LUCY'S POV
Of course, I couldn’t tell him the truth.
I couldn’t go back to my pack, hell, I didn’t want to. It was a death sentence.
“I was orphaned as a baby to a human family. I ran away when I found out what I was. I have no idea what pack I belong to, Alpha. I’m content with serving you. I have no desire to find my real pack.”
The lie flew out of my mouth without hesitation.
I was used to telling small white lies, but this one was far bigger than any others.
Seth was eyeing me from the side of the room. He was on the couch going over some files.
He was acting busy, but I could feel his eyes on me now and again. Leander narrowed his eyes at me for a moment.
“Are you sure? You should have a pack marking on your wrist, but I don’t see any. That’s odd, don’t you think?” Leander says, obviously suspicious.
So now he is asking real questions, more topics for which I wasn’t prepared.
As an Alpha heir, my pack mark was above my chest, covering the skin above my heart.
I was thankful that he hadn’t questioned this possibility as he looked at my wrist.
If I didn’t let my Alpha aura slip after I turned 18, this would be a secret I held to my grave.
He stared at me while I pondered his questions for just a moment. That’s all it took for me to think of my next lie.
“It must have faded when I was younger, maybe from being away from my pack since birth.” I had no idea if that was a real possibility, but he nodded at me, accepting my answer.
I sighed internally with relief until Seth decided to open his big mouth.
“I’ve never heard of a pack mark fading unless a wolf rejects their pack and becomes rogue. If the mark faded, don’t you think that she would also smell like a rogue?” Shit, Seth made a good point.
Leander nodded.
I could tell he was thinking hard about what Seth had said. I had to stop his thoughts before they went to something else that I couldn’t explain.
“Alpha Leander, you mentioned you wanted to speak to me about some changes that would be happening. Does this have to do with your sons arriving in a few days?” While this was my way of distracting his thoughts, it was a question I had had since he brought up his son's Alpha ceremony in the meeting.
I was essentially Leander's assistant. I served at meetings, got him coffee and food, ran mail, made appointments, etc.
A stark contrast to the things I was forced to do for other packs.
If he was going to be stepping into retirement, what did that mean for me?
When I finally drew from my thoughts and looked up at him, he had a shit-eating grin on his face.
“My dear Lily, have you noticed that we don’t have slaves in this pack? The wolves in this pack are here because they want to be here. They are all given the freedom to live a life that pleases them. Even the maids and kitchen staff here at the pack house chose those positions freely. Some people enjoy serving, and others find different work more fulfilling," Leander said softly.
I looked him over, searching for any sign that he was telling a lie, and found nothing, yet I was still at a loss for words.
What did he want me to say to that?
He must have caught on to my first-ever loss of words. Not even my need to shut down any awkward silence was winning.
“I have a feeling that bringing me coffee and running my errands isn’t what you dreamt of doing your whole life. I can easily find someone else to fill that position, Lily. While Leon and Liam would likely keep you as their assistant once they’re running things, I want to make sure that this is what you truly want." He pauses for a moment before adding to his thought.
"I would of course pay you if you decided to stay in this position. However, as my assistant, you would have to remain living in the pack house next to the Alpha room so that you’re available when needed.”
He finished this speech and glanced over to Seth, who I could see smiling in the corner of my eye.
Lucy:I had to take another vial of the heat potion immediately after marking Zeak. If it hadn't been for Zeak holding back, I would have completely lost it. The moment my canines sank into his skin, my heat flared like a raging bomb fire, causing all of my mates to snap their bonds shut with me and flee the room, leaving Zeak and me to deal with the effects.The way he looked at me pleadingly. Not in a way that said he wanted me, but in a way that was begging me not to touch him or ask him to touch me.It nearly shattered my heart at the moment, but Nia was able to talk me through it.Understanding that Zeak was also traumatized by his actions.The actions he had done under the poison he had been inflicted with had been just as much of a burden to him as it had to me. I suppose I had never thought about it that way. I had only considered the hurt and pain I had been through from what he had done, but in a way, he went through the same thing."Do you think I'm ugly?" I ask Zeak as
Lucy:I had spent the night healing Trish. I wasn't sure my healing powers could work, and if it hadn't been for Liam, I wouldn't have been able to sustain enough magic for it to be successful.Leon and Seth discussed with Saul how we thought his cousin might be involved in all of it.Unfortunately, that discussion confirmed our theories, as Saul recognized his cousin had been behaving oddly, and the visit was somewhat random as well.All things that I was sure were the case but hadn't said as much."My love," Seth whispers in my ear, taking off my clothes for me.It wasn't all that sexual, really. I was exhausted."I'm proud of you," he adds, knowing full well how difficult it was to fight the Old Magic taking over Trish.It was different from trying to help Seth and Liam. That magic had taken over Trish for several days, whereas they had been infected for only hours.Liam was already in the tub, nearly falling asleep as he soaked. We hadn't utilized the jacuzzi at all up to this poin
Lucy:"It's okay, mate. I understand. We will head straight there. Whatever is going on with her, I will help, and she will be fine," I nod and smile at Leon, feeling a rush of ease from our bond as I open it back up.We're all standing around in the living space. All four of them are hovering over me to look at the book."Where did you get this book?" I ask Tony, flipping through more pages, reading and deciphering so much knowledge that it's like an IV drip straight to my brain."It was my grandfather's. It's been sitting there collecting dust for ages," Tony shrugs as if it's no big deal, but it was.It was better than anything that Seth had brought back from Talons, aside from the decoder.I wanted to ask him more about his grandfather and his grandfather's original pack, but something dawned on me.I pause, thinking back to what Liam said as I continue to absorb the information on the pages."The fountain of youth?" I ask.I look at Liam, who simply raises an eyebrow at me."Yes,
Lucy:"We will need to do the ceremony sooner than whenever it happened in the vision. We should not lock everyone up who we think might be a threat!" Their solutions were made out of fear, not the reality of what could possibly work, but again, I did understand.We were walking to Tony's house to hear about his grandfather's stories while my mates argued nonstop about the best way to proceed with this situation.I would be lying to say that I wasn't feeling weird hearing that there were visions of me dying but I had to put that information to the side so that I could continue to work towards the goal."Where's your mate?" I ask Tony the moment we arrive and see him out front winterizing his house."She's out shopping," Tony smiles over while wrapping up the hoses in the front lawn and walking over."I was wondering when I would see all of you. Come in," Tony motions to all of us to follow him inside.Their house was cozy, like a home. The fireplace crackled near the couch, making me
Lucy:'Why didn't you tell me?' Nia is upset because I've deliberately avoided these thoughts and assumptions while she was conscious and in my space.We've been discussing Seth's connection to everything.The entire thing felt very calculated.If the Goddesses knew this was going to happen, they knew they had to wait for the couples who were one-half of each other for things to work out.It would make sense why they hadn't mated or gifted any others the same way.This was all very intentional. 'I asked you if you knew anything or felt anything that connected us,' I remind her.She huffs and rolls her eyes. I know that she has kept some things to herself and I didn't really blame her for that but my intentions were simply to not get anyone too riled up over something that could end up being nothing."It actually makes sense. Savina said that Seth's old pack is connected," Leon says, shocking the rest of us."There's only one way for me to know for sure. I need the last of my memories.
Lucy: "Theo told Liam that he knew he would need to help me find the Silver Stone. Theo also said that I would know where and how to find it." I pause for dramatic effect, but no one seems to understand where I'm going with this."Wait," I pause again.This time for a different reason.Now that I'm talking about Theo, something that was said earlier pops into my head."Who did your grandfather spell Zeak to look like?" I ask, looking at Liam.I can feel Seth staring through me and directly at Liam the same way Liam is staring at him."Not it!" both of them shout at the same time.'Oh Goddess,' Nia giggles.'They better not have,' I hiss, having a good idea who it is.Poor Leon is none the wiser, relaxing in the recliner like nothing has happened."Please tell me Zeak isn't going to be a walking replica of Leon," I whine, the thought sending weird feelings through me.Seth purses his lips together while Liam bursts out laughing.I swallow hard and look at Leon to see his reaction. He d