Chapter 27

[ 1,025 words ]

Lucien Volkov:

(Trigger warning: Some scenes may be disturbing to some readers.)

The sun had barely risen when I was crossing the training grounds. Warriors were already aligning on the field, bowing to me, but I didn’t pay them any attention.

My mind was already occupied with the tasks that needed to be done right away.

“Lucien. Is everything alright? You called me this early,” Bradley fell into step beside me. I didn’t break my pace and kept striding forward.

“Bradley. I need information on this certain girl from the Blackthorn pack. Her name is Maya. I need to know everything about her.”

“Okay,” he glanced at me curiously, “What about her?”

“I think she was someone close to Arabella.”

“Got it. I’ll see what I can find.”

For a few minutes, we walked in silence.

“By the way,” Brad quickened his pace to match mine, “Where exactly are we going?”

“To the carrot fields,” I said without even glancing his way.

“Carrot fields? But why?” His voice trailed off when the fields came into view. Workers were already gathering there when my gaze landed on a familiar man. He was the supervisor.

The man was busy assigning duties to the workers while laughing with a few female servants. He tried to flirt with a she-wolf and winked at her after whispering something.

He made a big mistake when he tried to treat Arabella the same way. A cold smile touched my lips.

“There,” I said, tipping my chin toward him, “Ask him if he was the one who assigned duties to Arabella that day.”

Bradley nodded with a frown, “Sure.”

I stayed where I was while Bradley approached the man. His smile vanished when he realized who was questioning him. After a brief conversation, Bradley looked at me and nodded.

Yes. He was the one.

Something dark snapped inside me. The next thing I knew, Zorro surged forward, and I let him. There was no need to control my beast when we were both on the same page when it came to Arabella.

The workers gasped and stumbled backward. Several she-wolves dropped their baskets. I could feel the fear spreading through the field as my Lycan emerged.

The supervisor turned pale. One look at me and he knew that he was in trouble.

“Your … Majesty…” He didn’t get to finish because I was on him in a second. My claw wrapped around his throat and slashed it. After that, I slammed him into the ground.

His eyes widened as blood oozed out of his body. He shook violently before falling on the field. I wiped my claw with his clothes and moved back. He didn’t even get enough time to scream or plead.

Anyone who dares to touch what is mine has to pay for the consequences.

“Lucien!” Bradley screamed through the mind link. I never killed anyone in cold blood. As a king, I always acted according to the book of rules, but with Arabella, it was different.

Her words from last night echoed in my head, “If Maya were here, she would have given some really tough time to the farm head who asked me to collect carrots… That man was a scoundrel. He tried to touch my ass that day…”

The frantic movements of the man had weakened, and now he was on the verge of death.

“You dared put your hands on what’s mine?” my beast’s savage growl thundered across the field.

***

After transforming back into my human form, I pulled on a pair of shorts and headed back toward the palace with Bradley.

He stayed unusually quiet, and I could tell he wanted to say something.

“What?” I snapped.

Brad stopped in front of me, forcing me to stop as well, “Do you realize what you just did?” he asked me through clenched jaw, “That too in the presence of so many people… witnesses.”

I grabbed his collar and gave him a slight shake, “He touched her . Do you hear me? He touched Arabella . She didn’t tell us that day, but she told me last night,” I barked.

All anger drained from his face when he heard me, “Y…you… you went to her room?”

“Hell, yes. I did.”

Bradley dragged his tongue over his lips, “Didn’t you say you were going to keep your distance?”

I stared back at him as my hands dropped limply by my side, away from his collar.

“Lucien!” he narrowed his eyes.

“Yes. I remember, okay? She’s my mate and…” I ran a hand through my hair in frustration, “She loves my beast… she loves Zorro. That was the only way she would talk to me.”

“Good Goddess!” Bradley chuckled, shaking his head, “You’re impossible, Lucien. Do you even hear yourself?”

“No, listen,” I held his shoulders, “She… Arabella… she likes my beast…”

“Love!” Zorro corrected inside my head, but I ignored him.

“She likes him and she… is terrified of me… I needed to hear what was going on… that was the only way.”

Bradley raised his hand, “I get it, Your Majesty. She’s scared of you, so you sneaked into her room in beast form, forced the words out of her mouth…”

“No. I didn’t do any such thing. I just…”

“And now someday… our king…” Brad interrupted, throwing his hands into the air dramatically, “His Majesty might ask his beast to make love to her on his behalf and produce a baby because apparently his mate is so weak-hearted that she won’t…”

Using all my might, I shoved my Beta, “Get lost!”

We were now inside the palace building. I wanted to punch Bradley’s face, and the fucker was still laughing when a familiar voice reached us through the corridor.

“Lucien. Brad. What is going on?” The amusement vanished from our faces when we saw my mother standing a few feet away, dressed in an elegant morning gown, “Lucien. Someone told me that you killed a man in the fields? Is it true?”

News travels fast in this palace.

Someone had already informed her about the little incident, and I was sure she was aware of the reason as well.

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