

But then the door swung open again—not Adrian this time, but one of his guards. His face was tense, his voice clipped.

“You need to come with me, Miss Emma.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Why?”

He hesitated. “It concerns Lord Adrian’s son.”

Lucas.

My stomach twisted, but I forced myself to keep my voice cool. “What happened?”

The guard didn’t answer, only gestured for me to follow. We moved quickly through the side corridors until we reached another private chamber, this one smaller, lined with towering bookshelves.

Adrian was there, his tall frame radiating authority and barely restrained anger. The Alpha King stood opposite him, his expression dark. Between them, Lucas sat slumped in a chair—his shirt torn, a bruise blooming across his jaw, blood at the corner of his mouth.

Clara was pacing behind him, her perfectly styled hair in disarray, eyes wide with panic.

“What is this?” I asked, my voice breaking the tense silence.

Adrian’s gaze flicked to me, sharp but not unkind. “Lucas was attacked last night. Just after we left the ballroom.”

I frowned. “Attacked? By who?”

“That,” Adrian said, his tone like steel, “is what we’re trying to find out.”

Lucas finally looked at me then. His eyes—usually full of arrogance—were shadowed now, but the flicker of resentment was still there. “Don’t act like you care, Emma.”

I crossed my arms. “I don’t.”

Clara gasped, as though my words were more scandalous than the fact her husband was sitting there beaten and bleeding.

Adrian’s lips twitched, almost like he was holding back a smile. “Interesting. You have more composure than most women would in this situation.”

Lucas’s glare snapped to his father. “You brought her here? Why?”

Adrian stepped forward, his presence filling the room. “Because she’s going to be involved whether you like it or not.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Lucas demanded.

“It means,” Adrian said slowly, his eyes never leaving his son’s, “that whoever attacked you might be coming for her next. And if anyone is going to protect Emma, it’s going to be me.”

The tension in the room thickened. Lucas’s fists clenched, Clara’s eyes darted between us, and the Alpha King’s brows drew together.

“Father—” Lucas started, but Adrian cut him off.

“You will address me as Lord Adrian in my house,” he said coldly. “And you will remember that you are not the only one capable of claiming what you want.”

The way he said it—while standing just close enough to me—left no one in the room doubting exactly what he meant.

Clara’s lips parted in shock. Lucas went rigid. And the Alpha King… said nothing, which was somehow even more dangerous.

Adrian turned to me then, his expression unreadable. “You’ll stay in my private wing tonight. It’s the safest place for you.”

“I can take care of myself,” I said quietly.

His voice softened, but his words were absolute. “You’re under my protection now, Emma. And that means no one touches you without my permission.”

It wasn’t a request. It was law.

And from the look in his eyes, I knew that law didn’t just apply to my safety.