Chapter 14

Lucian’s pov

I don't know what it was that made me sit at the computer that controlled the security cameras, but I was glad I did. If I hadn't, I wouldn't have seen Selene making her way out of her room.

That was not supposed to be possible. There was only one person who could deactivate those spells, besides me, and it was definitely not her.

I was tempted to just watch her as she tried to make her way around. Did she really think she would escape like that? She could barely stand—how was she going to get past the guards outside my wing?

Then she had to take the wrong direction, and I knew she was in danger. My fears were confirmed when I saw the figure slinking behind her. Alfonso would show her no mercy, despite how weak she looked.

His job was to guard, and sometimes he took it upon himself to eliminate all who crossed his path. Selene was a vampire; she was definitely no exception. I had to act fast if I didn't want to take a dead vampire back with me.

I thought of activating her power so that she would be able to defend herself against him, but that would take too long. And I doubted she would be able to handle the sudden power in her state.

With a growl, I hopped off my seat. I had to intervene, and fast.

Alfonso already had his claws out and lunged to strike when they were within sight. He wasn't even wasting time; she was as good as dead in his sight.

She screamed, the shrill sound piercing through my heart, and a feral growl erupted from deep within me. It had been a long while since I felt the amount of rage I did now, but I didn't even stop to analyze why I felt this way.

I leapt the remaining distance and came to a stop right between them.

"Back off!" I said. I was already transitioning into my wolf form, but I knew that if I wanted to keep this civil, I shouldn't. In that form, with this amount of rage, I would be uncontrollable, and I would leave Alfonso dead.

"Alpha?" he questioned, his hand freezing as he cocked his head to one side.

"Now," I seethed.

"But she's not supposed to—" he began, his glowing eyes changing to deep green.

"Do I need to repeat myself?" I asked.

Immediately, he bowed his head. "No, of course not." He stepped backwards, his claws retracting.

I turned to face Selene. She was still on the floor, staring up at me with wide, fearful eyes. Well, it wasn't my fault she was now in danger—she should have just stayed put.

"Touch her again and I will rip you to pieces," I whispered, audible enough for him to just hear me.

"I'm sorry, Alpha," Alfonso muttered, and I heard the sound of his feet as he retreated.

Now that I was alone with Selene, I wanted to give her a good spanking and scolding. Perhaps it was not such a good thing to be left alone with her.

"Do you have yourself a death wish?" I demanded.

"I..." she began, wincing as she clutched at her arm.

"To your room, now," I ordered.

She sniffed, glancing at either side of the hall. Oh perfect. She probably didn't even remember the direction she came from.

Muttering curses under my breath, I picked her up and slung her over my shoulder.

I knew I should be gentle with her, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it, especially when she pushed against me.

"Let me go!" she whined.

"Stop fighting, silly girl." I lifted a hand and landed it smack on her butt. She gasped but said nothing more. Now that shut her up nicely.

She was light, surprisingly. I used to think vampires weighed a ton. And they also used to be able to heal themselves.

I flipped her over and held her in front of me to see her arm. Instead, my eyes stayed on her face.

Her hair was disheveled, face scratched in a few places, but her unfocused eyes still held defiance. She was probably not fighting now because I had basically turned her upside down and back again.

One glance at her arm told me that was not going to heal itself. The werewolf claw marks were deep, and from Alfonso, it was definitely poisoned. I'd seen him dip his claws in some venom once.

"Of all the people you had to encounter," I grumbled, flipping her back onto my shoulder.

"I am not a doll!" she shouted as her teeth rattled. "Stop manhandling me!"

"Then you should have stayed where I put you."

"You don't get to tell me where to stay or not. I have my own free will," she countered.

"No, you don't. Here, I control you and everything you do. And as you can see, it's all for your good, else you would be dead by now."

"Well, I guess we're even now," she replied in a defeated tone.

I paused in my steps. Now that she said it, we were. The realization made me smirk. "You'll have to follow my rules if you want to survive here, Selene."

She said nothing more as I took the bend, her room door visible now.

She winced as I dropped her on her bed, and I frowned. I was actually being gentle now, but it seems like she was still hurting.

"I have to take care of that injury before it turns into something else," I said, more to myself than her. But of course, she heard me.

"What's going to happen to me?" she asked.

I figured telling her the woeful tales of those who passed through Alfonso was not the best thing to do in this scenario.

"I will be back," I said instead. "Stay where you are and no funny movement." She nodded weakly, and I strolled out of her room with Raven in mind.

Not only did she have the ability to heal her, but she also had some questions to answer as to how Selene got out of the room in the first place. After all, she was the last person to leave there.