14. Lucien

Ipace the cavernous library, my mind reeling in the aftermath of the attack at Le Voile de Sang. The events of the night have shaken something loose inside me, ripping away any illusions about the life I”ve dragged Simone into.

The shadows, the violence, the constant threats - they all seemed like an acceptable risk when it was just me. Just another crime boss playing the game in our bloody underworld. But now...now I have a mate to protect. A soul bound to mine in a way that transcends physical threats.

Can I really pull Simone fully into this life of darkness and bloodshed? The thought of her bright spirit being snuffed out, tarnished by the ugliness that is my reality, is an icy fist around my heart.

And yet...the fated mate bond still sings through my veins, a thrumming vibration tying me to her, to Etienne and Auguste, in an unbreakable knot of destiny. We are made for each other, forged in the same scorching fires of the universe. To reject that sacred bond, to turn my back on what she is to us, would fracture my soul beyond repair.

I”ve made my choice, really. There is no walking away, no matter how treacherous the path ahead may be.

Steeling myself, I call a pack meeting. Etienne and Auguste arrive in the library with matching looks of grim determination. We are alpha, beta, and second - a triad of unwavering strength.

”We claim her,” I say without preamble. ”Tonight. Make Simone ours in truth, by the ancient rites.”

Nods all around, a sizzle of anticipation and tension crackling between us despite the circumstances. Etienne”s wolf is near the surface, his eyes glinting amber. Auguste”s jaw is set in a hard line, coiled like a grande owed battle.

Before Simone came into my life... I was just going through the motions, existing in a gray purgatory. My wolf and I had reached an uneasy truce, but there was no true harmony, no sense of being a complete being.

The moonshine business, the crime rackets, the carnal indulgences - it was all just killing time really. Killing time and numbing the incessant ache, the feeling that some integral part of my soul was missing. I was the alpha of my pack, master of the city”s underbelly...but it all rang so hollow.

Deep down, I was treading water, drowning a little more with each passing year as the curse slowly sapped my will to live as anything more than a beast.

And then Simone came into my world like a comet blazing across the night sky. A force of nature too bright and incandescent to be ignored or pushed aside. From the moment I locked eyes with her on that dimly lit stage at Le Voile de Sang, something deep within me was jolted awake again.

She makes me want to be better. Not just a crime lord carving out his territory through fear and violence, but a man of honor and purpose. A man who can be respect-worthy enough to lead his pack and provide for his mate with a clear conscience.

Don”t get me wrong - we were born for lives of brutality and shadow. As much as Simone brings light and warmth, she also ignites the banked embers of my wolf”s primal hungers. I crave to fight, to rend my enemies limb from limb, all in the name of protecting her and what”s mine.

The intoxicating mix of savage beast and venerating lover is part of my very essence.

But with her by my side, for the first time in centuries, I dare to dream of more. Of finding a way to break this ancient curse that divides my very being against itself. Maybe through her love, her radiance, the two halves of my fractured soul can be forged back into an indomitable whole at last.

One thing”s for certain - now that she”s my fated mate, my eternal Queen, I have a new purpose driving me. I will build her a kingdom from the ashes of this crime-riddled city. And I will tear down any obstacle, face any threat, to make that future a reality and keep her safe at my side.

Simone is the other half of my soul. The omega to our pack. With her, I am complete again, the wolf”s wildness harnessed by my humanity, my baser drives tempered by her light. We are the alpha and luna, the smoking yin and yang. And gods help anyone foolish enough to try and tear us asunder.

We find Simone curled up in my bed, drowning in one of my shirts. Her eyes are red-rimmed but she”s regained her composure somewhat after the chaos. Lingering fear and weariness melt away as the three of us approach, our presences seeming to soothe her into calm.

”Simone...” I start, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. ”We need to talk about something important.”

She rubs the sleep from her eyes, nodding for me to continue as Etienne and Auguste flank me on either side. This is the first time we”ve approached her together like this.

”The connection between us is destined. The fated mate bond between us, it”s not just a fleeting connection,” Auguste explains, his voice low and intense. ”It”s a permanence encoded into our very souls.”

Etienne takes over, his amber gaze locked on her. ”We want you to be ours in totality. Our mate, our luna - the omega and heart of our pack.”

Simone”s eyes widen slightly at the weight of our words, but she doesn”t look away.

There”s a steadiness about her, an acceptance beginning to take root.

I cup her jaw, tilting her face up to meet my intent stare. ”Are you ready, little mate? To be ours in every sense, bound to this pack for always and forever?”

Her breath catches, that delicious pulse fluttering wildly under my fingertips. But her gaze doesn”t waver as she holds each of our glowing lupine stares - wolf and woman unified.

”Yes,” she whispers, surrendering to that primal imperative. ”Make me yours. I want to be your omega, your heart.”

A rumbling growl of approval vibrates through Auguste”s chest at her words. ”You”ll be the center of our world. The one we live for, kill for, fight for with our last breaths.”

Etienne nods sharply. ”Our pack will grow and flourish with you as its foundation, its sacred hearth. We”ll sire a new generation of alphas on you, build a dynasty.”

I nuzzle against the soft skin of her neck, breathing in her floral human scent tinged with the beginnings of our lupine musk. ”This is forever, ma petite louve. No turning back once you”ve walked this path.”

Her fingers thread through my hair, nails scraping deliciously against my scalp in a way that has my wolf rumbling. ”I don”t want to turn back,” she murmurs fiercely. ”I”m yours, always and forever. Claim me.”

The words are the spark that lights the inferno already raging between us. Our wolves are ascending, pupils blowing wide as we”re consumed by primal fever.

”Then let”s make it official,” I growl against the flutter of her pulse point. ”Bind you to us in blood and spirit, once and for all.”

Simone offers her delicate wrist without a shred of hesitation, baring the pale tendons beneath silken skin. Etienne”s elongated fangs breach the fragile flesh with surgical precision and she gasps at the brief flare of pain. But her eyes stay locked on ours, unwavering, as the marks start healing over - ancient scars forming in the pattern that will forever mark her as our omega.