Lucas
“Don’t worry,” she continues before I can respond. “I’ll handle my problems myself.”
“I can protect you,” I blurt out.
She shakes her head, looking exhausted. “No. I’ll handle it. Please… Can you leave? I just want to be alone.”
I hesitate, but finally, I nod. “If you need anything, just call me.”
She’s already lying down, her back to me. I sigh, running a hand through my hair, and walk out of the medical center.
Lily, Mia, Damon, and Theo are waiting outside.
“Is she alright?” Lily asks.
“She just needs to rest,” I say, but my voice is ice. I turn to Damon and Theo. “Follow me.”
They exchange a glance but obey.
“Where’s Vanessa?” I bark as we walk.
“I think she’s in the event hall,” Theo says.
“They’re about to announce the winner of the scavenger hunt,” Damon adds.
I stop and turn to Damon. “Get me a wolfsbane syringe.”
“What for-”
“Shut the fuck up and get it now.”
“Yes, Alpha.” Damon scurries off, and I march to the hall, Theo trailing behind me.
Inside, Beta John’s rambling into a microphone, but I don’t hear a damn word. My eyes zero in on Vanessa, who’s laughing with her stupid friends and that bastard Ethan.
“Vanessa!” My roar echoes through the hall, silencing everyone. I slam my fist into the wall, the crack loud enough to make her jump. “Get over here. Now.”
She stumbles forward, trembling. Good. She fucking should be scared.
“How dare you inject my mate with wolfsbane and lock her in a cold room?”
“Alpha… Lucas… it wasn’t like that-” Vanessa stutters, her voice shaking like she knows she’s already dead meat.
“What happened to Aria? But that’s a lie…Vanessa wouldn’t go that far,” Ethan pipes up, and I snap my head toward him with a growl so vicious it echoes in the hall.
“Shut the fuck up!” My bark makes Vanessa flinch and Ethan step back like the coward he is. “Do you have any idea who you’re messing with? How dare you touch what’s mine!”
Vanessa tries to speak, her lips trembling, but all she manages is, “I… I mean…”
She’s cut off when Damon rushes in, a syringe in hand. He shoves it into my palm, his eyes darting nervously between me and Vanessa. Her gaze locks on the syringe, and I see the panic set in.
“You know what this is?” I hold it up for dramatic effect, letting my voice drop to a dangerous tone.
Vanessa’s trembling intensifies. She takes a step back, like she’s thinking she can run. Idiot. “Bring her here,” I order, and Damon and Theo move like wolves on a hunt, dragging her forward despite her thrashing.
“No! Please, Alpha Lucas, please!” she screams, tears streaming down her face. She twists to look at Ethan, desperation plastered all over her. “Ethan, please help me!”
“Help you?” I scoff. “The same way you helped my mate? Not a fucking chance.”
Beta John steps in front of me, looking panicked. “Lucas, that’s enough. You’re going to kill her!”
I glare at him, my grip on the syringe tightening. “Exactly what she did to Aria. But don’t worry, Beta John. I won’t kill her. Not yet.”
Before he can protest, I jab the syringe into her neck and inject just enough to make her feel like her insides are on fire. Vanessa collapses instantly, her body convulsing as she lets out pitiful whimpers.
I crouch down, looking her dead in the eye. “That’s just a taste, Vanessa. Remember it next time you even think about touching what’s mine.”
Standing, I turn to her two minions. “And you two.. don’t think I forgot about you.” They freeze like deer in headlights.
“Take all three of them to the cold room,” I command, my tone leaving no room for argument. “Lock them in there. Monitor the temperature…make them suffer, but don’t kill them.”
“Lucas, please,” Beta John begs.
I ignore him. “Do it now.”
Vanessa screams as Damon and Theo drag her away, her friends crying as they’re hauled off too. Fucking cowards. No one messes with what’s mine and gets away with it.
As the commotion dies down, John steps closer. “Lucas, I hope you know what you’re doing. All this…for a mere omega?”
His words hit a nerve, but I clench my fists and swallow my anger. “She’s not just an omega. She’s my mate.”
John sighs, shaking his head. “By the way, your father’s been trying to reach you. You’ve been ignoring his mind-link. He wants to speak to you right now.”
“I’m coming ,” I mutter, already exhausted at the thought.
He finally walks off, leaving me alone. My gaze shifts to Ethan, who’s still standing there like a kicked puppy. His red eyes burn with something I can’t quite place…. anger? Guilt? Fear? Whatever it is, it doesn’t sit right with me.
I narrow my eyes. What the fuck is his problem?