Claimed by the Ice Alphas

CHAPTER 005

Elara’s POV

"Father?" I gasped, my voice barely audible over the cold wind howling through the shattered penthouse window.

The silver-haired man looked at me, his pale, fire-filled eyes softening for a brief fraction of a second before hardening into pure ice once more.

"You should never have taken this job, Elara," my father said, his low, harsh voice cutting through the cold night air. "I warned you years ago that your blood would draw the monsters of this city straight to your doorstep."

"You abandoned me six years ago!" I shouted, pushing myself up off the bed despite Lucian's protective hand holding me back. "You disappeared without a single explanation, and now you burst into my life with a silver blade?"

"I left to keep you hidden!" my father spat, shifting his heavy grip on the dark leather hilt of his weapon. "I sealed your scent when you were a child, but the seal broke the moment you stepped into this facility and let these beasts lay their hands on you."

"She stays with us, Silas," Lucian growled, his body expanding as thick black fur began to sprout along his arms and neck. His teeth sharpened into lethal fangs. "You lost any right to protect her the day you abandoned your pack responsibilities."

"You know nothing about my responsibilities, Alpha Cross," Silas replied coldly, taking a slow, calculated step forward. "My daughter carries the royal bloodline of the Iron Claw. She will not be claimed by a pack of hockey-playing mongrels."

Before Lucian could attack, the heavy bedroom door was thrown open. Jaxson and Zane rushed into the room, their weapons drawn, their eyes glowing with immediate violent intent.

"We heard the glass break!" Jaxson yelled, his golden eyes fixing instantly on my father. "Who the hell is this old man?"

"He is her father," Lucian grunted, keeping his lethal focus entirely on Silas. "And he thinks he is leaving here with Elara."

"Over my dead body," Zane barked, his deep, gravelly voice echoing off the stone walls. He stepped in front of me, his massive frame blocking my father's line of sight completely. "No one touches her."

"You are all fools," Silas said, letting out a low, dark laugh. "You think you are protecting her from me? Look outside your windows, boys."

I glanced past Lucian toward the ruined window. Down in the private parking lot, dozens of glowing red and yellow eyes were emerging from the dark treeline. An entire army of Iron Claw rogues had completely surrounded the building.

"They are not here for the territory," Silas said, stepping back toward the ledge of the window. "They are here for the True Mate. If you want to keep her breathing, Cross, you had better bring her to the old iron docks before midnight tomorrow. Otherwise, we burn this entire facility to the ground with every single one of your pack members inside it."

Before any of us could move, Silas leaped backward out of the high penthouse window, disappearing into the dark, rainy night.

"Damn it!" Jaxson roared, rushing to the edge and looking down into the darkness. "He vanished into the shadows! The whole perimeter is crawling with rogues!"

"Zane, Jaxson, get down to the security command center right now!" Lucian ordered, his voice booming with absolute command. "Double the electronic locks on all lower levels and call in the senior pack enforcers!"

"What about Elara?" Zane asked, his cold blue eyes turning back to meet mine with intense concern.

"I will secure her myself," Lucian growled softly, turning his dark gray eyes toward me. "Go! Now!"

Zane and Jaxson gave me one last lingering, possessive look before turning on their heels and sprinting out of the suite.

The room fell into an echoing silence, save for the heavy sound of falling rain and cold wind whistling through the broken glass. I stood frozen by the side of the mattress, my chest heaving as tears of shock and anger welled in my eyes.

"Elara," Lucian said gently, stepping toward me. The deadly fur and fangs receded from his skin, leaving him in his human form once again.

"Don't touch me," I whispered, my voice breaking as I backed away. "All of this... this entire nightmare is because of me. My father, those rogues, the attacks..."

"Look at me," Lucian commanded softly, closing the gap between us in one fast motion. He grabbed both of my wrists, pulling me flush against his hard, naked chest. "None of this is your fault."

"He said my blood is drawing them here!" I cried out, trying to pull my hands free, but his grip was like solid steel. "I am putting your whole team in danger!"

"Let them come!" Lucian growled passionately, his gray eyes burning with pure, unyielding devotion. "Let every rogue pack in this territory come for us! I will tear them all to pieces before I let anyone take you away from me!"

He yanked me upward, smashing his hot lips down against mine in a fiercely possessive kiss that instantly extinguished all my protests. The raw intensity of his touch consumed my senses completely. I let out a low moan into his mouth, my fingers entangling themselves in his thick dark hair.

Lucian lifted me easily, carrying my body over to the uninjured side of the massive king-sized bed. He laid me down on the soft sheets and hovered over me, his massive shoulders blocking out the entire world. His broad hands slid down my sides, stripping away my ruined blazer and shirt, exposing my delicate black lace bra to his hungry gaze.

"You are so beautiful," Lucian growled against my heated skin, trailing hot, feverish kisses down the slope of my neck, over my collarbone, and down to the swell of my breasts. "Every inch of you belongs to me."

"Lucian..." I gasped, arching my back as his mouth closed over the peak of my breast through the thin lace. Electric jolts of pure desire shot straight down to my core, making my hips move against his leg in desperate, rhythmic friction.

He groaned deeply at my movement, his large hand sliding down past my waist, slipping underneath my skirt to press against the damp silk of my panties. His fingers pushed the fabric aside, finding my drenched heat and pressing hard against my sensitive nucleus.

"Yes, right there," I whimpered, clutching his broad back as he stroked me with expertly applied pressure. The steamy heat between us was unbearable, blinding, and absolute.

"You feel so good, Elara," Lucian growled against my lips, accelerating the fast, rhythmic movement of his hand. "Say my name. Tell me who you belong to."

"Lucian... I am yours," I gasped out, completely overwhelmed by the mounting waves of intense pleasure pulsing through my entire lower body.

Just as my body reached the absolute edge of a shattering climax, a loud, metallic clinking sound echoed from underneath the bed.

Lucian instantly froze, his head snapping down toward the floorboards.

He reached down under the bedframe and pulled out a small, metallic silver cylinder that was blinking with a fast, bright red light. A sharp, high-pitched ticking sound began to accelerate rapidly from inside the device.

Lucian's eyes went wide with pure terror.

"It is a silver-dust explosive!" Lucian yelled, grabbing me in his arms and throwing his body over mine as the device let out a high-pitched beep. "Brace yourself!"