Chapter 4

Lucas.

When Lucas had left the beta's quarters, he'd thought of a suitable plan. First, he had someone bring them to me. Needing to be sure they weren't mercenaries or spies, then he'd concluded he would either grant them safe passage through their town, or out of it. His wolf whimpered at the thoughts of losing their mate, he also feeling a twinge of pain but it was for the best. She either left, or died. None of it was a good choice but the latter turned out to be bearable.

He sat on the chair in the hall, his feet tapping frantically at the floor as he eagerly awaited their presence. Suddenly, her delectable scent filled the air making air rush out of his lungs, he groaned, finding it difficult to get used to the sensation the bond had caused. His wolf growled happily in his head it took every ounce of strength in him to not run to her. He'd heard stories of how the mate pull felt but experiencing it was something he never thought possible. It turned out to be way more worse than they'd said it would be!

They walked in and her nose flared, her gaze scanning the entire hall. They were forced down to their knees as they got in front of him. Her knee connecting hard with the tiles she yelped in pain.

At that moment his control snapped. Angry growls emanated from his chest. His wolf tried to force himself out, lurching into his eyes. It took every ounce of strength in him to suppress the urge to rip out his throat. How dare he hurt her? The wolf's hatred for her was evident in his eyes.

Lucas clenched his fist on the chair's armrest, his knuckles almost turning white. 

He struggled to fight back the anger and repulsion he felt. If he hadn't been a part of his pack he had been ready to rip his heart out of his chest. Shooting the wolf a cold glare he forced his thoughts into their minds.

"The next time you push them that way, I'll have your head!" 

"Forgive me alpha!" Terrified, they hurriedly begged, dropping to their knees.

"Leave us!" He ordered.

He gazed at me confused "But–" the male wolf made a weak attempt at protesting but he cut him off.

"-I said leave us!" Lucas demanded through gritted teeth.

Reluctantly they got up and walked away. Knowing their loyalty to him had them torn between disobeying their alpha and protecting him. He casted a quick glance on the captives who was seen as nothing but threats even with the collar on, but he'd sincerely hoped they would not try to fight. But even if they did, they still wouldn't have been more than he could handle. He could as easily reach out for the pack whenever he'd needed them but for now, he'd needed them to be as far away from his mate as possible.

Abruptly the door swung open and Lyle rushed in, his eyes had shifted to his wolf's, ready to attack. Lucas could see the rage in his eyes, sensing he must have had him disturbed from his display of anger earlier.

"Alpha, are you alright?" He asked, his gaze accessing the room, his fists clenched.

"I am." He replied.

He heaved a sigh of relief, "I thought something happened."

Lucas grinned, thanking the moon goddess for Lyle's presence. Since he could assist with the females he'd brought in. "Since you're here, you could help me with them."

His eyes dwelled on the antherion, roaming through every inch of her, taking every bit of her in and etching her on his mind and memories. Her blonde hair fell across her shoulders with the male shirt she had on barely reaching her thighs. Indeed, his mate was a beauty to behold. A feisty one at that. She glared at him with contempt when his gaze lingered on for far too long.

As if noticing the other female beside her for the first time, he deduced she hadn't been a species akin to theirs and not hers either. She had an ebony skin that glowed beautifully. He agreed she was just as beautiful as the antherion. But he'd wondered why an antherion and a werepanther had become friends. Lucas arched a curious brow, flashing them a warm smile.

"Please have a sit."

Selene stared at the alpha reluctantly but the other girl beside her helped her to her feet when he'd gestured his hand towards the couch in the room. Feeling content, he nodded in satisfaction when they'd settled down comfortably.

Lyle moved to a couch opposite theirs. The couch dipped under his weight he placed his feet on the desk right in front of him, his legs crossed with hands at the back of his head. Lucas dropped down the chair, strolling towards them with long calculated strides. towards them. Her pulse leaped when he approached her.

"Keys." He demanded, turning towards Lyle, earning him a reluctant gaze before finally handing them over.

The chains looked too heavy for them—hers especially, his wolf whimpered at the sight. Something inside of him notified him of the dangers in taking off the collars but the bond had slowly began to mess with his sense of reasoning, urging him to take it off. 

He leant down, grabbing unto her hand, feeling a thousand spark of electricity jolting through his body, causing an intense tingling sensation from the bond. A gasp slid their lips and Lucas hurriedly flinched from her.

Selene cringed when he brought his hands back towards her, wondering what he'd planned to do, fear filled her eyes. Lucas growled his disapproval at her behavior, devastated. His wolf hating the way she'd looked at them like she'd seen a monster.

"What are you–" before she could finish, he hurriedly slid the key in, snapping the chain from her hands.

He frowned, "I was only trying to ease you of the heavy chains."

Her eyes widened from shock, surprised he'd taken off the chains he wondered what thoughts she had of him to make her cower in fear?

Moving to the other female he unlock the shackles she watched it drop to her feet in bewilderment.

"Let's start with the names shall we?"

Walking back to Lyle, he plopped down beside him on the couch.

Her stomach twisted sharply. Taking off the chains didn't imply he cared. If he'd wanted to act like he cared, he'd needed to take off the collar.

Lucas continued to stare at her, watching the tight expression on her face soften. Resting his arms on his knees, he leaned forward.

"Names." He demanded again.

"Maya. She's Selene." Maya replied reluctantly.

Finally! He'd heard her name. She was Selene. That was a great start. Resting back on the chair he mind linked Lyle.

"You brought them in, so I'd leave it to you to question them."

Lyle nodded when he straightened up in his chair, "why were you both at our borders?"

"We were being chased. We had no idea that was anyone's borders. We didn't mean to intrude." Selene said, her voice sounded faint.

"Chased by what?" Lyle asked again, his tone laced with curiosity.

She said nothing. She could never tell them they were being chased by the vampires. Then they would be seen as threats or much worse, eliminated. She thought.

Lucas watched her intently. He grimaced, hoping she would say something so he could decide his next move.

"okay little wolf, you need to start answering the fucking questions. That's the only way you can get out of here faster."

What?! He was sending her off?! What mate does that?! Even though she'd despised him, she hadn't expected he'd want to get rid of her that quickly. Did the mate bond mean nothing to him? Did he not feel anything at all?! Even through her hatred for his kind, she still couldn't resist the mate bond. She didn't want him—yes. But she felt her heart being crushed when he carelessly spoke about getting rid of her.

Maya and her wrestled over how much to reveal. Maya thought the lycans could somehow help if they were being honest but Selene on the other hand feared for their lives if the lycans ever found out about the vampires.

Abruptly, Maya spoke. Breaking the silence that loomed in the air.

"We were being chased by the va- Ouch!" Her words were cut short as Selene stomped on her toes.

The alpha watched perplexed as Maya turned to her for an explanation. She was hiding something, that much he could tell. She shook her head disapprovingly.

Lyle eyed her wearily as she muffled the words Maya had intended to speak. Even when she hadn't finished the sentence, thy both knew the only creatures with those two letters were vampires.

"You were being chased by vampires?" Lyle asked.

"No!" She replied.

Lie. Her heart skipped a beat to indicate she'd lied.

"But that looked like what she was about to say before you stopped her." He added. Raising a brow.

Her mind searched for a reasonable answer to end their probings and curiosities. Then an idea popped into her mind.

"Vampire hunters!"

Lyle glanced at her, confused. Vampire hunters? 

"Why would vampire hunters be after you?"

"They hunted both weres, antherions and vampires. We were being chased by them but we managed to get away."

That didn't make any sense to him. It was very impossible for two young female wolves to evade the hunters.

"Hmm. So, how did you get away from them? Unscathed?" Lucas asked, his confusion and distress palpable.

"We didn't. We barely survived. That was why we escaped to your borders. We would have gotten far that night but we were wounded, we had to rest, to heal." Maya added after shooting her a death glare. Selene knew she wasn't happy with her lying but, she would surely thank her someday for it.

"True. They had several cuts and bruises on them when we saw them." Lyle added.

Fucking hunters! 

His eyes mirrored my anger, growls released from my chest as Lyle confirmed her words. If the hunters had truly been after them, then she was indeed in grave danger. The beast inside of him furiously snarled in his head at the thoughts of hunters touching her.

The hunters were formidable and in that moment he pondered hard, torn between letting his mate fall into the hands of the hunters, or letting her stay and die. No. He had to make sure those measly hunters pay for the rest of their lives for laying a hand on her, but for now he had to think of a way to keep her safe on both sides.

Then in his mind he'd began to cook up some very interesting ideas. One was ways he'd enjoy killing those hunters and the other was a way to keep her there with him and also keep her safe. Agreeing her safety was certain with him than out there. He'd attempted a bad idea but he was willing to try.

The alpha turned to face Lyle, 

" Feed them, give them fresh clothes to wear and let them get cleaned up. I am sorry but you would have to stay until I confirm your words are true. Only then can I let you leave."

Selene glared at him. Hating the fact that he'd wanted her to stay until he had confirmed her words. She gritted her teeth.

"Okay."