Page 22 of The Breeding Cave

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

LUCIANO

“You’re back so soon,” Molly said when I walked into the penthouse with Yeosin.

“Where is Joseph?” I asked, carrying a sleeping Yeosin to my bedroom.

Molly followed after me and shook her head. “I thought he was with you. The last I heard from him, he was dropping Ms. Yeosin off at the cave and trying to find information for you on that car.”

“Shit,” I growled under my breath.

After I tugged down the blankets so I could place Yeosin on the bed, Molly clasped her hands together and furrowed her brows. “Did you walk all the way back here with Ms. Yeosin?”

“Yes.”

“You could’ve called me.”

“No service in the cave,” I said. “Get me a warm towel.”

Without asking any questions, Molly retrieved a warm towel from my bathroom. I peeled off Yeosin’s clothes, then gently turned her onto her stomach.

“Oh my Goddess,” Molly said, wide eyes fixed on Yeosin’s burn. “What happened?”

“The Dragon Clan happened.”

“The-the Dragon Clan?” she repeated, gulping. “They’re back?”

“They’re back.”

“Did you run into them? Did they find the cave? The packhouse?”

“No. Yeosin ran into them during her lunch break. They’re the ones in that car, chasing her down, demanding her to give them as much money as she has. And you know they won’t stop until they’ve worked her to death.”

She opened and closed her mouth a handful of times, then bowed her head. “I’ll let you heal her.” She gave Yeosin one last longing look, then disappeared into the other room. “And I’ll boil water for some tea. It will help with the pain when she begins to recover.”

Once the door closed, I knelt beside Yeosin on the side of the bed. She snored softly, her mouth ajar. I gently placed my hand on her bare back and outlined her burn with my fingers, making sure not to put any pressure on her skin so she wouldn’t wake up.

When I accidentally made contact with the wrinkled skin, a jolt rushed through me.

Flames suddenly burned all around me. Mom lay bloody in front of me, her body burning with blue flames—the hottest kind known to beasts.

When I grasped her frail arms, they turned to ash in my hands.

I grabbed for any part of her, to hold her one last time, but with every touch, more and more chalky ash covered my hands.

Packmates cried out from all directions, screaming in pain and terror. I lifted my gaze to the battlefield, knowing that if we continued … there would be nobody else left in my pack, knowing that everyone was dying because I couldn’t protect them.

I pulled my fingers away and jerked my head to the side to shake away the memory.

After all these years that we had been hiding in the shadows, after I had finally decided to settle down and start over, to rejuvenate my pack, the Dragon Clan were back to take it all away. But I refused to let them touch Yeosin again.

If they did … I’d rip off their heads.

I didn’t care what they did to me. I didn’t care how much they burned my body with fire. I drew my tongue across my lengthened teeth and growled. Yeosin was mine. Mine. Mine! I didn’t care if she was pregnant with my pup yet or not. I would do anything to protect her.

Once I took a deep breath to re-center myself, I pressed my mouth to her burn to use my saliva to heal it.

I wasn’t sure how I could heal her last time—outside of pack doctors, only mates could heal each other, and I had been cursed without a mate for the rest of my life—but I hoped if there was still a Goddess who watched over the beasts, she’d give me strength.

I drew my tongue across her burn. Once. Twice. A third time.

And nothing.

I tried again. Still nothing.

After trying again and still not healing her in the slightest, I pulled back. “ Fuck .”

Part of me had been holding out hope that I could heal her, that Yeosin might really be my mate. My beast had surely thought so earlier at the cave. But the feelings I had for her were just … they were just about me needing to continue my bloodline.

She shifted in the bed, a strand of her hair falling into her face.

Yeah, that’s what it is. An innate need to continue my bloodline.

That didn’t change the fact that I needed to protect her with my life.

Once I finally accepted defeat, I pulled the blankets up to Yeosin’s shoulders, grabbed my phone, and walked out of the room to the kitchen, where Molly stood over the stove, nervously running her hands together.

I wasn’t the only one in that war who wore burns. She did too.

“Find a way to heal her,” I said to Molly.

“You weren’t able to?” Molly asked, eyes wide.

I gritted my teeth. “No.”

Her gaze dropped. “I thought for sure that you were mates …”

“I already told you that I can’t have a mate,” I said harshly.

She bowed her head. “I know, but you’re happier with her. I just … I thought …”

“I’m not happier with her,” I snarled. “I’m using her for pups, and that’s it.”

“Keep telling yourself th?—”

Before she could finish her sentence, I snapped my hand around her throat and slammed her against the nearest wall, my beast taking full control. When I realized what I had done, I immediately pulled away.

“I’m sorry,” I said to Molly. “That was my beast.”

“No, no,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have spoken out of place.”

“I need her to mean nothing more than that,” I whispered, trying to convince myself.

This meant war with the Dragon Clan, and they already knew who Yeosin was. There was a huge chance that she wouldn’t make it out of this alive. And if she didn’t … I would have to find another mat—I mean, another woman to give me pups.

Yeosin had to mean nothing.

“I need to figure this out,” I said.

After running a hand through my hair, I stormed out of the penthouse and headed straight for the elevator with my phone pressed to my ear. It rang and rang and rang. I balled my hands into tight fists, almost bending the phone.

“Come on, Joseph,” I growled. “Answer.”

When the call went to voicemail, I slammed my finger on the End Call button and dialed Brent instead. I didn’t have time to wait around for Joseph to call me back. I didn’t know where he was, but it wasn’t like him to ignore my calls.

Nonetheless, we needed a plan.

I wouldn’t let the Dragon Clan get away with this. As much as I didn’t want to partner with Alpha Theo, it seemed like that was our only solution right now. At least, it was a temporary solution, a temporary army.

If it protected Yeosin, then I would have to move forward with it. I had no choice.

“Hello? Brent speaking.”

“Meet me at the old packhouse,” I said. “Twenty minutes.”

“Luciano. Hey, what’s?—”

“Packhouse. Twenty minutes.”

He paused on the line. “Why? I’m kinda in the middle?—”

“Now!” I snarled through the phone. “This is war.”