Chapter Fifty

Chapter Fifty

~Elias’s Pov~

Lucien had been gone for days now. 

I tried not to overthink it, tried not to check my phone every five minutes like some lovesick fool….but who was I kidding? I was doing exactly that. 

Maybe he didn’t know how to operate it yet. 

But he got the phones for us!

Luckily, Mira and Isla were around to keep me distracted. We spent most of the day just hanging out—gossiping, eating too much, getting in trouble with the kitchen staff for stealing pastries. It felt like old times, like back when my life was simpler and there weren’t vampires and political games breathing down my neck. 

But that evening, just as I was checking my phone and hoping for something from Lucien, my phone actually buzzed. 

Caden. 

My heart jumped into my throat. I had texted him earlier that he could now call me through the new cellphone. 

I wiped my hands quickly on a napkin and answered. 
“Hello?”

“Elias,” Caden’s voice came through, a little fuzzy, but unmistakable. My chest squeezed painfully. I missed him so much. 

“Hey, little man,” I said, smiling even though he couldn’t see me. “How’s everything?”

There was a shuffling sound on the other end like he was pacing. “You won’t believe it,” he said breathlessly. “I woke up and there was—there was so much stuff outside! Bags of rice, flour, even oil! And clothes and….new shoes!”

I blinked, stunned for a second, before the realization sank in. 

Lucien. 

Of course it was him. 

“He’s crazy,” I murmured under my breath, then louder, “That’s….that’s great, Caden. I’m so happy.”

“Was it you?” Caden asked suspiciously.

I laughed weakly. “Kind of….It was the King. He wanted to help.”

There was a beat of silence. “Are you being forced into doing something in return?”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “What do you mean? He is just really kind to me like I told you.”

Caden made a soft sound, almost disbelieving. “You are doing okay?”

I smiled, even though all I wanted was just to live under the same roof as him. “I’m doing great. I’m safe. I have good food, a bed, and….people who care.”

Another silence, but this one was warmer somehow. 

“You should come visit,” I said hurriedly before I lost my nerve. “Just for a day. To say thank you, maybe? I miss you.”

Caden hesitated. “I will think about it.”

That was good enough for me. “I love you, Caden.”

“Love you too,” he mumbled, embarrassed

When the call ended, I just sat there for a minute, staring at the phone in my hand like it was a lifeline. 

I didn’t want to lose this—this fragile thread that still connected me to my old life.

Eventually, I shook myself out of it and decided to get some air. Mira and Isla were busy arguing over which pastries to steal next anyway.

I made my way down to the basketball court, where some of the palace guards and staff were playing a casual game. I didn’t feel like joining, so I just sat on the pavement, knees pulled up to my chest, watching.

It was peaceful. The rhythmic bounce of the ball, the occasional shout—it felt normal in a way so much of my life didn’t anymore.

I was so lost in thought that I didn’t notice her until she sat down beside me.

Anastasia.

“Hey,” she said softly.

I glanced over. She was wearing a light dress, her hair perfectly styled even though we were just outside by the court. Typical.

“Hey,” I replied, polite but guarded.

She was quiet for a moment, then said, “I wanted to apologize. About… the other day. When you got hurt.”

I shrugged, not really wanting to talk about it. “It’s okay.”

“It’s not,” she said quickly. “I should’ve been more careful. I didn’t mean for you to get hurt.”

I nodded stiffly. I didn’t know what else to say.

There was a beat of silence before her voice turned sly, almost wistful.

“You know,” she said, “Lucien and I used to be really close.”

My stomach twisted.

“Oh,” I said, trying to sound disinterested.

She smiled faintly. “He’s… insatiable, you know. When it comes to… intimacy.”

I choked slightly on my own spit.

She laughed quietly, as if reminiscing. “He used to come to my room at night. Couldn’t get enough.”

I didn’t know where to look. My skin was burning, my heart pounding painfully in my chest.

“R-Really,” I mumbled, feeling like I was about to pass out.

“Mhm,” she hummed. “He adored me. Said he couldn’t imagine anyone else.”

She was about to say something else—something I probably didn’t want to hear—when a voice interrupted.

“Evening, Ana,” Adrien, the palace’s basketball coach, called out as he approached.

Anastasia smiled sweetly at him. “Evening, Adrien.”

Adrien turned to me, his eyes crinkling in a friendly smile. “Elias. Come with me for a second?”

Gratefully, I scrambled up, muttering something about “catching up later” to Ana. I followed Adrien a little away from the court, feeling my lungs finally getting some oxygen again.

“I wanted to talk to you,” Adrien said, clapping a hand on my shoulder. “There’s an event coming up. Friendly competition between packs.”

I blinked. “Okay…”

“We want you to compete.”

I stared at him like he’d grown a second head. “Me?”

“Yeah. You’ve got good instincts. And you’ve been training.”

“I’m new,” I said immediately. “I’m not ready.”

Adrien chuckled, giving my shoulder a squeeze. “You’re better than you think.”

He was standing way too close now. His hand slid a little from my shoulder down my arm, and my whole body stiffened.

“I’ll coach you personally,” he said, voice dropping slightly. “Don’t worry. We’ll get real… comfortable.”

My brain short-circuited.

“I’ll think about it,” I squeaked, pulling away as politely as possible.

He laughed and waved me off. “Think fast. You’ve got potential, Elias.”

I practically ran back to the court, my cheeks flaming. I flopped back down on the pavement next to Ana, who gave me a knowing look.

I didn’t meet her eyes.

Instead, I fiddled with my phone. The one Lucien gave me.

He’d actually gone out of his way to get two phones. One for him, one for me. So we could always reach each other, he said. Even though technology clearly wasn’t his strong suit, he was trying.

I smiled a little, my thumb hovering over his name in my contacts.

Should I call him?

Would he be mad?

Was he busy?

I debated for several minutes, my stomach twisting itself into knots.

God, I missed him.