Lucas' POV
"Are you fucking kidding me?! She's my fucking mate! She's mine! My property! I fucking branded her!" I shouted.
"I've already told you. You might not like this plan," Lucian said in a calm voice.
"She's not a fucking bargain chip! I don't want any other fucking men to get inside of her body! I am his first and last man! If I die, she dies with me!" I yelled at him.
Lucian said, "We're here at a dead end. I'm offering a way to get out of this situation, but you want to bang your head against the wall until it smashes into a paste. I know Louisa is your mate, Luke. But she isn't irreplaceable. There's a reason that Moon Goddess assigned her as your mate. You're just helping her to fulfill her destiny."
I didn't say anything.
Lucian added, "Think about it, Luke. Our cause is about to be accomplished. We'll be able to beat the world into a shape that we like. We're almost there. If we gave up right now, everything that we've done would be in vain. You will become someone like your father."
"I will never ever become a coward like him," I said.
"So do it. Make up your mind. We are on our way to success. One more obstacle out of the way, we'll get everything we want. Take your time to decide." Lucian said and cut off the mindlink.
I looked at the she-wolf sleeping soundly in my arms.
The tip of her nose was a bit red because she had been crying. Her chest, branded by me, was moving up and down rhythmically.
She looked like a small child, a tiny teeny little thing.
I rolled her over and got into her body again.
She moaned in her dream, but she didn't protest.
The warmth and tenderness inside her body almost made me cry.
"Finn, you're fucking quiet," I said in my mind. "Say something now."
"There's a reason that I don't like your Beta," he said. "He is always on your side, even when he shouldn't have been."
"Say something else," I said.
"You know that I can't take control of you only when our lives are endangered," he said.
"I know."
"You know that I love Louisa," he said.
"I know, Finn. Fuck. Say something I don't know," I said.
"Do you love her?" he asked.
"I don't love anyone, Finn. I only put up with them when I don't feel like killing them."
"You know Louisa wants your love more than anything else in the world."
"Yeah, I'm fucking aware of that."
"But you can't give it to her," he said.
"No," I said.
"Why do you want to go to the Underground City so desperately?" Finn asked. "I mean, why are you doing all this? Lucian is fighting for a cause and revenge for his parents. What are you fighting for? You obviously have no interest in the throne."
"Lucian said Zackery is behind all this. But he thinks I'm a fool, so he didn't tell me the truth. Zackery will never make a decision like this by himself. The real mastermind behind all of this is Lycidas. The King is trying to kill me, Finn. He has killed everyone around him and now it's my turn."
"You can't win this one, Luke. You have to give up right now," Finn said. "He's carrying the pure blood of Czar the Great. You've seen him fight. I can't fight him. No one can fight him."
"I know. But that doesn't mean I should let him have his way to kill me like a fucking dog," I said. "If I get the star amber in the Underground City, I will be able to summon the spirits of the ancient Gifted Ones. Czar the Great won the war with the assistance of the Gifted Ones and emancipated all the werewolves from the vampire's control. Now, I can do the same."
I took a pause and continued, "Lucian is right. Those self-righteous Lycans must be eliminated permanently on earth and a new Golden Age will come. I have to put an end to all of this nonsense about bloodline and power."
"A Golden Age, yes. But will Louisa be able to see it?" Finn asked.
"All the great deeds demand fucking sacrifice. Sometimes you have to lose to win."
"Lose? You mean at Louisa's expense?" he asked.
I didn't answer and held the she-wolf tightly in my arms.
She rolled back towards me and opened her eyes, looking up at me with sleepy eyes.
"What happened, Lucas?" she asked.
"Nothing. Go to sleep, little sloth," I said.
She lifted her head to peck at my chin and buried her head in my arms.
"Louisa," I whispered.
She looked up at me with an inquiry.
In her eyes, I saw the reflection of myself.
There was nothing but my reflection.
Will I ever find a girl with a pair of golden-colored eyes, in which I found nothing but me?
"I..." I whispered and stroked her face.
I couldn't continue. The words just melted and evaporated in my mouth.
"What?" she frowned.
"Why do you love me?" I asked. "Why do you want my love?"
"I'm your mate, Lucas," she said. Her lips opened and closed, and the sound of her voice was like ancient chanting.
"But what if I'm not your mate anymore? Will you still love me? Will you still be with me?" I asked.
She looked at me with puzzled eyes.
"What are you talking about?" she asked. "There isn't a 'what if'. I'll never accept your rejection. I love you because you're my man, and I want to be with my man. I understand you aren't ready to accept me. But it's OK. I don't mind. I can wait. I have all the time in the world. And when you're old and you can't move, I'll put you in a wheelchair and push you around. You have a heart, Lucas. It's made of blood and flesh. A person who has a heart will want company. I am your company."
She pressed her head against my chest and listened to my heartbeat.
"I can't sleep. Can you sing for me?" I asked. "I heard you singing the other day when you tried to put that vampire boy to sleep."
"The lullaby?" She asked. "OK."
She rubbed her eyes and cleared her voice. Then, she started to sing.
Her melancholy voice sounded just like my mother's.
I closed my eyes.
"Have you made up your mind?" My wolf asked in the darkness.
"Yes," I said.
There was a long pause of silence.
Eventually, my wolf said, "Luke, your decision is my decision. But I want you to know that I'll never forgive you for making this decision."