CHAPTER 38
1010 Words
(Lucian’s POV)
I slammed the car door harder than necessary.
The council chamber still echoed in my ears—my threats, their outrage, the chairman’s smug accusations. Every word, every glare from them, replayed like a curse. My blood was still boiling.
“Disgraceful,” they had said.
“Unnatural.”
“A mockery of our traditions.”
“Selene? Your son’s rejected mate? Are you out of your damn mind, Lucian?”
But none of them dared admit what I already knew—they were behind the attack.
The Rogue who tried to kill Selene… it wasn’t a coincidence. It wasn’t random. It was an execution order wrapped in cowardice. Someone had sent that beast knowing full well what she meant to me now.
And I had warned them.
I had warned them all.
If they touched her again—if they even thought of threatening her—I would raze the Council to ashes and salt the earth beneath it.
And I meant every damn word.
Now, as I walked into the house, the air felt tight. Like leftover heat after a fire.
Harper met me near the stairs, her arms crossed, expression tense.
“You missed the fireworks,” she said, voice low.
“Dexton?” I asked, jaw already tightening.
She nodded. “He’s gone now, stormed out. But he and Selene… it got ugly.”
I didn’t wait to hear more. My legs moved on their own, carrying me straight to the dining room where I found her.
Selene.
She was sitting alone at the table, breakfast untouched, eyes staring blankly at her plate. But the moment she looked up and saw me, her mask cracked. Not broken. Not shattered. But cracked.
She stood slowly, and I was already there, pulling her into my arms.
“Tell me what happened,” I murmured, burying my face in her hair.
“Dexton,” she said simply. “He can’t accept this. Us.”
Of course he couldn’t.
Dexton had always inherited too much of his mother’s pride and too little of my control. He saw the world in titles and ranks, not people. Not hearts.
And now his former mate was mine.
“Did he touch you?” I asked.
“No,” she replied. “Just words.”
I pulled back and looked into her eyes. “Just say the word, Selene. I’ll handle him.”
“No,” she said, touching my chest lightly. “Let him go. He doesn’t matter.”
I saw the pain flicker behind her strength. She wouldn’t admit it, but it still hurt her. Dexton’s rejection had carved a deep scar in her soul, and now it was being ripped open all over again.
And that killed me.
“I went to the council,” I told her, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
Her brows lifted. “Lucian…”
“I had to,” I said firmly. “I had to look them in the eye and see if they’d admit what they did. They didn’t, of course. But it was written all over them. The Rogue wasn’t a mistake. It was a message.”
Selene’s face paled. “You think they’ll try again?”
“Not if they value their lives.”
She blinked at the steel in my voice, then nodded slowly. “And what did they say?”
“They called you names,” I said bluntly. “Called me worse. Said I was blinded. Weak. Mad for taking you as my mate.”
She swallowed hard, looking down.
I took her chin in my fingers and lifted her face gently.
“Look at me, Selene.”
She did.
“I don’t give a damn what they think. I chose you. And if they want to come after you again, they’ll have to go through me—and I’ll make sure none of them live to speak of it.”
Her eyes shimmered. “Lucian…”
“I meant what I said,” I continued, voice low and certain. “You’re mine now. You’re my mate. My equal. My queen. Let the world choke on their outdated rules.”
“I never asked for this war,” she whispered.
“No. But now they’ve made it yours,” I said bitterly. “And they’ll regret it.”
She stepped into me again, resting her forehead against my chest. My arms tightened around her.
“I’m tired, Lucian,” she said softly. “Tired of proving myself. Tired of fighting to be seen.”
I kissed the top of her head. “Then let me fight for you. Let me be the one who sees you—fully, completely, without conditions.”
She looked up at me then, and I saw it—that flicker of hope she tried so hard to hide. That fragile trust she was still learning to give again.
And I’d be damned if anyone broke it.
Not the Council.
Not Dexton.
Not anyone.
“We’ll get through this,” I promised her. “You and me.”
She nodded slowly. “As long as you don’t run.”
“Run?” I echoed, a small smile tugging at my lips. “Darling, I’ve been running for years. Away from duty, from emotions, from love. But with you? I’m done running.”
We stood like that for a long moment, two wounded hearts wrapped in a promise.
Then I pulled back, brushing her cheek with the back of my hand.
“Rest,” I told her. “I’ll have the kitchen prepare something warm.”
“I’m not hungry,” she said.
I tilted my head. “Humor me.”
She smiled faintly and nodded.
As she sat again, I turned and walked toward the kitchen, but not before glancing once more over my shoulder.
Selene was mine now. Not because I claimed her. But because she chose me, too.
And no council, no ex-mate, no tradition would change that.
If they wanted war—
Then war they would get.
- Writer
