All Chapters of BOUND TO MY ALPHA ENEMY : Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

Lucian’s POVCade didn’t answer immediately.His silence was louder than any words could have been, and it grated on me like a thorn lodged beneath my skin. He stood there, his jaw tightening ever so slightly, and then like he didn’t know better, his gaze flickered toward Alina.My jaw clenched. That one, brief glance burned hotter than sunlight on bare skin. He had no right. Not to look at her like that. Not to hesitate when I’d ask a simple question.“Cade,” I said, low, steady, each syllable pulled tight like a drawn bowstring.He blinked and finally spoke, voice mild, almost dismissive. “I’m not concerned, Alpha… I’m just saying.”Just saying.The casualness of his tone scraped at me worse than his silence had. I stepped closer, letting my shadow fall across him, meeting his gaze head-on.“Don’t,” I said evenly, voice dipping into that quiet register that warned better than any shout, “speak on behalf of my wife.”Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Alina’s expression twist, the

Lucian’s POVMy jaw clenched, and I forced my face into a grim mask as I released her. My gaze shifted sharply to Kane, cold and deliberate, as though I hadn’t just moved faster than instinct should’ve allowed. I needed control back, needed the silence in my chest to return. Most importantly, needed to get myself back.“You went soft,” I said flatly, voice slicing through the thick air. “I told you not to be lenient.”Kane blinked, startled, confusion etched deep in his frown. “But, Alpha, I was…”“Enough.” My tone cracked like thunder, shutting him down before he could finish questioning me. I turned, walking away, ignoring Cade’s wide-eyed stare, the one that looked at me like I’d just singlehandedly ended a war.I had almost reached another tree when her voice cut sharply and uninvited through the air.“You’re bleeding.”I stopped, turned halfway, and met her gaze. Her expression was stiff, as though the words had slipped out before she could swallow them.“I know.” My tone was coo

Lucian’s POVThe rhythmic pounding of my feet against the treadmill drowned out the faint hum of the gym’s overhead lights. Each step was heavier than the last, like I was trying to outrun my thoughts, but they clung to me like shadows stitched to my heels. Sweat rolled down my temples in beads, tracing hot paths down my face before dripping onto the dark, rubber surface beneath me.The air in the gym behind the packhouse was humid, thick with heat and salt, as if the walls themselves were suffocating me. My black singlet was plastered to my chest, soaked through, and my shorts clung stubbornly to my thighs, the fabric damp where the sweat pooled. Every muscle in my legs burned with each stride, but I welcomed the ache, it was easier than feeling the gnawing weight sitting in my chest.I had skipped dinner on purpose. The thought of facing Alina across the table, pretending like today hadn’t happened, pretending like I didn’t watch her fall, sink, and nearly not come back, I couldn’t

Lucian's POV I turned away, toward the bathroom, needing the hollow of tiles and the sharpness of water to focus my thoughts. The room spun faintly on the weight of my uncertainty. I rubbed my forehead and closed my eyes for a second; fatigue and adrenaline warred in the edges of my vision. The wound throbbed like a second heartbeat; the handkerchief had darkened to a ring of crimson I could not scrub away.Sabrina called from the doorway as she left; the sound of her footsteps retreated like a tide. “Hurry, Lucian. Don’t let it get worse.”I closed the bathroom door behind me and leaned my forehead against the cool wood. The world blurred, lines smearing like wet ink. I tried to steady my breath. Cade’s voice echoed in the hollow I’d been attempting to drown out; she’ll understand if you explain. The line might as well have been a razor.My vision fractured; the edges went gray. I took one step to the vanity and the bathroom tilted. The tiles beneath my boots seemed to rise and drop

Cade's POV I could feel my pulse in my ears, loud as a drum. “Lucian,” I said, and my voice tried to be the tether; reason had to be the first responder. “She saved you once. She bled for you. You can’t make that into a tool without telling her. You can’t make her a sacrifice on your altar.”He laughed then, half humorless. “You’re sanctimonious tonight, Cade. This is not a sacrifice. This is a necessary step. There are probabilities. If we…if she helps bring Clara back, she’ll have saved me more than once. People do things they would not do otherwise.”“You’re rationalizing,” I said bluntly. “You’re rationalizing the weaponization of someone else’s life because you’re scared. That’s not a calculation. It’s cowardice dressed as strategy.”His face flickered with something unreadable; I couldn’t tell whether it was hurt or anger. “You don’t understand,” he said low. “You were never the one who watched her in a glass box for a year. You don’t know what it costs a man to hold a hollow p