Lucas' POV
The following day brought no respite from the chaos swirling in my mind.
More slaves were sent back by Finn. No one really knew what kind of shithole he pulled them out from and no one bothered to ask. The slaves were screaming and crying in at least 20 different languages. Soldiers were mad and barking at everything. Some knuckleheads got into a fight after drinking. No one tried to stop them, but everyone was naturally betting on who the winner was. Things went south and everyone lost, which led to more rows, more fist fights, and more bets. Besides, the Huffner Bridge was, again, paralyzed because some kids set it on fire by last night's fireworks. The Commisioner of Transportation and Domestic Affairs of the Court called in one after another and pressed me if I was intentionally sabotaging the connection between the Kingdom and Mediland, which was still "hanging on a thread". Then, more slaves came in, followed by more screaming, crying, and barking.
If it was in the past, I could easily delegate my Beta Jorah to handle all this shit. That kid was an idiot, but at least he was an idiot who could get things done.
But now, apparently, I'm the idiot who's supposed to deal with all this kind of shit all by myself.
I couldn't concentrate on anything. My head hurt as fuck, as well as my chest.
And Dr. Jafar's visit only added fuel to the fire.
"Alpha Lucas, all the test results look very promising," he said as he went through my medical reports.
Sure. For a dead corpse without a heart, everything looks promising.
I collapsed into a chair.
"I feel like shit," I said.
"You need some aromatherapy. It will help you to tune down a bit. I can prescribe it for you," Dr. Jafar said.
"I don't need therapy. I need a drink," I sighed.
"The answer is still no, Alpha," Dr. Jafar shook his head. "No alcohol before you get your heart back."
I covered my face.
"The girl will be there," Dr. Jafar said.
I put my hands down. "What do you mean?"
"The girl in the Grove," Dr. Jafar shrugged. "She's in charge of the SPA facility today."
--
The spa stank of chemical lavender and blood.
I'd barely crossed the threshold when a shriek split the air. "Clean it, you clumsy bitch!" A glass vial shattered against the tile, spraying amber lotion like congealed light. "If Alpha Lucas finds this filth, he'll strip your hide for rug fringe!"
There she was.
Kneeling in the wreckage, hands scrambling over shards. Her head bent low, hair curtaining her face—a portrait of submission. But her shoulders? Rigid as a strung bow. The matron loomed above, face mottled crimson, boot raised to strike.
I cleared my throat.
The matron whirled, fury melting into a simper. "Sir, I didn't—"
I flicked two fingers. Leave.
She fled, skirts hissing.
The girl didn't look up. Her fingers danced through glass, red blooming where the edges bit. I crouched beside her, reaching for a jagged fragment.
She recoiled as if scalded, back hitting the wall. "You—" Her voice rasped like rusted hinges. "Alpha Lucas arrives tonight. If he catches you here—"
"He's asleep." I palmed a sliver of glass, felt it bite. "Snoring like a gored boar. Seems I wore him out."
Her throat moved. A swallow, a suppressed flinch. "Liar."
"Check his chambers." I nudged a shard toward her. "If you dare."
She lowered her head to reach for the lotion bottle. A glass dagger hid in its neck—she didn't see it.
"Careful," I warned.
Too late.
The blade sliced her palm. Blood welled, black in the sulfurous light. Then—
—the wound rippled.
Skin knitting, sinew weaving itself whole. Three breaths. Gone.
My own pulse roared. Impossible.
"Done staring?" She curled her healed hand into a fist. "All maids heal fast here. The lotion… does things."
A lie. Thick and clumsy.
No way. There's no fucking way. I thought to myself. She looks completely different from Leah. Her age and height are all wrong. The color of her eyes and hair doesn't look right. Her voice is totally different. And her easily intimidated personality was nothing like Leah.
I shook my head slightly. Maybe I was just missing Leah too much. I had to stop mistaking random women for Leah.
The girl quickly cleaned up everything and walked out of the room with a tray in her hands.
I followed her.
"Where are you going?" I asked.
"It's none of your business," she said without looking at me. "You have to go now. You can't stay here. There are people everywhere."
"No one will be here tonight," I said in a comforting voice. "They all thought Alpha Lucas will be here. So no one will come."
"How do you know?" the girl frowned.
"Well, Alpha Lucas likes his privacy," I replied.
The girl put the tray on a table and looked up at me.
"What do you want from me?" she asked.
"Nothing. I just want to be with you. You remind me of someone," I said.
There were tears circling in her eyes. Her lips were trembling. I knew she was trying so hard not to cry.
"I don't understand..." she said in a quiet voice. "You saw what Alpha Finn had done to me in his study the other day... Why do you keep following me everywhere? Whoever I remind you of, I'm not her. Please leave me alone!"
Then, she tried to storm out of the room, but I pushed her back.
She was shocked by my move.
"What... What are you doing?" she asked.
"No one will see us in this storage room. Do you feel safe now?" I asked.