Chapter 49 49
Chapter 49 49
Lucien sat alone in his private office, the weight of the elders’ threat pressing down on him.
“They want to sentence me to death,” he muttered darkly, his deep voice barely above a whisper.
The words tasted bitter on his tongue.
So this was their endgame.
After years of veiled hostility and political maneuvering, the old wolves had finally grown bold enough to try and frame him for murder, the murder of Alpha Connor Vale, no less.
They dared to weave a noose around his neck and call it justice. The audacity ignited a dangerous fire in his chest.
Then he exhaled sharply and rose from his chair, the muscles in his powerful frame rippling with restrained fury.
“War is definitely coming,” he growled under his breath, pacing slowly across the room. “And I will not be the one standing on the losing side. Those decrepit bastards have no idea who they’re provoking. If they truly believe I give a damn about their precious pack rules and ancient traditions, then they know absolutely nothing about me.”
Lucien stopped before the tall window that overlooked the heart of the pack grounds. Outside, the daily rhythm of his people continued with warriors training in the distance, mothers tending to children, wolves moving about their tasks with the easy familiarity of a tight-knit community.
But his sharp eyes scanned the scene until they locked onto one figure that sent a completely different storm raging through him.
Amelia.
She stood in the open pack grounds, engaged in what appeared to be a light conversation with Kevin, that same lone wolf she had been spending increasing amounts of time with lately. They weren’t touching. They weren’t doing anything overtly improper. Yet the sight of them together twisted something ugly and possessive deep inside Lucien’s gut.
He didn’t like it.
He didn’t like how comfortable she looked in Kevin’s presence. How easily she smiled. How close they seemed to have grown in such a short time. Among all the wolves in the pack, males and females alike, why did she have to choose a single, unmated male as her closest companion?
It felt like an unnecessary complication, especially since their own connection, the mate bond that had slammed into him with such force, was still fragile, still budding.
They had barely begun to explore what they could be to each other, and now this outsider was slipping into the space Lucien desperately wanted for himself. The frustration burned hotter than he cared to admit.
‘There’s something not right here,’ he thought darkly, his jaw clenching. ‘I can feel it in my bones. It’s giving me the creeps.’
If he didn’t feel the pressing need to be cautious and considerate with Amelia, to avoid pushing her too hard after everything she had endured, he would have ended this budding “friendship” with Kevin long ago.
Watching them together had become nothing short of torment. Every laugh she shared with the other male felt like a personal slight, every moment she spent away from him only widened the growing chasm between them.
He couldn’t stand by and watch it continue much longer.
Suddenly, Lucien sensed a familiar presence just beyond the door. His head snapped toward it as a soft but distinct knock echoed through the office.
His brows furrowed in mild irritation. Why is she here now?
With a heavy sigh, he forced himself to return to his chair, sinking into the high-backed seat , then he schooled his expression into one of cool authority before speaking.
“Come in, Trixia,” he called out, his voice steady and commanding, already anticipating her entrance.