Chapter 24 Lucien
TWENTY-FOUR
Lucien
Iheld my hands over Flantian’s gaping stomach wound, distressed as his blood continued to ooze between my fingers. He groaned at the contact, taunting me even as he lay dying.
“You’re an idiot. Isn’t this important to your people? If your species is dying—” His words cut off on a vicious cough, blood gathering at the corners of his lips as his shoulders hunched with the force of it.
The blood between my fingers oozed faster, and I gritted my teeth as I pressed tighter, leaned in with my forearms to stanch more blood.
It felt hopeless, but fuck me if I was going to lie down and let him die.
He wheezed, laying his head back against his arm as if he were too exhausted to continue holding it up, but still, he taunted me. “—f your blessed Moon Goddess is depending on your sorry ass to save her daughters, shouldn’t you… be… hunting?”
“Moon Goddess save me from assholes like you,” I muttered under my breath. “I didn’t know it was possible to be so sarcastic on one’s dying breath, but if you’d shut up while I’m trying to save your sadistic hide, I’d appreciate it.”
The bastard just laughed, sending a thin trickle of blood spilling down his chin as I scowled at him.
He was sickly pale, and I knew he didn’t have long, my paltry attempts at stanching the wound ineffective for the amount of damage the infernabist had done to his insides.
Shit.
Starting to get desperate, I leaned my head back and bellowed at the top of my lungs. “Somebody help us! He’s wounded!”
The sound of pounding hooves came not a moment later, and my shoulders nearly sagged with relief, but I couldn’t move—he’d certainly bleed out if I did.
To my surprise, when I spotted the charging herd of centaurs heading our way, an older, gray-haired female led the pack, a furious expression deepening the lines on her weathered but still beautiful face.
“Flantian! You stupid, smug fool!”
The male beneath me grimaced. “Mother… You knew what I had to do.”
She skidded to a stop inches from his downed flank, kneeling carefully to avoid his broken leg. She rummaged around in a bag at her waist, pulling out some sort of powder in a jar.
“You had to make the sacrifice look convincing. You didn’t have to get gored and actually die.” Her tone brooked no disagreement, but all her words did was confuse me further.
“Sacrifice? What the fuck are you talking about?”
She ignored my question, and so did Flantian. To be fair, though, his lips were turning blue, his skin ashen, and it didn’t look like he had the breath left to argue.
“Slowly—very slowly—lift one hand at a time. Like this.” She made a peeling motion in the air to illustrate. “I’m going to sprinkle this across the wound to seal it. The second he’s not going to bleed out, we’ve got to move him to the hospital for a transfusion and probably surgery.”
I did as she asked, watching with surprise as the fine, sandy-looking powder seemed to meld against the wound, skin spreading in its wake with magical speed.
When it was done, she nodded and pressed a kiss to the back of Flantian’s limp hand, the only sign of tenderness she’d shown since galloping to his side.
The rest of the bigger, brawnier centaur males who’d followed her knelt down, efficiently tucking an oversized stretcher beneath their fallen comrade to carry him out of the forest. Only when they were moving did the elder healer turn to face me.
She grabbed my chin roughly, startling me into temporary quiescence as she inspected my scar.
There was no judgment in her eyes, no revulsion, only interest. “Goddess bless.” She looked up into a nearby tree.
“The circle is complete.” With nothing more than those puzzling words and a nod in my direction, she rose back to her hooves and galloped after her son.
When I finally looked up, Kane and Asithius were waiting with steely expressions.
They led me from the forest in silence, and I didn’t dare break it. I’d failed utterly, and I knew it.
But I felt no fury radiating from my high alpha, neither in person nor through the pack bonds. It was… acceptance.
I’d behaved honorably, and I knew he wouldn’t have asked me to do otherwise, no matter what was on the line.
Perhaps, given the extenuating circumstances, they’d allow me a retrial? I would fight for it. If there was no winner, there could be no loser.
Right?
There had to be a way to salvage the situation. I’d been arguably closer to completing my task than Flantian; surely, that warranted a second try.
But as they led me to a circle of centaurs—both male and female, of varying ages, heights, and colorings—I suspected they were not excited to hear anything I had to say.
This was the governing herd, I had no doubt.
And we’d just instigated a challenge that had nearly gotten their champion killed.
Might still get him killed, I mentally corrected—he’d been unconscious and pale last I’d seen him.
Asithius cleared his throat, joining the circle, and Kane followed suit, leaving me alone in the center. Naked, gore covered, and filthy—I’d never been more under the microscope in my life.
Still, I kept my chin high and dared any male or female to make me regret saving a life.
There was a beat of silence, and then a female centaur spoke without preamble. “Pass.”
Another across the circle sounded bored as he said, “Pass,” as well.
On and on it went, centaurs speaking a single word around me, with no context whatsoever. It was a singular chorus until there was no one left but Asithius and Kane. I turned slowly to face them.
Asithius also said, “Pass,” with a nod, then gestured for Kane to speak.
“Lucien.”
The bastard paused, letting me sweat as he stared around the circle. “You’ve passed the challenge. We won back the omega stone shard.”
“What?” I blinked, so shocked, a pup could have bowled me over. “But I didn’t… The infernabist escaped. I never completed the hunt.”
At that, a grin spread slowly across Kane’s face, like the sun rising on a hot summer morning, liquid ease and burning brightness all at once.
“Your challenge was not, in fact, to hunt an infernabist for the feast. Your task was to choose well when your fellow champion was injured. And you did. Your swift actions and call for help saved Flantian’s life and assured the centaurs that wolves will not act selfishly and throw away the other species as we come back into our own power.
Besides, I hear those beasts taste as rotten as they smell. ” Kane wrinkled his nose.
Stunned didn’t begin to encompass my feelings as he stepped forward, wrapping me in a hug and slapping me heartily on the back.
When he pulled away, he gripped my shoulders, wearing an earnest expression.
“Thank you. You acted with honor and were a true champion for wolves today. But we shouldn’t linger.
There’s a she-wolf nearly beside herself with worry who needs to see with her own eyes that her mate is safe. ”
Olivia.
The second he mentioned her, nothing and no one else mattered.
He said I’d saved Flantian’s life, won the challenge, and… she was waiting for me. I was ready to bolt, but I had no idea where she was.
“Come on. We’ll go together.” He clapped me on the back one more time and led the way.