90 (Lucian POV) Boundaries 2
Lucian
The doctor looked stunned, but I didn’t flinch. I had to draw the line. If I didn’t, Tina would keep clawing her way back into our lives with every crisis, every fabricated emergency. And Mara-my wife-could only take so much.
I wasn’t going to let Tina keep hurting her.
“I’m on vacation, Doctor,” I said, voice low and final. “Do not call me again. If documents need signing, Austin will handle
- Am I clear?”
He nodded silently.
Mara stood, and without another word, we walked out of the office, through the hallway, and out of the hospital. My spine was straighter, my chest lighter. I had drawn a hard line-and it felt damn good.
We got in the car and headed toward the warehouse. Jones was waiting, and I wanted answers.
On the road, Mara looked over at me. “Are you sure about this? Tina can be… daring.”
I nodded. “Let her try. Look at Tiffany. Darian hasn’t spared her a glance since she moved in. They sleep in separate rooms. She goes to her appointments alone. And yet-not a single tantrum.”
I tightened my grip on the wheel.
“I’ve done everything for Tina. Even after the breakup, I kept paying her bills. I sent money weekly. I offered to help her start a business. I did more than I owed her-and she still did this. She trapped me with a pregnancy and expects me to
suffer for it. I’m done.”
Anger burned through me, my Alpha mark tingling under my skin.
“Once I find the guy she’s been seeing, she’s out. No more negotiations. No more pity.”
Just then, Mara’s phone rang.
“Who is it?” I asked, trying to level my voice.
She frowned. “Unknown number.” Then she answered.
“What is your problem?… You need help, Tina,” she snapped, her voice sharp and shaken.
I didn’t need to hear more. I reached over, took the phone from her hand, and hung up.
“Don’t talk to her again. Block the number. I’ll have Austin deal with her from now on. We’ve tried to be reasonable. She doesn’t want peace.”
Mara was quiet for a moment, her expression unreadable.
“She’s… disturbed,” she finally said. “It’s just sad. The way she clings. The way she acts. It’s not normal.”
“I know,” I said. “The doctor might be right. There’s something not right in her mind.”
I glanced at Mara again. “Don’t let her get to you.”
She gave me a soft smile. “I’m okay, Lucian. Just…. disturbed. It’s like she’s unraveling in slow motion.”
I nodded, but said nothing more. I didn’t want to speak her name again. Not right now.
This time, I meant it.
1/3
90 (Lucian POV) Boundaries 2
Tina had used her last card.
And I was finally done playing.
I parked in front of the warehouse and cut the engine.
* Powit
Before I could even unbuckle, Mara pulled me in and kissed me-hungry, fierce, grounding. The tension that had been coiling inside me since the hospital began to unravel under her touch.
One thing led to another, and soon, she was straddling me. Her dress had been a smart choice-quick, discreet, exactly what we needed. I let myself get lost in her, in her warmth, her scent, her rhythm. The rage inside me quieted, dulled by the way she moved over me. By the time we were both breathless and clinging to the last pulse of release, I felt human
again.
Calm. Focused.
As we stepped out of the car, we exchanged a quiet smile-refreshed, reset. Whatever storm Tina had tried to stir earlier…
it was over. We had more important things to focus on now.
Like who was trying to kill me.
The warehouse greeted us with silence and respect. My men acknowledged our arrival with nods and firm greetings,
stepping aside as Mara and I passed.
Darian was waiting for us near the holding cell. I walked straight up to him and shook his hand.
“Good work,” I said. “Really.”
He nodded and pulled me in for a quick, brotherly hug. His eyes flicked to Mara.
“Mara,” he said, more sincerely than usual.
“Darian,” she replied.
There was still that tension between them-unspoken history, complicated emotions-but today, it felt different. As if Darian was finally coming to terms with reality. Acceptance, maybe. Or resignation.
He turned and removed the blindfold from the man bound to the chair.
Jones.
Darian had roughed him up already. I could tell. He was bruised and bleeding, and I had no doubt it was because Mara had nearly lost her life during that attack. Darian was many things, but I knew why he’d done it.
Because of her.
I stepped forward and drove my fist hard into Jones’s stomach. He doubled over, coughing up blood.
“That’s for my wife,” I said coldly.
I hit him again-harder.
“And that’s for me.”
He wheezed, pain etched across his face, blood staining his shirt.
I turned to Mara and held out my hand, inviting her forward.
“Mara, would you do us the honors?”
She smiled-calm, focused, ready.
And in that moment, I knew.
(Luman POV) Boundaries 2
She wasn’t just my wife.
She was my equal.
And we were going to get our answers.
+8 Point >
