hapter 316

    Lucien’s POV

    The moment the words left my mouth–Let’s go now–I froze. No. Not like this.

    I turned toward Caelum, my Beta, my brother–in–arms, and asked the question already gnawing at my wolf. “Look at me. Do I seem fit to greet a pup? Do I look like an Alpha or a half–starved shadow?”

    Caelum hesitated, lips pressed tight. His silence was answer enough.

    If I appeared before Riley’s daughter in this hollow, wasted shell, I would only frighten her. A child deserved strength. She deserved safety, not the ruin of a wolf who could barely stand upright.

    “I must wash the stench of grief from me first,” I said, voice ragged. “I’ll not face my pup looking like a broken wretch. She will see her father as he is meant to be. As Alpha. As Stormridge’s heir.”

    My body was still weak, but my pulse hammered, the wolf in me pacing, restless.

    I forced myself to rise. Caelum reached out as though to steady me, but I shrugged him off and staggered into the washroom.

    Half an hourter, I emerged. My frame was leaner, my face carved by sleepless nights, but I had bound my hair, straightened my posture, donned the ck leathers of Stormridge royalty. I was no longer the husk I had been; I carried myself with the poise of my bloodline, even if beneath the surface shadows lingered.

    The car roared down the dark road, Caelum at the wheel. I sat in the passenger seat, every muscle taut, ws half–pressing through my skin with restraint. My fingers gripped the handle until the leather creaked. The night air beyond the window was thick with ping and the scent of rain, but I smelled nothing except the imagined trace of Riley–herughter, her warmth. And now, a pup.

    Caelum’s voice was quiet but steady. “She’ll be safe, Lucien. Duke is loyal. He would give his life before letting harm touch her.”

    I said nothing. My throat was too tight. My wolf growled low, not in denial, but in

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    yearning.

    In my mind, I tried to imagine her face. Would she have Riley’s eyes? My jaw? Would she know me when she saw me? The thought of her voice–small, calling me Papa—was enough to drive nails of longing through my ribs.

    If only Riley were here. If only she could stand at my side when we brought our daughter home. A family. Whole, atst.

    When we reached Duke’s dwelling, the car screeched to a halt. I was out the door before the engine quieted, heart pounding like a war drum. Together, Caelum and I knocked.

    Silence.

    Caelum frowned and knocked again, louder. “Duke! It’s Caelum. Open the door.”

    No answer.

    My gut twisted. Duke had not reported for weeks, not since Carmen’s sentencing. He had vanished from Stormridge’s halls, and I had told myself he needed space. Now my instincts screamed otherwise.

    I mmed my fist against the wood, my voice breaking into a growl. “Duke! It’s Lucien. Open this door!”

    Still nothing. My body swayed, exhaustion gnawing at my knees, and I stumbled against the wall. Caelum caught my shoulder. “Lucien, breathe. Don’t-”

    “I’m fine,” I rasped, though my lungs burned. My wolf wed within, demanding to be unleashed, to tear the door from its frame,

    Caelum’s voice softened. “Perhaps we shoulde back. He could be–”

    And then-

    A creak.

    The door opened just enough to reveal a sliver of light inside. And then, a head- small, round, crowned with hair the color ofte–autumn wheat, though dull and thin from want of care.

    Two wide eyes blinked up at us, luminous and wet like fresh–fallen dew.

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    “Sir?” the little girl asked softly, voice high and sweet. “Who are you looking for?”

    My breath stopped.

    The world fell away, leaving only her.

    She was Riley reborn. Her nose, her brows, the curve of her cheeks–each feature mirrored the mate I had lost, softened in youth, yet seared into me like a de. My chest convulsed, and before I could stop myself, tears blurred my vision.

    I dropped to my knees, trembling, my hand half–outstretched. “I am…” My voice broke, but I forced it out, low and raw. “I am your father.”

    She froze, confusion flickering across her delicate face. Her small hands clutched the doorframe.

    I leaned closer, leveling my gaze with hers, desperate not to frighten her. “Pup,” I whispered, softer than I ever thought my voice could be. “It’s me. Your father. I’vee to take you home.”

    She tilted her head,shes fluttering, her scent washing over me–faint but achingly familiar, Riley’s blood woven with mine. “Papa?”

    The word shattered me.

    “Yes.” My lips trembled into a smile as wet as it was fierce. “Yes, I’m your papa.”

    Her eyes widened, and for the first time she smiled–a fragile, beautiful thing. “Papa, are you really here to bring me home?”

    I nodded, voice breaking with a joy so sharp it hurt. “I am. You’ll never be alone again.”

    Her next words cut like knives. “And… and when we get home… will I see Mama too?”

    The world reeled. My wolf howled, grief tearing through me anew. Riley’s face shed in my mind–her smile, her touch, the bond between us severed by fate.

    My chest split with the pain, but I held myself steady for the pup’s sake. I forced a

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    smile, though my heart bled.

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    I drew a shaking breath, my hand trembling toward her small frame. “We’ll talk about Mama, little one. For now… all that matters is that I’m here. And I’ll never let you go.”