244 The Silence After Victory
+8 Pord
244 The Silence After Victory
Lucian
The helicopter landed at the base just past midday. The sun was high, and the heat clung to our skin the moment we
stepped out.
We’d returned victorious.
Inside the operations room, the television displayed the aftermath of Rockville, the footage from the live stream playing on repeat. Bodies, smoke, devastation. Our message had been received, loud and clear. Packs that had turned their backs on us would be thinking twice now.
I couldn’t help the small smile tugging at the corner of my lips.
Good.
I was ready to get home. To see Mara. To feel her in my arms again. That was the only thing left on my mind.
We loaded into the car, Darian behind the wheel, me in the passenger seat, and Lacy in the back. Getting her into the car
had been a task. She resisted, visibly tense, her limbs locked up like she was being marched to her execution.
Odd.
We’d just rescued her from Rockville. She’d been tied down, barely dressed, her scent reeking of captivity. Her body told a
story of abuse and violation, though she hadn’t uttered a word since we found her.
You’d think she’d be eager to get somewhere safe.
So why did she look more afraid now than she had back there?
As the engine rumbled to life, I looked back at her. “I wasn’t going to kick you or your mother out of the mansion, Lacy.
Darian’s important to me. That’s his home too.”
Tears streamed silently down her face.
It wasn’t guilt.
It was fear.
“Do you need to go to the hospital? Get checked?” I asked gently, sidestepping the real question, what exactly happened
to her in Rockville?
She shook her head.
“All right. A warm bath at the mansion, then,” I said.
Another shake.
Then she whispered, “Please let me out. I don’t want to go back there.”
Her voice was barely audible, but it crawled under my skin. My instincts flared, not concern. Suspicion.
Still, I didn’t press her. Not yet. Whatever this was, it needed to unravel on its own.
I turned back to the road. “Step on it, Darian. I can’t wait to get home.”
Darian chuckled, easing into the gas. “Same here.”
We laughed, sharp and easy. It wasn’t cruelty. It was clarity.
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244 The Silence After Victory
Lacy was an adult. She’d put herself in danger. She was lucky we found her when we did. If not, she’d be one more name
buried in Rockville’s ashes.
Tonight, we celebrated. We’d accomplished something brutal, necessary, and effective.
Whatever secrets Lacy was still carrying, they could wait.
As we drove into the city, I noticed something strange, no protesters. The crowd that had clogged the streets for nearly three weeks was gone. Vanished.
Darian blinked at the empty roads. “They were here this morning,” he said. “Every day. Nonstop.”
But now? Nothing. The city was quiet. Too quiet.
I had mixed feelings about it, relief, suspicion, unease, but I pushed them aside. Not yet. Not until I got home.
We turned onto the road leading to the mansion. Still no sign of anyone. It was like the entire world had held its breath.
Then, as we reached the gate, Lacy started screaming.
She thrashed in her seat, panic in her voice, as if driving through that gate would be the end of her. I clenched my jaw,
tempted to leave her there, but Darian turned around in his seat.
“Enough!” he barked, his authority pulsing through the car like a wave.
It hit her hard. She froze mid-scream, wide-eyed. His voice had weight now, real Alpha weight. Stronger than I
remembered. Something had changed in him. Something solid.
She backed down immediately, and I wondered, not for the first time, what kind of Alpha blood ran through her veins. She
was Alaric’s daughter. What mark did he leave on her?
We pulled into the courtyard, and the second I stepped out, I knew something had happened.
The air was heavy. The ground smelled faintly of blood. The place didn’t feel right.
Darian noticed it too. He hit the brakes harder than necessary, and we both jumped out.
A guard rushed to help Lacy out of the car.
“Take her to the right wing,” I ordered. “Don’t let her out of your sight.”
He nodded, and I turned to him again.
“Is my wife home?”
“Yes, Alpha,” he said quickly. “She’s in the right wing. There was… there was a battle last night. Alpha Vander took her
there afterward.”
Before he finished, Darian and I were already sprinting through the front doors,
My heart was pounding.
I tried to link Denis, nothing. A void.
Where the hell was he? Did Mara send him out? Did something happen?
I reached the living quarters and tried linking Mara. Silence.
Asleep, maybe. Or recovering.
I linked my father next.
“Meet me in Darian’s room,” he replied. His voice was steady, but I heard the tension. The worry.
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6744 TEN tory
We moved faster.
I didn’t knock. I shoved the door open and walked in with my heart in my throat.
Mara was lying on the bed, asleep.
My father sat beside her, his expression calm but guarded. Martha stood nearby, gently pressing cool towels to her forehead. Tiffany sat on the couch, Emma curled beside Mara, both of them sleeping peacefully. Darian crossed the room in two strides and wrapped his arms around Tiffany. She kissed him like he was air after drowning.
They looked perfect, relieved, safe.
I went straight to my wife and dropped to my knees beside the bed, brushing hair from her face. Her skin was warm. Too
warm.
“What happened?” I asked, barely holding it together.
My father looked at me, his voice measured. “She has a slight fever. She’ll be fine.”
He paused, then added, “It’s from shifting. Pregnant wolves who shift, there’s a toll on the body. But there’s no danger. She just needs rest.”
