LUCIAN’S POV
"He is a f*****g moron." I growled, slamming the door behind me as I walked into my home. I was furious because Caius was making a big mistake.
I started walking back and forth, like a crazed beast. My fists were constantly curled and then released and my heart was seething with anger. The Silvermoon Alpha’s daughter, Elena or Elira whatever the hell has named her. I couldn’t bring myself to trust her. She was too good to be true, too perfect and her scent was off too.
I tried to warn him many times about my dreams about her. My nightmares were never meaningless. They were always something. Some harbinger of worse things to come. This had been a nightmare, Elira floating amidst a river of bodies and blood, Caius dying at her feet, and Selena screaming as she was stabbed while I watched , unable to save either of them. Then she would try to kill me too but I will always wake up before she does.
But he responded the same way every time. “You’re overreacting, Lucian.it’s just a dream and besides I know exactly what I'm doing. This wedding is important for the strengthening of our kingdom.”
“And what about Selena? What are you going to do with your true mate?”
“Selena is too weak to be the Queen of this Kingdom,” he would say without remorse for the two years he had made her believe they would be together. “I need a Luna of equal strength to stand by me and protect my throne, not someone who would become my weakness.”
He didn’t want to listen, he was too blinded by power.
And Selena was going to be left heartbroken after trusting him with her heart. I did not know her personally because we never related but I could imagine how she would feel when Caius broke the news to her.
Realising that I needed some air to clear my head, I grabbed my keys and went down to the car, I slid into the driver's side and drove out to the pub on the edge of the pack lands. I needed a drink. Something to get all of this out of my head because it was getting out of my control.
But the instant I stepped out of the car, I was stopped by a fragrance. A sweet and intoxicating smell.
My wolf was roused in me.
" Mate. " My wolf, Mark screamed in my head.
My heart pounded in the cage of my ribs. “What?”
I turned around, looking left and right, searching for the source of the smell. And then, I spotted her.
Selena.
But she wasn’t alone.
That scoundrel, Daniel. The son of the Commander of the pack warrior.
His hand around her wrist, pulling her toward his car.
"No," Selena said, trying to fight him off. "I said I don't want to ride with you."
He didn't listen to her. "Come on, Lena. Just for a ride. I'll get you home safe, I swear."
My hair was standing on end. Seething with rage gushing out of me, I could feel it.
"Mine!" my mate growled a second time, but with increasing anger.
My legs moved faster than my mind. In three strides I was on him.
"Get your goddamn hands off of her!" I growled, pushing him backward so that he was leaning away.
Daniel's jaw was agape in shock as he stumbled backward away from me with his hands up.
“Lucian…”
“Get the hell out of here before I break every bone in your body.”
He rushed into his car and drove away.
Turning back to look at Selena, she crawled backward with her eyes widened in shock.
"No…" she hardly breathed. "Not you."
My heart shattered.
I took small steps closer to her. “Selena…”
She stood up and stretched her hand out to stop me from moving further. "No, please don’t.”
"Selena, please, I wasn’t expecting this too."
She stumbled as she tried to move further away from me before she suddenly passed out. I darted to her and caught her before she could shatter the sidewalk.
My heart was pounding as I lifted her up and held her in my arms like she was glass and might shatter as I carried her to my car.
I strapped her into the seat and stepped back to look at her face and memorize every inch of it. Her head rolled to one side and her lips dropped in a soft rhythm of breaths.
She's mine.
I never did think that I'd ever get to find her.
Seven years of waiting. And there she was: broken, rejected, hurt and now she was mine.
But would she accept this bond?
Or did Caius hurt her so badly that she'd never again open up to another mate?
We left the bar and after some minutes, I drove into my driveway and turned off the engine. The car was heavy with silence. I leaned in, pushing a stray strand of hair back from her face.
"I'm not going to hurt you" I whispered. "I promise."
She stirred a bit but didn't awaken.
"I'm not letting you go" I declared. "Even if you hate me for it."