lucas's Pov
"No," Ryker said, stepping closer. "It's about power. And you, Clara, are the most powerful weapon I've seen in a long time."I didn't flinch at his words. I had no illusions about what I was to him—a chess piece. But for now, we shared the same enemy. And if being his queen gave me the throne I needed to burn Lucas's world to ash?Then I'd wear the crown and smile while doing it.Ryker offered me his arm. "Shall we begin planning the wedding?"I looked down at it, then back up into his waiting eyes."Yes," I said. "Let's give them something they'll never forget."The flames in the hearth crackled, but I felt no warmth.I stared at the parchment in my hand, its edges trembling with the force of my grip. The royal Lycan seal had been torn open moments ago, and the message inside… it wasn't a declaration.It was a declaration of war—written with silk and venom, every word a knife that carved straight through my chest.Clara was alive.Alive. And marrying him.My brother.Ryker.The laughter that tore from my throat startled even me. It was sharp and cold and hollow. One of the councilmen had lingered too long in the room—he scrambled out now without a word, the door slamming behind him.I crushed the invitation in my fist, veins bulging as I slammed it against the table.She'd survived.Five years of silence, of haunted nights, of wondering if she was buried at the bottom of that cursed river… and she was alive?Not only alive—but bold enough to announce her engagement to Ryker. In ink. With her signature.I remembered that signature. I'd watched her write it in our mating registry, hand trembling, lips pressed in a thin line. And now she signed her name beside his, wrapped in triumph, as if I hadn't once claimed every part of her.My vision blurred with fury.How dare she.How dare he.The door creaked again, and Veronica slipped in. Her eyes searched my face, but she didn't speak. Smart girl. She set a goblet of wine beside me and turned to go, sensing the storm brewing beneath my skin.But I wasn't done."Did you know?" I asked, my voice low, deathly calm.She froze."Did you know she was alive?" I snarled, standing so suddenly my chair scraped violently against the stone floor.Veronica turned slowly, hands folded in front of her. "Rumors," she whispered. "Nothing confirmed."I stalked toward her, every step measured, controlled. Barely. "You live under this roof. You warm my bed. And you never thought to tell me there were whispers of Clara?""She was presumed dead," she stammered. "You said it yourself. You searched for months. She vanished."I closed the distance between us in a blink. "So did my soul," I hissed.Veronica paled."Get out."She fled. Wise again.The door slammed, and I was alone once more—except for the ghosts that never left me.Clara.I saw her now in my mind's eye—fierce, glowing, alive. I imagined her in a gown of silver and fury, standing beside Ryker with that icy fire in her gaze. She had always had that fire. I'd tried to tame it. tried to own it.And now?Now she would come for me.And she wouldn't come alone.A knock came at the door, and I already knew who it was."Come in, brother," I said, voice a drawl soaked in venom.Ryker stepped in with a smirk and no shame. "You got the invitation, I presume?"I stalked toward him, fists clenched.He chuckled. "Easy, Lucas. I'm not here to fight. Yet."I reached for him, grabbed the collar of his coat, and slammed him against the wall. "You think this is a game?"Ryker met my fury with that same goddamn smile. "No. It's a coronation. And Clara will be my queen."I shoved him harder. "She was mine.""She was never yours. That's the problem, isn't it?" His voice dropped lower, mocking. "You tried to break her. I chose to empower her.""She's using you.""She's choosing me. And that's the difference."I released him with a shove and turned away, rage pulsing like a living thing in my chest."She wants war," I muttered.Ryker straightened his coat. "No, brother. She wants justice. The war… that's just a consequence."He left me there, seething, burning with the knowledge that the mate I'd lost was not just alive.She was rising.And I would have to watch her wear another man's crown.The moment Ryker's footsteps faded down the hall, I let out a roar that shook the walls.Books flew. Glass shattered. The table splintered as I slammed my fist through its center. And still—it wasn't enough.Nothing would be.
Clara.
Clara.
Clara
Her name was a poison in my veins. Her face—etched into every corner of my mind—refused to fade.She was supposed to be dead.Her name was a poison in my veins. Her face—etched into every corner of my mind—refused to fade.She was supposed to be dead.Not waltzing back into my world dressed in vengeance and velvet, draped on my brother's arm like some cruel joke. My jaw tightened as I imagined the whispers that would follow her reappearance. The court would eat it up. The kingdom would look at me—the almighty Alpha King—and wonder how I'd let her slip through my fingers.They'd see her as a survivor.As a phoenix rising from ash.
But they wouldn't know the truth.They wouldn't know what it cost me to let her go that night.No one saw the way I dove into that river after her. No one felt the chill of the current, the weight of failure dragging me deeper the longer I searched.