Chapter Sixteen

Lucien’s POV.

“And even if we deploy our men to the side, there are other parts that the others can come in through. We have to take immediate action. What do you suggest, alpha?” Elder Tim said as he turned to me, his face serious.

What could Brielle be hiding from me? What was going on that would make her be so secretive?

“Alpha Lucien, are you here?” Another elder asked and I snapped out of it. I forgot that I was yet to answer.

“We just have to work on blocking all the passage ways that have not been authorised.” I said.

“But they may serve as places to visit as the years go by. It would be good for preserving our culture.” Another elder said.

“I’m sure that our safety is better than any place to visit, and that our culture is not based on unnecessary entry ways to the pack, don’t you think?” I asked. The things people said without realising how foolish they seemed.

Brielle could be going through problems right now, and she did not want to let me know about them. How did that even seem wise to her? I’m the one person who would be able to solve any of her problems, and she decided to keep me in the dark?

I looked up, not wanting to be absent minded again, and immediately caught Zane’s eyes. He didn’t look away, he continued to stare, and I decided that I wasn’t going to keep that up.

I checked through the corner of my eye, and he was still looking. A cold shoulder went through my spine.

Did he know? About me and Brielle? What was he planning? Why was he staring at me like that?

“So, does anyone have any other ideas? Table them before we decide now.” I said.

“I think that we should place guards everywhere and that would ensure that we will be safe from rogues and invaders.”

“No, there are too many entrances. Anyone, with proper planning would be able to get in, even with heavy security. I’m with the alpha.” Zane said, looking at me. “The best thing to do currently would be to close up the places and position guards, just in case.”

I nodded.

“You’re right, Beta Zane. I accept that, does anyone else want to argue, or maybe might have something else to say or add?” I asked, and the court was silent.

“No.” A few finally said.

“Do you have anything you want to tell us, alpha?” Zane asked, and I wondered why he was asking me that.

There was no doubt this time, he knew about Brielle and he wanted to give me a tough time about it.

“No, why?” Without waiting for an answer, I continued. “So, with this, we have decided that what we’re going to do is close up the entrances and have soldiers stand at the edge of what used to be open walls.”

In the end, we’d probably build a circular wall around the place, but for now, we’d stop it here.

Everyone murmured and nodded their heads.

“Thank you for being a part of this, and for sharing your ideas and thoughts. We have come to the end of this meeting.” I hit the table sharply with my knuckles and got up to leave. Zane should stay back to talk like he always did.

Me? I was going to see Brielle immediately.

“Lucien! Wait!”

I turned back.

“What is it?” I asked Zane.

He sighed and pointed his thumb back to the room.

“Meeting had ended and I thought it would be nice for us to have a quick chat.” He said, and I sighed.

“I have important things to do now, so maybe this can wait?”

Zane moved closer to me.

“Alright, Lucien. What is going on? Talk to me.”

“Me? What are you talking about?”

“You weren’t your usual self today at the meeting, so something has to be up, and I need to know what it is. And besides, you’ve been acting funny.” Zane insisted.

“What are you on? There’s nothing going on with me, I just have a lot on my plate, and this is the least of my problems. I’m fine.”

“And I’m not buying it.” Zane shook his head. “You do know that if you don’t tell me, I can look for it myself. I can have access to your medical history, and—”

“Zane!” I exclaimed. He step back, blinking.

“What?” He shook his head. “What happened?”

“I’m fine, honestly, there are no issues. You can go and talk to your friends, I need to attend to a few things.” I started walking, and to my frustration, he fell into step next to me.

“You know that I wouldn’t stop until I get it out of you, right?” He asked.

Had he always been this annoying? What was his sudden obsession with my health and the way I’ve been acting? Doesn’t this happen to everyone every once in a while?

Next to me, Zane continued to talk about the dangers of not letting people in, and how humans were never made to be alone.

“Zane, please let me be. I need to be alone, to think, and you’re disrupting my thought process.” I was already feeling bad enough without having him all over me.

I needed to see Brielle.

“You’re not even listening to me, Lucien, how am I supposed to help you?”

“Did I ask for your help?” I yelled at him. “What more do you want from me, Zane? You took me mate, wasn’t that enough for you? Now you’re looking for an opportunity for you to laugh at my problems too, right?”

We stood there in silence, and Zane tried to look nonchalant, but I could see that my words upset him.

“That was uncalled for.” Zane shrugged.

“No, what was uncalled for was you following me around and acting like you care when you just want something else to entertain you.” I hissed and stormed off.