Chapter 128

Chapter 128
Lucian's POV

I looked into Azazel's cold, dark eyes, and I could feel the dread spreading through my chest. There was a possibility that Samara could be dead, and I would have to live with that guilt for the rest of my life. Just like I was living through the guilt of being the only one to survive the attacks on my family—well, except my mother. I had lived through the guilt of taking a throne that had been designed for my brother right from the very beginning, a throne that my father should not have had to give up so early in his life. I could not live knowing that I had been indirectly responsible for Samara's death. I stared into Azazel's eyes, hoping and praying that her answer would not be no, that she would at least give me some hope.

She sighed. "Did you say this person was your mate?"

"You were the one who mentioned she was my mate."

She rolled her eyes. "Just answer the question."

I nodded. "Yes, she is my mate," I confirmed to her.

"Then if she is dead, you will know."

"But I never accepted her."

She raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

"I was... she was..." I hesitated. "I thought she was a human, and I'm an Alpha. The court would not let me mate with a human, for fear that our child would not live up to its full werewolf potential."

She clicked her tongue. "Such a pity. You would have made such a powerful child—a dragon. A child who could be a dragon. How wonderful would that be?"

I said nothing. I had been played badly by Freya. I wondered if she had always known that Samara was different, that she had something powerful within her. Maybe she had done it all on purpose to ensure that I never had a child so powerful that he or she could rise up to destroy her. I tried not to think of my ex-best friend.

"So what do I do now? Is she alive?"

"I believe so," Azazel replied, her eyes glistening as she continued to stare at the pendant on the necklace.

"Is there something that makes you sure?"

She motioned for me to hold out my palm in front of her, and I did. Then she placed the pendant on my palm and pointed to a crystal shaped like a moon. "If she dies, this crystal will go black. It is her soul that powers this crystal, not a diamond."

I was shocked to hear this. What other mystical and magical things was I not aware of?

"Thank you," I told her. "I will keep searching for her then. But is there a way to know where she could be?"

Azazel shook her head. "Those who kidnapped her, they must have done so using some powerful magic. I cannot detect a trace of her on this earth, or perhaps she is no longer in this realm."

I did not understand what that meant—no longer in this realm.

Azazel nodded. "Did you mention that she disappeared without a trace?"

I nodded to affirm what she had just said.

"Then it is possible she was taken to another realm, a place where we cannot reach her physically."

"But you just said she is not dead."

"Of course. Dying is not the only way to transcend realms, Lucian. You should know that."

"So?" I asked, wanting to know more.

"She may be in a realm where the living can also be. It would require a little bit of help to get there."

I was so confused by everything she was saying. "So how do I find her if she is not in this realm?"

"Like I said," Azazel replied, "you would need help. For instance, someone who frequents such realms occasionally."

"And who would that person be?"

"The Rogue King.”

Hope felt bleak and unreachable at this moment.

"The Rogue King," I echoed. "How the hell am I supposed to use the Rogue King?"

"I never said you were to use the Rogue King," Azazel corrected gently. "I only said that someone who visits such realms often might be able to help you."

"So, I cannot make a deal with the Rogue King. He wouldn't even permit me. What the hell am I saying? He is killing my people, destroying the werewolf realm, and now I'm supposed to..."

I stopped dead in my tracks as a sickening realization washed over me. Freya had just made me an offer: side with the Rogue King and fight alongside him in this war in exchange for the heads of three people close to me, including the very witch sitting in front of me. Did she already know that Samara was in that realm? Was that why she had come to me with that offer—knowing I might betray my entire kind just to save my mate?

"What?" Azazel asked me, her eyes narrowing.

I shook my head, saying nothing. But she looked at me like she was staring right into my soul, like she could see that I was actually considering betrayal for one woman. I turned my back to walk out of the room because I could not bear her intense, piercing gaze.

"He has made you an offer, hasn't he?" she asked, her voice haunting the entirety of my being.

I stopped as my hand reached for the brass knob of the door.

"So the Rogue King has made you an offer," she repeated, and then she cackled bitterly. "Of all the people he could come to. But it does make sense. If he has your mate in his custody, why wouldn't he?" She laughed again, a harsh, grating sound. "So what will you do? Will you betray everything and everyone just to be with your mate again?"

I said nothing as I opened the door and marched out of the room. I could not bear to face my own thoughts. Was I really considering this? Working alongside the Rogue King just to get Samara back?

Edgar was waiting for me outside the door, and he immediately blocked my path. "Alpha, is something wrong? Did Azazel do anything?"

I shook my head, my jaw tight. "No, no. I think I need to be alone right now."

I walked past him, past the fort, past everything—trying to run away from my own thoughts, but I couldn't outrun them. The more I ran, the harder the guilt chased me. When I realized that running would do nothing, I came to a dead halt, finding myself standing in the middle of a vast training field.

I stared at the racks of weaponry lined up before me. Over on the field, thousands of men were training relentlessly, putting their lives on the line for me and for the survival of the entire werewolf realm. And here I was, considering selling them all out just for one girl.

Why was it so important to have Samara back? I thought frantically to myself. It was not like we had ever even made love. Why was it that she now consumed my every thought? Why couldn't I get her out of my mind? Why?

A raw, guttural scream tore from my throat as I felt like I was going crazy with my own thoughts.

"Lucian! Lucian! Lucian!"

I stopped screaming when I heard my mother's panicked voice. When I finally came back to my senses, I found myself collapsed on the dirt floor. My mother was shaking my shoulders. I was sweating profusely, my skin burning hot to the touch.

"Are you okay? What happened to you?" she asked, her eyes wide with terror.

But I could not speak. I just looked into my mother's eyes, horrified by the sudden realization that she would be one of the first people obliterated when the Rogue King took over the world.

And why was I thinking when, like I had already made up my mind to betray them all?

"I'm fine, Mother," I tried to reassure her as I sat up, brushing the dirt from my clothes.

But the way she looked into my eyes—filled with so much pure, unwavering love—made a fresh wave of guilt crash over me. I felt sick knowing what I was even considering. Yet, I had to ask her. I needed to know.

"I want to ask you something, Mother."

She looked curious immediately, her expression softening. "What is it, love?"

"If you could bring Father back... if you had to give up everything and everyone to bring him back, would you do it?"

Her eyes crinkled with a warm, nostalgic smile, radiating a soft affection for my long-dead father. "Of course, darling. I would do anything and everything to bring your father back."

I swallowed hard, realizing she might not grasp the true weight of what I was asking. "What if it meant sacrificing the entire world?"

"Without a doubt," she replied in a heartbeat, her voice entirely unhesitating. "Because I know that he would do the same for me. And even if he wouldn't, I love him that much. Just to hold him one more time, and let him know how deeply I love him."

Her answer hit me like a blow to the chest, but a dark voice in the back of my mind whispered the terrible truth: I could not compare her love with what I had with Samara. My parents had a lifetime of devotion. Samara and I didn't even have a functional relationship.

What if I went through with this? What if I betrayed my pack, my people, and the entire world to save her and bring her back, only for her to reject me? Was there even a single valid reason for her to accept me in the first place? I had wanted to kill her the moment I met her, and I had treated her with cold dismissal while she was trapped in my palace. And now, all of a sudden, I was going completely crazy, losing my mind over her missing scent.

"Why do you ask?" my mother asked softly, searching my pale face.

I had no response for her. Was I really meant to tell anyone—to tell my own mother—that I was contemplating siding with the enemy just for one woman? I couldn't bear to speak the words aloud.

It was best to keep these thoughts buried deep inside myself.