Chapter 137

Lucian’s POV
This bastard Roman. He was getting bold these days just because he could get closer to her easily and communicate with her. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ
I wanted to punch him, but then someone disturbed my thought.
“Yeah, I suck, because I didn’t get anything for her,” Rafe muttered, retrieving a dark bag he had tucked at the base of a tree. He carried it over to Eira.
We all turned to watch.
He opened the bag, and from it revealed a neatly crafted, soft, cozy, sleeping arrangement for the cat.
“This is for Vixen and her soon-to-be babies,” he said to Eira. “It’ll keep them comfortable and warm instead of keeping them in your lap all the time. I am sure you won’t be able to accommodate them all once she gives birth.”
Eira’s eyes lingered on it before she lifted Vixen and placed her inside. The spoiled cat immediately curled into the bedding, purring, rolling happily against the softness. She was truly enjoying it like the little princess she was.
Seeing Vixen so content, Eira had no reason to reject the gift. After all it was good for her cat.
“So, the vampire’s offering was accepted as well. Smart bastard—he had played it carefully, just as I had,” Roman said and looked at me, “Your personal bitch is learning well. You should learn something from him.”
I wanted to slap that arrogance out of his face now.
Rafe returned and Roman teased, “Gift for the cat huh?” I looked at Eira and Vixen, “But which one exactly.”
“Whoever uses that,” Rafe replied, “It’s big enough to content both of them.”
Roman laughed a little and then looked at us as if asking us if we are going to gift her anything.
In response, Jason, without a word, rose and walked toward the dining table as he said. “If you’re all done with your gifts, let’s eat.”
So he hadn’t brought one, I concluded. Never mind, my gift for her will make up for both of us. After all we are brothers.
Under their curious gazes I reached for a small bag I had set on one of the chairs. From it, I withdrew a flat gift box and went to her.
As I reached her, I removed the cover and tilted the box toward her. “This is for you.”
The instant her eyes fell upon it, she froze, her breath catching as if she had stumbled upon something she had never expected to see. Then, almost desperately, she snatched the box from my hands, unable to wait another second.
I could hear Roman mumbling. “Damn. She had never been that eager for any of our gifts. What the hell had Lucian brought her?”
She drew out a photo frame from the gift box and gazed at it, her fingers tightening around the edges, her eyes softening with unmistakable affection.
It was picture Alice and Eira clicked once. Alice loved it so much that she framed it and kept it on her study desk along with the frame which had our family photograph. Alice already considered Eira as our family. And I swear, if not for that incident, Eira would have been our family for real.
“That was Alice’s favorite picture of both of you together,” I told her quietly. “She always kept it on her study table.”
Eira hummed faintly, her voice low but filled with something tender. She could not stop looking at it.
“Smart ass,” I heard Rafe mutter under his breath.
I glanced over just in time to see Kael heading toward the dining table, where Jason was already serving food.
“Let’s eat before it gets cold,” Kael instructed.
So, he hadn’t brought a gift either.
I turned back to Eira. “Come,” I urged softly. “Let’s eat together, like we used to. The last time we shared a meal like this was on Alice’s birthday. Tonight, we celebrate the festival while remembering her. Just like you, we all miss her.”
Her eyes shimmered, tears breaking through as she whispered, “I killed her
I sat down on the couch before her and gently cupped her face in my hands, tilting her chin so she had no choice but to meet my gaze.
“Do you truly believe you killed her?” I asked, brushing away her tears with my thumb. “We know the truth. You were aiming for that wolf. What happened was a mistake.”
Her lips trembled as she shook her head. “But
“If not for you, the wolf would have killed her,” I said, my voice firm but soothing. I could not yet tell her about the drugs—it was not the moment. “Listen to me. I am her brother. If even I no longer blame you, then believe me when I say, she wouldn’t either. If you wish to honor her, then let’s do it by being happy tonight, by remembering her as she deserves.”
Her tear-filled eyes searched mine, pleading silently for reassurance, and I gave it to her in the only way I could. “Trust me.”
At the same time, a knot formed in my chest, heavy with the words I longed to speak. I wanted to apologize—to beg her forgiveness for what we had done to her that day in prison. But fear held me back.
If I reminded her now, I might shatter this fragile peace, and she would drift further away from me. The time would come for confessions and apologies, but not tonight. Tonight, I just wanted her close.
“Let’s go, please,” I whispered. “For Alice’s sake.”
She nodded faintly and wiped her eyes with the back of her hands, like a child struggling to be strong. Alice was still her weakness, even after six long years. Her death weighed on her as heavily as it weighed on us. The memory of that shot would never leave her mind, and I knew she would never forgive herself for it.
I guided her to the dining table, where she quietly took a seat. I settled beside her, while Rafe busied himself serving food to our pets.
Kael sat at the head of the table, but we had carefully chosen the farthest seat for her—one that would not place her directly across from him. My heart ached for Kael, yet I knew she still needed time to overcome the shadow of her fear of the black wolf.
When at last we were all seated, Jason revealed what he had been working in kitchen for so long.
The four of us stared at it in surprise, and then looked at Jason in disbelief.
This bastard had his own way of preparing a gift for Eira, though he wouldn’t say it a loud.