Chapter 128: _A Continental Threat Lucian’s POV
"So you came in here. The witch barged in moments later and lord Kyren just happened to come in next?" Lucian asked with his arms folded in front of his chest, blinking a few times at Beta Axel. They were both standing in the middle of Elian’s room, trying to ignore the large hole blown through one of the walls and the few guards trying to mark spots for investigation and find clues left behind by the witch. Axel nodded in response to Lucian’s question, grabbing his plasma sabre, which only had its hilt out. "Yep. I’m guessing lord Kyren was able to sense the witch’s magic and came just in time. If it weren’t for him... Goddess have mercy." Lucian rolled his eyes, glancing with a sarcastic smile at the Beta. "Don’t try painting him as some hero now. You told me how he left you suspended in the air by the witch’s weird tentacle magic." Lucian remarked with a dry snigger, turning away from him. "The fact that we’re leaving that man so close to Elian is—" Suddenly, before he could complete that sentence, his ears caught the sound of incoming footsteps walking into the room. He turned his gaze to the barely intact door just in time to spot a few men donned in the empire’s signature golden armour walking in. A young man, probably in his early thirties, who Lucian had interacted with once or twice, was in the middle of this group, the scar across his jaw making him seem more serious than his face allowed. "Ah, Fenrir," Lucian remarked with a plain tone, tilting his head at the lad and the rest of them. "Glad you all could join us." The lad frowned, clearing his throat and bowing before Lucian and Axel. "It’s Fenros, Alpha Prince."
"So you came in here. The witch barged in moments later and lord Kyren just happened to come in next?" Lucian asked with his arms folded in front of his chest, blinking a few times at Beta Axel. They were both standing in the middle of Elian’s room, trying to ignore the large hole blown through one of the walls and the few guards trying to mark spots for investigation and find clues left behind by the witch. Axel nodded in response to Lucian’s question, grabbing his plasma sabre, which only had its hilt out. "Yep. I’m guessing lord Kyren was able to sense the witch’s magic and came just in time. If it weren’t for him... Goddess have mercy." Lucian rolled his eyes, glancing with a sarcastic smile at the Beta. "Don’t try painting him as some hero now. You told me how he left you suspended in the air by the witch’s weird tentacle magic." Lucian remarked with a dry snigger, turning away from him. "The fact that we’re leaving that man so close to Elian is—" Suddenly, before he could complete that sentence, his ears caught the sound of incoming footsteps walking into the room. He turned his gaze to the barely intact door just in time to spot a few men donned in the empire’s signature golden armour walking in. A young man, probably in his early thirties, who Lucian had interacted with once or twice, was in the middle of this group, the scar across his jaw making him seem more serious than his face allowed. "Ah, Fenrir," Lucian remarked with a plain tone, tilting his head at the lad and the rest of them. "Glad you all could join us." The lad frowned, clearing his throat and bowing before Lucian and Axel. "It’s Fenros, Alpha Prince."
Fenrir, Fenros... Same, same.
These men were members of the committee Axel gathered to investigate the two assassins who tried to kill Elian.
But with recent developments, those assassination attempts were revealed to be much smaller in the grand scheme of things.
"Any more news from Silvervale?" Axel queried before Lucian could say anything else, stepping forward and keeping his voice hushed.
Lucian squinted at the men when he noticed their expressions pale.
Silvervale City was the seat of the Eastern Wolves Council, who held tradition and ancient customs with much regard... And who were also responsible for asking Lucian to marry his mate.
But the city was also the home of the little daughter of the first assassin sent to Elian.
Axel and the committee had visited the city to interrogate the little girl while Lucian stayed back to avoid the scrutiny of the eastern wolves.
Speaking of the little girl...
"That’s the reason we came in search of you, Beta." Fenros began, his expression sombre. "While you, the Alpha Prince, princess Aurora and your mate were at the Howling Wolf hotel last night, we got reports on Elvor."
Lucian flicked his eyes to Axel for an explanation. "Who’s Elvor again?"
Axel barely spared him a glance. "The friend of the first assassin who knew a little of his shady dealings with the Dark Hand and also has custody of his daughter." He paused, squinting at Fenros. "What about him?"
The young soldier exchanged glances with his comrades as if he wanted them to step in and explain for him.
But he eventually sighed, scratching his forehead.
"Elvor is dead, sir. Mysteriously."
The words dropped like a bomb, causing a cold shiver to surge through Lucian’s being.
The heck?
"What do you mean by ’mysteriously’?" Lucian questioned, stepping forward and unintentionally placing himself in front of Axel. "Who the heck dies mysteriously after he was met for an investigation?"
Fenros parted his lips but someone else spoke up in his stead, a man with a thick brown beard.
"We’re telling you, your highness. Reports from his neighbours say he came back from a drink after leaving little Imelda with his grandmother. But then he screamed. It was... Unnatural. Blood curdling. Broke the night’s peace for sure."
Lucian glanced at Axel at the word "peace".
They both knew the night was anything but "peaceful" back here in Moonhaven last night.
"Imelda was nowhere to be found when the neighbours got there. But as for Elvor and his grandmother? Dead. With black veins crawling up their necks." The bearded man completed the story with dread, stretching out his right arm just then.
A holographic projection flickered into existence from the bracelet on his wrist, showing images of the scene.
Elvor and his elderly grandmother were both indeed on the floor, lifeless with their eyes wide open and black veins streaked along their necks.
"Goddess..." Axel whispered while Lucian’s lips pressed into a thin line.
Something seemed oddly familiar about these images...
"Wait..." Lucian’s eyes lit up as he grabbed Axel’s right shoulder, causing the latter to frown. "Remember earlier this morning? At the western gardens, when Aurora and I confronted the witch, and you came in with a few guards when he disappeared?"
Axel blinked but nodded slowly to show he was following.
"One of the guards died mysteriously as well. Possibly from a curse left behind by the witch but..." Lucian drew out a holographic flat screen on his right palm, showing Axel an image. "There were also black veins on his body."
Axel’s eyes widened as Lucian kept aside the holographic screen.
"Wait... Do you think the same witch who killed a guard and detonated himself in this room also murdered Elvor and his grandmother?"
Lucian shook his head, his jaw clenching. "I think the witch wasn’t bluffing when he said the Dark Hand’s influence runs deeper than we think."
Right now, one thing ran in his mind, and the more he thought about it, the more agitated he got.
Kyren.
There was something suspicious about the Rogue king, and he wouldn’t take his arrival moments before the witch’s attack as a coincidence.
"We should report these findings to the Alpha king." Axel nodded grimly. "The Dark Hand is starting to seem like a continental threat and that—"
"Hold that thought." Lucian raised a finger, staring at the Beta for a couple of seconds before he walked past the committee members.
Lucian’s boots echoed sharply against the marble as he stalked out of the room and down the quiet hallway, leaving the stunned committee behind.
His wolf prowled under his skin, restless, agitated, whispering the same name over and over:
Kyren.
The Rogue King’s shadow seemed to stretch across every damn corner of this palace.
His sudden appearances. His secrets. His too-convenient rescue.
Lucian’s jaw clenched as he made his way toward the chamber that was supposed to house Elian and Kyren.
The door was slightly ajar.
Lucian’s brows drew together, and he slowed, every sense alert.
That wasn’t right.
Not with the guards still sweeping the palace after the witch attack.
He pressed his palm against the door and pushed it open.
What greeted him made his breath falter.
The room was... quiet. Too quiet.
The golden drapes swayed lazily from an open window. The chandelier lights above illuminated the room.
And there, right in the middle of the bed... was Elian.
His mate was curled beneath the silken sheets, his chest rising and falling in the steady rhythm of deep sleep. His lashes rested against flushed cheeks, his lips parted slightly.
Lucian’s heart gave an annoyingly painful lurch.
There was his mate, so defenceless. So unaware.
But there was no sign of Kyren.
Lucian’s eyes swept the chamber... from the corners, to the shadows and even the ceiling.
Empty.
Not a trace of the white-haired bastard.
His throat tightened, fury boiling beneath his ribs.
He strode forward, towering over Elian’s sleeping form.
"Elian?" he whispered, his hand hovering above his mate’s shoulder, debating whether to shake him awake. But one look at how deep his sleep was told him this wasn’t natural.
A drug? A spell maybe? But definitely something Kyren had done.
Lucian’s wolf snarled inside his chest, the sound almost spilling past his lips.
"Where the hell are you, Kyren?" Lucian muttered under his breath, his fists clenching.