ELEVEN
Lucius pov
My heart started racing while I couldn’t suck in a breath. Titus, the forever observant asshole, noticed the change in my demeanor within seconds.
He shoved the man he was holding in a headlock towards one of the warriors and ran to my side. Titus tossed my arm around his shoulders as if he feared I might lose my footing.” Lucius, what is it? Are you getting worse?” He whispered the second question to ensure my men didn’t hear him.
I shook my head as I struggled to fight Xabat’s attempts to grasp the control. If the hothead were to succeed, he would surely scare our mate away and I wasn’t willing to risk it.
The Goddess had forgiven the family sins, she had granted me a soulmate, was willing to go down in flames along this place if it meant I could keep her.
“Mate,” I choked out, only for Titus to
hear.
We had once discussed the possibility and the risks that were most likely to follow, especially with the brainless fool that resided within me.
“Xabat, calm the fuck down, if you shift, you will scare the little thing away. Not every day one runs into an ancient monster of the past. You need to be patient and let Lucius ease her into it, not break out and run around breaking spines. For the record, women don’t think that your passion for breaking spines is romantic.” Titus hissed.
Finally, he calmed a little, but didn’t
give up on urging me to get to her. Xabat knew how much I wanted to find her, how I desired to hold our mate, but his excitement wasn’t doing me any favors, especially in the state I was in. “Down, boy!” Titus hissed a little. louder.
We both knew how much the beast hated being treated like a lowly dog, but the two ridiculous words finally got to him and he retrieved in my mind with a loud whimper.
Finally, I could breathe and my heart rate slowed down. I didn’t feel like my inner organs were about to leave my body.
“Dude, your heart was beating like a fucking hurricane, what the fuck?” Titus whispered.
“A little side effect to dying and coming back as the Lycan,” I chuckled.
I could feel the shivers that ran through my best friend. “Honestly, we have been friends for ages, but I don’t think that I will ever get used to the thought that you have to die for Xabat to come through. It’s creepy as fuck, especially since after you shift back, you come
back as if you didn’t die. You two are some fucks with a very twisted sense of humor.”
When Titus finally deemed it fit, he detached himself from my side and stepped aside. I glanced at him to see the shit eating grin I knew he was sporting when he spoke. “I’ll deal with this shit. Go, before she leaves and you need to chase her down.”
I couldn’t describe the feeling that surged through me even if I wanted to. I have always known Titus was an amazing friend, one of few people 1 could trust, but now, he was proving to be at least a hundred times better than I thought he was. A true best friend.
To my surprise, before I took off, Titus pulled me in a tight hug and choked out, “go, my friend, you deserve this. So fucking much.”
The raw emotions in his voice were another proof of his loyalty. Although he hadn’t met his mate yet, an inside joke that was running between us for years, and now was changing, he was happy for me. No jealousy or snarky comments, just true happiness.
When we pulled apart, I grinned at him and whispered, “thank you.”
In true Titus fashion, he waved me off and reminded me of what I was supposed to do.
Stealing the last glance at the flames licking up the walls of the buildings, I spun around and took off toward the forest line. I could rely only on my senses as I followed the intoxicating scent that pulled me closer.
Although I knew it wouldn’t be hard to locate my mate, I still took some precautions and kept my distance. Xabat perked up and stirred inside me as I did my best to avoid every dry branch in my way so as not to spook our mate.
“I want to bathe and drown in that scent,” Xabat growled at me and although I was fully committed to agree with his words, I didn’t voice it.
This was the worst time possible for us to start another mindless conversation. The more he distracted me, the bigger was the possibility of our mate running away once she saw the fire.
At the thought, dread washed over me. What if she saw me drag that woman out of the pack house and holler at my men to burn them all down? It was a risk I had to take in consideration because in that case, she was surely to try to fight and escape me.
If she witnessed anything, I was as good as a lion in the lamb’s eyes.
Like a predator, I stalked closer to her scent. However, when I caught another scent, I froze in my step. She wasn’t alone. The realization angered Xabat and I had to remind him of the risks we were facing if he didn’t listen.
When the beast calmed down, I sucked
in a deep breath and realized there indeed was another scent
accompanying that of my mate, but it was weaker, faded, so the companion. had to be older.
Maybe they were family members or friends? No, I couldn’t overthink it. I would ask questions after 1 had her in my arms.
Holding my breath, I headed towards her, still avoiding any obstacles in my way, but not really bothering to be as careful about every step I took as earlier.
Once I stopped behind her, I nearly lost my footing. Her back was turned to me, but even without seeing her face, 1 knew she was the most beautiful woman I had ever met.
Dark hair illuminated by the fire, petite body and Goddess, that voice. I could listen to her speak for hours if she ever let me. And the best part? She was talking to the old man next to her, trying to figure out how to save the
poor people. If only she knew…
When she dropped the torn backpack, surely getting ready to head straight into danger, the old man grabbed her arm to stop her and that was my breaking point. I saw red, burning, fucking bright red.
The growl that tore out of me was so loud, even my men heard me. “Get your filthy hands off my mate, old man!”
