126 We Want Liberation.

b126 /bbWe /bbWant /bLiberation

Lucian

After breakfast, we went our separate ways to prepare for the day. I didn’t want Mara going bto /bbthe /boffice. bShe /blooked pale, still a bit unsteady on her feet, but when I gently suggested she head back to the bholiday /bhome and rest, she bristled–like I’d insulted her strength.

“I’m not made of ss, Lucian,” she said.

C

There was no point arguing. She needed to feel in control again. So I let her go–even though every instinct bin /b

me screamed to hold her back.

On our way out, Lacy asked to tag along. Mara gave a small nod before I could say no. Since we were heading to Steel Corp anyway, I didn’t push it. I just made a silent note: next time, I’m driving the convertibleb. /bIf I was going to be stuck with Lacy in the back seat, I might as well enjoy the ride.

I dropped them off at the Steel Corp Towers and headed toward the prison.

When I arrived, Denis and Darian were already waiting.

“Rowan’s inside,” Darian said. “Been working them for two hours.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Any progress?b” /b

“They won’t say a damn thing.”

I sighed. “Tell Rowan to stop. I’ll handle it.”

I stepped into the interrogation room. Rowan looked up, his face grim, his knuckles red. The two prisoners- bloodied, bruised–grinned like they still held all the power in the room.

There was madness in their eyes. Or devotion. Sometimes, they looked the same.

“Why did you attack Driftwake?” I asked, voice low, calm. “You ughtered innocents, Families. Children. What was the goal?”

One of themughed. A wet, gurgling sound through the blood in his mouth.

“Don’t act like you give a damn about those people,” he said. “You’re just guarding the gold and bitumen. The

real prize.”

Then he said it.

“Son of Natasha Redlock.”

I stilled.

A

“You think we don’t know who you are? Your father’s little empire is built on your mother’s bbones /bShe bwas /bthe Alpha of Driftwake. Thatnd–its fiches–was hers. Not his.”

I didn’t flinch. I’d always known my father was wealthy from my mother’s side. But iAlpha /ibof /bbDriftwake/bb? /bbThat /b

was news.

Still, I kept my face neutral. “Tell me something I idon’t /iknow.”

He smirked. “Alpha Chase doesn’t care about you, Lucian. He’s after your bfather/b. bIf /bbyou’re /bbsmart/bb, /bbyou’ll /bbstay /b

126 We Want Liberation

out of it. Otherwise… you’ll burn in the crossfire.”

My breath caught.

Alpha Chase.

We finally had a name.

I leaned forward. “Where is he?b” /b

The other prisonerughed. “You don’t find Alpha Chase,” he said, voice low and sure. “He finds youi./i”

I stepped back, studying them both. They weren’t just hired des. They believed in this. They’d die bfor /bbthis/b. “You’re willing to throw away your lives for another man’s fight?” I asked, genuinely trying to understand. “Liberation,” the first one hissed, blood still on his lips. “Liberation from the Nighthorns. From monopolyb. /bbFrom /bsegregation. Liberation from a bloodline that takes simply because it ican/i. Your father stole from our pack and spat on us in the process. He will pay–with everything.”

My fists clenched. “What exactly did he steal that justifies this level of violence?”

The second one smiled slowly. It wasn’t warm. It was the smile of someone who’d already made peace with

death.

“We don’t want to ruin iyou/ii, /iAlpha Lucian. We want to take everything ifrom /iihim/ii. /iHis wealth. His blood. His legacy. We want him to ifeel /iwhat it means to lose everything.”

He leaned forward slightly, eyes sharp. “This attack? Just a test. A warning. If you’re wise, you’ll take your pretty little mate far from here. This fight isn’t with you. But step into the line of fire–and you’ll both burn.”

I didn’t think. I just reacted. My fist connected with his face, jerking his head back. “Don’t you dare speak about my wife again.”

Heughed, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

I fought to calm myself. “Where is your pack?”

He grinned wider. “We’re everywhere. And nowhere.”

Frustration gnawed at me. “You know I’m your true Alpha. All Alphas descend from Mooncrest. That includes

you.”

His expression changed. Not submission, but recognition.

“We know,” he said quietly. “Son of Natasha Redlock… this isn’t about bloodlines. This is about justice. Your father took something sacred from us. Because he icould/i. Because he had Redlock money to burn. He mocked us as he did it.”

“What did he take?” I pressed, more direct now. “What did my father steal that warrants all thisb?/bb” /b

Silence. His jaw tensed.

“Please,” I said, softening. “Tell me what my father did. I need to understand.”

His eyes faltered. That sh iof /iuncertainty told me I was close.

But then he said, “We were ordered to die with that truth. Everything we’ve told you–was all our bAlpha /ballowed.”

126 We Want Liberation

Then he bit down.

I saw the motion toote.

Both men jerked violently in their chairs, bodies convulsing. I shouted, “Get someone in bhere/bb, /bbnow/b!

The guards rushed in, followed by the medical team, but it was already over.

“They’re gone,” someone said grimly.

I spun on the guards. “I thought you removed their poison!”

“We did!” the head guard stammered, pale. “We stripped them, searched everything. I swear it, Alphab./bb” /b

“Then where did ite from?”

One of the medics stepped forward with a bloodied glove and a broken fragment of white.

“A false tooth,” he said. “Both had one. Hollow. Laced with poison. It was surgical. You wouldn’t know it wasn’t real unless you pried it out.”

I stared at the piece in his hand, understanding settling over me like ice in my veins.

Chase had nned for this.

He’d known they might be caught.

He’d known we’d strip them, search them, pull the obvious poisons.

So he gave them inew /iiteeth/ii. /i

They didn’t even have names. Ghost soldiers in a war we were only beginning to understand.

iAnd /iChase… he wasn’t just bold.

He was ibrilliant/i.

This wasn’t good. I’d faced brutes before. You can predict a blunt force.

But someone intelligent–someone patient enough to sacrifice pawns, and clever enough to make every move

count?

That was the kind of enemy who didn’t just fight wars.

He iwon /ithem.

As I turned away from the interrogation room, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I nced at the screen–bMary/b.

I answered immediately. Her voice was frantic, almost breathless.

“Lucian–Luna Mara… she fainted!”

I froze.

“She fainted?” I isaid/ii, /imy voice barely above a whisper.

“They rushed her to the hospital. /Fourth Street Clinici,” /ishe blurted.

I ididn’t /ispeak. I didn’t ask questions. I just ended the call and started running.

“Lucian!” Denis called after me, confused. I didn’t stop. I shoved through the exit doors band /bbhit /bbithe /i/bstreet like a man possessed.

126 We Want Liberation

No driver. No car.

I waved down the first cab I saw and jumped in.

“Fourth Street Clinic–now!”

I was shaking. I could barely sit still. My thoughts spun out of control, a thousand worst–case scenarios screaming through my head.

I’d told her to rest. iBegged /iher to take it easy. But she insisted. Stubborn, strong, always ineeding /ito prove she

could handle anything.

And now this.

My heart was pounding so hard I thought I might pass out before I got there.

Please, Goddess–let iher /iibe /iiokay/ii. /i

Let me get to her in time.

Let this not be the moment everything falls apart.

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127 What’s With Mara