Chapter 6

Lucian’s POV

“Mate?”

The word echoed in my head, clawing at my sanity. It couldn’t be true. She was mated to my brother! Alexander married her because she chose him over me. How could she possibly be my mate?

“I felt it,” my wolf, Escarnor, growled, smug and relentless.

 I stalked through the pack corridors, my chest tight with anger. The air reeked of betrayal, suffocating and stale, steeped in memories I had buried long ago. Her scent lingered here, winding through the halls. It was maddening. Intoxicating.

The air reeked of betrayal, suffocating and stale, steeped in memories I had buried long ago.

Six years.

I returned to this wretched pack, not to rescue Selene. I didn’t expect that.

My only purpose was to take back what was stripped from me. Alexander might wear the title of Alpha, but we both knew who it rightfully belonged to.

He had lied, manipulated, and cheated his way into power.

I was going to make sure he went on his knees.

The plan had been calculated. Infiltrate the palace in disguise, assess the state of the pack, and use Selene to destroy Alexander. She was my way to get what I want from my brother, a weapon forged by her ties to him, the Luna of this treacherous pack.

All I needed was to lie to her and make her believe she meant much to me, which wouldn’t be difficult, I’d thought.

After all, wasn’t betrayal her forte?

I laughed—a hollow, bitter sound that tasted like blood.

I’d imagined her life after she’d cast me aside. A life of opulence, no doubt. Fine clothes, luxury, and admiration from all who crossed her path. She had chosen it over me, hadn’t she? Power, security, and everything she could never have if she’d ran away with me.

But the truth?

She wasn’t in the halls, draped in silk and jewels. She wasn’t standing at Alexander’s side when I sneaked into the palace in disguise.

The woman I saw was Natasha.

When I got news about Selene, the answer left a sour taste in my mouth. The once-revered Luna was rotting in a dungeon.

The thought alone enraged me, though I couldn’t decide if it was because of what they’d done to her—or because I cared at all.

I went to see her myself.

Then she’s there. Selene, the woman I once loved, the woman who had betrayed me, lay crumpled on the filthy floor of her cell. Her skin, pale and lifeless, was marred with bruises and dried blood. The scent of damp sweat and suffering clung to her, suffocating the air.

She looked up when I approached, her eyes wide with recognition. For a moment, something sharp twisted in my chest. I handed her food and water, and our fingers brushed. That single contact burned through me like a wildfire.

How long had they left her to starve?

How far had she fallen?

I should have felt vindicated. I should have relished her suffering, the karma for what she’d done to me. But all I felt was fury.

And then Escanor told me.

She’s my mate.

The words were a blade, cutting through years of anger and resolve. My mate. The one person the goddess had destined for me.

How could the goddess be so cruel?

I clenched my fists, my nails biting into my palms.

“Mate bond is a curse,” I muttered under my breath.

Escarnor snorted. “Call it what you want, but you felt it too. You can’t run from this. She’s ours, Lucian. She always was. Admit it.”

“She left me!” I growled, my voice echoing in the empty hall. “She chose him because I wasn’t enough. She’s not mine, nor is she yours. She chose Alex, she made her choice.”

Escarnor huffed, unimpressed. “Oh, stop whining. You didn’t even have me when it all happened. If I were there, she would choose me. No mate of mine can leave me for a lesser wolf, and you know it, so quit running.”

“I’m not running,” I snarled back. “She made her choice. She left me. End of story.”

“End of story?” His laugh was sharp, more mockery than humor. “You call this an ending? You’re here, aren’t you? Back in this wretched pack, chasing her under the guise of some grand plan.”

“It’s not about her!” I shot back.

“Keep lying to yourself, Lucian. It’s almost convincing. But we both know the truth. You’re drawn to her, just like a moth to a flame.”

“I said, I don’t care about her. Not at all.”

“Liar!” Escanor’s voice was cold now. “Embrace it, Lucian. You can’t fight the mate bond—it’ll rip you apart.”

I sighed, totally disappointed in him and myself. Having a wolf was supposed to be a blessing, but Escarnor? He was a curse wrapped in arrogance.

This wolf drove me crazy with thoughts.

I shook my head, “It’s stupid seeing how you defend our enemy's wife; she is my sister-in-law. You are a wild animal, but I’m not!”

“You’re the stupid one here,” Escanor snapped back, “Keep calling her your ‘sister-in-law’ and see how that works out for you.”

I refused to let him bait me any further. The mate bond was nothing but a cruel trick, a biological trap designed to stir chaos. Whatever it was trying to pull now, I wouldn’t give in.

“She didn’t even sense it,” I muttered under my breath, more to myself than to him. “That’s fine. It’s better this way.”

What I felt for her wasn’t love. It wasn’t even longing. It was a cold, distant ache, a betrayal so sharp it still cut deep six years later.

All I had for Selene was anger. Hatred, even. She had no idea what her choices had cost me—what I had endured because of her.

A cold laugh escaped me, bitter and hollow.

The distant sound of a child's wheezing breath brought me back to the present. I slipped into the small, dimly lit room where she lay. Ella.

The room reeked of dampness and neglect, the air so stale it felt toxic. The oxygen tank beside her bed was the only thing keeping her alive. A pang of guilt pierced me as I took in her frail form. She was no more than a child, innocent in all of this, yet abandoned by her father.

I crouched beside her, brushing a strand of dark hair from her pale face. Her resemblance to Selene was undeniable—the same soft features, the same stubborn set of jaw.

“She deserves better,” I muttered, the words bitter in my mouth.

“She looks like her mother,” Escarnor mused, his tone softer now.

I scowled. “Don’t remind me.”

But I couldn’t deny it. Ella was Selene’s anchor, her everything. And despite my plans, despite my anger, I couldn’t leave this child to die.

I stood and sent a quick mind-link to one of my men stationed outside the pack's borders. “Prepare a car. We’re moving a child out tonight. Bring maids for support. We need to move fast.”

Selene’s words replayed in my mind—her desperate plea to save her daughter, her only request. She had begged me without hesitation, willing to sacrifice herself for Ella.

“Look at you,” Escarnor teased. “Big, bad Lucian, running to help his sister-in-law.”

“Enough,” I snarled. “This is about strategy, nothing more. Selene means nothing to me.”

Escarnor chuckled darkly. “Keep telling yourself that.”

I turned back to the girl one last time. Her fragile chest rose and fell with shallow breaths, each one a fight for survival.

For her sake, I’d make sure this mission succeeded. But Selene? She was a ghost from my past. I wouldn’t give her any chance to ever betray me again.