60 (Lucian’s POV) Thankful
60 (Lucian’s POV) Thankful
Lucian
A constant beeping pulled me from the darkness.
My body ached in places I couldn’t name. My bones felt like they were slowly snapping themselves back together. My eyelids were heavy, but I fought through it. Everything was blurry. Bright. Disorienting.
A light glared down from above, and something was lodged in my throat. I gagged, panicking.
“Alpha Lucian… Alpha Lucian,” a woman’s voice called through the haze. She wore a nose mask and scrubs. She leaned over and gently reached toward my face.
Then came the tug.
I choked as she pulled out a breathing tube. My lungs expanded on instinct, and then-like floodgates-the memories
came rushing in.
The car.
The bullets.
The truck.
“Mara,” I rasped, my voice raw.
“Alpha, please,” the nurse tried to calm me, placing a firm hand on my chest. “You both sustained massive injuries in the
crash. Some silver was involved, but… you made it.”
“My wife,” I said again, desperate. “Where is she?”
“She’s receiving treatment,” the nurse replied gently.
That didn’t calm me. I could still see it-Mara’s body shielding mine. Her side of the car crushed. Her blood on my hands. I felt the panic clawing up my throat as the room spun again, pulling me into unconsciousness.
I came to in a hospital bed.
My head was clearer now. My bones were healed. I could feel it.
I pushed off the sheets and found clean clothes folded neatly nearby. Joggers. A plain black T-shirt. I dressed quickly and made my way to the hallway, ignoring the shock and stares of the hospital staff.
That’s when I saw her-Arya Thornridge. Mara’s mother.
She looked up, startled, then softened when she recognized me.
“Mrs. Thornridge,” I said, hurrying over. “Where is she?”
Her eyes welled with emotion, but she nodded. “Follow me.”
She led me just next door.
I stepped into the room-and my heart stopped.
Mara was barely recognizable beneath the bandages and tubes. Machines beeped steadily beside her. She looked small. Fragile.
I moved to her bedside, gently kissed her forehead, and brushed a strand of hair from her bruised face.
60(Lucian’s POV) Thankful
Arya’s voice shook beside me. “The impact was on her side, Lucian. She came in almost gone. She held on just long enough for us to get the silver bullets out.”
I turned sharply. “Silver bullets?”
She nodded, tears trailing down her cheeks. “The assailants got out of the car. They shot at you both. She covered you. Took the brunt of it. They couldn’t get close enough for headshots-that’s what saved you.”
My legs nearly buckled. Mara had protected me with her body.
“She’s too young for this. Too kind. Too good for this world,” Arya said, her voice breaking as I pulled her into a hug.
“She wanted a quiet life, Lucian. Simple. Peaceful. That’s all she ever wanted before all of this.”
I held her tightly. Her grief was heavy, and all of it was justified. I had brought Mara into this chaos. I was the storm she
hadn’t asked for.
“How is she now?” I asked softly.
Arya pulled back, wiping her eyes. “She’s stable. She’s healing-just slower than you. But she should wake soon.”
Her eyes searched mine, sharp with emotion. “Lucian, she’s our only child. When your father forced us to give her to you… he promised us she would be protected. Loved. Safe.”
“I’m sorry, Arya,” I whispered. “I’m so sorry.”
She nodded, weary but grateful, and left me alone with Mara.
I sat on the couch beside her bed, silent, watching the rise and fall of her chest. Every breath she took felt like a small
miracle.
And I swore to myself-when she opened her eyes again, nothing and no one would ever touch her like this again.
My father walked in hours later.
“Lucian,” he said softly, and only then did I realize there were tears on my face. I wiped them away quickly and stood up.
“Did you see them?” he asked, voice tight with anger. “The assholes who did this?”
I shook my head. Everything was a blur.
He noticed my confusion, stepped forward, and placed both hands on either side of my head like he used to when I was a
kid. “Focus,” he said. “You have to be strong. This is part of the job. She’s going to pull through.”
I looked at Mara, barely breathing beneath the machines.
I wasn’t scared. I was furious. Furious that I hadn’t stopped it. That I’d let my guard down. That she’d taken the hits meant
for me.
He saw the shift in me.
“Did you have any altercations recently? Anyone you pissed off?”
I told him about the meeting with Daniel Northwood-the rejected shipment, the board’s decision, the disrespect, the accusations about Martha. Every word only darkened his expression further.
“This was planned,” he muttered. “But not by Northwood. He’s too sloppy, too loud. This… this was clean. Professional. Someone wanted you gone. Both of you.”
I sat down heavily, staring at the floor. “When will I have peace, father?”
He bowed his head. No answer.
213
<60(Lucian’s POV) Thankful
“Was this what it was like with my mother? Or with Martha?”
He hesitated, then shook his head. “No. Not like this.”
* Points
“Then why is mine different?” My voice cracked. “I’ve never had a moment of peace in my life. Never. What did I do to deserve this?”
He didn’t respond.
“This weight was bearable when it was just me. But her?” I gestured toward Mara. “I can’t carry it if she’s broken because of me. If they’d succeeded, we’d both be dead.”
He looked shaken. I could see it in his eyes-he was scared too.
“I’ve already launched an investigation,” he said.
I looked up at him, unimpressed. “No offense, Father, but I’ve never seen you solve anything.”
Silence.
“When we leave this hospital,” I said quietly, “I’ll launch the investigation.”
He blinked, warily. “Who do you have in mind?”
I didn’t answer. He wouldn’t like it. And it didn’t matter.
“If I find out Martha was behind this…” I paused, holding his gaze, “I’ll kill her.”
His eyes widened.
“I’m not bluffing,” I said. “At this point, both of us can’t exist in the same world.”
“Don’t jump to conclusions, son,” he said quickly. Too quickly.
“I’m not jumping to anything,” I said, stepping closer, my voice like ice. “But if she’s involved, if she even breathed near the planning of this-then I will live up to the name she gave me. I will take her out.”
He looked away, and that was all I needed to know.
“She’s your mate, Father. But Mara’s my life. If you don’t want me to bury your mate, get her away from me.”
And he saw it then.
He saw what I was capable of.
61Lucian’s POV) Thankful 2
* Points >
