All Chapters of Cherish Me, Daddy: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

LUCEN'S POVI didn’t remember sitting down.One moment I was standing beside Eli’s bed, fingers clenched so tightly into the metal rail that it bent slightly under my grip, and the next I was slumped in the chair, elbows on my knees, head bowed, breath coming shallow and uneven.The steady beep of the heart monitor drilled into my skull. Alive. He was alive. That fact alone should have been enough to steady me. It wasn’t.Eli lay pale against the stark white sheets, lashes dark against his cheeks, chest rising and falling in a slow, fragile rhythm. Every so often, his brows would knit together, lips parting as if he were trying to speak. His fingers twitched, clutching weakly at the linen.Dreaming. No—nightmare.“Eli,” I murmured without thinking, leaning forward. My hand hovered over his arm, stopping just short of touching him. “Wake up.”His breath hitched. His head turned slightly, a soft, broken sound slipping from his throat. “Eli,” I said again, l

ELI'S POVThe sting lingered in my palm long after the sound of the slap faded.Elric staggered half a step, more from shock than force. His head turned with the impact, dark hair falling messily across his forehead. For a split second, his smirk vanished, replaced by something raw and ugly... disbelief, wounded pride, and then anger.The hallway seemed to hold its breath. A nurse at the far end froze mid-step. Somewhere behind me, a cart rattled to a stop. The sterile hospital lights buzzed overhead, too bright, too unforgiving.I stood there, chest heaving, heart slamming so hard it felt like it might tear through my ribs. My side throbbed in protest, but I didn’t care. Not right now.Elric slowly brought his hand up to his cheek, fingers pressing against the reddening skin. When he looked at me again, his eyes were sharp and dangerous. “You’ve got a lot of nerve,” he said softly.I laughed. The sound surprised even me. It came out shaky, almost hysterical.

ELI’S POVThe car ride was a tenuous thread, stretched tight between us. Lucen’s silence wasn’t the comfortable kind... his fingers drummed a slow, deliberate rhythm against the window, his jaw set like he was bracing for a storm. I stared at my reflection in the tinted glass, my eyes red-rimmed, my posture a careful blend of defiance and exhaustion. The hospital had released me with the stern warning that I needed rest, but rest felt impossible now. Not with Lucen’s presence humming beneath my skin, not with Elric’s parting threat curling in my mind like smoke.When the car halted outside a sleek, high-rise apartment building, I blinked. “This isn’t our place, the estate.” I murmured.Lucen opened the door before the driver could step out, the city air sharp with rain. “We're staying here for now as long as the estate is still being renovated and the security is tightened,” he said, as if it were a fact, not an order.“I don’t think—” I tried to speak but he cut me off. God I hate it

LUCEN'S POVThe city glowed beneath my office window, all steel and glass and false calm. One-hundred floors up, the world looked orderly. Predictable. Controlled.That illusion shattered every time I looked down. I held the tablet loosely in my hand, but my grip tightened unconsciously as the image refreshed. Elric... leaning against the lamppost across the street, hands shoved into his coat pockets, head tilted up just enough to track the building’s entrance.Waiting.Again.My jaw locked. Two weeks. Two goddamn weeks. I didn’t need Andrew’s report to know what my instincts had already confirmed. My wolf paced beneath my skin, hackles raised, sensing a threat long before logic caught up. An Alpha didn’t watch another Alpha circle his territory without consequence.And Elric wasn’t circling randomly. He was stalking. The door behind me opened with a soft click. I didn’t turn.“Andrew,” I said flatly.“Yes, Alpha.” His voice was steady... controlled,

ELI'S POV I wake up choking on darkness. For a moment, I don’t know where I am... only that something is wrong. Very wrong. The air smells of pine and damp wood instead of polished stone and incense. The bed beneath me is too narrow, the mattress uneven, like it was made for survival, not comfort. My head throbs, heavy and fogged, as if someone stuffed my skull with cotton. I try to move. Metal bites into my skin. Cold. Unforgiving. My wrists are yanked back above my head, chained to the headboard. My ankles too... spread just enough to keep me vulnerable, restrained in a way that makes my stomach drop violently. Panic slams into my chest so hard I can’t breathe. “No—no, no, no,” I gasp, jerking against the restraints. The chains rattle loudly, the sound echoing off wooden walls. That’s when I really see the room. A small cabin. Rough-hewn logs. A single window boarded shut. One dim lantern hanging from a hook, its light flickering weakly like it’s struggling to stay alive. I scr