TEN

Lucius pov

The moment Titus ran away, the so-called Luna slowed down until we walked side by side. She did her best to rub herself against me. When she tried to place her hand in mine, I took a step to the side and glared at her. 

Maybe she understood me, maybe not, but once she opened her mouth, I realized she was very well aware of everything she was doing. “Oh, don’t be like that. I’m somewhat human and loneliness without my Alpha around has its toll on me. I just want some company.” 

Sure, to someone else, she might sound like a lonely woman, but in my eyes, she was nothing but a power-hungry mutt. She didn’t have an Alpha, she wasn’t a Luna and there was no saying whose child she was carrying. If she was carrying any. 

“I will show you the Alpha suite. You will fall in love with the bed, it’s so comfortable, like clouds,” she beamed as she opened the door to the massive building and let me inside first. 

Just like in the rest of the territory, I didn’t hear any sounds. If there were half as many pups as this woman claimed they housed, at least one of them would have trouble sleeping. 

Now, my suspicions were becoming worse and the only answers I wanted was where she hid the children. The issue was that I couldn’t break my cover and just start questioning her in perfect English out of the blue. 

At least not until my men reported if they found anything. 

To my great displeasure, I followed her upstairs and inside the bedroom she called the Alpha suite. It was everything but a suite. In fact, the room had nothing but a shitty closet and a massive bed. 

I never liked looking down at anyone, regardless of where they stood in our society, but I couldn’t help the frown that appeared on my face when I noticed the state of the said bed. The sheets were covered in blood and dirt, probably no one had bothered to wash and change them in months, if not years. 

The stench in this place wasn’t even a hint better than those sheets. From the outside, the building looked expensive and well kept, but behind closed doors was nothing but filth. 

My eyes caught movement to my right. I turned my head to see that while I was busy trying not to vomit because of the stench and view, she had managed to change. She was, in fact, very damn pregnant and now wore nothing but lingerie that was just as dirty as the sheets on her bed. 

Slowly, she made her way to the bed, sat on it and spread her legs, flashing the little bit of fabric she could show off under her swollen belly.

“Come on, Russian, the snack is served. Drop to your knees and get to devouring,” she smirked. 

A part of me was wondering if she would dare to act like this if she knew who I was. 

But did it matter? Probably not, she was so stuck in delusions, she lost the ability to tell good from bad. 

I didn’t move a muscle. Instead, I raised an eyebrow and gave her ‘are you fucking kidding me’ look. Her response was giggling and some encouraging words. 

Words that I never thought a woman would know, especially one who pretended to be of higher ranks. To be honest, I was pretty sure that even some sailors would pale at her knowledge. 

“Come on, don’t stand there like a bitch, show me what a big, great brawny brute is capable of. I have heard plenty of stories about the Alphas from overseas and they are rumored to be great lovers. Prove me right.” 

I almost broke and cursed the woman out of her skin, but thankfully, I was stopped by Titus nudging at the mind-link. 

“This better be good because I’m enjoying how a filthy bitch in dirty underwear is trying to seduce me.” I snapped at him before Titus had a chance to utter a word. 

I could feel how he fought himself not to laugh at my misery, but I knew I would get back at him soon enough, so I didn’t mind this one, feeble victory he had over me. 

“But this is good.” 

I waited for more, but since he didn’t add more information, it was clear Titus wanted to be questioned, so once again, I gave in. “Details, Titus.”

“You were right.”

“As I am for most part when it comes to lowlife scums, but do tell me more.” 

I knew that the woman was getting annoyed by my silence, I could nearly feel her rage warm up the air around us, so I needed to get down to the bottom of this mess as soon as possible. 

“Only two adults. The man at the border is nowhere to be seen. This territory is very small, ridiculously so compared to other packs so it took no time for us to check everything. And I mean every building, room, places to hide, we checked EVERYTHING, Lucius. Nothing. I suspect he took off shortly after our arrival. The woman is the only one left.” 

I wanted to scream and tear her to pieces. How was it possible that all of a sudden, there was nothing left? Where did they take the kids? 

“Pups?” I forced out the word, fearing the worst. 

After a moment of silence, Titus sighed and I already knew what was coming. This had to be one of those times I fucking hated being right. 

“Gone, Lucius. I’m sorry, we came too late.” 

“Gather the men in front of the pack house. Hand out the torches, we’re burning this shithole to the ground.” I growled at Titus and blocked him out. 

As I regained clear vision, the woman still sat on the bed, legs spread wide, but now, she was fully exposed. I noticed a couple of bruises all over her skin which looked more like the aftermath of needles than any abuse. No wonder she was so detached from reality - she was a user. 

I stepped closer to her and leaned down to come face to face with her. “Where are the kids?” I spat the words at her with so much hatred, she flinched. 

“Y-you don’t know English,” she stuttered. 

The laugher that left my lips was as wicked as her actions. I sounded like a man who was losing his soul, not someone who was about to rid the planet of another parasite. 

Stuck in the state of shock, she kept stuttering as I grabbed her upper arm and dragged her outside where my men and Titus already were waiting. 

“Lucius, they found more people, no children. They were hiding in the forest, all admitted helping her,” Titus called out. 

“You know what to do.” I replied coldly. 

One by one, they set the buildings on fire while the little number of criminals we caught were screaming and pleading. After the crimes they had committed, death in fire was far from the worst punishment I could think of. 

In less than ten minutes, the entire estate was on fire. As I watched the destruction before my eyes, the woman next to me started crying. “Burn her! Burn them all!” I roared and pushed her towards them. 

I didn’t listen to her pleas as they tied her to the pole and started tossing stuff at her feet to use as firewoods. If she was so adamant to act like a witch, we would deal with her as one. 

The wind grew stronger, encouraging the fire to spread with more force, but along with that came the hint of the most intoxicating scent I’ve ever encountered. It reminded me of coffee on winter mornings with a slight hint of Orchid. 

My beast was raging within me, fighting to gain control and the more aggressive he grew, the harder I was hit with reality. She was here, close, possibly watching me. Mate.