Chapter 20

Elara's POV

A sombre mood arrested the vicinity. We entered the pack house, Lucas fast behind me, barely giving me a moment to breathe. He was being overprotective. While I understood why, I was tired of always feeling like a damsel in distress. "I'm fine," I said as I looked up at him, but he didn't budge. He looked at me like nothing I said even made sense.

"Darling, you're lucky I'm not chaining you to the bed right now." Everyone heard him, and it made me embarrassed because the looks on his men's faces indicated they assumed it was a sexual innuendo. I was mad. I didn’t like it. But I couldn’t argue with Lucas because he would never listen to me when it came to my protection. He was obsessively fond of killing anything that looked at me funny and treating me like property.

Alpha Matthew walked beside my mate's father. For a moment, they shared a look of recognition before it passed. I thought I'd imagined it, so I simply kept walking.

Aurelio, my mate's right-hand man, was walking a few steps behind us while other guards were scattered around. I got the sense that Aurelio didn’t like me. I wasn’t sure why. I was a nice, wonderful person. I'd never hurt anyone, and I’d never crossed paths with him.

When we got to the hall where Lucas's throne was, I noticed the little seat beside it that had never been there when I first arrived. I turned to look at him, and he shook his head, gently urging me forward. It was slowly becoming clear that personal space wasn’t a luxury for me anymore, and neither was a reasonable mate.

"You had it made for me?" I looked up at him, trying to fight how moved I was by it.

"You're my mate, soon to be pack queen." He grabbed both my wrists in one hand and helped me into the chair before I could say anything. He was tense. I felt it. I’m pretty sure my baby felt it too. I knew that Lucas hated situations where he thought he seemed weak, and this was one of them. He wanted to kill Matthew, but he was entertaining my wish of sparing his life. It wasn't respect for me—my mate knew nothing of that. It was amusing. Somehow, he enjoyed toying with me.

Once he was seated on the even bigger throne beside me, I noticed the slight change in his eye color, signaling that his Lycan form was fighting to return. I looked at Alpha Matthew, whose eyes were trained on me like a hawk. Flashbacks of our last night in the alpha’s bedroom rang in my mind. I remembered how he offered me a choice to become his slave or lose everything I held dear. That was the day I understood that no one cared about me—not even the pack I’d spent my whole life catering to.

"Are you certain of your decision, mate?" Lucas turned to me. It took me a moment to realize that he could sense my emotions just as easily. I shook my head, yes.

"Matthew Gale, you ha—"

"Before you start, I just want to say how much of a wonderful couple you both are." The throne room tensed. Lucas’s father had this look of fear on his face that I couldn’t quite understand. Aurelio, who was holding a spear, moved so abruptly to where Alpha Matthew was standing and struck him down. Alpha Matthew grunted, clutching his stomach as he fell to his knees.

Aurelio looked back at Lucas. It was as if they spoke with their eyes.

"No one speaks unless spoken to. Not only did you disrespect the Lycan Alpha, but you made a mockery out of the sacred union that is their mate bond." I didn’t understand what the big deal was, but I wasn’t going to say anything. My mate did not take lightly to disrespect.

"Aurelio!" Lucas raised his hand. "Let the man state his business before you beat him to death." He was so unbothered, talking about death so casually like it didn’t mean anything. I'd never understand the mindset of a Lycan—or what made them so desensitized. Not only Lucas, but his entire family too.

"Forgive my manners, oh mighty King." Alpha Matthew smirked. I noticed Lucas’s fist clenched so hard that he drew blood from the palm of his hand. It was almost as if Alpha Matthew was trying to die. "I believe you have something that belongs to me."

Lucas turned to me, his eyes the clear definition of "now I’m going to kill him."

When Lucas got up, it was a move not many expected. There was visible fear etched on everyone's faces as they stepped back. Alpha Matthew, however, stood his ground, acting like nothing shook him. I tried to wiggle myself out of the chair, but it took me a little longer. I felt like a child with tiny legs trying to climb off the bed. The entire room was so quiet you'd hear the sound of a pin drop. Lucas’s father took one step forward before Lucas shot him a look that made him stop in his tracks. My mate approached Alpha Matthew. I wasn’t sure what he was planning to do, but I knew it wasn’t good. Even though I was scared, I still rushed to him.

"Aurelio," Lucas turned to Aurelio. They only shared a quick look. Before I knew it, Aurelio was marching toward me, placing a hand in front of me to block me. That’s when I knew that Lucas’s patience had dwindled. But before I could say anything in defense of my first mate’s life, he decided to speak for himself.

"Don’t you know who her parents are?" Lucas was already pissed, and I wasn’t sure he'd listen. But whatever Alpha Matthew meant by that had also caught my attention. Lucas stepped forward, his fist clenched, and Alpha Matthew instinctively moved back. "Evelyn Morea and Archer Hayes, the Cynyte twins. You know the prophecy." I noticed Lucas’s back tense as he stopped in his tracks. Even Aurelio, who seemed deadly, was afraid to even touch me. He had goosebumps the second those names were mentioned. I didn’t understand what the deal was.

"Is it true?" Lucas turned back to me, his eyes already back to normal.

"Is what true?" I asked, even though that seemed to be all the response he needed. His face was a clear testament to what it meant to be deadly afraid of someone or something.

And he was looking at me...