CHAPTER 11

*First Person's Perspective *

~Enise~

I had just returned from the hotel where Lucian had lodged. The day had been long, the conversations were intense, and my mind kept drifting back to everything he had said. As I walked through the door of the house, I was met with the usual warmth. The faint smell of dinner wafted from the kitchen, and I could hear the soft murmur of voices coming from the dining room.

A servant approached me, offering to call me down for dinner, but I simply shook my head.

"I’m full already," I said with a polite smile. I wasn’t ready to face Lucas today. I didn't want to see him

I was exhausted, both mentally and physically, but I didn’t want to deal with the stress of answering questions from him here and there, plus, the thought of food didn’t even appeal to me. I just needed some time to myself to process everything.

About thirty minutes later, I was in my room, sitting on the edge of the bed, when there was a soft knock on the door. I looked up, surprised. I hadn’t expected anyone else to come. The door creaked open, and the chief maid, Sarah, stepped in. She looked nervous, a slight furrow in her brow as she glanced at me.

"Ma'am," she began hesitantly, "the Alpha is asking for you."

I furrowed my brows in confusion. I didn't know what to make of this as it was kind of odd. With the way he treated me. I expected that he would come down here to see me if he had anything to say to me, but then again, he was an alpha. A fact that I sometimes forgot, because of how lenient he was with me. But why would he suddenly ask for me now?

I raised an eyebrow, trying to hide my curiosity behind a composed face. “Is there a problem?” I asked, my voice neutral.

Sarah shook her head quickly. “None that I know of, ma’am,” she replied, her voice steady but her eyes avoiding mine. I could tell she was nervous. I had seen her like this before—usually when something was a little off, but she didn’t want to be the one to say it.

I thought for a moment, trying to decide whether it was worth going to him now. I could hear the tension in Sarah’s voice, and my mind wandered to different possibilities as to why he would want to see me by this time

“I’ll be there in a few,” I said, standing up from the bed. Sarah nodded, stepping back and closing the door behind her softly.

I walked toward the mirror, straightening myself out, taking a moment to breathe and gather my thoughts. My reflection stared back at me, the same as always—calm, poised, a little unsure. But underneath it all, there was something else now. It was a gnawing sense that things were starting to shift, and I wasn’t sure how to feel about it.

I walked to the door, steeling myself for whatever was coming next. What did Lucas want? Why was he calling for me now?

As I walked down the hallway, the house felt unnervingly quiet. The anticipation in the air weighed down on me, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was about to change.

I took a deep breath and reached for the door to the Alpha’s study

I knocked on the door and, before Lucas could answer, I let myself in.

Inside, Lucas was seated behind his desk, looking as relaxed as ever. Marcus stood to the side, his arms crossed, there was nothing tense in his posture but I could feel his intense gaze on me, his eyes never failing to let me know that he didn't trust me at all. A man I didn’t recognize, however, was standing near the window, his eyes glancing over at me with a mixture of curiosity and caution. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and had an intensity about him that made me uneasy.

“Alpha Lucas, you called for me? What’s going on?” I asked, trying to keep my voice calm despite the fluttering of nerves in my chest.

Lucas looked up with a warm, almost friendly smile. “Yes, I did. Please, come in and have a seat,” he said, motioning toward the chair across from him.

I walked over and sat down, noticing the way the three of them continued to observe me—especially the unfamiliar man. I tried to shake off the sense of discomfort creeping up on me. It was just the three of them, after all, but there was something about the way they were all looking at me, as if they were weighing every little detail. As if they knew something that they weren't supposed to know

Lucas seemed to notice my unease, though, as he quickly made an effort to ease the tension in the room. “This is Samson, my Gamma,” he said, gesturing to the stranger with a nod.

I smiled and nodded in return, offering a polite, “Nice to meet you.” Samson’s response was a brief nod, his eyes lingering on me for just a second too long. It was enough to make me feel like I was under a microscope. This Samson must be new in the pack as I had never seen him before.

Lucas seemed unfazed by the awkward atmosphere. He wasn’t stern like Marcus, nor was he acting like he expected me to be on edge. In fact, he appeared entirely at ease, his casual demeanor almost disarming. Still, something in the air shifted when his next question landed.

“So, Dr Denise,” Lucas began, leaning forward slightly, “what is your connection with Alpha Slade?”

I froze. The question hit me like a punch to the gut. I blinked at him, struggling to make sense of what he was asking. I couldn’t tell if he was probing for something personal or if he was simply curious. But the weight of his gaze made it impossible to dismiss the question as casual.

I stared at him, dumbfounded for a few moments, before finally finding my voice. “What do you mean?” I asked, my confusion clear in my tone.

Lucas didn’t seem to mind the hesitation. He simply leaned back in his chair, watching me carefully. Samson, however, remained silent, though his eyes never left me. I had no idea what was going on or what they were expecting to hear, but the unease in the pit of my stomach began to grow.

The silence stretched on, and I could feel all of their intense gazes on me. What probed this question? Did Alpha Slade come to his senses and say something about I and Lucas's connection to what had happened between the two packs? Little beads of sweat began to form on my forehead. I would be a goner, should they find out about that. The silence grew longer until

Finally, Lucas broke the silence again, his voice still calm but now tinged with more seriousness. “I’m just curious. What’s the connection between you and Slade? You’ve been working with us for a while now, and it’s only fair that I ask.”

I swallowed hard.

“I have no connection with Alpha Slade. Who's Alpha Slade, even. I don't know him. " I lied through my teeth. I heard Samson chuckled

"She's lying. Everybody knows who Slade is. That's like a household name in every pack around here, " He said, but I shook my head, maintaining my stance

Lucas picked up a gift box that was sitting on his desk, fiddling with it for a moment before setting it back down. It seemed like a pointless gesture, but it was the way his eyes kept shifting between me and the box that made me more anxious.

Marcus, who had been silent up until that point, finally spoke up, his voice blunt. "Why are you hesitant?" Lucas didn't answer him. Instead, he focused his attention back on me, his gaze unwavering. He wasn't angry, but there was scepticism with the way he was staring at me now

"I'm going to be straight with you, Dr Denise," he began, his tone still calm, though now there was an edge to it. "Alpha Slade - he's been acting obsessed with you. He wants you so badly that he's been making some bad decisions and trying to start a war with me. " He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk, his eyes narrowing slightly. "He's the one who shot me, and he killed one of my pack members, all because he wanted to prove a point,"

My heart skipped a beat. I was genuinely shocked by everything he just said. I didn't know how to react, how to explain, or what to say. Hadn’t I told Lucian to stop all of this? To leave Slade alone?

"Oh my goodness! That's very unfortunate. I'm sorry you had to go through that, and because of me. I'm really sorry, " I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "I've never had anything to do with him. Or what this obsession you talk about even is or how it came about"

Marcus scoffed from his position across the room. I could see the disbelief in his eyes, the way he didn't buy a word I was saying. It made me feel even smaller, like I was under suspicion for something I didn't even know was happening.

But Lucas, to my surprise, didn't seem to share Marcus's doubt. He met my eyes for a long moment before sitting back in his chair with a sigh. "It's alright, Dr Denise. I believe you, Slade, is one hell of a psycho. So I am not surprised that you don't even know him ," he said, his voice softer now. "You can go. I'll figure things out on my end. Sorry for the inconvenience and indirect accusations. "

I nodded, standing up quickly, eager to leave the tense atmosphere. I gave them one last glance before heading for the door, still processing what had just happened.

As soon as I was in the safety of my room, I reached for my phone. My fingers were trembling as I dialled Lucian's number, waiting for him to pick up.

"Lucian," I said as soon as he answered, my voice rushed. "Didn't I tell you to stop what you're doing with Alpha Slade? Now you've made Lucas suspicious of me. They think there's something between us, that I'm involved in whatever he's doing. They even said he shot Lucas and killed someone over me."

There was a long pause on the other end of the line, and I could hear Lucian breathing, likely thinking through what I'd said.

"I'll need to see you tomorrow," he replied after a moment. "Come to me. We need to talk."

I exhaled, feeling the weight in my chest tighten a little. I had known him for being razz, but I hope he hadn’t made the wrong move because that would cost me a lot.