Page 24

Lucien

The maps of Blackwood and Silver Pack's territory were spread across the large oak table in my office, marked with red ink where we know their forces are stationed. Liam stands beside me, his arms crossed, his face etched with tension. The room is dimly lit, the only illumination coming from the desk lamp and the faint glow of the moon outside the window.

"This war is escalating faster than we anticipated," Liam mutters, rubbing his temple. "We need a solid plan if we're going to put an end to it once and for all."

I nod, scanning the information we have gathered over the past few weeks. Silver Pack has been making strategic moves, striking our weaker patrols, cutting off business routes, and stirring unrest among the smaller allied packs. But something wasn't adding up. Their alpha, Alpha Kaden, had always been ruthless but never reckless. And yet, his recent actions feel desperate, as if he is running out of time.

"We're missing something," I say, gripping the edge of the table. "Kaden isn't the kind to act without a reason. He's pushing too hard, too fast."

Liam sighs. "Maybe he knows something we don't. Maybe he has an ace up his sleeve."

I shake my head. "Or maybe he's being pushed from within."

The thought had been lingering in my mind for some time now. The attacks, the sudden aggression—it didn't feel like Kaden's style."Is the detailed investigation I ordered on every core pack member done?"

"I'm not sure. Liam says, fishing out his phone. "The investigator said he'll get back to me today, but he hasn't."

After a few taps on the screen, his face slightly scrunches before his brows raise with suspicion. "Do you know this guy?"

He hands me the phone, and on the screen is Damon's unpleasant face staring back at me. The sight of him causes bile to rise to my mouth. Like I said, unpleasant. "What about him?" I reply, handing the phone back to him.

"I am not sure, but there are rumors surrounding him being Kaden's long-lost son." My brows jump to my forehead, and my alarms go off. I snatch the phone from Liam, giving the face on the screen a second look to make sure it was Damon.While the bastard always left a sour taste in my mouth, and I have on more than one occasion wanted to tear off his head, I never pegged him as anyone important. "Are you sure about this?"

Liam gives me a questioning look. "The information is right there. It says he has a human mother and was raised in secrecy while Kaden provided the necessary help and support to them with the clear instruction that he wanted nothing personal to do with them.His reunion with his father was solely born out of necessity. Kaden has no son and reached out to him when he figured age was not on his side anymore. He gave Damon the condition that he could assume his place as his son if he could prove his worth by securing Blackwood."

My eyes don't leave the picture, and it takes everything in me not to hurl the phone at the wall." How long has this been? His reunion with his father?"

This bastard has been hanging around Aurora from the very first day I ran into her. I have no doubt he is aware of our situation and the fact that Ronan is my son. It is hardly possible their relationship is a coincidence."A little over six years. Almost at the time, the attacks started. But here's the thing. At the time of the first attack, the one that led us to the queen, Kaden had not found Damon. Their reconnection happened somewhere in between."

"The attack," I fill in, putting two and two together. The attack on my wedding night was Damon. "Fucking sneaky son of a bitch."Liam raises an eyebrow. "You know him?"

"He is the vermin that's been hanging around Aurora."

Liam's eyes almost doubled in size. "Come again?""She said they were college mates, so I never bothered looking into him, but now it's all coming together."

"What is coming together?" Liam's confusion is still evident in his tone.

"His appearance, how is always around. She once said he's like a guardian angel and always appears whenever she needs him, but now that I think of it, what if he's always there because—"

"The situations were created by him to give her a false sense of security while he perpetuates his evil without suspicion," Lucien finishes off, and a new bolt of rage surges through me. The bastard has been hovering around my family like a fucking vulture. I'll make a corpse out of him.

"I want him found. Whatever it takes, I want him found and brought to me alive. Am I clear?" Before Liam could respond, my phone rang, cutting through the thick tension. The second I see Aurora's name on the screen, a protective streak washes over me.

I answer immediately. "Aurora?"

Her voice is shaky and frantic. "Lucien—he's gone. Ronan's gone."

The world around me slows. My grip on the phone tightens. "What do you mean he's gone?"

"He was in the backyard. He—he was just playing with his nanny, and she turned away for a moment, and then—" Her voice cracks. "I think Damon took him."

A growl rips through my chest, so deep it rattles the walls. Liam's head snaps up, already knowing something had gone terribly wrong.

"I'm coming to you," I say, my voice dark with promise. "I'll find him, Aurora. I swear it."

***

I arrive at Aurora's house to find her pacing in the living room, her eyes red-rimmed and her hands trembling. The moment she sees me, she rushes forward, gripping my arms.

"Lucien," she breathes as if saying my name is the only thing keeping her grounded. "We have to find him."

I cup her face, forcing her to meet my eyes. "We will."

She exhales shakily, nodding, but I can see the fear in her gaze. "He's just a child," she whispers. "He doesn't understand any of this. He did nothing wrong."

Rage burns through me, dark and consuming. "I'll kill him," I promise. "No one touches my son and lives to tell the tale."

"I can't believe I never saw him for who he truly is," Aurora says, her voice cracking at the end. "He checked all the boxes, sweet, caring, reliable, and always there, and I brought him into my home, into my baby's life, without knowing he is the devil incarnate."

I draw her into a tight hug, placing a kiss on her forehead. "None of this is your fault, baby. You can't beat yourself up for something beyond your control."

She sniffs. "But I could've been more careful.""But you're no mind reader. Like you said, he checked all the boxes. There was no reason to suspect him."

"When I catch him, I swear to the Goddess I'm going to…" her voice breaks into a sob. "I just want my baby."

"And we will find him," I reply, rocking her gently in my arms.

I glance at the wall clock, wondering when Selene would get here. I asked Liam to inform her of the situation and to dismiss all the plans we had. This calls for a fresh plan and immediate action.A knock at the door makes us both turn sharply. I instinctively move in front of Aurora. But when the door opens, it's Selene, and next to her is Liam. "I came as soon as I heard," she said, glancing between us. "What's the current situation?"

Aurora tenses beside me, but she doesn't say anything. Now isn't the time for old grudges. Now is the time for war.

"He was taken from the backyard. I've sent out scouts and trackers. People are looking all over for him."

"We need to move quickly," Selene says, drawing out a map from a bag I didn't notice her carrying. "If Damon took Ronan, he'll take him to Silver Pack. He'll want to use him as proof to show his father how much progress he's making. Which means he's probably going to travel through this point." She points her index finger to a spot on the map.

"It has a train station that goes straight to Silver Pack, cutting off hours of road trip."

"Is this the only route there? I don't think he'll want to travel publicly, "I query, eyeing the spot suspiciously. It's a public transport system, and most of the people present will be humans. I doubt Damon will be stupid enough to drag a boy through the crowd."

"It is not," Selene replies, but it is the fastest, and Damon is a familiar face. I doubt Ronan understands the danger he's in, which will be to his advantage. They'll be a boy and his uncle traveling together."

"Oh, Goddess," Rora groans, sinking into the sofa behind her and burying her face in her palms. "What have I done?"

"You didn't do anything," Selene replies. "You're not responsible for the evil in the hearts of men."

Liam, who has been quietly gathering intel in the background, clears his throat. "Lucien, I also just received word from Queen Alice."

I turn to him. "Queen Alice?"

"I spoke to her earlier," Aurora says. "I was going to tell you about it. She's a friend of a friend, so I was able to get an audience."

I nod, signaling to Liam to continue.

"She's pushing to pass the new laws faster than anticipated. If she succeeds, Silver Pack will lose their ability to act unchecked and pay dearly for their actions."

It's good news, but it won't save Ronan. "It's not enough," I say, "We need to act now."

Aurora straightens, her eyes burning with determination. "Then let's go get our son."

I look at her, really look at her. She is much different from the soft, vulnerable girl I used to know. In her place is a woman with the fierceness that would ridicule a warrior and a will that will bend the very fabrics of fate itself. And for the first time, she called him our son. Our son.

I hold out my arm to her, and she slips her slender fingers into my open palm without hesitation. I have no doubt we're in this together.

I press a kiss onto the back of her palm. "Let's go get our son," I repeat her words, leading us out the door with Liam tapping aggressively into his phone behind us and Selene barking orders into her phone, ordering the assembly of all her warriors.

This is war.