LUCAS’S POV
The moment I stepped into the room, I knew something big had happened. The air was thick with tension, the scent of anger and relief clashing in a way that made my wolf restless.
My eyes landed on Mia first. She stood at the center of it all, arms crossed, chin lifted, looking every bit like a leader. Strong, untouchable. But I knew her better than that. I could see the exhaustion in her stance, the tightness in her jaw.
“What the hell happened?” My voice was sharp, demanding answers.
Mia’s gaze flicked to me, unreadable for a second before she spoke. “We caught the bastard who tried to poison our father.”
I stilled. “Our father?” The words felt strange on my tongue.
Mia nodded, her expression hard. “He would have died if we hadn’t stopped him in time.”
My chest burned. I had barely had time to know the man, to understand him, and already someone had tried to take him from me. My hands clenched at my sides, but I forced my voice to stay calm. “Where is he now?”
“With the guards,” my father answered, stepping forward. He looked stronger than before, but I could still see the faint traces of weakness from the poisoning. “We’ll get everything we need out of him soon enough.”
Good. Because if they didn’t, I would.
I exhaled sharply and turned back to Mia. “And you didn’t think to tell me?”
Her eyes flashed with something dangerously close to fury. “You mean like how you didn’t tell me about Keith?”
My jaw locked.
“That’s different,” I muttered.
She scoffed. “Is it? You tried to protect him, Lucas. Even after everything he did.”
I flinched, her words hitting deeper than I expected. She wasn’t wrong. I had been too soft, too blinded by the fact that Keith was family. That was a mistake I wouldn’t make again.
“I thought he could change,” I admitted, my voice rough. “I didn’t want to believe he was capable of all this.”
Mia’s expression softened for a fraction of a second before she shook her head. “Well, believe it now. Because this is real. And if we don’t stop him soon, more people are going to get hurt.”
She was right. Damn it, she was always right.
I sighed, running a hand through my hair. “I’m sorry.”
Mia blinked, caught off guard by the apology. “You should be.”
“I’ll make it right,” I promised.
Her shoulders relaxed just slightly, but her walls were still up. She wasn’t going to trust me easily. I’d have to prove myself.
I turned back to my father. “We need to increase security. If Keith is desperate enough to send spies, he’s not going to stop now.”
My father nodded. “Already taken care of.”
Good.
I glanced at Mia again. She was watching me carefully, like she was still deciding if she could rely on me.
I met her gaze head-on. “This time, we take him down. No hesitation.”
She studied me for a long moment before nodding. “No hesitation.”
This time, I wouldn’t fail her. I wouldn’t fail any of them. Keith was done.
The spy sat slumped in the chair, blood trickling from his split lip onto the floor. His wrists, bound by thick chains, had bruises from his earlier struggle. He wasn’t laughing now.
I paced in front of him, my hands clenched into fists, my jaw so tight it ached. I had failed. As a son, as a brother-I had let my own family suffer. My father poisoned, my sister hunted like an animal, and Keith-the very cousin I once protected-was the one behind it all. And what had I done? I had trusted him, defended him, and now Mia and my father had almost paid the price.
Rage boiled in my chest, a fire so intense I could barely contain it. My hands shook as I grabbed a knife from the table, gripping it so tightly my knuckles turned white.
“You think this is a game?” I snarled, spinning on my heel.
The spy smirked, his teeth stained red. “Isn’t it?” he rasped.
I drove the blade down, stabbing his finger without hesitation.
His scream filled the chamber, but I didn’t flinch.
“You’re going to tell me everything,” I muttered, twisting the blade slowly. “Or I’ll take my time making sure you feel every damn second of your betrayal.”
His breathing came in ragged gasps, his chest heaving. He refused to speak, his pride holding on, but I could see it-his fear. It lingered in his eyes, behind that weak smirk.
I grabbed the bucket of ice-cold water beside me and dumped it over his head. He gasped, his body convulsing as the freezing liquid drenched him, his breath caught between a choke and a wheeze.
“You don’t get to breathe easy,” I hissed. “Not when you tried to take my father’s life. Not when you helped Keith hurt Mia.”
His head snapped up at the mention of her, his body trembling violently from the cold.
“Keith…wants…the white wolf,” he finally gasped, his voice hoarse. “He won’t stop…not until he has her heart…”
My stomach twisted, but I didn’t let it show. Instead, I leaned in, my face inches from his, my grip tightening around the hilt of my knife.
“Where is he?”
The spy shuddered, his body sagging in the chair. “Hidden…he has a…”
A sudden whistle cut through the air.
The dagger buried itself deep into his throat before he could finish his sentence.
I barely had time to react before his body slumped forward, lifeless, blood gurgling from his lips.
“Shit!” My head snapped toward the entrance, but no one was there.
The assassin had already disappeared.
Rage surged through me. He had been right here, right in front of me, and I had let him die before I could get the location. I wouldn’t fail again.
I bolted out of the room, my senses sharp, heart pounding as I followed the fading scent down the corridors. The bastard was fast, but I wasn’t letting him go.
I turned a corner, catching a shadow slipping through the dim light. My steps quickened, every muscle in my body coiled tight. I was closing in, gaining ground-
Then, everything went black.
A force yanked me backward, like invisible chains wrapping around my body, dragging me into the shadows. My limbs locked up, my vision blurred, and my breath came out in shallow gasps.
No.
I fought against the pull, but it was useless. My body refused to move, and the last thing I saw before the darkness swallowed me was Mia’s horrified face, her mouth parting in a scream.
Then-nothing.