12. Lucian

CHAPTER 12

Lucian

Dire Wolf Compound

I received an email today from Elena of the Lycan pack to the north. The old Alpha has finally fallen. To my surprise, the lost princess had done it and taken over the pack. Per protocol, Elena informed me that Aurora was on her way to meet my sons. Now I can finally have my revenge on her parents for the slaughter of my old pack at the hands of the Strigoi.

Slowly I move to my desk and look over the prisoner list. Nicodeamus is still alive. How fucking long do damn dragons live? I'll set him as the last opponent, as usual. I still have the Wendigo and several Dire's will save me time from killing them if they die. I am almost salivating, thinking about the bloodshed to come. Maybe I'll let the Princess live and take her as my mate and increase my power. I'll use her to take back her mother's throne then murder her in her sleep. That would give me the Lycan pack and keep my pack under my control.

Now to plan the battle… who should I have her fight first? Hmm… I'm going to start it off easy for her and let her warm up with several Dire prisoners. A knock sounds at my office door while I'm deep in thought.

"Enter!" I shout and don't bother looking up. By scent I know it's one of the twins. "I need you to prepare some prisoners for battle." I raise my eyes up, briefly looking at Dominik, then back down to the prisoner list. "Pick three of our best Dire fighters, The Wendigo and the dragon. Make sure they are fed and in top shape for Friday. Drawing up to my full height, I cross my arms over my chest to look directly at my son to gauge his reaction.

"We have a visitor coming. She's supposedly the missing Marelup princess. As far as I know, that child died with the queen. Regardless, if she's anything less than the heir to the throne, she'll die swiftly in the early battles." Waving my hand dismissively because, in the end, her life won't matter for long, no matter what her bloodline.

Dominik steps forward to look at the prisoner list. "Alpha Lucian, are you sure this is necessary for one female? I mean, they are in such short supply as it is. To lose one is the loss of several potential pups." Dominik regards his father's cold, calculating assessment of the list. It's clear he's already signed this female's death warrant.

"If I may be so bold to ask, why is she coming here?" Dominik furrows his brows, looking at me quite curiously, studying me like I had taught him to do to assess a possible threat.

I draw in a deep, irritated breath. "The old order of things requires the she-wolf princess to take mates from all four clans as a political alliance." I hold up my right hand with four fingers up. "Do the math boy... that's four mates—three other dicks to try to race to knock her up first." I huff irritatedly. "The Shaman from the Lycan pack didn't state if she has a mate yet. Part of me blames the old Alpha for the deaths of thousands of our pack mates." I narrow my eyes as I look up to my son. "I want his seed to die. Then again, if she's not his spawn, perhaps letting her seek a mate here would be to my benefit." I go deep into thought again and turn away from my son. Before leaving, Dominik takes the list and the printed letter with him out the door to do my bidding.

~Dominik~

Once out of my father's sight, I race to the suite I share with my brother, Jayce. The door almost comes off its hinges with as hard as I hit it. Jayce just about falls off his stool from the shock of my arrival. "Shit, Dom, what the fuck's going on? Where's the fire?" Jayce stands up and moves towards me, resting his hands on my shoulders, his eyes search mine for answers. I smile briefly before starting to explain.

"Remember the Dragon, Nico? How he used to beg to be set free to find his hatchling?" I raise both thick, black eyebrows hoping my brother will remember.

"Yeah, he was babbling about the hatchling again about two weeks ago. Something about an ascension and full access to power." Jayce throws his hands up in the air. "You still haven't told me what the actual fuck is going on." Jayce is a little pissed off and puzzled by my actions.

"Jayce, if she's who I think she is, we are going to have one pissed off dragon on our hands. The Princess isn't lost anymore." I pace back and forth anxiously. "She's coming here to look for a mate." I motion out the balcony doors, to the desert beyond them. "Father wants her to battle the prisoners before getting to meet any of us." Gripping my hair, I'm stressing the fuck out; no female should have to battle for a mate.

"Okay, so if you're right and she's the princess and the dragon's daughter, Father is going to be in deep shit." Jayce taps his chin in thought. "Especially since dragons and dragon kin share power when they are close to each other. If she can wield her father's ice, we are going to be ice skating in the middle of the desert." Jayce is pacing now, his nerves getting the better of him too.

"Calm down, brother. I'll protect you as I've always done, don't worry about a thing." I step in front of Jayce, attempting to get him to relax. "I kind of hope she's related to the dragon. Father has gone further down the rabbit hole and is losing what's left of his mind." I raise my hands several times in frustration, then point down in the dungeon's general direction. "We have a Wendigo here! Those things are the most fucked up abominations I've ever seen." Roughly I run my fingers through my hair again. "If she's the dragon's daughter, she'll win." I half-smile. "Her father will sense she's his kin, and then they will turn on our father. Then his reign of terror will be over." I say it and partially regret it—kind of. Lucian has been nothing but cruel to our brother, who's gay, and Jayce for being bi.

I do my best as a brother to protect them. Now I have a chance to free all of us from the hell we're in. "Get some rest, Jayce, and lay low... Father is in a mood. I leave our suite and head down towards the dungeon. I pass the guards on duty, and they leave the area thinking I'm just as cruel as my father. A misconception that I have had to foster in order to survive. My eyes survey the Dires and the Wendigo that the princess must fight. They are quite sturdy but shouldn't be too much of a challenge.

As I approach the Ice Dragon's cell, there's an immediate drop in temperature. Icicles hang from the ceiling. "Nico? I have news for you." I see his glowing, silver eyes regard me.

"What is it?" Slowly the massive male moves towards the bars, his left arm missing from the Strigoi war. His good hand grips the bar. There's a tinge of hope in his eyes. A healthy dose of fear throttles through my system as the much larger predator regards me. There's a tiny part of me that hopes he accepts the information I bring him in a positive way and does not go into a rage ahead of time.

"It's not all good news, Nico. There is to be a battle here tomorrow night. You are the last fighter, like always." His eyes drop for a moment, the years of being a slave in the gladiator pit weighing heavily upon his weary soul. "I believe your daughter is on her way here. She is coming to claim her Dire mate, but my father wants her to battle for the right," I say and back up, slightly prepared for anything.

His head whips up quickly, and the slits of his dragon bleeds through his silver orbs. "I was right. I've been feeling her all these years." His gaze drops just before he begins to pace. His bare feet slap upon the stone as he moves back and forth. "She has ascended; I felt her touch my power." He opens and closes his hand several times. There's a subtle shift in his mood as the ramifications of the news I've delivered him hits home. "Your prisoners do not stand a chance against her. You are a good, strong male with a good heart; I hope she chooses you."

Nico winks at me then smiles. "As for my battle with her, we will not fight. Our animals will not permit it. She is dragon kin. Just by entering your den and being close to me," he smirks, "she will be able to use my powers." An evil grin crosses his lips as his hand moves to rub where his arm once was. "I will finally get my revenge against the traitor." Nico slowly turns and paces around the cell. "I need to eat and regain my strength. My daughter will need me." His eyes, now back to human, lock on mine. "I feel her; she's already taken her first mate and has gained gifts from him." Lightly he strokes his beard before he looks back at me. "Prepare yourself as well as your brothers that they may do right by her. I will speak to her once she's within the den and will share my knowledge with her." Nico goes and sits down on the edge of his bed, watching me.

"I'll send more food to you, and drink. I swear on my life I will do all that I can to protect the princess and reunite you two." My eyes turn golden as my wolf surges to the surface; he agrees that it's time to stage the coup. I bow slightly to the dragon king, my fist to my chest over my heart. He returns the gesture before I head back upstairs. I walk back towards my suite and move towards the balcony. Pushing the doors open, my eyes search the vast desert before me. Night has fallen, and the temperatures are steadily dropping.

Slowly I raise my binoculars from the table to scan the desert. I see a flickering light far out in the desert. Quickly I switch to the telescope and try to focus on that flickering light. It's definitely a campfire and a large black truck. Figures are moving about the fire, and they appear to be large bodies. So far, I'm not seeing anything that would make me think the princess is with them. Just as I am about to walk away, a large white Lycan comes into view. In its maw, a pronghorn hangs limply, obviously dead. "Holy fuck!" I accidentally say out loud.

Quickly I look around to make sure no one has heard me. When I am sure the coast is clear, I find myself watching the campsite, hoping to see the princess again. At about one in the morning, all the motion around the fire ceases—bedtime for them and me. Tomorrow is going to be rather interesting indeed.

Morning comes too quickly for me today. My nerves are on edge as I know what is going to happen. I don't want to fight my brothers, but I will if I have to. Our father has poisoned my eldest brother for years, and he's the only one I have to worry about standing against me. I promised the dragon king that I'd protect the princess.

Last night I got to see her beast with my own eyes; she's definitely dragon kin. Today's battles will be a walk in the park for her. I dress quickly and make my way into Jayce's room. "Wake up, Jayce! There's a lot we must do today!" He's curled up with his current boyfriend—limbs all tangled together.

"Go away, Dom!" Jayce waves his hand in the air, trying to shoo me away. I use his pool cue and poke him several times until he growls at me. "Damn it to hell, Dom, go the fuck away! Don't you see I'm not alone!" He buries his face against the male's back, between his shoulder blades.

"Jayce, we have a very important visitor today, and we need to talk before they arrive." That gets his attention. His head pops up, and his eyes focus on me finally. I hold out his robe to him. "Go shower. I'll explain as you get cleaned up." Jayce's face becomes solemn as he leans over and whispers into his boyfriend's ear; it is time for him to leave. The man rises and doesn't bother to dress when he walks out of the suite and into the main den. I turn to look at Jayce. "Having fun pissing Father off with your latest conquest?" I say this half-joking, half-serious as well. He knows how Father treats our gay brother. Why he wants to bring torture on himself is beyond me.

"You know I love making him uncomfortable. Especially with how shitty he treats our mother most of the time." I can't disagree with him on that count; Father treats our mother like shit. Dire's don't need a true mate to breed, just a female in heat. It's sad, really, and it's the only reason our numbers are so high. Jayce finally gets in the shower and starts to bathe.

"What if I told you the dragon is right? His child lives. I have it on good authority that she's on her way here to find her mate." Jayce's head pops out of the shower to look at me, shocked.

"Are you fucking kidding me? Like, are you serious? She lives? Father said the queen died before the baby could be brought into this world." Obviously, Father didn't know the whole truth... Nico did, and up until two weeks ago, he hadn't mentioned the child in years.

"Jayce, we must be ready. If Nico is right, the winds of change are blowing. Our only decision is: do we help the princess or let Father kill a female Lycan?" I hate the idea of Father killing a female... any female. There are so few females left and even fewer that are fertile. To lose even one more life is a crime.

Jayce's answer is simple. "We save the princess. It's the right thing to do." There is a finality to his words, and all I can do is nod. He may not be the strongest of us, but his heart is always in the right place. For an omega to take such a strong stance is a rarity.

"Father said to be in the viewing room behind the tinted glass by ten in the morning. I'm going to make sure our brothers are all ready." With that, I search for the others, anxious to see what kind of female the dragon's daughter is.