CHAPTER 61: _THERAPY SESSION OR A READ?

Lucian’s POV

*****

They did it...

Scratch that, he did it.

He fucked Elian Ashford.

Just last night he had felt like spitting on the face of anyone who tried pushing the idea of them being mates. And tonight? He could barely leave his room without wanting to spend the night claiming him in every possible way.

His wolf growled with need. Desire. An aching arousal that threatened to make him lose focus on something actually important.

’Heel, boy.’ He growled mentally to his wolf’s demand as he went up the stairs leading to the last floor of the palace. ’There’ll be no Elian to return to if we don’t find out who’s trying to hang his head on a stake.’

Two assassins in one day were... Unsettling.

Not to mention it made HIM look bad.

What would people think of him knowing that he was absent BOTH times assassins were after his mate? Heck, he wouldn’t be surprised if some people thought he hired them.

Just when Lucian got to the last floor and turned the corner in the corridor, he bumped into his sister.

Aurora.

She held a crystal glass of wine in one hand, her lush silver hair tied up into a ponytail with silver hair clips. Her slim figure was draped under a white night robe and she had a sly smirk on her face to match.

"Well, well, well." She drawled, her eyes trailing Lucian from head to toe with a knowing glint. She sniffled, her eyes glinting with more ambiguity. "Last night you had his scent lingering on you. Tonight... It’s wrapped all around you like a second skin."

Lucian’s jaw tightened, his eyes squinting. "Isn’t it a little too late for you to be prowling around the hallways drinking?"

Aurora scoffed. "I’m not prowling, big brother. My mate is at the palace tonight and I need some... Liquid courage."

Lucian flashed a sarcastic smile. "Trouble in paradise between you and Baron Magnus already?"

She matched his snark easily. "We’re perfectly fine, thank you. Can’t say the same about you and Elian. He’s in heat, isn’t he? His pheromones are oozing all over you."

Lucian glanced around the wide corridor. When he saw no one else was around, he stepped closer. "And so what?"

"And so what?" Aurora repeated like he’d lost his marbles. "He’s your mate for the moon’s sake. And an Omega. He’s vulnerable during his heat cycle and you know it."

Lucian clicked his tongue. "Why are you suddenly concerned?"

She tilted her head. "I’m not concerned. But not everyone is as self-absorbed as you, to not see the truth even though it’s as plain as your fashion sense."

Ugh, she was wasting his time...

Lucian rolled his eyes, placing his right hand on his sister’s shoulder. "I would love to continue this back and forth, but I have a meeting with the Beta and not much time to begin preparations."

He patted her shoulder once before brushing past her. But just when he’d moved two steps...

"You’re afraid you’ll fall too deep with him. Elian." Aurora blurted out like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Lucian froze in his tracks, his fists curling beside him. He glanced over his shoulder at his sister who continued, turning around to face him, her wine clutched close to her chest.

"You’re growing feelings and that scares you. You’re afraid of what people will think of you." She stated calmly, like she was unravelling him one layer at a time. "And you’re jealous. Jealous of the Beta for being so close to Elian. Scared that people will look down on you for not only having an omega mate but for sharing him with someone else."

Lucian spun on his feet, glaring at her. "Is this a therapy session or a read?"

She sniggered, giving him a wink. "Consider it both, big brother."

She proceeded to take a sip from her wine while keeping eye contact with him. But just when she was about to leave, Lucian grabbed the wine and continued walking down the hallway.

"Hey!" Aurora yelled but Lucian ignored her, his jaw tense with agitation as he finished the whole thing in one gulp.

Not agitation at his sister. No.

But agitation at how right she sounded...

.

.

The war room was where he and Axel were having their little meeting.

When Lucian barged in, his eyes immediately landed on the Beta who was already standing in front of the obsidian table.

The white light from the crystals etched on the walls highlighted Axel’s sharp jawline as well as the sparkle in his golden eyes.

"Good. You’re here." Lucian belched, dropping the empty glass on the table and placing his palms on its cold surface.

Axel raised his head from the holographic screens projected on top of the table, raising an eyebrow. But then he sniffed into the air, his eyes widening.

"You..."

"Yes. I screwed our mate." Lucian chuckled dryly, batting his eyelashes at the Beta who seemed... Calm.

Too calm.

"Wow," Axel mumbled, blinking for a couple of seconds before nodding. "He’s in heat again. And he has two mates. It’s nice you could help him alleviate the symptoms."

Lucian’s lips parted slightly as he gawked at Axel.

That was it? No signs of Jealousy? Nothing?

But the latter was completely unbothered, using his fingers to swipe on the holographic projection of the palace hovering over the table.

"Now, back to business." The Beta cleared his throat. "I’ve already hand-picked members for the... Committee. Seasoned soldiers from the palace guards who’ll help us with the investigations."

When Axel’s golden eyes flicked to him as he spoke, Lucian finally snapped out of his reverie, shaking his head.

"Right..." He drew the word like it was italic, keeping his expression as plain as possible. "Well, I don’t think there’s much success to be done on the aspect of investigations... Other than the fact that I caught the scent of someone in Elian’s room earlier."

Axel paused abruptly, squinting his eyes at Lucian. "Come again?"

Wouldn’t he like to know...

"When I stepped into Elian’s room. I caught a scent. Lingering pheromones told me it was a male wolf, probably..." Lucian hesitated to speak, not sure if he should believe his senses on this one.

But he knew what he had sensed. Someone was in Elian’s room before he walked in there.

Meanwhile, Axel pushed. "The last thing I need tonight is suspense, Alpha Prince. So if you could—"

"An Alpha class wolf." Lucian completed his sentence, his tone solemn. "It smelled like an Alpha-class male wolf was in Elian’s room. And from our mate’s cluelessness... The person broke in."