Chapter 121: _Can’t Protect Him Forever Lucian’s POV
"Whoever you are, you’re sure as heck making a huge mistake," Lucian said coldly, keeping his arms resting beside him. "I have guards, trained soldiers, who’ll come for you the second I call them." "That’s if you get the chance to call them." The man behind him chuckled, unimpressed. "Your hubris and arrogance exceed you, Alpha Prince. But I couldn’t care about any of that." Lucian’s jaw tightened, his fingers twitching. His claws threatened to burst out of his nails but he was waiting for the right moment to make a move. One wrong move and the bastard would definitely blow up his head with that plasma rifle. He wouldn’t be able to survive such a short-range blast. "What do you want?" Lucian drew in a deep breath and asked calmly, his eyes scanning the surroundings. Whatever cloaking ability or technology the man used was impressive. He wasn’t able to sense him until it was too late. "I want lots of things, Alpha Prince. But I’m only here as a messenger to warn you." The man spoke smoothly, with way too much confidence. He knew he was standing inside the Lunarian palace grounds, right? "Warn me? That’s it?" Lucian sniggered, amused. "Very well... Go on with it." There was a pause after that, the silence stretching for seconds.
"Whoever you are, you’re sure as heck making a huge mistake," Lucian said coldly, keeping his arms resting beside him. "I have guards, trained soldiers, who’ll come for you the second I call them." "That’s if you get the chance to call them." The man behind him chuckled, unimpressed. "Your hubris and arrogance exceed you, Alpha Prince. But I couldn’t care about any of that." Lucian’s jaw tightened, his fingers twitching. His claws threatened to burst out of his nails but he was waiting for the right moment to make a move. One wrong move and the bastard would definitely blow up his head with that plasma rifle. He wouldn’t be able to survive such a short-range blast. "What do you want?" Lucian drew in a deep breath and asked calmly, his eyes scanning the surroundings. Whatever cloaking ability or technology the man used was impressive. He wasn’t able to sense him until it was too late. "I want lots of things, Alpha Prince. But I’m only here as a messenger to warn you." The man spoke smoothly, with way too much confidence. He knew he was standing inside the Lunarian palace grounds, right? "Warn me? That’s it?" Lucian sniggered, amused. "Very well... Go on with it." There was a pause after that, the silence stretching for seconds.
The sounds of birds chirping and the slight movement of the pond would’ve been serene and relaxing before but now they only added to Lucian’s unease as he anticipated the bastard’s next words.
And then—
"The Dark Hand requests that you stop poking your head into matters that don’t concern you."
Lucian blinked at first, waiting to see if he’d hear anything more. But after several seconds, the man added more pressure to the rifle, pushing his head forward.
"Am I understood?" He asked but Lucian’s lips curled into a smirk.
One completely without warmth or amusement. Just disbelief at the audacity.
"You want me to stop looking into the Dark Hand," Lucian repeated, clicking his tongue. "Even after you people sent an Umbra beast after my mate. And after Magnus, one of your own, sent an assassin?"
"I didn’t come here to answer your questions, Alpha Prince. I—"
"Oh, but you’ll fucking answer them, asshole!" Lucian sneered, damning every consequence. "You walk into my home, point a rifle at me and tell me to turn a blind eye while your shady organisation hunts my mate?"
The bastard’s silence was more than an answer.
"Listen, I have no time for this." The guy finally said with a grunt. "Just do as I say and maybe we’ll look away from the omega. And your sister."
Rage burned Lucian’s eyes until they glowed with a bright silver light.
However, just when he was about to explode, a pained sound left the man’s lips, followed by something heavy and limp falling on Lucian’s back.
A body.
Lucian reacted quickly, rolling away from the body and drawing out his claws. On the spot he’d been standing on a second ago, he finally saw his captor.
It was a man donned in a black coat, but despite whatever happened to him, he was still standing, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Why don’t you threaten me to my face?!" A familiar female voice yelled out from several meters behind the man, forcing Lucian to flick his eyes in that direction.
Aurora.
She stood tall, her fists clenched beside her and a silver whip that crackled with a bright light clutched in her right hand.
She glanced at Lucian for only a second before sending the whip at the cloaked man again.
"Fools!" The man snapped, disappearing into a cloud of black smoke.
A cold shiver ran down Lucian’s spine as he and Aurora scanned the place wearily.
"I thought you said you were heading to your room?" Lucian asked Aurora, running to her side to keep her safe.
But she scoffed. "I was lingering around to hear more of your conversation with Beta Axel. I was about to leave when I heard—"
Suddenly, the cloaked man appeared again, this time levitating several meters in front of them. He didn’t waste a second, swiping his hands at them.
Lucian’s eyes widened when he saw two twin bolts of golden lightning flashing out of his hands before zapping toward them.
That wasn’t technology.
It was—
"Magic!" Aurora yelled in a panic, but Lucian grabbed her before the bolts could hit, pulling her to the left.
They fell to the ground as the lightning bolts struck, sending dirt and debris sizzling into the air.
Lucian subconsciously shielded his face with his right arm, but was quick to get on his feet right after, positioning himself in front of Aurora and spreading out his arms.
His aura surged underneath his skin, pushed by the bubbling rage waiting to burst out from within.
"If you want to go through my mate or my sister, you’ll have to go through me!" Lucian snarled, his voice booming around the area as his aura burst out like silver flames.
The cloaked man didn’t even flinch at Lucian’s outburst. His hood shifted just enough for Lucian to catch a pale, sharp jawline and lips twisted into a mocking grin.
"I don’t have to do anything to you, Alpha Prince." His voice was smooth, carrying that same dangerous calm. "All you need to know is this: The Dark Hand’s influence has sunk far deeper into Lunaria’s roots than you think."
Lucian’s body stiffened, his claws itching to sink into flesh. Aurora sucked in a breath, her silver eyes flashing.
"What the hell do you mean by that?" she demanded, her whip crackling in her hand as she got on her feet. "Speak plainly, witch!"
The man only chuckled. "You’ll see soon enough."
And then he lunged forward—his speed inhuman, cloak billowing like shadows come alive.
Lucian shoved Aurora back and braced for impact, but before the blow could land, the man burst into a cloud of thick black smoke. The air itself twisted, choking and heavy, until nothing remained but the lingering stench of ash and ozone.
Silence fell, broken only by the rush of blood pounding in Lucian’s ears.
Aurora’s whip slowly dimmed.
"He used magic," she whispered, her voice shaking, though her expression hardened fast. "Lucian... are we certain the Dark Hand is even its own faction? What if—"
Lucian clenched his jaw, finishing the thought for her. "What if it’s being run by witches from Arcadia?"
The two of them locked eyes, neither daring to voice the fear outright, but it hung heavy in the air.
If the Arcadian Kingdom was behind the Dark Hand, then this wasn’t just a Lunarian-based conflict anymore... This was war creeping straight into their veins.
Before Lucian could say more, the pounding of boots thundered from the garden path. Axel appeared, flanked by three guards with weapons drawn, their eyes wide with alarm.
"Lucian! Aurora!" Axel barked, his voice edged with urgency. "We heard a commotion... what happened here?"
His gaze flicked between the scorch marks still sizzling on the grass and the two of them standing defensively by the pond.
Lucian exhaled sharply, still trying to steady his heartbeat. "We were just... visited."
Aurora’s fists tightened. "By the Dark Hand. And not just any foot soldier. A witch."
Axel’s expression darkened instantly, his fists clenching. "Then it’s worse than we thought."
Lucian’s jaw flexed, his eyes narrowing. "They’re not just circling us anymore, Axel. They’re already inside our walls."
The words barely left his lips when one of the guards stumbled forward, clutching his throat. His eyes bulged unnaturally, veins crawling black across his skin.
"Gods above!" Aurora gasped.
The guard dropped to his knees, choking, before a rasping voice tore from his mouth... a voice that wasn’t his.
"You can’t protect him forever."
. Lucian’s blood ran cold.
The guard’s body convulsed, and then... he collapsed onto the grass, smoke seeping from his mouth like a final breath.
The silence afterwards was deafening.
Lucian felt his heart hammer as his eyes flicked to Aurora and then to Axel.
That message had been clear.
Elian.