Chapter 76 For Her
LUCA
“I’ll try,” I said after a long minute of silence. “I’ll try to be better. To trust you more. To let you make your own choices even when everything in me screams to interfere.”
“That’s all I’m asking. Just try.”
“But Aeliana—” I made her look at me. “If you’re in mortal danger, if I genuinely believe you’re about to die, I’m going to intervene. Rules be damned.”
“Even if I don’t want you to?”
“Especially then. Because I’d rather have you alive and angry than dead and right.” I kissed her softly. “Call me selfish, but that’s my line. The only one I won’t cross.”
She was quiet for a long moment, and I felt her processing through the bond.
“Okay,” she finally said. “Mortal danger gets an exception. Mortal danger doesn’t mean ‘slightly risky.’ It means actually dying.”
“Agreed.” Though my definition of mortal danger was probably much broader than hers.
“And you have to trust my judgment too. If I say I can handle something, you have to believe me.”
“I do believe you. It’s the universe I don’t trust.”
“Fair.” She settled back against my chest. “We’re a mess, aren’t we?”
“The most functional mess in supernatural history.”
“That’s a low bar.”
“Still counts.”
We lay there in comfortable silence, her heartbeat steady against my side. For the first time since the cleansing ritual, I felt myself relaxing.
She was alive. She was here. She was mine.
And she’d just given me explicit permission to lose my mind if she was dying.
I could work with that.
“Luca?”
“Hmm?”
“What are you planning for the summit? Security-wise, I mean.”
“Do you really want to know? Or do you want plausible deniability?”
“That bad?”
“I’m deploying triple the normal guard. Installing magical wards that would stop an army. Personally vetting every single attendee. And I may have hired several assassins to… discourage… any potential threats.” I felt her tense. “Too much?”
“Assassins?”
“They’re on our side. Very expensive, very effective, very discreet.” I stroked her hair. “Anyone who even looks at you wrong during that summit will disappear. Quietly. Efficiently. Untraceable.”
“That’s—”
“Necessary. You’re going to be standing in front of hundreds of supernatural beings, half of whom probably want you dead. I’m not taking chances.”
“You can’t just murder everyone who disagrees with us.”
“Watch me.”
“Luca.”
“Fine. I’ll only murder the ones who pose actual threats. The rest can disagree all they want.” I tilted her face up to mine. “But anyone who tries to hurt you, anyone who makes a move against you—they’re dead. No hesitation. No mercy. No second chances.”
“You’re terrifying when you’re protective.”
“I’m terrifying in general. You just bring out the absolute worst of it.” I kissed her. “But you signed up for this when you accepted the bond. Too late to back out now.”
“Wasn’t planning to.” She yawned, exhaustion catching up with her again. “Though I reserve the right to be horrified by your methods while appreciating the sentiment.”
“That’s fair.”
“And Luca? Those assassins you hired?”
“Yes?”
“Make sure they understand I’m off-limits for interrogation techniques. I don’t want to accidentally get caught in their security measures.”
“Already done. You, Caspian, Sage, and Ryker are all protected. Everyone else is fair game.”
“Even other Alphas?”
“Especially other Alphas. Most of them are corrupt, power-hungry, or both. The world would be better off with fewer of them.”
“You can’t actually believe that.”
“I absolutely believe that. Eight hundred years of dealing with supernatural politics teaches you that most leaders are terrible.” I met her eyes. “Present company excluded, of course.”
“Of course.”
She was falling asleep again, her breathing evening out. I held her close, my mind already racing with contingency plans.
The summit was in six days.
Six days to ensure every possible threat was neutralized.
Six days to build defenses that would make the Moonborne lands impenetrable.
Six days to prepare for every worst-case scenario my paranoid mind could imagine.
It wouldn’t be enough time.
But I’d make it work.
Because failure wasn’t an option.
Not when her life was on the line.
I looked down at her sleeping face, peaceful and trusting, and felt something fierce and possessive and absolutely unhinged settle in my chest.
Mine, my Lycan rumbled in agreement. Ours. Forever.
Forever, I agreed. And I’ll destroy anyone who tries to take her from us.
Good. That’s what mates do. Protect. Possess. Eliminate threats.
He wasn’t wrong.
And in six days, when the summit began and every supernatural being in the region gathered in one place—
They’d all learn exactly what happened when you threatened a Lycan King’s mate.
They’d learn fear.
They’d learn respect.
And if they were stupid enough to actually make a move against her—
They’d learn what eight hundred years of restrained violence looked like when finally unleashed.
I was done being civilized.
Done playing nice.
Done pretending I was anything other than a monster in a crown.
The summit would be peaceful.
I’d make sure of it.
Even if I had to kill half the attendees to guarantee it.
For her, I thought, pressing a kiss to her sleeping head. Everything for her. Always.