Chapter 73

Lucien’s POV

But Darren my stepbrother was standing right in front of me.

So who in the goddess’s name was the man at the gate claiming to be him?

I turned slowly, my eyes locked on Darren. He hadn’t moved an inch. The smirk still played on his lips, cool and collected like always.

“Go and see for yourself,” he said with a tilt of his head, voice laced with something dangerous. Confidence? Or a challenge?

Felicia stood quietly to the side, her arms crossed tightly over her chest, watching both of us. Her eyes said what her mouth didn’t: This doesn’t feel right.

I didn’t hesitate.

Spinning on my heel, I marched toward the large wooden doors that led to the outer courtyard, my boots echoing across the marble floors.

The hallways seemed darker somehow as I moved, the sunlight outside filtering in pale and cold through the high windows. Each step I took was heavy with tension.

The real Darren was inside. So who was this imposter?

And more importantly,what did he want?

Just as I was about to push open the front gate, another presence slipped into the corridor from the east wing.

“Lucien!”

I stopped abruptly.

Kael.

He was walking toward me, his tone urgent, his brows furrowed in something more than concern.

“Don’t go,” he said as he approached me, his footsteps quick. “Whatever’s out there it’s not what you think.”

I narrowed my eyes. “You saw him?”

Kael nodded. “Only from a distance. He… he looks like Darren. But not just in the usual resemblance. This is something else. It’s like someone’s wearing his skin.”

I stiffened, my fingers curling into fists. “Shifter?”

“Possibly,” Kael said, glancing toward the outer gate. “Or something darker. There’s no scent. No heartbeat. Just,presence.”

That made my wolf stir uneasily beneath the surface.

Darren had many enemies, but few bold enough to impersonate him at Mooncroft’s front gate. This was more than a message.

It was a declaration.

“Stay with Felicia,” I ordered Kael. “And keep your eyes on our Darren.”

Kael hesitated. “Lucien…”

I looked at him sharply. “I said stay. I need to see this for myself.”

Kael reluctantly nodded, backing away, his gaze still tense. I could tell he didn’t like this. Neither did I.

I pushed through the iron-reinforced gate, stepping into the outer courtyard. The wind was colder here, even though it was midday. The trees beyond the stone walls rustled softly, too softly.

There was a man standing in the middle of the path, flanked by two cloaked figures. His back was to me, his stance casual,too casual.

“Who are you?” I called out.

He turned slowly.

And my breath caught.

He looked exactly like Darren.

The same sharp jawline, the same calculating gray eyes, the scar beneath his left cheekbone,right down to the way he held his arms, always slightly relaxed, as if ready to strike at any moment.

“Lucien,” the man said, spreading his arms like an old friend greeting me after years apart. “Brother. You look… tired.”

My jaw clenched. “You’re not Darren.”

He tilted his head, smiling. “Aren’t I? You sound unsure.”

I took a step forward, summoning every ounce of restraint not to shift right there.

“You’ve made a mistake,” I growled. “He’s already inside. You’re about five years too late.”

The imposter’s smile didn’t falter. “No, no. He’s the mistake, Lucien. You just haven’t realized it yet.”

Behind him, the cloaked figures tensed.

“You think this is a game?” I snarled. “You think waltzing into my territory with a stolen face will get you what, exactly? My trust?”

“I want what’s mine,” he said, and for the first time, there was venom in his voice.

“And what’s that?” I demanded.

“Everything.”

He stepped forward, his expression twisting,not in pain, but in a grotesque sort of glee.

“The crown. The territory. The pup your mate carries. All of it should’ve been mine.”

I blinked, trying to process his words.

The pup?

How the hell did he know about that?

My wolf roared inside me, claws pressing against my skin. Whoever this man was, he had information no outsider should have.

“You’ll regret stepping foot here,” I said through clenched teeth.

He smiled wider.

“Perhaps. But I won’t be the only one bleeding.”

He gave a sharp whistle.

And just like that, the cloaked figures vanished,shifting into shadows that darted away into the treeline beyond the courtyard.

The imposter didn’t move. He just stared at me, as if memorizing my face.

“I’ll be back,” he said.

Then his entire body began to change,his skin rippling, stretching, contorting. It was a horrifying sight, bones cracking and reforming, hair pulling inward, eyes shifting color—

And within seconds, he wasn’t Darren anymore.

He was me.

A perfect replica of Lucien.

Even the scar across my left eyebrow. Even the birthmark on my collarbone. His smirk was mine.

“You can’t protect them all,” he said in my voice, before vanishing into smoke.

Literally. Smoke.

Gone.

I stood there, frozen, breathing hard, fists clenched.

Shifter. Sorcerer. Or something else entirely?

Whoever he was… he was dangerous.

And he knew too much.

The pup. The prophecy. Even the growing tension between me and Darren.

My mind spun with the implications, the questions. I had to get back inside,now.

As I stormed back into the hall, Kael and Felicia both turned toward me immediately.

“What happened?” Felicia asked, her voice tight.

Kael tensed at the expression on my face. “Lucien?”

“It wasn’t him,” I said, locking eyes with them. “It wasn’t Darren.”

“Then who…” Felicia began.

But before she could finish, a different guard burst into the hallway, face pale, breathing ragged.

“My King!” he said. “Urgent news.”

I turned sharply. “What is it?”

The guard bowed quickly. “There’s been an attack on the eastern border. A watchtower was destroyed. No scent. No witnesses. Just smoke and a message carved into the stone.”

I stepped closer. “What message?”

The guard swallowed hard. “It said: One face. Two kings.”

Silence fell.

Felicia took a step toward me. “Lucien…”

But I was already turning to Kael.

“Call the council. Lock down the territory. And bring me the real Darren.”

Because whoever that thing was… it was coming back.

And next time, it wouldn’t just be wearing a stolen face