Chapter 85

Chapter 85
I tried not to show my reaction but I was intrigued. “Really?” I asked, raising an eyebrow and stifling a laugh. “Maybe that’s why I thought you were a playboy at first.”

Lucien chuckled, the sound rough but genuine. “I told you not to judge a book by its cover.”

“I hear you, alright,” I said, a small smile tugging at my lips.

“My father wasn’t in need of a mate like me,” Lucien continued, his voice darkening. “But when he was twenty-four, he found his mate, the Alpha of Westbrook’s sister.”

He paused briefly before continuing.

“Our packs have hated each other for generations. Rivalries, bloodshed, power struggles. But no matter how vicious things became between us, neither pack could ever fully walk away from the other. We were tied together in the worst possible way, like two toxic lovers who destroy each other yet keep coming back.”

His gaze hardened.

“When they mated, the two packs united into one, and it made ours the strongest pack in the country.”

“That’s what your people expect from you too, right?” I asked, sensing the weight of expectation on his shoulders.

“Yes.”

“But then, on a trip to London, he fell in love with a human girl he had saved from an abusive relationship with her boyfriend, a duke, and he sought to marry her.” From the way he said it, his rage, hurt, and disappointment were obvious.

“That’s terrible. Your mother must have been devastated.”

Lucien nodded, his expression grim. “She was. It ruined everything. And sometimes I fear I’m going to be just like my father.”

“No,” I said firmly, reaching out to grasp his hand. “You’re going to be your own man.”

“What if I ruin my pack?” he asked, voice filled with doubt.

“You won’t.”

He exhaled. “Thank you, baby girl.”

“For what?” I asked, feeling the tension between us ease just a little.

“For matching with me,” Lucien said, his voice reverent as he looked at me. “I can’t remember what my life was without you in it.”

“Lots of women and booze, I imagine.”

He smirked, shaking his head. “You’re judging me again.”

“I’m not,” I insisted, holding his gaze. “Just guessing.”

He leaned closer, the smirk fading into something more serious. “Not guessing. Assuming.”

“Less complicated than it is now, that’s for sure,” I countered, trying to mask the sudden shift in the atmosphere as he drew nearer. The closeness always had a way of making me lose my composure in a way that both terrified and pulled at me.

Lucien smiled. “I’m an Alpha. I wasn’t born to have an easy life. My life would always be complicated, but now… you make it beautiful in its complications.”

His words caught me off guard, leaving me momentarily speechless. I could feel his gaze on my lips now, and my heart fluttered with nerves.

“Can I ask you a question?” I blurted.

Lucien’s eyebrow arched in that familiar way, a warning that I might be treading on dangerous ground. “If I say you can’t, do you promise never to bring up the question again?”

“I can’t promise that,” I admitted, knowing full well that my curiosity would always get the better of me.

“You’re so predictable,” he muttered, almost to himself, before letting out a resigned sigh. “Ask on.”

“Promise you’re not going to get mad?” I pressed, wanting to tread carefully but knowing that with Lucien, caution was often futile.

His eyes went tender as he looked at me, a small smile playing on his lips. “We’re already past getting mad over questions, baby girl. You already know me more than anyone else does.”

I swallowed hard, feeling the tension between us grow thick again. “Do you hate your father?” The question escaped before I could stop it, hanging in the air between us like a fragile thread.

Lucien’s expression darkened. “You want me to be honest?”

“More than anything in the world,” I whispered, leaning in closer. “You can be vulnerable with me.”

“I know,” he said quietly. “And I love it.”

I waited, sensing the storm brewing inside him, the battle between what he wanted to say and what he feared revealing.

“The truth is,” he began, “now that he’s dead, I don’t know how I feel about him.”

I reached out, placing a hand on his arm, needing to connect with him. “Do you miss him?”

“Sometimes,” he admitted, his eyes clouded with memory. “When I feel lost, I do. It helps having your father around when you’re the Alpha. Sometimes I feel like I took on the leadership role too early.”

“How old were you?” I asked, already dreading the answer.