94 (Lucian’s POV) Breakfast Again
* Points)
Lucian
I drove to the Nighthorn mansion fast, determined not to miss breakfast. We made it just in time.
My father looked surprised to see us. Martha… looked like she hadn’t slept. Her face was pale, her eyes red-rimmed. She had the look of someone who regretted letting a secret slip. When she saw Mara and me walk in together, fear sparked
behind her gaze.
She’s afraid I’ll tell him.
Don’t worry-I won’t tell him, I linked to her.
Her shoulders relaxed a bit, but her eyes never left me. Whoever had been bleeding her dry for twenty-three years still had her tightly in their grip. And Martha, for all her cruelty, was too cowardly to shake it off.
“Miss us so much?” my father asked as we joined the table, his usual smirk in place.
Mara and I smiled politely. We knew the routine.
“Happy you decided to grace us this morning,” he added, voice tinged with sarcasm.
“Thanks for having us,” I replied, playing along.
He turned to Mara. “Are you enjoying the holiday?”
She nodded graciously, offering him a soft smile.
“You’ve got Lucian’s scent all over you,” he said bluntly. “Of course you’re enjoying it.”
And there it was. My father-always too forward, always forgetting that there was such a thing as boundaries.
“I hope grandchildren come out of this ‘holiday,” he added with a smirk.
I cleared my throat and focused on my eggs.
The rest of the meal was quiet, each of us wrapped in our thoughts. As soon as we finished, Darian and I requested a
private audience with our father.
Martha stiffened.
I didn’t look at her. I had nothing to say.
We walked to his office, and once the door shut behind us, the air grew heavier.
Darian opened. “We got intel from Jones. He gave us a name. Chase. Jones says chase hired him to wipe out the entire Nighthorn line, starting with Lucian.”
My father leaned back slowly, frowning. “Are you sure the man’s sane?”
“Unless the one who hired him was lying, we don’t think he is,” Darian replied. “Mara and Rowan extracted the confession. It held up under pressure.”
Father’s eyes narrowed at me.
“You took your wife to the warehouse for an interrogation?”
“She’s good at it,” Darian added quickly, trying to defend me-but it only made things worse.
“She’s not in the military anymore,” my father growled. “She’s your wife, Lucian. And likely the mother of your future
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84 (LUCIANS POV) eakfast Again
children. She doesn’t belong in that kind of environment. Don’t risk her life like that again.”
“She chose to help,” I said calmly. “And I trust her judgment. But let’s not lose focus-”
I stepped forward.
“Who did you cross, Father? Who did you take something from that could cause this? This isn’t some petty rivalry. This man is precise. Focused. He wants to wipe us out. And Darian, Mara, and I are caught in the middle of it.”
His expression hardened, fist clenching on the armrest.
“Don’t use that word with me,” he snapped. “I’m not a thief. I’ve run this pack with discipline and transparency for thirty years. If someone has a grudge, it’s their delusion. Not my fault. I don’t owe anyone.”
“You must have something,” I said, eyes locked with his. “Because this Chase guy didn’t come out of nowhere.”
He stood up, jaw tight, eyes unreadable. “You need to find him. And when you do, bring him to me.”
“You’re still Alpha, Father. It’s your duty to find this man. We’ve done our part,” I said, trying to hold him to it.
But he shook his head, smiling faintly.
“No, you are Alpha now. You took the authority from me, Lucian,” he said, with a short, almost amused laugh. “Even if I hadn’t named you heir, it would’ve happened anyway.”
His eyes softened with pride.
“My Alpha mark… it’s no longer active.”
That caught me off guard. Suddenly, everything made sense-why mine burned constantly, why I felt the weight of the role settling in my bones.
“How is that possible?” I asked.
“A younger, stronger Alpha always dominates the older one eventually. The transition doesn’t always require ceremony. Sometimes it happens during the heat of passion-complete dominance, physical and spiritual. One day my mark just…
stopped burning.”
He leaned back in his chair, calm. At peace with the shift.
“I haven’t made it public because I want to give you and Mara time. Time to be young. Time to breathe before you’re buried
in the weight of duty.”
I nodded, genuinely grateful. Mara and I were still in the glow of newness, still figuring out how to live without watching our backs constantly. This time he’d given us-it mattered.
He smiled at me. “I haven’t seen you this happy before. Who would’ve thought Mara Thornridge would be the one to bring
it out of you.”
He linked the words to me privately-clearly not wanting to trigger Darian. I nodded back, appreciating the discretion.
“I’ll start thinking,” he said aloud. “I’ll look into my past. See if there’s anyone I’ve wronged badly enough to want revenge.”
We were about to leave when Darian spoke up.
“Father… you need to look into Mother,” he said cautiously. “She’s been different. Anxious. Distant. She’s not herself.”
My father sighed deeply. “I’ve noticed. I’ve been asking her for a week now. She keeps saying it’s nothing. But she’s lying. And I can’t help someone who won’t trust me.”
For a second, I almost told him. The blackmail. The truth. But I’d given my word. And it wasn’t my place.
Still, I couldn’t keep silent.
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< 94 (Lucian’s POV) Breakfast Again
“Well, I do know she’s having money issues,” I said carefully.
Father frowned. “What do you mean? I give her an allowance. You handle her wardrobe, and her staff is covered. What
issues?”
I exhaled, then met his eyes.
“Father, you need to be more vigilant. Martha doesn’t run a business. She has no responsibilities. We take care of her
family in Emberridge. There’s no reason for her to need large sums of money.”
He leaned forward, eyes narrowing.
“Then explain the spending.”
“She’s been taking large withdrawals from your joint account-over and over. I’ve traced it. It’s not for saving. It’s not for
her family. It’s gone. And here’s the kicker-she’s been taking bribes from Northwood. Every time he got a Steel Corp contract, he paid her a fee.”
“What?” Darian barked. “She’s helping him defraud us?”
“Yes. Repeatedly. The paper trail is clean. And she’s broke, Father. Which means the money’s going somewhere. I know
where, but I can’t say. She came to me and Mara, desperate. She told me in confidence, and I made her promise she’d
come clean to you.”
My father stared at me in stunned silence. Darian looked just as blindsided.
“She came to you?” Darian asked, disbelief in his voice.
“Yeah. Cornered us while we were going to our holiday home. Her niece was there, too.”
My father ran a hand down his face, the frustration heavy in his voice.
“I’ll look into it,” he said finally. “Thanks for the heads-up.”
His tone was tired, worn. But determined.
“You can tell me, Lucian,” Darian linked privately.
I sighed. I hadn’t promised to keep it from him, only from our father.
“Your mother’s been paying a blackmailer,” I linked him. “For twenty-three years.”
“f**k!” he exploded, loud enough that I winced. I gave him a sharp look, signaling him to get it together.
“f**k!” he shouted again and stormed out of the office before I could say anything else. He couldn’t handle it-not yet.
My father watched him leave, then turned to me, his eyes narrowing.
Σ
“What did you tell him?”
“What she told me,” I answered simply.
He waited, expecting more.
“She’s your mate,” I added. “Ask her.”
His jaw tightened, but he let it go. The hit to his pride was evident, though he didn’t show it.
“Don’t take Mara on military operations again,” he said after a pause. His voice was gentler. More… fatherly. “She’s your Luna now, not a soldier. You can’t risk her. Especially if she gets pregnant soon.”
He didn’t say it harshly. He was worried. Genuinely.
“I remember what you were like after your mother died,” he added. “Your mother’s case was… different. But pain is pain.
<94 (Lucian’s POV) Breakfast Again
Don’t set yourself up for it.”
I nodded, appreciating the sentiment even if I didn’t fully agree with his approach. Mara could hold her own.
Then, he pivoted.
“Well? Have you decided what to do about Tina and her… complications?”
I laughed bitterly.
+5 Powie
“They were induced. For attention,” I said. “We found evidence in her room-pills, browser history. The doctor confirmed it.
She’s just a manipulator.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“And she’s also seeing someone,” I added.
His face darkened with surprise. “Are you sure?”
“Very sure.”
“So… we can kick her out?”
I hesitated. “Once I confront her about it.”
He shook his head slowly. “She’s carrying my grandchild. Likely an Alpha. Likely your heir.”
And there it was-the old-world thinking. Lineage. Blood. Rank over bond.
I stiffened. “That baby will not inherit me.”
He looked at me like I’d lost my mind.
“You should’ve thought of that before you got her pregnant a week before marrying Mara,” he snapped. “Now you’re head over heels, and I can see it-you love Mara. But love doesn’t erase legacy.”
“If he’s a boy,” he added coldly, “if he’s an Alpha-he inherits you.”
“And my legitimate children?” I asked, jaw tight.
He gave a shrug and a smirk that made my skin crawl.
“Give them Steel Corp. Or whatever else you build. But the pack? That’s blood. That’s law.”
I stood then. I couldn’t listen to another word.
I had done this. I had allowed Tina back in-just once-and it had chained my future to her.
To a child I might not even want.
To a decision that could one day rip my family apart.
I left the room, angry. Not just at him.
But at myself.
95 Say It As Is
