Chapter 7 LUCIAN
Lucian’s POV
The sun was already high when I made it back to the Ashwood Pack grounds, my boots dragging through the dirt path that wound through the trees. I could still feel her scent clinging to my skin faint, soft, intoxicating. I didn’t know how long it would take for it to fade, or if I even wanted it to.
Aria.
I wasn’t supposed to care this much after a single meeting, but the goddess clearly had other plans. Her eyes, her voice, the way she stood, hesitant but unyielding it was burned into me. Every time I blinked, I saw her again. Every time I breathed, I swore I could still taste her fear, her strength, her resistance.
Varos stirred in the back of my mind, restless but unusually quiet. He’d been quiet ever since we left her. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing.
“You’re brooding again,” he finally muttered.
“I’m thinking.”
“Same thing.”
He huffed, and I ignored him. I was too tired for his commentary.
The pack house came into view, its once-bright walls now dulled by years of neglect. It felt strange walking up to it after so long, familiar and foreign all at once. The same steps I used to run up as a boy now felt heavier, burdened with too much memory.
I stopped at the doorway, inhaling deeply before pushing it open.
The scent of baked bread hit me first warm, sweet, alive. Then came the sound of laughter, small and high-pitched, followed by a shriek and a crash. I froze in the entryway, blinking as three tiny figures darted past the living room.
The triplets.
Two girls and a boy. Barely two, maybe three. The family I never even knew I had.
“Hey!” one of the girls squealed when she noticed me. She had wild curls that matched her energy and eyes that sparkled with mischief. “Who are you?”
I blinked, caught off guard. “Lucian,” I said after a beat. “Who are you?”
“I’m Sofia!” she announced proudly, puffing out her tiny chest. She pointed at the others, a quiet girl sitting cross-legged on the rug, and a boy clutching a stuffed wolf like it was life itself. “That’s Lila, and that’s Elias. He doesn’t talk much.”
Lila barely looked up. Her expression was blank, bored even, and she turned her attention back to the blocks she was stacking. Elias hid further behind her, peeking out just enough to stare at me with wide, uncertain eyes.
Sofia tilted her head, squinting. “You smell like Daddy.”
The words hit like a punch.
Before I could respond, Josie appeared from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron. “Sofia Blackwood! Don’t go around sniffing people, that’s rude.”
Sofia giggled and ran off before she could be scolded, dragging one of the others with her.
Josie gave me an apologetic look. “Don’t mind her. She’s got her father’s mouth.”
“I can tell.” My voice came out rougher than I intended.
Her expression softened. “You holding up?”
I shrugged, glancing around the familiar space. “Trying to.”
Josie had been with the pack for as long as I could remember. She’d practically raised my brother and me when our parents couldn’t. Seeing her again after all these years, after everything was grounding in a way I didn’t expect.
“They’ll warm up to you,” she said quietly, following my gaze toward the triplets. “They don’t know you yet, but they’ll come around.”
“I don’t blame them,” I murmured. “I don’t even know who I am half the time.”
She sighed, patting my arm gently before going back into the kitchen. “You’re Lucian Blackwood. That’s enough for now.”
I lingered a while longer before heading upstairs. My old room hadn’t changed much, the same creaky floorboards, the same view of the forest through the cracked windowpane. Dust coated every surface, but it still felt like home in a strange, painful way.
I dropped onto the bed, running a hand through my hair. My head was spinning from Aria, from the pack, from the ghosts that seemed to live in these walls.
She’d looked so damn terrified this morning, like every instinct in her screamed to run from me. I didn’t blame her. I wasn’t sure what kind of man she saw when she looked at me, but I doubted it was one she could trust.
“You’re overthinking again,” Varos muttered.
“I’m being cautious.”
“You’re scared.”
He wasn’t wrong.
I exhaled sharply, rubbing the back of my neck. “She doesn’t need to know what kind of monster I used to be.”
“Maybe she should. She’s our mate.”
“She’s not ready.”
Varos fell silent again, and for once, I was grateful.
By late afternoon, I couldn’t stay cooped up any longer. The walls were closing in, memories clawing their way to the surface. So I did what I always did when my mind got too loud, I went looking for Darius.
Daruis was my best friend, still is. We were thick as thieves from ever since I could remember we were basically brothers, inseparable.
Well, that was until I up and ran like a coward.
He wasn’t hard to find. I followed the familiar pull of his scent, earth, smoke, and something sharp until I found him near the training grounds, barking orders at a group of young wolves. He looked different. Older. Harder. But still Darius.
When he saw me, his jaw tightened. He dismissed the trainees with a curt nod and crossed his arms as I approached.
“Well, if it isn’t the ghost of Ashwood,” he said, half a smirk tugging at his mouth. “Didn’t think I’d see you walk these grounds again.”
“Yeah,” I muttered, “didn’t think I’d want to.”
He studied me for a moment before sighing. “You could’ve written, you know. Something. Anything. We thought you were dead.”
“I was, for a while,” I said quietly.
The anger in his expression softened, replaced by something like pity. “I heard you came back after Adrian…”
I nodded. “Yeah.” The silence that followed was heavy. Too heavy.
He motioned for us to walk, and we did waking side by side, the way we used to. He filled me in on what I’d missed: the state of the pack, the struggles, the politics. Adrian had done well, all things considered. He’d made this place a home for many. And now he was gone, leaving chaos behind.
I listened, taking it all in, guilt gnawing at my chest.
Finally, Darius glanced at me. “So, are you back for good or are you planning on leaving again?”
I hesitated. “I met someone.”
His brows rose. “Someone?”
“My mate.”
He stopped dead in his tracks, staring at me like I’d just confessed to murder. “You’re serious?”
“Dead serious.”
A low whistle left his lips. “Well, shit. That’s… big. You gonna tell me who she is?”
I shook my head. “Not yet.”
He frowned. “Why?”
“Because she’s trying real hard to keep some things hidden. I’m not about to betray that trust before I even earn it.”
Darius studied me for a long moment before nodding slowly. “You’ve changed.”
“Maybe.”
“Definitely,” he said, chuckling. “The old Lucian would’ve marked her first and asked questions later.”
I smirked, but it didn’t reach my eyes. “The old Lucian’s dead.”
Darius nudged my shoulder lightly. “Good. He was an asshole.”
That earned a real laugh from me, small and rough around the edges.
As the sun dipped lower, painting the training grounds gold, I felt a quiet resolve settle in my chest. The weight of the past wasn’t gone, it never would be but for the first time in a long time, I felt like maybe, just maybe, there was something worth staying for.
Her.
When I finally made it back to the pack house, the halls were quieter. The triplets were asleep, their tiny snores echoing faintly down the corridor. Josie had left a plate of food on the counter with a note in her messy handwriting: Eat something, you look half-dead.
I smiled faintly, shaking my head.
After a long shower, I stood by the window in my room, watching the moon climb into the sky. I could feel her out there; faint but steady the pull between us thrumming low and constant like a heartbeat I couldn’t ignore.
My mate. My undoing. My chance.
I didn’t know what tomorrow would bring, but I knew one thing for certain.
The moment I looked into her eyes, something inside me had shifted, something I couldn’t name, couldn’t control.
And goddess help me… I didn’t want to.