Jalin's POV
Blood trickled down his cheeks, but he didn't even bother wiping it away.
He seemed more conscious now, yet he remained silent, sitting there quietly on the bed, his face devoid of emotion.
His silence only fueled my rage.
I yanked his hair and dragged him off the bed, slamming him against the floor.
Shards of glass embedded into his flesh.
He didn't seem to notice the pain at all.
I despised the way he absorbed the pain as if it were nothing.
He looked exactly like his father.
That old bastard would torture me, then sit in a chair with the same expression, looking at me as if I were nothing.
All those memories flooded back, and I unleashed my fury on him.
He endured it without a sound, just as I had when the old king beat the life out of me.
Whatever horrors that old fuck put me through, I would exact tenfold on his precious son.
I poured myself a drink, then settled into a chair, smoking and relishing the sight of his bruised, cut body curled up in the wreckage.
The air reeked of alcohol, cigarettes, blood, and despair.
Lucian lay on the floor, staring blankly at the ceiling.
"I didn’t know you smoked," he muttered quietly.
"You don’t know shit about anything," I replied, leaning forward to press the burning end of my cigarette against his chest.
He didn’t flinch, just stared at me calmly.
"You look like trash," I sneered.
"Are you done?" he asked. "Can I see Leah now?"
Damn it. Had to bring up her name, didn’t you?
I flicked the cigarette butt onto the floor and ground my heel into his burnt wound.
"You’ll see her when I say you can. Until then, you stay my puppet. Understood?" I growled.
He stayed silent.
I pressed my foot harder on his chest.
"I’m fucking talking to you!" I roared.
"Yes, understood," he said.
"Now go clean yourself up. You've got a crowning ceremony tomorrow," I commanded.
He tried to stand but collapsed hard onto the floor.
"What the hell are you doing? I told you to clean yourself up!" I barked at him.
He pushed himself up again, only to fall even harder.
"If you can’t walk, crawl!" I kicked him. "Do as you’re told, or you’ll never see Leah again!"
Fear and pain flickered in his eyes as he started crawling to the bathroom.
His half-naked, bruised, twitching torso stirred something dark within me.
Nothing excited me more than seeing a Lycan prince submit to me like this.
My sweet, pathetic Lycan prince. Leah's dead but you're stuck with me. We're going to have so much fun before they crown you tomorrow. Let me see if you're really worth it. I thought to myself.
I followed him into the bathroom and shut the door behind us.
Darren's POV
"Sorry, there's a curfew in effect. No one is allowed to leave town. You need to turn back."
"But officer, my wife is in labor. We need to get her to the hospital..."
"What?! Get out of the car right now!"
"Sir... what's happening?! Don't..."
The poor guy ahead of me didn't finish his plea before being yanked out of his own car. His wife’s terrified screams echoed as soldiers dragged her from the backseat.
"No pregnant woman is allowed to leave town!" one of the soldiers barked aggressively.
I glanced back at Leah, curled up and shivering under a blanket. As a soldier approached our car, I gently nudged her to stay hidden. I rolled down the window and handed over my fake driver's license.
He examined my name, then my face, and his eyes narrowed. "I know who you are," he said in a low voice. "You're a Swanson."
My hand tensed on the gun at my belt.
He continued, barely above a whisper, "You're not supposed to be here. You won't get through—they'll scan your eyes and everything. Take the back road, Route 115 to the Pier, if you want to head North. People will be waiting for you."
"I don't understand what you're talking about, officer," I said, keeping my hand on the gun.
"I served under your father in the North, Brigade 201. Special Forces. Corporal Cole Nicholson." His words hung in the air as he handed back my driver’s license. Then, raising his voice, he said, "This isn't the route to the Crowning Ceremony. You need to turn around and head back!"
Another soldier walked up and asked, "What's going on?"
Cole sharply, "Lost tourists. Took a wrong turn while sightseeing. Idiots. Turn around now!" He waved me off angrily.
I rolled up the window and made a U-turn. I didn’t fully trust him, but he had let us go. I glanced back at Leah. Still unconscious.
As we approached the Pier, fireworks erupted in the sky, celebrating the new Lycan King's crowning ceremony. The explosions illuminated Leah's face, casting fleeting light across her delicate features.
"I've always wanted to take you out to the Pier to watch fireworks," I murmured, touching Leah's face tenderly. "You know, I've never even taken you out on a proper date. You're always so busy, constantly on the go, and I'm the one trailing behind you everywhere. Leah, if you wake up and I'm still around, let's have our date, okay? I'll buy you a lollipop, and we'll ride the carousel. And when the night's dark, we'll watch the fireworks together. When the biggest and brightest ones light up the sky, I'll probably kiss you, and maybe you'll kiss me back. What do you say, Leah? It's a date, right?"
I held her gently in my arms, the world outside pausing for a moment. The silence was thick with millions of unspoken words.
Then, I looked up, my eyes searching the horizon.
The dark night stretched like a velvet cloak over the silent pier, a solitary witness to the secrets of the night. A towering figure stood there, his silhouette stark against the inky sky.
The sharp, chiseled lines of his face were momentarily revealed by the fireworks. Each burst cast a fleeting glow on his features: the strong jawline, the piercing eyes filled with a wild, untamed spirit, and dark hair framing his face like a midnight halo.
Finn? What is he doing here?