Chapter 3

LUCIUS

I didn’t sleep that night.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her face.

Those green eyes. That soft mouth. The way she looked at me when I rejected her. Like I was just another person who had broken her. And maybe I was. Maybe I didn’t care.

But if I didn’t care, why was I here again? Standing outside her door. My hand hovered over the knob like it burned.

What was wrong with me?

“Lucius?”

I turned sharply. Lilith. Of course.

She stood in the dim hallway, arms crossed, her robe clinging to her like silk armor. She raised one brow as she walked toward me.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, voice low.

“I didn’t know I had to report my movements to you,” I replied coolly.

Lilith stopped just inches away. “You’re outside her room again.”

“I walk where I please.”

“You want her.”

Her voice was calm, but her eyes were sharp. Watching me. Searching for the crack.

“She’s mine by fate,” I muttered.

“She’s your *weakness*.”

I stepped forward. “Careful, Lilith.”

Her lips curved, but her eyes didn’t smile. “You’ve never let a woman speak to you like she does. You’ve never let *me*.”

I didn’t answer. I turned my back to her and pushed open Elara’s door.

She was awake. Curled on the bed, but her eyes were wide and alert. She didn’t move when I walked in. Just stared at me like she was waiting to see what version of me would show up this time.

“You can’t sleep again?” she asked softly.

I stepped closer. “You’re getting comfortable here.”

“You forced me here.”

I sat on the edge of the bed. “You could try running again.”

She tilted her head. “Would you let me go?”

I let the question hang there. I didn’t know the answer.

“You say you don’t want me,” she said, voice steady. “Then stop coming.”

“I tried.”

Her eyes flicked to my hands, resting on my thighs. “Try harder.”

I looked at her, really looked at her. She looked tired. Worn. But not broken. Not the way I wanted her to be. Not the way I needed her to be, to stop feeling this... pull.

“Why do you make me feel like this?” I asked, almost to myself.

“I didn’t ask for this,” she said quietly.

“I didn’t either,” I snapped. “I had everything. A pack. A mate—”

She cut me off, eyes sharp. “You mean Lilith?”

“Yes.”

She gave a short, bitter laugh. “She’s not your mate. She’s just the only one who puts up with you.”

I leaned in, face close. Her breath hitched.

“You think I care what you think?”

“No,” she whispered. “I think you’re scared that I’m right.”

I grabbed her chin roughly, forcing her to look at me. “You should be scared of me.”

“I am,” she said, but her eyes didn’t match her words. They burned.

I let her go and stood up, pacing the room.

“You don’t get it. I *should* hate you. I do.”

She sat up. “Then why are you still here?”

I turned to her, chest rising and falling. “Because I don’t know how to stop.”

She stood too, facing me. “Do you think I want to feel this bond? That it doesn’t make me sick to my stomach?”

“I’m your mate,” I growled.

“And you rejected me!” she yelled, stepping closer. “You reject me, then act like you own me. You *don’t*. You’re just confused because I’m not afraid of you the way she is.”

I blinked. “Lilith?”

“Yes. Her. She does whatever you say. Bows to you. I won’t.”

“Because you’re too proud?”

“Because I still have *dignity*.”

We stood there, face to face, breathing hard.

For a second, I wanted to kiss her.

For another second, I wanted to break her again.

But instead, I just stepped back. “You’ll get new clothes tomorrow. And I don’t want you wandering.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

I didn’t answer. I just left.

---

Lilith was waiting for me in my office, sitting in my chair like it was hers.

“You warned me once,” she said, without looking up from her nails. “This is mine.”

“I said step out,” I repeated.

She stood slowly, walking around the desk. “You’re falling for her.”

“She’s mine. That’s all.”

Lilith’s mouth twisted into a bitter smirk. “You’re pathetic.”

I didn’t flinch. “Careful.”

“No,” she hissed. “*You* be careful. There’s something wrong with her. You feel it too, don’t you? Her power isn’t normal. That girl’s hiding something.”

I paused. Just for a second.

Her smile widened. “You *have* felt it.”

“She has no wolf,” I muttered. “She’s not a threat.”

“She doesn’t need a wolf. There’s something inside her.”

“Enough.”

“You want her now. What happens when she wants something back? When she turns that fire on you?”

“She won’t.”

“You sure about that?” she whispered.

I didn’t answer.

Because I wasn’t.

---

Later that night, I was back at her door.

Again.

She was sitting by the small window, her head resting on her knees. She didn’t look up when I came in.

“You disobeyed me.”

“I stepped outside for air.”

“I said no east wing.”

She looked over her shoulder. “Are you going to chain me next?”

I walked to her slowly. “I might.”

“You really enjoy this, don’t you?” she muttered. “Making people feel small.”

I crouched in front of her. “Not people. Just you.”

She laughed. A dry, humorless sound. “You think I’m the enemy.”

“You think you’re not?”

We stared at each other. Her face was calm, but her eyes were storming.

“I didn’t ask to be yours,” she said.

“I didn’t ask to want you.”

“You don’t want me,” she said quietly. “You just want to punish me for something I can’t control.”

“Then why do you keep looking at me like that?” I asked.

“Because I hate you,” she whispered. “But some part of me still hopes you’ll stop.”

That silenced me.

For the first time, I didn’t have anything cruel to say. I stood up, walked to the door, and looked back at her.

“You’ll need your strength.”

“For what?” she asked.

I stared at her a second too long. “For surviving me.”

Then I walked out.

And didn’t look back.