Chapter 136: _He’s Made His Choice Lucian’s POV
Axel bringing him news that the Eastern wolves council were coming next month was already enough to rile him up. The fact that the Dark Hand had managed to send a witch so skilled that he breached the palace’s Security was enough to get his agitation in a knot. Elian and Kyren spending so much time together all of a sudden was enough to make him question everything. But when his mother summoned him to her chambers with a shocking revelation, he knew he wouldn’t be able to contain all that pent-up rage much longer. "You heard me right, Lucian." Luna Queen Elowen had said with a light sigh, taking off her jewellery in front of her vanity mirror like she wanted to retire to bed early. "Not only has your father been sponsoring the Dark Hand, but your grandfather apparently did something terrible to the man who’s now its leader." The room was large but dimly lit, giving Lucian only a vague view of his mother’s figure as her back faced him. He stood at the door, his arms folded in front of his chest as he watched her grab a crystalline mug of what seemed to be tea before sitting on a padded chair so she could face him. Lucian squinted at his mother as the silence stretched unbearably. "Why, mother? Why are you telling me this?" His eyes twitched as he tried comprehending the whole thing. The Dark Hand he knew was a mercenary organisation that went off grid and allegedly became untraceable by the royal court and the Lunarian nobles.
Axel bringing him news that the Eastern wolves council were coming next month was already enough to rile him up. The fact that the Dark Hand had managed to send a witch so skilled that he breached the palace’s Security was enough to get his agitation in a knot. Elian and Kyren spending so much time together all of a sudden was enough to make him question everything. But when his mother summoned him to her chambers with a shocking revelation, he knew he wouldn’t be able to contain all that pent-up rage much longer. "You heard me right, Lucian." Luna Queen Elowen had said with a light sigh, taking off her jewellery in front of her vanity mirror like she wanted to retire to bed early. "Not only has your father been sponsoring the Dark Hand, but your grandfather apparently did something terrible to the man who’s now its leader." The room was large but dimly lit, giving Lucian only a vague view of his mother’s figure as her back faced him. He stood at the door, his arms folded in front of his chest as he watched her grab a crystalline mug of what seemed to be tea before sitting on a padded chair so she could face him. Lucian squinted at his mother as the silence stretched unbearably. "Why, mother? Why are you telling me this?" His eyes twitched as he tried comprehending the whole thing. The Dark Hand he knew was a mercenary organisation that went off grid and allegedly became untraceable by the royal court and the Lunarian nobles.
Rumours began spreading of them conducting unnatural experiments only weeks ago, affecting the industrial district of Moonhaven City.
Their becoming such a big threat so suddenly would only be possible if they had a large backer.
In this case... his father.
"I’m telling you because your father doesn’t want to reason and refuses to tell me what exactly your grandfather did to the supposed leader of that organisation." The Luna Queen tapped her fingers on her tea mug, her jaw tightening.
"And I’m also telling you, just in case it can help you in any way to protect your mate. The omega..."
She stopped herself, lowering her head for a couple of seconds before she cleared her throat and continued.
"Sorry, Elian. He seems to be a target of the Dark Hand. And I have an odd feeling it’s something bigger than him merely being your mate."
Lucian felt an odd fear of the unknown creeping in.
He hated unknowns.
It made him feel like he was losing control... And he equally hated that.
"If father knows something that the rest of us don’t and is actively sponsoring an enemy that’s threatening what’s mine," Lucian’s tone was firm, his hands falling beside him as he curled them into fists. "Then it’s about time we had a little chat."
His wolf growled coldly in his soul, its bloodlust consuming him.
Luna Queen Elowen only blinked at him, like she knew very well her son wasn’t just going to "talk".
And oh, how right she was...
.
.
After Lucian’s... Confrontation with his father, he barged out of the throne room, walking past Elian and Kyren.
He felt like stopping to say something to Elian, anything.
But seeing him standing so close to Kyren ticked something in his mind. He glared at both of them, noticing how withdrawn Elian was after his father yelled at him.
’Stand still and just tell him how you feel!’ his wolf growled in his soul, demanding and agitated. ’Are you going to let another man lay stakes on what’s ours?’
’That other man is his mate as well.’ Lucian responded plainly to his wolf as he walked down the large and empty hallway.
All the staff on this floor had scurried for safety after his battle with his father. It was less of a fight and more of him throwing a temper tantrum now that he thought of it.
Hmph... He was far from having the power of a celestial sovereign.
When Lucian got in front of an Ascension platform, he noticed someone was in it and waited, tapping his right foot on the floor.
But when the metal doors finally opened, he rolled his eyes when he saw who was inside.
Aurora.
His sister had her right hand resting on her waist, her eyes seeming like she had something planned.
She wore a silver silk gown and had her silver hair cascading down her shoulders.
But when her eyes locked on Lucian, she arched an eyebrow.
"Well... I heard the boys were squabbling." She snorted, scanning her eyes from Lucian’s face to his toes. "You look a mess. Is that blood trickling down your mouth? Was it that bad?"
Lucian grunted, stepping onto the platform without looking at her. "Sister. I thought you were keeping yourself hidden in your room. With Lord Kyren being here and all."
She paused for a few seconds.
But then, she stretched a hand toward the buttons, clicking on the one leading to the last floor.
That brought a frown to Lucian’s face as he finally turned to face her.
"What are you doing?"
"You didn’t think I’ll stay shut in forever and miss all the drama this family has to offer?" She brought her gaze to him as well when the metal doors slid shut, the blue symbols lighting up. "I guessed you’re going as far away as possible from father. So the ground floor seems like the best option."
Lucian blinked at her but he couldn’t argue. He didn’t have the strength to.
He simply shifted backwards, resting the back of his head on the cold metal surface of the shaft, his eyes on the ceiling.
His muscles felt like they’d been through hell, his chest heaving heavily as he tried to calm himself from the aftermath of that encounter.
Surprisingly, Aurora didn’t make any snarky remarks beside him, like she could sense he was at his wits’ end.
Eventually, the Ascension platform stopped at the lobby on the ground floor, the doors opening and showing how nearly empty it was.
They walked through the lobby, ignoring the glances from nobles and palace staff who had definitely heard of the fight.
When they finally got out of the palace, stepping into the sun and cool breeze, Lucian let himself take in a deep breath.
"Alright," Aurora muttered, standing in front of him and folding her arms in front of his chest. "Now can you tell me what happened?"
Lucian parted his lips, about to speak, when his eyes flicked several hundred meters behind her.
Lord Kyren’s black battleship had suddenly activated, its sail-like wings unfurling as it made a mechanical whirring sound.
Lucian instantly got an odd feeling and soon understood why when he turned his gaze to his far left and spotted Kyren and Elian walking out of the palace.
He had a feeling Kyren would leave after all that. But... Elian?
Aurora followed his eyes just then, her expression awkward when she saw Elian.
"Oh... I doubt they’re going out for a walk."
No, they weren’t.
Lucian gritted his teeth, damning it all as he ran past Aurora, yelling at the top of his voice.
"Elian!"
The latter froze, and so did Kyren, who immediately whipped his head to the Alpha Prince’s direction.
That glint in the rogue king’s eyes was like someone who had finally won the prize.
When Lucian saw that, his chest caved in, his lips trembling with words unsaid. Words he didn’t know if he’ll ever be able to say.
Elian maintained eye contact with him for a few seconds when Lucian stopped running. Even from this distance, he could hear their hearts beating in sync.
But then—
"He’s made his choice, Alpha Prince." Kyren’s voice cut through the silence, his white hair floating around him. "I suggest you do too."
Those words hung in the air as Elian tore his gaze away from Lucian, staring at Kyren instead.
Both of them continued walking, leaving Lucian with a weird ache in his chest.
He watched them as they climbed into the battlecraft, the sides of it glowing with red runes.
All it took was a few more seconds for the craft to lift off into the air before zooming off past the palace, breaking the sound barrier and leaving a gust of wind behind.
"What happened?!" Beta Axel’s voice boomed behind Lucian just then but he didn’t even bother glancing back.
Because the answer was brighter than the fucking sun peeking through the clouds like it was mocking him.
"Elian," Lucian muttered, his fingers curling until his claws unsheathed and drew out fresh blood from his palm. "Left."