Chapter 29 Hadrian #4
“That’ll be her down for the night,” Draven says as Maeve’s door clicks shut.
We’ve had dinner together, and it was a pretty sombre affair.
With Caspian in the wind, the rage that’s fuelling us all is just sitting there, unable to unleash on a target.
We’re trapped with it, and the longer it simmers in my body, the harder it’s getting to focus.
To ignore.
My pegasus is a creature of the dark, a creature of vengeance against those who taint the pure. Caspian fits that bill, and the coward ran. We can’t hurt him, can’t do anything, until he’s found, and it’s killing me.
Maeve barely touched her food, and I have no doubt it was because of our heightened emotions. She’s so sensitive to our energies—even without the bond being recognised on her side—that Julian purses his lips, eyes darting to the hallway.
“Is she really going to just… sleep?” Julian asks, looking at Draven for answers.
It’s strange that despite being here for less than a week, he’s already understanding the group dynamics of Maeve’s mates. Lucifer might be the loudest and most argumentative, but Draven’s the de facto leader of the group. He’s the one we look to for approval because he’s the one Maeve looks to.
Lucifer might be her equal, her confidant, the one she genuinely trusts, but Draven’s different. He’s the one that offers safety in spades and has none of the taint that the rest of us carry.
He’s free from the Graves name—from the bloodline.
And that makes him better.
Julian and I, well I have no idea where we stand, and who is at the bottom of the totem pole.
Scratch that—Torin is at the bottom of the totem pole the weaselly little fuck.
The newest tagalong, who not only has our hatred and Maeve’s hatred, but he’s got his own and directs it towards our girl.
I can feel Lucifer’s eyes burning into the side of Julian’s head, his anger radiating in waves. He doesn’t bother to hide it, doesn’t try to pretend he’s anything but furious.
“She has taken a sleeping tablet,” Draven says, voice as final as a gravestone. “So, yes. She’s going to be out for the entire night. She needs it, and we’re not going to be judging her for it.”
His eyes slice to Lucifer, then to me, then back to Julian, like he’s daring any of us to say a single sanctimonious word about Maeve’s coping strategy.
There’s a barely restrained violence to Draven’s stillness—I can see the white of his knuckles as he curls his fingers around the edge of the table. He’s clinging to self-control by the width of a razor blade.
What I wouldn’t give to go a round with him—with any of them.
“I wasn’t judging,” Julian protests. He looks around and rubs the back of his neck. He fidgets with his sleeve, glancing at the hallway as if expecting Maeve to walk out and prove us all wrong by being fine.
Lucifer makes a noise, something between a scoff and a snarl.
“She’s allowed to have a breakdown, you know,” he says, setting down his glass with a little too much force. The whiskey sloshes dangerously close to the rim. “If it were me, I’d have set the building on fire by now—with you all inside of it.”
“Don’t tempt me,” I mutter because I’m so tempted to hurt him. So desperate.
I need it.
Julian flushes, but he doesn’t back down. “That wasn’t what I meant. I was just hoping she wasn’t going to… I had a talk with her this morning before, well, everything.”
He hesitates, weighing the value of confession versus the risk of ridicule.
“Classic Julian with the vague shit,” I say angrily. “Are you going to share what she said with the rest of us or just keep it to yourself? You’re not the only one who cares about her, Julian.”
The temperature in the room drops. Not physically, but the shift is evident—the way everyone’s muscles tense, the way the conversation crystallises down to something sharp enough to draw blood. For a second, nobody breathes.
Julian purses his lips, eyes darting to the hallway. “It’s not like that. I thought… well I’m trying to be less of a prick these days because I want this to work.”
His words tumble out faster than he intends, like he’s afraid he’ll lose his nerve.
Lucifer barks a laugh, and it’s so sharp, so fucking brittle.
My pegasus kicks inside me, recognising the truth in Julian’s words. He doesn’t just want this to work—he needs it to work.
“Want what to work?” Draven growls, his voice low and dangerous. There’s a tension radiating from the bear, the same one we’re all clinging to, but, honestly, I’m a little unnerved by the bear.
I wouldn’t admit it, but I think he’s debated on whether or not to kill us all tonight just to spare Maeve the pain.
“So thoughtful,” I drawl, unable to keep the contempt from my voice. “What was this heart-to-heart about, then?”
Julian shrinks a little, which isn’t easy for a guy our size, but he manages it. “This. Us. All of it. I know it’s not… I know I haven’t been here the way you all have. I know I’ve gone about things the wrong way, but… we talked, and I understand things now. I don’t want to screw it up.”
Lucifer’s smile turns feral. “Newsflash, you fucking stupid horse—it’s already screwed up. You are a screw up. So, don’t sit there and finally decide to be all in and act as if the rest of us haven’t been present this entire time.”
“What did she say?” I ask, leaning forward, resting my elbows onto my knees.
“She’s decided that when—not if—she can stomach any touch, she’ll happily prove once and for all that we’re not mates,” Julian says, and I’m not the only one to react in shock.
My jaw drops, and I lean back, blowing out a huff of air. My pegasus starts to riot inside of me, fear that we’re going to lose her, that she’s going to bond with Julian only and that’ll be that.
“What?” I choke out, disbelief coating the word.
Draven’s head whips towards Julian, eyes narrowing to dangerous slits. The bear looks like he’s seconds from lunging across the table, claws out.
“She really said that?” Lucifer’s voice has changed, and no longer is it driven by rage but by confusion. There’s also hurt, as if he can’t grasp her saying this to Julian, of all people.
Yeah, me fucking too, buddy.
“Yes,” Julian says. “She thinks that we’re”—now he gestures between him and I—“being led by some kind of higher power. Wipe that look off your face, Cousin, she doesn’t mean it like that.”
Lucifer waggles his brows, and some mischief lights up his blue eyes. “Really? It’s the perfect setup.”
Julian snarls. “Take this seriously, or I’m not going to keep sharing with you. Fucking children, the lot of you.”
“Say that again, I dare you,” I hiss.
“Enough,” Draven snarls, cutting off the bickering with an ease that only he can master. “Finish, Julian.”
“She says while she doesn’t believe me, she doesn’t not believe me either,” he says, and there’s a wistful look on his face.
“So, we’re stuck in a bind of sorts. I promised to not call her my mate again where she can hear me, and that I’d tell you Hades, about it.
Obviously she’s not yet aware of the two of you—”
“Not her mate,” Draven lies, and it’s so unconvincing that I’m actually embarrassed for his ursarix. The poor creature is stuck with such a foolish human.
“But I wanted to share because whilst we might not like each other much—we’re all on the same team when it comes to Maeve. No more declaring we’re mates. Instead, I’ve decided to show her in actions and not overload her with words.”
“About time you finally learned to shut your mouth,” Lucifer says. “I’m proud of you, Baby Cuz. There might be some hope for you after all.”
“Maybe nearly dying let him connect with his higher power after all,” I tease, and the pair of them laugh.
Draven looks around at us and grumbles. “We need to tell Torin.”
“No,” I snarl, immediately understanding what he means.
Lucifer laughs but nods. “Oh, yes, my dark horsie. Torin’s a bastard, and I’d sooner slit his throat than befriend the cunt, but Maeve’s chameleon has picked him, so he’s safe from us.”
His eyes flash black as I groan, and he winks my way. “Well, safe from actual death. What do you take me for? A softie? Not a chance.”
I laugh and sigh. “I’m struggling.”
“I can feel it,” Julian says, surprising me. He’s never admitted to feeling the connection between the two of us properly before, and yet, here we are. “This is hard for all of us. We need to figure out our rage before it consumes her.”
“I’d rather carve my own heart out than ever be the thing that hurts her,” Draven says with such conviction that I believe him.
“Then, we’re in agreement,” Lucifer says, his expression calculating. “We deal with our rage so Maeve doesn’t have to.”
“Sure,” I say carefully. “And how do we do that? We’ve got no target, and I can’t imagine Atticus is going to be happy if we start working our way through his pride.”
“No, he won’t be,” Lucifer says cheerily. “But there’s a basement here that I’ve taken the pleasure of renting for us, and we’ve got plenty of things against each other.”
“You want to, what… fight us?” Julian asks.
“Well, you’re not going to be much of an opponent, are you?” I retort. “But I can’t lie, I’ve been wanting this chance for a long while.”
“Get Torin over, and we’ll have our initiation bonding as Maeve’s mates,” Lucifer cheers, raising an imaginary glass. “Last one standing is the true alpha. Unless it’s not you, then, Dravvy, and then they’re dirty cheaters.”
I laugh, some of the tension leaving me. “Do you really think he’s stronger than you?”
“You don’t?” Draven asks curiously.
Of fucking course, he is. But in the mood I’m in, I’m not going to be submitting tonight. I want the beating.
I need the violence somewhere that isn’t her.
So, why not challenge the beast and truly use my rage?
“I haven’t survived this long without any skills,” I say with a shrug. “We’ll have to find out, won’t we?”
“Will she be safe on her own?” Julian asks, glancing towards the open doorway.
Draven nods. “Her windows are reinforced, and unless she lets someone in through them, nobody is getting in that way. We’ve got cameras on the door, and Atticus has got extra security on this floor. She’s as safe as she can be, and we’re only downstairs.”
“Then, let’s get our group bonding session underway!” Lucifer exclaims, letting the madness fly free.
I’m not usually one for group bonding, but this is right up my alley.
Let’s hope I get to land more than one hit on the panther, and I’ll call it a win.