Chapter Thirty Six

Brielle’s POV.

Lucien stood by the window, crossing his arms. The way he stood so tensely, the worries in his mind could be sensed a mile away.

He hadn’t said a word in almost ten minutes. The letter from Chase still sat on the table, mocking us with its silver seal. I still couldn’t breathe properly. My chest was too tight.

“He’s summoning a meeting tomorrow.” Lucien finally spoke.

"We have to device some sort of plan for this. One that stays just between us,"

I didn’t say anything, and neither did Zane. But then Lucien did say something that shocked me.

“I’m not going there.” He said with a tone of finality.

“What?” I asked him, shocked.

Zane turned so fast I thought he’d break his damn neck.

“You’re not what? What are you saying?”

“I said that I’m not going.” Lucien repeated. “It’s obvious that that’s a trap.”

Zane laughed.

"Oh, great. So now we’re just doing dumb shit out in the open? Is that what this is?”

Lucien turned to face him.

“Use your brain. Chase isn’t just calling a meeting out of goodwill. He knows, or he suspects. If I show up there, I’m giving him exactly what he wants.”

“You don’t show up…” Zane said, pointing at him. “You’re declaring war. And not just any war, you fucked his Luna.”

I flinched. Lucien didn’t respond to that, but I saw his glare. The intense gaze between the two brothers as Zane talked about me like I was absent in the room.

“Do you even hear yourself?” Zane snapped. “You’re not just skipping out on some casual get-together. You stole his fucking wife. His Luna, Lucien! Do you think that he won’t burn this place to the ground just to make a point? He will kill everyone in his way before he kills her in front of you,”

Lucien's jaw worked.

“I’ll handle it.”

“How? By hiding like a coward?” Zane shot back.

“I’m not hiding.”

“Sure as hell looks like it.”

They stared each other down for a long while. I could feel the tension between them, and I felt uneasy.

“Okay, if you’re not going, who will?” I asked quietly.

They both looked at me, and I nodded. Lucien shook his head.

“No. You’re not stepping a foot near that place.”

“Damn right she’s not.” Zane muttered, surprising me.

Lucien turned back to his brother.

“Then you stay with her. Watch her.”

Zane let out a bitter laugh.

“Fuck no. What do you take me for? You stole her, you watch her.”

Lucien frowned.

“Zane—”

“I wasn’t stolen!” I yelled, and both men turned to look at me.

Zane scoffed in response.

“Regardless, you’re here, and there are problems. And…” He turned to Lucien. “I said no. I don’t want anything to do with her.”

That hit me harder than I expected. My chest felt hollow, and my voice came out small.

“You don’t mean that.”

Zane looked at me, and for a second, I thought I saw regret in his eyes, but then he looked away.

Lucien clenched his fists.

“She didn’t ask for any of this.”

“Oh, and I did? I don’t care, I’m not babysitting her while you go play politics.”

There was a long pause, but then Zane added.

“I’ll go instead.”

Lucien turned to him.

“What?”

“I’ll go in your place. Represent the pack and give him some bullshit excuse about why you’re not there. You stay here with her.”

I went towards him.

“Zane, please—”

He turned to me, raising his hand.

“I’m not angry at you, alright?” He said. “I just need to not be around you right now, that’s all.”

My heart burned.

“You don’t understand. I didn’t know—”

He raised a hand.

“I know all you want to say, and I believe you. But that doesn’t make it easier.”

I nodded slowly, fighting the urge to cry.

“I’m sorry.”

Zane looked away.

“Be safe.”

He walked out.

At first light, Zane left with a small team of elite squad. I watched him from the window until his silhouette disappeared into the woods.

Lucien, as agreed, stayed behind.

We didn’t speak for a long time. He was in the study, pretending to be busy, and I was pacing the halls, trying not to scream.

My body felt like it didn’t belong to me anymore. My skin itched, my blood burned. I could feel him through the bond from the base of my feet to the back of my skull. I didn’t want to want him, but it was driving me insane.

By nightfall, we couldn’t take it anymore.

I found him in the hallway. We stared at each other like two wild animals about to rip each other apart.

And then we did.

Our clothes were on the ground, torn, and my hands and lips were all over just like the way he was all over me. He kissed me hard, and right now, right here, no one existed but us. I hated him. I loved him. I wanted to kill him and never let him go at the same time.

I don’t know how we got to the stairs, but we did, naked in the private suite, my back arched over while one of his hands held my back, and the other rested under my boob. Over and over again, everywhere, like we were making up for all the time we didn’t fuck.

He kissed me like I was the last breath he’d ever take, and I kissed him like I wanted to ruin his whole damn life and build it from scratch.

By the time we collapsed into bed, it was nearly dawn.

I passed out, naked, and tangled in his arms, exhausted and aching, but sated.

I opened my eyes to see Chase standing in front of me.

He was wearing his old ceremonial armor, and his eyes were cold and cruel. He looked like a god, like an executioner. He looked ready to undo everything that had ever been done.

Behind him, a thousand soldiers stood in perfect silence. And he was pointing a blade at my throat.

“You betrayed me.” He said. “You ran from my home and you think I won't find you? You are mine!"

“No, I…Chase, please—”

He raised the blade in front of me.

I woke up screaming. I was drenched in sweat, my chest was heaving. I looked around me, needing to be sure that he wasn’t here.

But Lucien was gone, and the sheets beside me were long cold.

I got up quickly, pulling on a robe, my legs shaking beneath me. My heart hadn’t stopped racing. Something was wrong. I could feel it.

I hurried downstairs, barefoot, ignoring the sharp sting as I stepped on a shard of something that had fallen. When I got to the main hall, I saw them.

All the workers, the maids, the guards. They were gathered in a circle near the front steps. Murmurs rippled through them like waves in a storm. I couldn’t make out what they were saying.

But I knew that scent. I could recognize it from miles away.

“What’s going on?” I yelled, but no one answered me.

I pushed through the crowd outside, elbowing past people who gasped when they saw me.

And then I saw him.

Zane was on the ground, collapsed in the center of the circle.

His face was barely recognisable, covered in dried blood and bruises. His shirt had been ripped to shreds.

I could hardly hear an heartbeat, he was barely alive.

Lucien knelt beside him, one hand on his shoulder, the other reaching for the blood-soaked sack that Zane clutched to his chest.

“Lucien?” I whispered, coming to stand next to him.

He didn’t answer me. He slowly opened the sack, and I covered my mouth, bile rising in my throat as I saw the gory sight of what was inside.

Heads. So many heads in the sack.

"Who are they?" I asked, clenching my fist as I held back the rush to puke.

"These are the heads of the men that accompanied, Zane," Lucien stated softly as he closed the sack from the public eyes.

"Message received, Chase. Bring it on!"