Chapter 126

Mira

The boy looked like a young man, but there was no mistaking it was Julian.

My whole body vibrated with the knowledge that I had found the one I came to seek and to save. I had kept it to myself, but a big part of me wondered if Julian would even be here or if I had joined the crooked cause for nothing.

But now I was reassured that I was at least in the right place. Nothing would happen immediately, but I had found him.

And he knew me.

When our eyes met, it was like looking at a caged animal. His body was healthy, he was bulkier and had more muscle definition. I guessed that Malachi’s henchmen had a strict diet and exercise regime, and I only hope they weren’t bumping this teenager full of hormones and steroids.

Though, given this place, that probably wasn’t the worst thing he was exposed to.

Almost as quickly as we saw each other, he dropped his eyelids and stepped away and back into the lineup in the shadows. I couldn’t help myself as my eyes followed him, so far that I almost turned my body to watch him go.

Malachi was watching me.

“Julius is an excellent beta, I must say.”

My eyes shot over to him as he spoke. Did he mess up Julian's name on purpose, or did he change it?

“I’m really so proud to see how far he’s come,” Malachi went on, “he was such a troubled soul when we found him and rescued him.”

“Rescued?”

“Of course, that is one thing we do here,” he said, almost offended that I didn’t know what he was talking about. “So many young people feel lost in the world, perhaps never felt they belonged in their Pack, born into the wrong family or station.”

He was so earnest, spoke with such conviction, that I almost believed what he was saying. I could see how he could manipulate people and procedures to suit the narrative he was selling. But, of course, I knew the truth of it.

“The youth are… troubled, yes,” I said to Malachi, trying to stay on his good side.

“Exactly,” he nodded, pleased with me. I wondered if he would give me a treat for being an obedient pet. “Such a big part of my research has been tied to rehabilitation. How can we rewire and reset the misfirings in our minds, and our deeper souls? I believe there is a future that won’t involve such suffering.”

“What was he suffering from, if I might ask?”

Lucian was gripping his utensils like weapons as he listened to Malachi speak. I tried to give him a look that told him to keep it together, but he wouldn’t meet my eyes.

“Oh, so many things can alter the trajectory of a young werewolf,” Malachi answered, always slightly vague. “Even ennui could send a vulnerable pup into a downward spiral of delinquency, or debauchery. Young people need the proper guidance and treatments or regimes that will help them meet their full potential.”

“And you are the one to provide them with that ‘guidance?’”

Lucian’s mouth was twisted like he tasted something sour.

“I think I am, yes,” Malachi said.

He raised his glass before taking a long sip of wine. His eyes remained on Lucian as he drank, then closed as he savored the taste. The entire display was sensual and unnerving.

“And you think Mira can help you?”

“Mira,” he said, something eerie in the way he pronounced it, “is more capable than she realizes at changing the future. I have known this about her for a long time.”

I couldn’t help but blush under his gaze as he talked about me. Was there some spell he was casting when he spoke?

“A long time,” Lucian repeated, “because you kidnapped her when she was younger?”

Malachi’s face twitched, but he tuned his head slowly.

“Careful,” he said, ice in his words, “you shouldn’t speak of things you do not understand.”

Lucian thought of protesting, but something seemed to stop his tongue from speaking.

Malachi looked back at me. “I saved her.”

My body shivered in response, and I took a sip of wine to cover it. This man made me feel so exposed and vulnerable, always a little on edge about what he might say or reveal next. But I was also addicted to the revelation. The truth could hurt, but at least the feeling was real.

After dinner, Lucian and I were escorted back to our room. It was said because we might get lost, but I knew it was to prevent our snooping around. I was too tired to care, and grateful for the bed waiting for me.

Lucian was restless, sitting up in the corner chair for a while. He went between staring at his phone and staring out the window, huffing his disdain. Finally, he made his way to his own bed and I heard and felt the light go out.

He sighed heavily, almost a sob.

“Lucian?”

I heard a sharp intake of breath. “I’m sorry if I kept you awake,” he said, sounding sad. “I’m obviously not able to relax here.”

“I know, I’m sorry,” I said into the darkness, “I shouldn’t have brought you here—“

“No, Mira, don’t say that,” he said quickly, “I’m glad you did.”

“I’m glad I did too.”

It was quiet again, each of us lost in our own thoughts.

“Are you sure you want to stay here? I’m not sure I can just leave you…”

“I know, but I have to,” I told him.

“You don’t have to go back, to the Pack,” he said, his voice sounding a little sleepier. “We could go somewhere else, get far away from this place.”

My eyes blinked open, only to be met by the same darkness from when they were closed. Of course I had thought of that, an escape plan off the grid if my position became too compromised. Hiding out somewhere might be safer than bringing danger back to the Pack.

But I had not thought that I would run away with someone, and not Lucian of all people. Some time had passed and I hadn’t answered, and then I didn’t know how to.

“I need to stay, to see this through,” I whispered, unsure of myself. “This is my Fate.”

“Mmm, Fate,” Lucian mumbled from the other side of the room. “Can’t forget our friend Fate.”

He sounded sarcastic, an eye-roll in his tired voice. I exhaled and closed my eyes again, hoping he would forget his proposal by the morning.

“Good night, Lucian,” I said, putting an end to late-night chatter.

“Good night, Mira,” he said back to me. “I love you.”