CHAPTER4:BROTHERS
882 Words
Chapter 4 – The Brother’s Shadow
Amara stared at the man standing in the glow of the moonlight. He looked like Lucian, but colder—his face carved with sharper angles, his presence darker… deadlier.
“Lucian never mentioned a brother,” she said cautiously.
Cian’s lips curled into a bitter smile. “Because I’m the part of his past he’d rather forget.”
He stepped closer, each footfall deliberate, like a predator stalking its prey.
Amara didn’t back down.
“I came here to help,” he said, voice low. “You’re in danger. He’s in danger. And if we don’t act soon, the curse will consume him—and this pack will fall.”
Amara crossed her arms. “Why should I trust you?”
“Because I’ve seen what this curse can do.”
He reached into his coat and pulled out a thin, silver dagger etched with strange symbols. The moment it hit the air, Amara felt a chill race up her spine.
“This was used to seal the original curse,” Cian said. “Buried for decades. Hidden by our mother.”
Amara blinked. “Your mother? She wrote the journal I found.”
His jaw tightened. “She tried to protect us both. But Lucian wouldn’t listen. He believed love would save him.” A bitter scoff. “He’s always been naive.”
Amara bristled. “He’s not naive. He’s fighting for us.”
Cian stepped closer. “And I’m fighting for him. You don’t understand what happens when that curse reaches its peak. He’ll become a monster. Not just dangerous—unstoppable.”
Amara’s voice cracked. “There has to be a way.”
“There is.” He met her eyes. “But it means breaking him. Completely.”
---
Lucian stood alone on the edge of the woods, his bare chest rising and falling with ragged breaths. The night air curled around him like a second skin.
He could feel the curse now. In every bone. Every muscle.
It wasn’t just inside him.
It was alive.
His claws flexed involuntarily. His teeth sharpened with each angry thought. The beast within clawed at his mind, screaming for blood.
But when he thought of Amara… it softened.
For a moment.
Until he heard it.
Her voice.
Talking.
To someone else.
Lucian’s head snapped up, golden eyes flashing. His body tensed as he stormed back toward the estate, the sound of her voice fueling something dangerous in him.
And then—he smelled it.
Him.
Cian.
---
“You want to break him?” Amara hissed. “You’re insane.”
Cian didn’t flinch. “The curse is tied to emotion. To pain. Only when the Alpha is pushed to his limit can he unlock the part of himself that can control it.”
Amara’s hands shook. “You’re talking about pushing him off the edge.”
“I’m talking about saving him.”
She turned away, breath ragged, heart torn. How could she be the weapon that hurt him? How could love be the very thing that destroyed him?
Behind her, the door slammed open.
Lucian stood there—eyes wild, chest heaving, shadows dancing across his face.
His gaze locked on Cian.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
Cian didn’t move. “Trying to fix your mess.”
“You have no right,” Lucian growled, stepping forward.
Amara stood between them. “Lucian, wait—”
But he didn’t hear her.
The beast had taken control.
His hand shot out, grabbing Cian by the throat and slamming him into the wall.
“You come near her again, I’ll rip your heart out.”
“Still so predictable,” Cian choked, eyes narrowed. “No wonder the curse owns you.”
Amara tried to pull him back. “Lucian, stop! You’re not helping!”
Lucian’s eyes flicked to her. For a moment, they softened.
Then his claws retracted. He released Cian and stepped back, shaking with rage.
“I told you to stay away,” he growled. “This is my fight.”
Cian straightened his jacket. “Then start acting like it.”
---
That night, Lucian didn’t return to their room.
Amara waited. And waited.
But he never came.
And when she finally drifted off to sleep, her dreams were filled with shadows, teeth, and a voice whispering…
He will destroy you… or die trying.
---
The next morning, Lucian was gone.
His scent vanished.
Cian stood in the hallway, arms crossed, a grim expression on his face.
“He left to find the witch who created the curse,” he said. “It’s suicide.”
Amara’s stomach dropped. “You let him go?”
“I didn’t have a choice.”
She shoved past him, heart pounding, storming down the corridor.
“No,” she whispered to herself. “I’m not letting him face this alone.”
And just as she reached the doors—
A sharp pain pierced her side.
She gasped, stumbling to her knees.
Blood bloomed beneath her dress.
She looked up—eyes wide with horror.
And saw a cloaked figure standing in the shadows, blade dripping red.
“I’m sorry, Luna,” the voice rasped. “But the Council has spoken.”
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