Chapter 23 Chapter 23
LUCIAN'S POV
I couldn't get enough sleep because I tossed around in the bed thinking of Ailsa. I had lost control. That was something I never did but when it came to Ailsa all my principles vanished. I couldn't stop myself when I looked in her eyes, the desire in her eyes kept pulling me in. If I didn't stop when I did,I would have taken her on the wall.
Damn!
Why was it difficult to get her out of my head. After all she was just another female. There was nothing special about her.
"If that's what makes you sleep well at night" my wolf said mockingly.
I was already having an uncomfortable, hard on. Thank goodness no one could see me right now. Or maybe I couldn't stop thinking about her beacause I was sexually frustrated. I tried to remember when last I had been with a woman . It had been too long. If I couldn't remember. I should just send for Dahlia, she was a good stress reliever. I mind-linked her and not long after there was a knock on the door. I smiled.
"Come in" she opened the door slowly and she bolted the door as she entered. She had a huge grin on her face.
"I knew it won't be too long before you sent for me" she said in a seductive voice. She turned around until she was in front of me and she went on her knees.
"I've missed you, my alpha" she purred seductively
"I've missed your hands all over me as you take me hard and rough on your desk" she whispered.
Before her words would have had me lifting her up and taking her just as I liked, roughly but hearing her say this now made my hard on disappear and made me irritated.
"Get up" I ordered gruffly and she blinked in surprise.
"What?"
"Now!!" My voice was louder and she jumped up.
"You sent for me so I assumed this is what you wanted. Why are you getting worked up?"
"How dare you question me? You are just a stress reliever. How dare you try to assume to know what I want?"
"This is about that rogue right? I have seen how you stare at her when others are not looking. Are you interested in her?"
"Get out !!!"
"But I can give you what you want. I know all your needs" she tried touching me but I moved away.
"You'll lose a hand if you don't leave now" I threatened.
That must have gotten to her because she was scurrying out of my office in anger. I ran a finger through my hair in frustration. Ailsa was messing with my head, every time,I shut my eyes I saw her.
I gritted my teeth, shoving the thought away. She wasn't supposed to get under my skin and yet my body still remembered the heat of her. My wolf growled low in my chest, restless and angry .
"Enough" I muttered, standing abruptly. My desk was heaped with reports from patrols about the attack .
The pack had been on edge since my attack.
Someone had crossed into our lands unnoticed. Someone had been bold enough to draw my blood. I had barley survived it,it could have been worse.
A soft knock broke the silence.
"Come in" I said my voice calm , though inside everything churned. My beta Aiden entered, he bowed slightly before approaching.
"You sent for me, Alpha?" I nodded and gestured for him to sit.
"Any progress?" He sighed
"Remember the trail I told you, you needed to see?" I nodded remembering he said something like that when I regained consciousness.
"The tracks disappeared near the Western border. Whoever led that attack knew our border patrol patterns. They covered their trail so well."
That was what bothered me the most. This wasn't some wandering rogue. It had been planned , executed with precision. A chilling thought passed through my mind. What if Ailsa knew something about this since she was a rogue. It was too glaring to be a coincidence, we've never had such attack until she came into this pack. Could she be a part of it?
“The men you ordered to sweep the border last night returned before dawn. They found the trace of something unusual near the trails” my brows rose.
"A mark or what?" He nodded.
"It was a symbol, I've never seen or heard about it before. Looks like it was carved with a knife.
"Show me" He handed me a folded paper inside it was a sketch of the symbol, three lines with another line crossed over it. It was like claw mark. I had seen the mark before but I couldn’t remember where exactly I had seen it. It made my wolf stir uneasily. I stared at it for a long time.
"This isn't random"
"No" Aiden agreed quietly.
"And that's not all. The scent around the area, it wasn't just a rogue's. There was something else. Faint but familiar"
"Familiar how?" He hesitated.
"Almost like our kind but I'm not so sure" I stood ,my jaw tightening.
"Get ready, I want to see it myself"
"Lucian ..."
"Now!!" He nodded and left no question asked. The room fell silent again.
I braced both hands on the desk, lowering my head. My pulse pounded not from fear but from something darker, anger. My wolf screamed that whoever had dared to come after me wasn't finished. beneath all of it, another feeling gnawed at me. Her.
My thoughts today revolved around her and I couldn't help but separate the new information from Aiden, a possibility that this was linked to her . She is a rogue and she could have people she was working for. Right?
‘If she planned to attack you,would you care if she died or not? Would she have stayed by your side while you battled through consciousness?’ My wolf asked.
This is a food for the thought but I couldn't strike the possibility out. I forced the thought aside and turned to the window. The training field stretched beyond the courtyard, a blur of movement as warriors sparred. My eyes searched for a particular person and I immediately sighted her, my pulse quickened. From a distance, I could see the determination in her stance, the way she moved, it was sharper now, she had greatly improved.
"The horses are ready, Alpha" Aiden's vice came from the door. I tore my face from the field.
"Let's move"
The forest was quiet when we reached the Western border. The air smelled of dust and earth, beneath it, the faint metallic smell of blood. My wolf stirred restlessly beneath my skin. Aiden led me towards a tree.
"Here" he said, pointing to a thick tree trunk near the edge.
I crouched, tracing my fingers over the symbol carved deep into the bark. The inscription felt like it had been made some time ago. The scent Aiden mention, still lingered. It must be the scent of the person who had made the inscription.
"What do you think it means?" Aiden asked. I didn't answer immediately. My instincts whispered of old warnings, if shadows hidden in the thick forest and what they were capable of doing. This was deliberate. Whoever did this wanted me to come here. It felt more like a warning.
"We would increase the patrol around the eastern border" I said finally.
"Double shifts and have scouts watching the border day and night" Aiden nodded.
"And the mark?" I straightened, eyes still on it.
"Don't touch it. We'll send for a witch, I want to see a new prophesy. If the mark carries a scent of someone close, she'll be able to tell" Aiden hesitated for a moment before he spoke
"Lucian . The attack wasn't random. Someone wanted you dead. Whoever they are, they'll try again".
"I know", I said, my tone flat. “And next time, I'll be more ready" I assured him.
A chill slid down my spine not from the cold but from something near. For a long moment, neither of us spoke. Then faintly, the breeze carried came a sound. A howl. It wasn't from the any of my men. Aiden stiffened beside me.
"That came from the south". I turned towards it, my eyes narrowing. The howl echoed once more, then faded into silence.
"Send a team to investigate" I ordered
"If they find anything, report to me directly" he nodded and moved away to relay the order, leaves me standing alone beneath the tree. The mark on the bark, etched to my memory. My wolf prowled inside me, restless and uneasy. And beneath that unease, another image surfaced. Ailsa.
Damn her for being in my thoughts. I ran a finger through my hair, exhaling hard. My instinct had told me to stay away and to build walls between us.
"The men are moving out alpha" Aiden returned, breaking the silence.
"Now ,we wait. Whoever this is will definitely show themselves again".
As we turned to leave, I felt a flicker of movement deeper in the woods. A shadow slipping between trees. I froze.
"Did you see that?" I asked sharply. Aiden followed my gaze.
"Where?"
"The east" That was the direction from the pack. We waited, listening but the forest had gone still. A scent brushed past me, faint fleeting, but I recognized it instantly. A wolf
"We are not alone" I said softly.
"You think the person is connected to this?" I nodded.
"Let's go and check quickly before the person disappears".
We moved quickly and from a far I saw a figure lying on the dust. Aiden and I moved quickly, it looked like the person had stumbled. I touched the person and when they turned. I froze.
"You"