Chapter 214 Liar
Chapter 214 Liar
Lazarus’s POV
I didn’t take a guard with me.
I didn’t need one.
If Magnus wanted to kill me, bringing ten men wouldn’t stop him.
And if I wanted to kill Magnus, ten men wouldn’t be enough to stop me.
Besides, I wasn’t going there to fight.
Not yet.
I needed answers.
The morning sun was already climbing over the trees when I left my office. The pack was fully awake now, the training grounds alive with movement and the distant sound of blades striking wooden targets.
I barely noticed any of it.
The words from that report kept repeating in my head.
Do not let the child reach adulthood before the power fully awakens.
And beneath it—
Magnus is not here for Nova.
He is here because of what Nova is.
What the hell did that mean?
I found Magnus near the western gardens.
Of course he wasn’t alone.
Two of his men stood nearby while he spoke with one of our older elders, laughing about something as though he hadn’t spent years abandoning the very people standing around him.
The sight irritated me more than it should have.
He looked comfortable.
Like he belonged here.
Like he hadn’t walked into my territory carrying twenty years of blood and secrets behind him.
The elder noticed me first.
His smile faded slightly.
Magnus turned.
Our eyes met.
For a second, neither of us spoke.
Then Magnus smiled.
“Lazarus.”
I stopped several feet away.
“Magnus.”
One of his men shifted.
I glanced at him.
He immediately went still.
Magnus chuckled.
“You still have that charming way of making everyone uncomfortable.”
“I’m not here to make anyone uncomfortable.”
“Then what brings you here?”
I stared at him.
“You know why I’m here.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“Do I?”
“Yes.”
He smiled.
That smile.
I remembered it from childhood.
The same smile he’d worn whenever he’d done something cruel and wanted to pretend it was clever instead.
“I’ve been a guest in your pack for less than a day,” he said. “Surely you aren’t already accusing me of something.”
“I’m asking a question.”
“Then ask.”
I stepped closer.
“Why are you really here?”
He laughed softly.
“Really?”
“Really.”
Magnus looked toward the gardens.
“It’s beautiful here.”
I said nothing.
“I wanted to see the pack again.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
I stared at him.
He stared back.
Neither of us blinked.
“You crossed territories with armed men to look at flowers?”
His smile thinned.
“I came with my family.”
“You came with enough warriors to make my border patrol think you were preparing for war.”
“Your guards disarmed them.”
“Because I don’t trust you.”
“That much has always been obvious.”
I folded my arms.
“Then let’s stop pretending.”
Magnus’s expression remained calm.
“You’re very much like your father when you’re angry.”
The mention of him made something inside me tighten.
“My father is dead.”
Magnus’s eyes flickered.
“Yes.”
“And I don’t want to hear his name.”
“I wasn’t talking about him.”
“You just did.”
He smiled faintly.
“You always were sensitive about him.”
I ignored the bait.
“You’ve been asking questions.”
Magnus’s eyebrows lifted.
“About what?”
“Nova.”
Silence.
There.
It was barely noticeable.
A fraction of a second.
But I’d seen it.
His eyes sharpened.
Then he relaxed again.
“I’ve spoken to several people.”
“About her.”
“She’s your Luna.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
Magnus sighed.
“Why are you so suspicious?”
“Because I know you.”
“Do you?”
“Better than you think.”
He stepped closer.
“Then perhaps you should tell me what you think I’m doing.”
I stared into his eyes.
“I think you came here knowing exactly who Nova was.”
Magnus didn’t respond.
“I think you recognized her the moment you saw her.”
Still nothing.
“And I think whatever you know about her, you haven’t told me.”
His expression finally changed.
Not guilt.
Not fear.
Something closer to amusement.
“You’ve become protective.”
“She’s my mate.”
“Yes.”
He said it almost thoughtfully.
“She is.”
I stepped closer.
“Why?”
Magnus smiled.
“Why what?”
“Why did you banish her?”
His face became unreadable.
“That is between Nova and her former pack.”
“No.”
My voice hardened.
“It’s between you and me now.”
He chuckled.
“You’re very dramatic.”
“And you’re avoiding the question.”
“I’ve already told you. Nova was dangerous.”
“That’s bullshit.”
His eyes narrowed.
“Careful.”
“No. You be careful.”
The air between us tightened.
But I forced myself to breathe.
I wasn’t here to fight him.
Not yet.
“I found something.”
Magnus’s expression didn’t change.
But his attention sharpened.
“Did you?”
“An old report.”
Silence.
“It had Nova’s name.”
Nothing.
“She was being monitored as a child.”
Magnus looked away.
That was enough.
“You knew.”
He sighed.
“Lazarus—”
“You knew.”
“I knew many things.”
“Why was she being monitored?”
“I don’t remember.”
I almost laughed.
“Of course you don’t.”
“I was Alpha. There were hundreds of reports.”
“This one had your signature.”
He looked at me.
“Then perhaps I signed it.”
“And?”
“And nothing.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I expect you to understand that the past is complicated.”
“The past doesn’t explain why you’re here.”
He smiled again.
“I told you why I’m here.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“You told me what you want me to believe.”
His smile disappeared.
For the first time, something cold entered his eyes.
“You’re becoming very much like your mother.”
I stepped closer.
“And you’re becoming very bad at pretending.”
He studied me for several seconds.
Then he laughed quietly.
“You think you’ve figured me out.”
“I know you’re hiding something.”
“Everyone hides something.”
“Not everyone brings an army to a pack they abandoned.”
His jaw tightened.
There.
Another crack.
I saw it.
“You didn’t come here for reconciliation.”
He said nothing.
“You didn’t come because you suddenly missed the pack.”
Still nothing.
“You didn’t come because you wanted to meet your grandchildren.”
His eyes hardened.
“And you certainly didn’t come because you wanted to see me.”
Magnus looked toward the trees.
Then he said quietly:
“Perhaps I came because some things that were buried should have remained buried.”
My heart stopped.
“Nova?”
He looked back at me.
His expression was impossible to read.
“I didn’t say her name.”
“You didn’t have to.”
A long silence followed.
Then Magnus stepped past me.
“I suggest you stop digging into things you don’t understand.”
I turned.
“Is that a threat?”
“No.”
He glanced over his shoulder.
“It’s advice.”
“From you?”
“Especially from me.”
I watched him walk away.
I should have been satisfied.
I had confirmed he was hiding something.
But instead, I felt worse.
Because Magnus hadn’t denied anything.
Not really.
He had simply refused to tell me.
And as I stood there watching him disappear between the trees, one thought settled heavily in my mind.
Whatever Magnus was afraid of…
he wasn’t afraid of me.