CHAPTER 107: _IF YOU LIKE SOMEONE...

Lucian’s POV

*****

After the umbra beast had been dealt with, Lucian decided it was time to go to bed. It’s not like there was much deciding to make when everyone else couldn’t agree more.

Fortunately, the owner of the hotel didn’t even make the connection that the umbra beast was after them and called them "heroes" for "saving" the hotel and its customers.

Poor guy...

If it weren’t for them, the hotel wouldn’t have been in any danger to begin with.

When their crew got upstairs, Lucian watched Axel lead Elian into their room before begrudgingly leading Aurora into hers.

He needed to check on how she was doing after... Well, everything.

"Better now?" Lucian asked his little sister with a small smirk as she lay down on her bed, staring at the ceiling.

Her silver hair pooled around her head on the pillow as she let out a chuckle. "Better would be a stretch after everything I’ve faced today. But hey... Stepping into that fight like a warrior princess was a confidence boost."

Lucian joined her in chuckling as he sat on the edge of the bed, placing his arms on his legs. He stared blankly at nothing in particular, his mind reeling through so many thoughts at once.

He felt like asking her something but didn’t know if it was appropriate. Or too soon.

However—

"Alright, I doubt you came here to mope with me out of the goodness of your heart." She cleared her throat with a knowing voice. "Come on. What’s up?"

As usual... She knew him too well.

"Sister," Lucian glanced back at her, squinting. "You think I’m incapable of doing that?"

"Don’t let me start, Lucian." Aurora shook her head with a warning tone, causing him to chuckle, raising his arms in mock defeat.

"Fine, you got me." Lucian let out a small sigh, looking away from her. "Among other things, I wanted to ask you how it felt. When Magnus died."

Silence.

There was a long silence after he asked that, his sister’s breathing becoming ragged like she was recalling something traumatic. Because she was.

Lucian felt sorry for asking that and was about to part his lips to change the topic when Aurora finally chimed with a cracked voice.

"Well, other than the obvious pain that felt like it was ripping through my soul... My wolf howled. With grief. Then I..." She paused, drawing in a heavy breath. "Then I felt the pain he felt when he died. The loneliness. The helplessness. The regret. I felt all of it like it was mine."

Lucian could almost imagine it, fiddling with his fingers as his mind went to one person alone.

Elian.

When he first discovered they were mates, he’d tried rejecting him. Then he told himself he wouldn’t mind him dying.

Now he couldn’t even live with the thought of that and seeing the pain Aurora went through tonight... He wasn’t even sure he would be able to survive if Elian died.

"I’m guessing you’re asking this because of Elian," Aurora remarked with a light whisper.

Lucian slowly got on his feet with a sigh, adjusting his cufflinks. "Was it really that obvious?"

Aurora smirked. "With you, it’s always obvious. Regardless of how cold or block-headed you try pretending to be."

Lucian smiled down on her, shaking his head. After a few seconds, he decided to share.

"I doubt I told you anything about the Eastern wolves council and their desire to see Elian and me get married." He said casually, watching the surprise stretching across her face. "But yeah. They want that but the mere thought of sharing him with—"

"Lucian," Aurora spoke softly, managing to sit up on the bed. After brushing aside strands of her hair, she continued. "I saw you. When the umbra beast was closing in on him, I saw the look in your eyes when you tackled him to safety."

Lucian blinked, tilting his head at her.

"... I didn’t know you could read emotions."

"Probably not. But it’ll take a blind person not to notice the way you look at Elian. The way your eyes harden with frustration when you see him and Axel interacting."

Lucian closed his eyes briefly, looking away from her.

But that didn’t stop her from continuing.

"For the goddess’s sake, if you like someone... TELL THEM. Especially when that someone is your mate who you’ve been nothing but shitty to." Aurora sighed, her voice rising a bit.

Lucian clicked his tongue, but he knew deep down she was right.

"You’re right." He said that out loud, rubbing the back of his neck. "Ugh, emotions aren’t my strong suit. I—"

"Any more talking will cost you ten golden tickets. And that’s just me being generous." Aurora interrupted with a serious expression, before a small smirk curled up her lips. "And of course, I’m right."

Lucian rolled his eyes, walking toward the door. He left her room carrying more weight than when he entered. But his steps dragged him toward Elian anyway.

.

.

When he stepped out of Aurora’s room, he stood in front of the room he, Elian and Axel were sharing.

He froze, his right hand lingering in front of the doorknob for way too long. He brought his ear close to the door, trying to listen in incase there were any "unholy activities" going on in there.

The last thing he wanted was walking into Axel knotting him... Again.

’Just go in...’ his wolf growled in his soul, like it’s been starved all its life. ’This dance you’re playing with him... It can only go on for so long. We like him. We lo—’

"Let’s not get carried away." Lucian’s heart beat quickened at the thought of the next word his wolf almost mentioned.

Alright... He was just here to talk about his... Feelings.

No drama, no bickering, no wanting to cleave Axel’s head off his shoulders.

Lucian took in deep breaths as he reminded himself of this, closing his eyes briefly. But just when he was about to open the door, someone opened it from inside, causing his heart to skip a beat.

His eyes widened when he saw the person who peeked his head out of the room with a weary expression.

Elian.

"Hey," Elian muttered, stepping aside for him to walk in. "Axel’s been gone for a while and I’ve felt... Well, lonely I guess. Or scared."

Lucian swallowed, trying to compose himself as he nodded slowly. "Right... That’s good."

Elian frowned. "Good?"

Shit, why was he babbling?!

Lucian sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "No, I meant... Since he’s gone we can..."

The expression on Elian’s face only deepened with more confusion.

Goddess...

"Elian. We need to talk."