Chapter 20
Chapter 20
The antiseptic smell burned through Lucien’s nostrils as consciousness dragged him back to reality–an unwelcome return to a world where she no longer loved him.
His eyes opened to stark white ceiling tiles. When he attempted to move his fingers, pain radiated through his body as though every bone had been deliberately broken and haphazardly reassembled by an enemy.
“Finally rejoined the living?”
Elias sat beside the hospital bed, methodically peeling an apple with a silver–edged blade. The light reflecting off the
knife flashed across Lucien’s face like a subtle reminder of what could still happen to him.
“Remarkable survival instinct. Most wolves would have died under that beam.” The casual tone barely concealed
Elias’s disappointment.
Lucien’s throat felt scorched by both fire and failure. “Where’s Mira?”
“Next door,” Elias replied with savage satisfaction, “keeping vigil over Riven. Hasn’t left his bedside since they brought him in.”
The apple peel snapped and fell into the trash with a sound that seemed impossibly loud in the sterile room.
“You should have seen her. Frantic with worry. Stayed awake forty–eight hours straight, eyes red from crying over him.” Elias twisted the knife, both literally into the apple and figuratively into Lucien’s heart. “Begging the Moon
Goddess not to take him from her.”
Each word flayed something vital inside Lucien’s chest. The memory of Mira’s cold stare in the burning hallway haunted him–the way she’d glanced at him with complete indifference before turning away without hesitation, choosing another wolf without even a moment’s consideration.
She truly loved someone else.
The realization constricted his lungs more painfully than smoke inhalation ever could.
“Why…” his voice emerged as barely a rasp, “why did you set the fire?”
The knife slammed into the bedside table with enough force to embed its silver–edged blade in the wood.
Elias shot to his feet, his eyes flashing dangerously as his control slipped. “Why? So you could finally understand what it feels like to be abandoned when you need someone most!”
His fist connected with Lucien’s jaw, blood instantly welling from the Alpha’s split lip.
“I should fucking end you, Ashmorne!”
“When my sister called me sobbing, I thought she was just upset over some typical mate bullshit!”
The Imalaimad Luna’a Final Condhun: No Longer a Stand. In for His Forhidden Love
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Chapter 26
“But then I discovered Elias seized Lucien’s hospital grown, veins baiging from his neck as he struggled not to shift, “you watched while she was smashed with bottles, stood by while your psychotic sister cut off her hair, permitted that bitch to slap her a hundred times, and let her discover you getting off with a shadow doll that looked like your
sisters”
His eyes shifted fully to wolf gold, canines lengthening as his control frayed. “You have a sister you’d burn the world for, and I have one too!”
Another punch landed with bone crushing force. Lucien made no move to defend himself, accepting the punishment as his due.
“Every pack in three territories treats their daughters like precious treasures! Mine included!”
“Your bloodline may be ancient, but mine commands European Territory!”
“I welcomed you as my brother–in–arms, and you treated my sister like she was NOTHING!”
Blow after savage blow rained down until medical staff flooded the room, requiring three full–grown male nurses to pull Elias away. Only then did he release Lucien, chest heaving as he straightened his blood–spattered designer suit. He looked down at the battered Alpha with pure, distilled contempt.
“Anything to say in your defense? Any justification for six years of systematic cruelty?”
Lucien’s split lip oozed blood as he slowly closed his eyes. “Nothing. I was wrong about everything.”
His voice dropped to barely a whisper. “If beating me eases your rage… just convince her to come home with me.”
“Are you fucking insane?” Elias kicked over the IV stand with enough force to shatter it against the wall. “Riven has loved her for a decade while you methodically destroyed everything she was for six years! You should be on your knees thanking the Moon Goddess that Riven doesn’t know exactly what you did to her, or he’d have torn your heart out and fed it to you!”
“I’d rather see her mated to a fucking omega than ever let her near you again!”
“She belongs with Riven now–someone who appreciates her fire instead of trying to extinguish it. And you?” A cruel smile slashed across Elias’s face. “You deserve exactly what’s coming to you. A lifetime alone, haunted by what you threw away.”
Lucien’s fingers tightened on the sheets, his voice raw with silver burns but filled with stubborn determination. “I won’t give up on her.”
“Try all you want. It’ll be pathetic to watch.” Elias turned to leave before pausing deliberately at the door, his smile transforming into something purely vindictive. “Oh, I almost forgot about your precious Saela.”
“I’ve arranged a special mating for her.”
“Fifty–three–year–old Alpha from the Northridge Pack. Three previous mates, all mysteriously deceased within two years of the marking ceremony.” Elias’s laugh held no humor. “I surrendered territorial rights to the northern silver mines to secure the arrangement. Your parents were quite enthusiastic about the political advantages.”
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Chapter 20
“After all, she’s just adopted. Might as well get some strategic value from damaged goods.”
“What’s wrong?” Elias savored the color draining from Lucien’s face. “The ceremony was two days ago while you were unconscious. She didn’t call to say goodbye?”
The door slammed with enough force to crack the frame.
Alone in the sterile room, Lucien stared at the ceiling, a broken laugh escaping his bloody lips.
Karma. Perfect, vicious karma.
His phone vibrated on the bedside table, Saela’s name flashing on the screen with desperate urgency.
“Luc!” Her agonized sobbing filled the line. “Help me! Mom and Dad have completely lost their minds–they married me off to this monster! They wouldn’t even let me contact you. After the ceremony, he… he…” Her voice splintered. “He’s been torturing me all night. Things I can’t even describe.”
“I only just managed to steal a phone. I’m terrified. I regret everything. Please believe me.”
“I love you, Luc. I always loved you. Please don’t abandon me. Please come save me…”
Lucien listened to her desperate pleas in silence, memories washing over him–her deliberate cruelty toward Mira, her manipulations, her demand that they keep their relationship secret while she enjoyed all the benefits of his protection.
When she finally paused for breath, he spoke softly, his tone gentle despite the ruthlessness of his words: “Saela.”
“Remember what I taught you about consequences?”
The silence that followed was broken only by her shattered breathing.
