Chapter 32 32

Chapter 32 32
CHAPTER 32
\[Rhea’s POV\]

"No! Mark, stop!"

I jolted upright on the couch, my hand swinging wildly into the air as if I could still see the dagger coming for my heart. My breath was coming in ragged, shallow gasps, and my chest felt like it was being crushed by an invisible weight. The scent of pine from the stranger's coat was thick in my nose, but all I could see in my mind was the cold, hollow gaze of the man who had promised to love me forever.

"Rhea! Rhea, look at me. It’s okay. You’re safe."

The voice was deep and steady. It wasn't Mark’s mocking tone. I blinked rapidly, my vision clearing as the dark shadows of the apartment retreated.

It wasn't Mark sitting in the armchair, it was Lucien.

He was now crouching right in front of the couch, his hands reaching out to steady my trembling shoulders. His face was etched with a deep, painful worry, his silver eyes searching mine for any sign of injury. Behind him, I could see Damian standing by the window, his jaw tight and his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

I didn't think or hesitate and immediately threw myself forward, wrapping my arms around Lucien’s neck and burying my face in the crook of his shoulder. I sobbed into his skin, my body shaking with the force of the terror I had just felt.

"He was here," I choked out, the words muffled against his shirt. "I saw him. He had a knife... he stabbed me, Lucien. It felt so real."

Lucien’s arms wrapped around me instantly, pulling me tight against his massive chest. He held me with a fierce possessiveness that made the rest of the room disappear. "It was just a dream, little mate. A nightmare. I promise you, he isn't here. We checked the locks. We checked every corner of this place."

"But my dreams...sometimes they happen," I whispered, pulling back just enough to look at him. "He caught me, Lucien. On the way home. He tackled me. He would have taken me if it wasn't for a stranger who stopped him."

Damian was at the couch in a second. "He caught you? Where? When?"

I explained everything through hiccups. I told them about the second tracker in the necklace and how I threw it away. I told them how Mark appeared on the path and chased me, tackling me to the ground and scraping my knees. I showed them the red skin on my legs where the pavement had scratched through my clothes.

Damian let out a low, terrifying snarl. The air in the room seemed to drop ten degrees. "That’s it. I’m done being patient. I’m going to find him and I’m going to end him. He isn't going to stop until he’s dead."

For the first time since this all started, I didn't try to defend Mark. I didn't say he was just jealous or that he didn't mean it. I sat there, clutching Lucien’s hand, and realized that Mark really was capable of killing me. If he couldn't own me, he would destroy me. The man I loved was gone, and only the monster remained.

Lucien’s nostrils suddenly flared. He leaned in closer to me, his nose brushing against my hair and then the heavy wool coat still draped over my shoulders. His eyes darkened, the silver turning to a cold, hard grey.

"Whose scent is this?" he demanded, his voice dropping into a dangerous rumble. "This isn't Mark. It’s a wolf. Rhea, have you been hanging out with another wolf?"

I shook my head, pulling the coat tighter around me. "No, I told you. Someone saved me. A guy named Lucas. He’s a new student at the university. He saw Mark attacking me and hit him with a stick. He gave me his coat because I was shivering."

Lucien didn't look grateful, instead he looked angry.  He quickly reached out and grabbed the pine-scented coat, yanking it off my shoulders. He didn't just set it aside; but instead threw it across the room with a look of pure disgust.

"You don't need his scent on you," he growled.

He stood up and pulled off his own heavy charcoal jacket. He draped it over me, tucking the edges around my arms. It was warm from his body and smelled purely of him.

I looked at the coat on the floor, then back at Lucien’s brooding face. Despite the terror I had just been through, a small, amused bubble of laughter escaped my lips.

"Damian, look at him. He’s such a big baby. He’s actually jealous of a coat."

Damian didn't laugh. Instead, he narrowed his eyes at the charcoal jacket Lucien had given me. He stepped forward and unzipped his own leather bomber jacket.

"He's right," Damian said seriously. "That other guy's coat was ugly anyway."

Damian draped his leather jacket over the top of Lucien’s. I sat there, buried under two heavy layers of Alpha clothing, feeling like a stuffed doll. I couldn't help it; I laughed harder this time, the sound bright and clear in the tense apartment.

"You guys are unbelievable," I giggled, looking from one to the other. "You're both petty. I’m already wearing a hoodie and now I have two more jackets? I can barely move my arms."

Damian’s expression softened when he saw me smile. The murderous light in his eyes faded, replaced by a look of deep relief. He reached out and gently pecked my forehead, his lips warm and soft. "I'd rather you be a 'big baby' than be cold or covered in another man’s scent."

Lucien sighed, his shoulders relaxing as he saw the color returning to my face. "I'm going to cook something. You need to eat. Damian, stay with her."

He walked toward the small kitchen, his mind clearly already working on a dozen different problems at once.

Damian sat down on the edge of the couch, taking my hand in his. He began to trace the lines of my palm with his thumb, in a soothing motion.

"Rhea, we've been talking. Maybe you need to get away from all of this for a while. Mark, the school, the trackers... it's too much. Would you like to take a break? We could go on a vacation. Just the three of us. Somewhere he can't find you."

I considered the idea. The thought of being somewhere quiet, far away from the city and the university, felt like a dream. No Mark lurking in the shadows. No students whispering about my business. Just the peace of the woods and the protection of the twins.

"It sounds amazing," I whispered. "But I’m scared, Damian. What if he finds out? What if he chases after us? If we're out in the middle of nowhere, I’ll be all alone. If something happens to you two, there will be no one else to help me."

I thought of the fall Mark took earlier. He had jumped three stories and walked away like nothing had happened. He wasn't just a hunter; he was something faster, something far more resilient.

"She’s right," Lucien called out from the kitchen. The sound of a knife hitting a cutting board stopped. He walked back into the living room, leaning against the doorframe. "Running is only a temporary solution. He’ll keep tracking her as long as he’s alive."

He looked at us, his eyes sharp and filled with a new, dark resolve.

"I have a plan," Lucien said. "Mark won't see it coming."