Lucien
There was a chill in the air that had nothing to do with the mountain wind.
I stood on the balcony of the war room, watching the sun bleed over the forest. The trees looked like they were on fire—gold and crimson set ablaze by dawn. But all I felt was the cold claw of unease tightening in my chest.
She was out there. The Shadow Walker.
And Elara was glowing brighter than ever.
Too bright.
Too tempting.
I hadn't slept in days. Couldn't. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her—Elara—pale and lifeless, golden light fading from her fingertips.
A nightmare I couldn't shake.
"She's strong," Seris had told me. "She'll be fine."
She didn't understand.
This wasn't just about strength. It was about fate. And fate had never been kind to people like us.
I gripped the railing until my knuckles went white. Below, I saw movement—Elara in the courtyard, barefoot in the grass, her palms glowing faintly as Rowan paced beside her, instructing, correcting, smiling like he still belonged here.
He didn't.
And yet… she laughed with him.
A sound I hadn't heard from her in days.
It tore something inside me.
I turned away before I did something I'd regret.
---
Later, I stalked through the training fields, the smell of steel and sweat grounding me. Warriors sparred in pairs, some shifted, some not, but all tense—word of the assassin had spread.
"Alpha," Mason called, falling in beside me. "The border scouts reported a trail. Not fresh, but odd. Scentless."
"Scentless?" I repeated sharply.
"Like something wiped clean. Deliberately."
A Shadow Walker's signature.
I growled low. "Set up a perimeter around the western ridge. Double patrols. No one goes out alone."
"Yes, Alpha."
As he moved to obey, I stopped him. "Where's Kira?"
"With Elara."
"Keep it that way."
If I couldn't be beside her every second, someone I trusted damn well would be.
---
By midday, I was pacing the edge of the courtyard, arms crossed, watching Elara from the shadows.
She was radiant. Hair unbound, face flushed with effort, her body moving with unfamiliar confidence as she practiced channeling light through her palms. Rowan guided her, gently placing his hands over hers when the light flickered too wildly.
I nearly tore his arm off.
My wolf snarled beneath my skin, claws scraping the surface.
She's mine.
And yet, I hadn't claimed her.
Not fully.
The bond sat between us like a closed door. Waiting.
I could feel it, tugging at the edges of my soul every time she smiled at someone else. Every time she looked through me like she was still deciding.
Was I not enough?
Or worse—too much?
I didn't know how to be soft. Not like Rowan. Not like the kind of man who walked away from war and played teacher in sunlit fields.
I was raised on blood and fear. Built to protect, not woo.
And yet, I would tear this world apart for her.
---
"Elara," I said, stepping from the shadows.
She turned, startled. Her glow dimmed. "Lucien."
Rowan arched a brow but wisely stayed silent.
"I need to speak with you."
"Now?" she asked, brushing dirt from her legs.
"Now."
She glanced at Rowan, who gave her a slight nod, then followed me in silence.
We didn't speak until we reached the edge of the lake. The wind stirred her hair as we stood there, staring out over the dark water.
"You shouldn't be out here without a guard," I said.
She folded her arms. "You brought me here."
"You're training too hard."
"I need to be ready."
"You already are."
She looked at me then, truly looked. "You're afraid."
"No," I said too quickly. Too harshly.
She stepped closer. "You think you'll lose me."
"I know I will."
Her brows pulled together.
"Elara," I said, voice low, "they'll come for you. Not just the assassin. The council. The rogues. The entire f**king world if they know what you really are."
"And what am I?" she whispered.
"Power," I said. "Light. The last spark in a world gone dark."
"I didn't ask for this."
"I know."
She touched my arm. "Lucien, I'm scared too. But I can't hide."
"I'm not asking you to."
"You want to lock me in a tower."
"No," I growled. "I want to wrap you in steel and fury and keep you where nothing can touch you."
Her lips parted, surprised by the rawness in my voice.
I looked away, ashamed.
"I'm not used to this," I muttered.
"This?"
"Caring. Wanting. Needing."
She stepped into me, her hand on my chest. "I need you too."
My heart slammed.
"Elara…"
She leaned up, brushing her lips over mine in the softest touch.
I froze.
Then grabbed her like a man drowning, pulling her against me, kissing her like she was the only thing tethering me to this world.
The bond flared between us, hot and wild, brushing the edges of connection—tempting, calling—but still not sealed.
Not yet.
She pulled back, breathless. "I'm not ready. But I'm close."
I nodded, chest aching. "I'll wait."
---
That night, I couldn't sleep.
I walked the perimeter twice, checked on every patrol, every scout, every ward.
And yet, when I returned to my quarters, the scent of ash lingered.
Not fire.
Not wood.
But magic.
Shadow magic.
I tore through the room, every nerve screaming.
Then I saw it.
A single black feather on my pillow.
The assassin had been here.
Close.
Too close.
I roared so loud the walls shook.
Within seconds, guards flooded the hall.
"Find her!" I barked. "Now!"
---
When I found Elara, she was in the greenhouse with Kira.
Safe.
Unharmed.
But when she saw my face, she stood, alarmed. "What happened?"
I handed her the feather.
She went still.
"She was in your room?"
I nodded once.
"She's close."
"Yes."
Kira swore. "She's taunting us."
"She's trying to rattle me," I growled. "And it's working."
Elara stepped closer, pressing the feather to her palm.
It sizzled with dark energy.
Then she gasped, eyes wide.
"What?" I asked sharply.
"I saw her. A glimpse. Red eyes. A mask. She was… watching me."
My blood turned to ice.
"She can see through the magic," Elara whispered. "She's studying us."
"Then we need to make her blind."
---
By morning, the entire compound was locked down.
I called a war council. Rowan joined, along with Seris, Kira, and the rest of the senior warriors.
"She's here," I said flatly. "We don't know when she'll strike. But she will."
"What's the plan?" Rowan asked.
"We draw her out," I said. "Let her think she's in control. Then we end her."
"Elara is the bait," Seris said grimly.
"No," I growled. "I am."
Everyone fell silent.
"She came into my room," I continued. "She wanted to be seen. So I'll give her what she wants. A challenge. A trap."
"Elara won't agree," Rowan said.
"She doesn't have to know."
Seris stared at me. "You'd die for her?"
"I'd burn the world for her."
---
I found Elara in the library, curled in a window seat with a book she wasn't reading.
"Lucien," she said, looking up, sensing something. "What are you planning?"
"Nothing dangerous."
She rolled her eyes. "You're a terrible liar."
I smiled faintly. "You're getting stronger."
"You noticed?"
"I always notice."
She closed the book. "I want to help."
"You will."
"But not the way you're thinking."
I sat beside her. "Tell me."
She took my hand, glowing warmth seeping into my skin. "We face her together."
"Elara—"
"No more hiding. No more protection. I'm not a girl anymore, Lucien. I'm the light. And I'm not afraid."
Her voice trembled at the end, but her eyes didn't.
And just like that… I believed her.
I leaned in, pressing our foreheads together. "Then we fight. Together."
I didn't sleep.
Not because of fear—though it curled in my gut like a living thing—but because every time I closed my eyes, I saw her.
The Shadow Walker.
The red eyes. The white mask. The way the shadows clung to her like a second skin. She'd been in Lucien's room. Close enough to leave a feather, close enough to see him sleeping.
Close enough to end him.
And she didn't.
That terrified me more than anything.
Because it meant she was waiting.
"Don't drift," Rowan said, voice firm.
I blinked and looked up. I was standing in the courtyard again, hands glowing faintly. Kira hovered nearby, arms crossed, her usual smirk gone.
"Again," Rowan said. "From the top."
I focused, exhaling slowly. The light in my palms steadied, brighter this time. I concentrated on the training spell—a basic ward meant to create a temporary shield. It flickered into place around me like a soft dome of golden energy.
"Good," Rowan said. "But it won't hold against a real strike."
"It's not meant to," I said. "Just to buy time."
He nodded. "Then let's work on your counterstrike."
---
By midday, I was drenched in sweat and shaking. My body wasn't used to this much power. It wanted to sleep. To rest. But I couldn't afford to stop.
Not now.
Lucien appeared near the treeline, arms crossed, his dark eyes unreadable. He didn't interrupt, just watched in silence as Rowan pushed me harder.
When I finally collapsed to my knees, he moved.
"That's enough," Lucien growled.
"She needs to push past her limits," Rowan argued.
Lucien's voice dropped, dangerous and low. "And she'll break if you keep treating her like a weapon."
I looked up at him, heart twisting.
I wasn't a weapon.
But maybe I needed to be.
---
Lucien helped me to my feet, his touch gentler than I expected. He didn't speak as he walked me back to the main house, but his body was tense, like a predator just barely holding back.
"You're angry," I said when we reached the hallway.
He stopped walking. "Of course I am."
"Because of Rowan?"
"Because you're not sleeping. You're not eating. You're hurting yourself to prove you're ready."
"I am ready."
His jaw clenched. "You're still my omega, Elara."
"I'm also the one with the power to stop her."
He turned to me, eyes glowing faintly gold. "And if she kills you before you can use that power?"
"Then you'll finish her," I whispered.
He flinched. Just for a second. But I saw it.
"No," he said, voice raw. "I won't survive losing you."
And there it was—the truth that made his control so brittle.
I stepped into him, placing a hand over his heart. "Then stay close. Don't leave me behind."
"I won't."
---
That night, the moon hung low and red over the trees.
I stood by the window in Lucien's room, wrapped in one of his shirts, watching the shadows shift in the forest beyond.
She was out there. I could feel it.
The air was wrong. Too still. Too quiet.
Lucien came up behind me, arms slipping around my waist.
"Sleep," he murmured against my hair.
"I can't."
He pressed his lips to the curve of my neck. "Then don't. Just stay with me."
We lay tangled in each other for hours, neither speaking, both pretending the darkness couldn't touch us here.
But it could.
And it would.
---
We didn't have to wait long.
The attack came just before dawn.
A pulse of dark magic shattered the wards along the east wall, waking the entire compound.
Lucien was already dressed before I even made it to my feet.
"Stay behind me," he said as we raced down the hallway.
"Not this time," I snapped, light flaring around my fingers.
He didn't argue. There was no time.
---
The courtyard was chaos.
Smoke curled through the air. Wolves howled. Shadow magic slithered across the ground like ink.
And in the center of it all, she stood.
The Shadow Walker.
Masked. Cloaked. Taller than I expected, with eyes that burned like twin embers beneath her hood.
She didn't speak.
Just raised a hand.
And the shadows surged.
Lucien shifted in a flash, dark fur exploding over his body, his massive wolf snarling as he lunged toward her.
She met him with a wall of darkness, slamming him back so hard the stone cracked.
"Lucien!" I screamed.
I ran toward him, only to be blocked by tendrils of magic that lashed out like whips.
Pain tore through me, but I kept going, the light in my chest building, rising.
Then I screamed, and the light exploded from me in a blinding wave.
The shadows reeled back, hissing, and the assassin faltered.
Lucien sprang to his feet, blood dripping from his mouth. His wolf eyes locked with mine.
Now.
I reached for him, the bond between us blazing to life.
He came to me, unshifting as he moved, bloodied but alive.
"She wants you," he said. "Not me."
"Then let's give her what she came for."
---
Together, we moved forward.
Lucien flanked her left. I circled right.
She hesitated. Just long enough for me to strike.
I threw a bolt of light directly at her mask.
She raised her arms to block—but Lucien was faster.
He grabbed her from behind, slamming her into the ground.
She vanished in a plume of black smoke, reappearing behind me in a blur.
I spun, channeling pure magic into my palms, and slammed both hands into her chest.
She screamed. A terrible, inhuman sound.
The mask cracked.
For a split second, I saw her face beneath.
And my world tilted.
Not a stranger.
Not a monster.
But a girl.
Barely older than me. Pale, scarred, with eyes filled not with rage—but with pain.
Then she vanished again.
Gone.
Leaving nothing but smoke and silence.
---
The courtyard was eerily quiet. Warriors staggered to their feet. Kira limped toward us, blood dripping from her shoulder.
"She's gone?"
"For now," Lucien said grimly.
I couldn't stop shaking.
He wrapped me in his arms, holding me like I might disappear too.
And for the first time since this began… I cried.
---
Later, in the safety of his room, I sat by the fire, staring at the cracked feather she'd left behind.
"She's like me," I whispered.
Lucien looked up sharply. "What?"
"She's like me. She had light once. I felt it. Before the shadows."
He said nothing.
"I think she was taken," I continued. "Turned."
"Then she's not coming back."
"Maybe not. But if there's a way to reach her—"
"No," he snapped. "You're not going near her again."
I stood. "You don't get to decide that."
"I do when it's your life on the line."
We stared at each other, both trembling.
"I'm not your possession, Lucien."
"You're my mate."
"Then trust me."
He closed the distance, brushing his thumb over my cheek. "I trust you more than anyone. That's what terrifies me."
---