The fire crackled between them, its light carving shadows into the chief's weathered face. She hadn't rushed him.
Lucas sat across from the chief, his hands trembling in his lap. Hiding how much the bond pained him. Pretending it didn't still burn every time he closed his eyes.
"Tell me about the first time," the chief said gently.
Lucas let out a hollow laugh. "You want the pretty version or the truth?"
"The truth."
He pressed a hand to his chest, right over where the bond still lived. Still ached. Still hoped.
"It was at a coffee shop. Awkward movie night. Beatrice dragged me there like a third wheel because she felt bad for me. Said I needed to 'get out more.'"
His voice cracked.
"I didn't want to go. I never wanted to go. But she was my best friend, so I went."
He closed his eyes, and the memory played behind his lids like a cruel film.
"I saw him sitting there. Pale. Unsmiling. Beautiful. And when he looked at me…"
Lucas exhaled shakily.
"I saw everything. Our past, present, and future. A future that neither of us would've wanted at the moment."
The chief's gaze flickered to his trembling fingers, but she said nothing.
"He hated it," Lucas whispered.
He hated me.
Words left unspoken like a curse.
"I could see it in his eyes. The fear. The panic. He didn't ask for this. Neither did I. But the bond didn't care."
He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, swallowing hard.
"We shook hands. Like normal people. Like strangers. And I felt… everything. The warmth. The grip. His skin against mine. It was like the sun piercing through me without much pain. Like being burned at a stake."
He laughed bitterly.
"And Beatrice was standing right there. Smiling. Clueless. She had no idea that her best friend had just imprinted on her boyfriend."
Silence.
The chief leaned forward. "What did you do?"
Lucas shrugged, but it was a broken gesture.
"What could I do? I smiled. I pretended. I let her hang off his arm while I sat across from them and drank my coffee like my world hadn't just ended. But it hurt too much, so I left as soon as I finished my coffee."
His voice dropped to barely a whisper.
"That was the first time I met him. And it was also the first time I learned what it felt like to lose someone I never even had."
The chief didn't speak for a long moment.
Then: "And after that?"
Lucas let out a suffocating laugh.
"After that? I tried to stay away. I really did. But the bond… it hurt when we were apart. It dragged me back every time. So we made a deal. A stupid, desperate deal."
He stared at his hands, remembering the motel rooms.
The cheap sheets.
The silence.
"We started meeting up. Any motel or hotel nearby. Just for one day. Sometimes, he'd show up smelling like someone else's perfume. Beatrice's perfume. Most of the time, he wouldn't show up at all."
His voice trembled.
"At first, we'd fuck until morning like it was a punishment. No kisses. No talking. Just him taking what he needed and leaving before the sun came up. But lately…" He trailed off, the memory twisting in his gut.
"Lately, he'd been clinging to me as if we were lovers. And I liked it. God help me, I liked it."
He clenched his palms until his knuckles turned white.
"But Beatrice was always there. In the background. She was the one he smiled at. The real smile. The one he never gave me. I saw them together once. In the gardens. She was draped over him, laughing at something he'd said. And he was smiling. Like I'd never seen him do with me."
His voice cracked. Tears formed in his eyes.
"And you stayed?" the chief asked quietly.
Lucas nodded, wiping his face with his sleeve.
"I did. I know it's stupid. But every time I tried to leave, the bond would drag me back. It made me think that maybe this time, he'll see me. Maybe this time, I'll be enough."
He gave her a bitter, broken smile.
"But I wasn't. And for so long, I kept this bitterness in me until it became toxic and unhealthy. So I left. This time for real. Didn't say goodbye. Didn't look back. Just walked away from everything until I couldn't smell him on my skin anymore."
The chief absorbed everything.
"And if he comes for you?"
Lucas's smile didn't reach his eyes.
"Then I hope he's ready to hear no."
The chief gave her a smile, standing up from her comfy chair, hands on her cane. She cleared her throat and called out, "Elijah!"
The door swung open too eagerly for Lucas as he flinched at the sudden breezy air coming from outside.
"He'll stay."
Lucas' breath hitched.
He hadn't realized how badly he'd needed to hear those words until they were spoken.
Meanwhile, Elijah and Mara had been waiting outside, ears undoubtedly sharp enough to catch every word.
"Take him to Rohan's cabin near the eastern ridge."
Mara's eyebrows shot up. "Rohan's? But Chief…Rohan will—"
"Take him. Whether he likes it or not."
The chief cut in, her voice firm. Lucas could see how Elijah stiffened, but the male wolf nodded.
Mara, ever perceptive, glanced at Lucas with something almost like pity.
They turned away from the door, towards the direction of the outside.
The chief ignored them, turning back at Lucas. "Are you coming, pup?"
Lucas immediately stood up and trailed behind Elijah and Mara, the chief following by.
"You'll meet the others tomorrow. For tonight, you must rest."
The young Alpha looked back and nodded towards the chief. "And Lucas?"
The young pup looked up, waiting for her next words.
"Breathe. You are safe now."
And Lucas did just that.
Breathe.
No one would bother to hurt him now. There was no longer a Sebastian looming around him.
I can do this. I will survive through this.
He chanted it, like giving finality to his decision to leave La Ber.
I will live through this.
Yet his heart whispered a name. A name he would try his hardest to forget.
The bond whispered otherwise. And somewhere in the rain, Sebastian was probably already running.