Chapter 10
L ucian’s head tipped back, and he guffawed. The look he sent Drake would have made me feel an inch tall, and based on how Drake pushed harder on my neck, it did sting him. I kept my mouth shut, but when he pressed again, obviously wanting me to cry out, I couldn’t help it.
A whimper slipped free, and Lucian’s smirk morphed into fury.
“Privileged cunt,” Drake hissed.
“And you’ll always be trash, Drake,” Lucian drawled, head cocked.
My heart thundered as fast as a hummingbird’s wings, yet he remained calm, cool, and collected.
Lucian swept his gaze around the shifters surrounding him.
“You’ve outdone yourself,” he mocked. “This attack is more planned than I anticipated your tiny brain could come up with.”
The arrogance on Lucian’s face told me he was trying to make Drake come at him.
Drake growled, his boot shoved down so hard it cut off my air supply. I gripped onto the bottom of his jeans, yanking with as much strength as I could.
“Stop,” Lucian growled, his head lowered and his body shaking like he was holding back from shifting.
I met Lucian’s eyes and tried to convey to him how sorry I was for pulling him into his enemy’s territory.
My face was beginning to feel numb from not breathing.
“Please,” he choked out. The pressure relaxed off my throat enough to no longer suffocate me.
“The great Lucian Wilder begging for the trash?” Drake drawled.
Oof, his comments really bothered Drake. He seethed with metaphoric tiny-dick syndrome, but sadly, I doubted he actually had a small cock simply because he was an Alpha.
“Enough peacocking. What do you want for safe passage off your land?” Lucian was suddenly serious.
Drake hummed and went silent. I kept my eyes on Lucian, but nothing on his face told me what he was thinking.
“It’d be nice to break your neck.”
Lucian smirked. “You’re welcome to, just know I have contingencies in the event of my death.”
“Don’t we all,” Drake responded. “The aftereffect of your death would cause too much political bullshit.” He paused. “For your Luna stepping onto my property, I want the Townsend Land.”
Lucian scoffed, shaking his head. “You hardly have the funds to keep your pack running. What do you want with more land?” The mocking tone was degrading. And for a brief second, I felt bad for Gideon Drake. A Lucian that I’d only had a brief glimpse of so long ago stood before me.
Pompous, cruel, and unfeeling.
The familiar feeling of worthlessness turned my stomach.
“I’ll take your Luna’s life then for the disrespect.” He added weight to the front of his shoe, again cutting off my breathing.
I gagged on a breath.
“Stop,” Lucian snarled. “It’s yours. I’ll have the paperwork drawn up.”
I sucked in a breath, panting. My jaw was going to be bruised by the end of this.
“And for you stepping on my land.” Drake paused, a laugh in his voice. “I want your pain.”
Lucian smirked.
“You’re so predictable,” he hummed.
Silence from Drake. My heart leapt. His silence made me more nervous than him spitting his venomous words.
“Get on your knees, Wilder.” Lucian met my eyes, and I could have sworn he was telling me it was okay. My lip trembled.
Keeping hold of my gaze, he dropped.
As soon as he did, the weight of the boot lifted, but before I could move, Drake grabbed the back of my neck and forced me upright. His fingertips dug into my throat. My knees wobbled from how long I’d been held down.
“Watch,” he murmured in my ear. He let out a high-pitched whistle. “I want you to see what you caused. This is your fault, sweets.” I blinked to clear the tears sheening my eyes, and they trailed down my cheeks. “He’s lucky I don’t have him killed for his mate stepping on my private land.”
He confirmed what I’d been worried about. This had been private fucking land. Nausea turned my stomach.
Alpha land ownership fell into two levels.
One was land an Alpha could own, like Crescent Hotel.
It was on Lucian’s land, but it was still public; nothing could happen on those properties that could out shifters.
If this were Drake’s private land, it equated to him coming to the area surrounding Lucian’s house, Wilder Clinic, and the Community Center.
No shifter of a different pack was accepted unless permission was granted. The main land was untouchable.
I hadn’t known!
“I’m sorry,” I blurted my apology, “I didn’t know.”
“It’s okay, Princess,” Lucian soothed. The calmness in his voice and on his face struck my body. I’d royally fucked up.
Alex was the one to tell me Sheriff Stools came here. Had he set me up?
Branches and leaves crunched under footsteps, and a woman stepped out of the woods, a long bag hoisted over her shoulders.
She glared at me, full-on aggression in her gaze.
She dropped the bag, whatever was inside clanged noisily, and she crouched to unzip it.
Only two of the wolves pacing behind Lucian shifted, while the last wolf stayed behind them, not taking his eyes off Lucian.
I met Lucian’s eyes; mine were so wide it hurt.
I kept looking for a way out. Drake’s grip stung, and it only tightened.
One of the bearded men rolled a bat in his hand, tossed it to the other male, a redhead sporting a mustache.
While I’d been studying them both, memorizing their features, the bearded one grabbed another bat that had dents and jagged edges.
No, they weren’t about to?—
The bearded male swung the bat against Lucian’s spine. The only sound was the harsh thud of the bat against flesh. Lucian jerked under the force of the bat.
I screamed, jolting forward pointlessly.
“What are you doing? Let him go.”
Gideon Drake chuckled. The sound curdled my blood. He wouldn’t.
“Just go, Lucian, please. I’ll be fine,” I begged.
He straightened, rolling his shoulders, and met my eyes again.
“Close your eyes, Princess.”
Another loud thwack rang through the clearing from the bat connecting with his arm. Lucian stiffened with a grunt. His jaw bunched, the muscle jumping.
I whined, hating seeing him suffer. My heart pounded so hard it was making me nauseous. Even while they hurt him, he didn’t want me to hurt. My lip trembled. I wouldn’t look away. This was my fault.
“Settle in for the show.” Drake let go of my neck to grab my arms and twist them until my back was arched.
The males took turns swinging the bat at Lucian. They connected with dull thumps that wracked his entire frame. They both swung at different points on his back, and Lucian fell into the dirt. I cried out, pulling to get to him, but my joints screamed with agony. Tears flooded my eyes.
They beat him with such violence. Numbness spread through my toes, working its way up. Lucian coughed and spat blood. The bearded male crouched.
“Get up, Alpha,” he taunted.
I snarled, yanking and pulling despite the pain in my rotator cuffs.
Lucian lifted onto all fours, and he moved so fast, grabbing Beard by the neck.
He dropped his eyes in the face of Lucian’s dominance.
Showing that the only reason they were able to do this was because he was allowing it. Anger flitted over Beard’s face.
“That’s not taking a beating,” Drake tsked.
He wrenched my arm higher, ripping a scream from my throat.
Lucian snarled and let go of Beard. My heart hurt so much.
Redhead slammed the bat into his back, and Lucian was again flat on his front, his breath exploding from his mouth.
Beard rolled him onto his back and swung at his midsection.
I screamed as it connected. Lucian jolted, his body curving onto its side.
That connection broke something, I was sure of it.
“Stop,” I screamed. “Please. Stop!”
They did not.
Beard and Redhead took turns, and lacerations opened across his skin, causing blood to smear over his body. I couldn’t stop the tears.
I could only half-see as the bats connected. They kept going, harder and harder, obviously straining by their panting, but Lucian didn’t make a sound. As angry as I was with him, I didn’t want to see him suffer. I didn’t want him to hurt.
“He’s a stubborn fuck.” Drake’s voice rumbled behind me, and I wanted nothing more than to kill him. How could he be so happy watching someone being beaten?
Beard hit his legs, and a loud snap blended with their ragged panting.
Lucian jerked and hacked up blood.
As I screamed, Drake’s laugh fired through my veins. Redhead was positioning himself near Lucian’s head. Lucian seemed to have lost consciousness. He hadn’t moved! That swing would hit him hard and at such a soft spot . . .
I threw myself back, and the movement gave a little on my arms so I could elbow Drake. He grunted, and his grip slipped. I took the small release and threw myself forward, managing to get free.
I bolted and threw myself over Lucian just in time for it to come down on my shoulder. A deep, tissue-level throb traveled through my back and arm, numbing my fingers. I whimpered, and the bat no longer connected with me.
“Stop,” I begged, my chest curved over Lucian’s head protectively. My wild eyes met Drake’s, and his head was cocked, no emotion in them. He was frightening—a monster. I blinked, and tears trickled down my cheeks.
He waved his hand in a sweeping motion, and the two males strutted past, heading for the dropped duffel. I scooted down and cupped the side of Lucian’s face, ignoring the sting in my arm from the movement.
“Lucian?” I whispered, so much sorrow in my voice.
His dark eyelashes fluttered, and when he opened his eyes, the moonlight caught them, reflecting the beautiful gold in them. They stayed open for only a brief moment before sliding closed again.
Drake slowly approached. I tensed and hovered over Lucian, still and waiting to see whether I’d need to pounce. I’d undoubtedly die if I went for this Alpha, but he wasn’t killing Lucian without ending me first; I wouldn’t allow it.