Lucas
I search everywhere.
Around the bathhouse, the street next to it, and the one after that. Hell, I even ask random people if they’ve seen her. Aria. My Aria.
Nothing. No one has seen her.
This can’t be happening. She wouldn’t leave me. Not after everything we’ve been through.
I try to mind-link her, even though my head is pounding like a bitch and my whole body feels like it’s been through a shredder. But she’s blocking me. Her wolf won’t even respond to mine.
She’s gone.
A frustrated growl rips out of my throat as I run a hand through my hair, gripping it tight. A few people glance at me like I’ve lost my damn mind. Maybe I have. Maybe I fucking have.
I take off running again, trying to pick up her scent. But it’s useless. The wolfsbane in my system is messing with my senses, dulling everything. My wolf is just as fucking useless right now, whining like a wounded pup.
“Aria… Aria, please… don’t do this to me.” My voice cracks, my chest tightening so hard it feels like my ribs might snap.
I glance down at the crumpled paper in my hand, as if hoping, praying…that maybe it’s someone else’s handwriting.
But it’s hers.
Her words. Her goodbye.
My knees almost give out. The world feels wrong. Cold. Empty.
And then I hear them.
Boots. A lot of them.
I don’t even look up. I already know who it is. My father’s men.
They surround me, but I don’t bother to move. I don’t even care. Let them take me. Let them do whatever the fuck they want.
I’ve already lost everything.
They grab my arms and haul me forward, dragging me toward a car parked across the street. I don’t fight. Don’t resist. Just let them shove me inside like some broken puppet.
The drive back is a blur. My head leans against the window, but I don’t see anything. I can’t think about Aria, because if I do, it’ll break me all over again.
And I’m already hanging by a fucking thread.
The second we pull up in front of my father’s mansion, I know exactly what’s coming.
The doors barely open before he’s on me.
CRACK.
His fist slams into my face, snapping my head to the side.
I barely feel it.
“You bastard,” he snarls, shoving a finger in my face. “How dare you try to bring disgrace to this family? Have you lost your damn mind?”
I don’t answer. I just stand there, my body swaying slightly, my face blank.
My father turns to his men, gesturing wildly. “What the fuck is wrong with him?”
One of them shifts uncomfortably. “We don’t know, Alpha. We found him like this, disoriented.”
“And the girl?” My father’s voice is sharp.
“She wasn’t with him. We searched everywhere, but she’s gone.”
My father goes silent for a moment, then lets out a laugh. A fucking laugh.
“Ohhh,” he drawls, smirking. “She left you, didn’t she?”
My stomach clenches, but I don’t react.
“That’s why you look like a fucking ghost.” He scoffs. “I can’t believe my son is crashing over some girl.” His face darkens, voice dripping with disgust. “Whether you like it or not, I’m going to knock some damn sense back into you.”
He flicks his hand, and his men grab me again.
They drag me inside, up the stairs, and shove me into my room before locking the door behind them.
I don’t move.
I just stand there for a moment, staring at the closed door, my breathing shallow.
Then, slowly, I turn and collapse onto the bed, my body sinking into the mattress like dead weight.
I stare at the ceiling. Blank. Empty.
The ache in my chest is unbearable.
She’s really gone.
I don’t know how long I stay like that…minutes, hours? I don’t even fucking blink.
At some point, exhaustion takes over, and everything fades to black.
……
I’m lying on my bed, staring at the fucking wall like it holds the meaning of life, when I hear the door unlocking.
Probably a maid bringing food.
I don’t move.
“Lucas…”
That’s Theo’s voice. Still, I don’t react.
“Lucas, man, are you awake?” Damon now. They both come stand beside me, but I just keep staring at the wall.
I wonder why my father even let them in.
“Lucas, are you alright? Please talk to us, man. You’ve been ignoring our mind-link.” Theo’s voice sounds too concerned, and I wish he’d stop.
“Lucas, aren’t you even gonna ask how the hell I got better?” Damon sounds hurt, and guilt creeps in, but I shove it down.
I sigh. That’s all I can manage before I force myself up, sitting on the bed like a damn corpse coming back to life.
“My Goddess, Lucas, what the fuck happened to you?” Theo gasps. “You look like you’ve been through hell.”
I probably do. I haven’t looked in a mirror, but I can imagine…dark circles, hollow eyes, a mess of hair that hasn’t been touched in days.
“Why did he let you guys in?” My own voice sounds foreign…hollow.
“We’ve been trying to see you for a week now, but your father wouldn’t allow it,” Damon explains. “But this morning, he called us, told us to come convince you to eat.”
“Well, you shouldn’t have bothered,” I mutter. “I don’t wanna eat anything.”
Theo’s expression darkens. “Lucas, are you trying to kill yourself because Aria left?”
My whole body stiffens.
Her name. Fuck.
I’ve been trying so damn hard not to think about her, not to remember her. And now Theo just throws it out there like it’s nothing.
“Theo’s right,” Damon adds cautiously. “I know you’re hurt, but you have to move on. You need to survive.”
It’s too much. The words. The way they’re looking at me like I’m some broken thing.
I run a shaky hand through my hair, letting out a bitter laugh. “I just don’t understand… How could she do this to me? How could she leave me?”
“Lucas, please relax,” Damon reaches for my hand, but I yank it away.
“No… no,” I shake my head, my chest tightening. “There’s no point in living. My mate left me. She got fed up and left me.” My voice cracks. “Even after I told her I love her.”
The words taste like acid.
“We’re sorry, Lucas,” Theo says softly. “We tried searching for her, but she’s nowhere. It’s like she disappeared into thin air.”
My stomach clenches. My hands ball into fists.
“Then there’s no point in living.”
And that’s it. That’s the moment the memories I’ve been desperately suppressing come rushing back all at once.
Her smile. Her face. The way her eyes lit up when she looked at me. Her scent.
A sharp, unbearable pain stabs through my chest, and I gasp, clutching at it like I can physically rip the agony out of me.
“Lucas! What’s wrong?” Damon’s voice is panicked, but I can’t answer.
The pain is suffocating, wrapping around my ribs like a vice. My breaths come in ragged, uneven gasps. My vision blurs.
My body gives out. I collapse onto the bed, curling in on myself, hands gripping my chest, fingers digging into my shirt like that’ll stop my heart from shattering.
“Lucas? Lucas!”
Their voices sound far away now, distorted, desperate.
But maybe… maybe this is it.
Maybe I should just let go.
Maybe if I die, the pain will finally fucking stop.