Leah's POV
My father? This was the second time someone had mentioned his involvement in the enhancement project. Yet, that still didn't validate Leo's outrageous claims.
"The lab was destroyed later," Sak continued.
"What happened?" I asked, my curiosity piqued.
"It was located at the far end of the old Huffner Bridge. When Mick set fire to the bridge, the lab caught fire and burned down."
Mick Toussaint. He was just a teenager back then. He set the bridge ablaze and was later sent to rehab by his father, the late Alpha Dire. The past was a jumble of fragmented events, impossible to piece together fully.
"The next time I saw Finn was at the slave market," Sak went on. "I recognized him immediately because of the scars on his chest. I bought him and took him home, giving him food and shelter. I didn't want him working in the club, but the Blazebite Prowlers kept causing trouble. When you came to my club, I had to push Finn out to keep them away. With your influence, they wouldn't dare return."
Blazebite Prowlers - the same pack Gean Lee was from. They had cast him out because of his sexuality.
As I contemplated Sak’s words, his eyes suddenly widened in alarm, fixed on something behind me.
"Leah, you shouldn't be here," came Finn's voice from the shadows.
I turned, seeing the silhouette of Finn standing in the darkness.
"If you want to ask something about me, you should come and talk to me," he said.
"Finn, I'm so sorry..." I approached him.
"I don't need your sympathy or apology, Leah," Finn retorted, pushing me away.
I grabbed his arm again. "Let’s get away together, Finn. Let’s go abroad. Somewhere no one knows us. Just you and me. And our baby. We’ll forget about all this and start our own life."
"That's your redemption, Leah. That's what you want. For someone like me, it doesn't work like that," Finn said, shaking his head.
"Finn, I understand forgiveness is too much to ask from you, but look at me. I'm here. I'm with you. We have each other. Think about our baby. He needs a father."
Finn's lips curled into a sardonic grin. "You know nothing about me, Leah. The real me," he said. "I'm not the vulnerable lover boy you fell in love with. By the time you see the real me, by the time you know what I'm going to do to you, you'll have nothing but hatred for me."
Finn wrapped his arm around my neck. "You can't save me, Leah. I am beyond salvation," he whispered next to my ear, his breath flickering across my skin.
For a moment, I wasn't sure if he was flirting with me or trying to strangle me. As his arm tightened around my neck, I heard Sak's desperate plea.
"No... No... No! Finn! Stop! Stop this right now! She's the daughter of the Lycan King! She's our only leverage to save our lives! She's the mother of your child! Stop it, Finn! For the love of God!"
"Shut up, Sak," Finn's voice was deep and vicious. "Shut the fuck up before I cut your throat open."
"You're a fucking idiot! I should have left you to rot in that fucking slave market..."
"But it's too late, isn't it?!" Finn roared, punching Sak's cage.
Sak went hysterical. "You're a monster! You're actually thinking of killing the mother of your child, as well as your own unborn baby?! What kind of fucking creature are you?! She chose to be with you! She's a fucking princess and she abandoned her family to be with you! She abandoned her husband and mate for you, for fuck's sake! Can't you see that she's madly in love with you?!"
"What do you know about love?!" Finn roared again, kicking the cage, enraged.
"You fucking idiot!" Sak barked at him. "I'm fed up with your shit, Finn! Everyone has a past, why can't you move on?!"
"Because I am in pain!" Finn roared, opened the cage and grabbed Sak out.
He then shifted into a wolf pressed Sak on the ground with his sharp claws.
At that moment, my wolf surfaced and sprang at Finn with a feral snarl.
Finn's wolf moved with dexterity, dodging aside. My wolf stepped between Sak and Finn, growling fiercely.
"Step back. You man-made freak," my wolf roared in a Lycan voice.
Finn's wolf withdrew and roared, his chrome-colored fur shimmering under the silver moonlight. His eyes were locked onto mine, a mixture of anger and torment swirling within them.
His eyes locked onto my wolf's as he circled, a predator sizing up its prey.
"I have no intention of killing you," my wolf growled, her voice a steely promise. "But if you dare harm Leah or her cub, I won't hesitate to tear you apart."
Suddenly, the thrumming of helicopter blades filled the night air, cutting through the tension. Beams of blinding light swept across us, pinning us in place.
A voice blared from a loudspeaker, each word crackling with authority. "All personnel on the ground, you are surrounded by His Majesty's Royal Special Force. Surrender immediately and walk slowly out of the shrine. Follow our instructions and do not attempt to escape. We have orders from His Majesty, the Lycan King: shoot to kill. Repeat, shoot to kill."
Finn's wolf turned to me, eyes blazing with fury. "You... You’ve betrayed me!" he snarled.
My wolf stood her ground, the fur on her neck bristling. "Leah may have a tender heart, but I don't. Follow their orders. Leave Leah and this man alone. If you want to fight me, fight me as you will. But you're not my rival. I will destroy you. And this time, I'll make sure no technology, no saucery or metalurgy, will put you back together again."
My wolf seldom intervened in my life, only emerging when our survival was at stake. In the past, Darren would have come to my rescue whenever danger loomed. But now, with Darren weakened by his brother's death, my wolf had to take charge.
There was just one problem: I had absolutle no control over her actions.
"You can't let him go out there!" I screamed within my wolf's mind. "They'll kill him!"