Chapter 3 Blood and bonds

Lucien's side screamed with pain, blood soaking his torn shirt, but he forced himself upright, the alley's mud sucking at his boots. The storm raged, lightning cracking the sky, its ozone tang sharp in his nose. Amara's scent,wildflowers and starlight,faded in the rain, but it pulled him like a chain, her absence a blade in his chest.

His wolf howled, tearing at him, frantic to find her, to find them Kael's silver eyes, Lira's curls, Soren's distant gaze. The creature's red eyes haunted him, its screech echoing, and he clutched his wound, claws pricking his palm. Kael's plea, staring from the darkness, burned in his mind. His children. His pack. He'd tear the underworld apart to reach them.

"Lucien!" Dax sprinted through the rain, his dark eyes wide, his blade gleaming under a flickering neon sign,Crimson Den.

"What the hell happened? You're bleeding like a slaughtered hog!"

"Doesn't matter," Lucien growled, his silver eyes glowing, his voice rough as gravel. "She's here. Amara. With the kids." Saying it made it real, and his chest ached, raw and unfamiliar.

Three years of visions,Kael, Lira, Soren, their cries sharp, begging, "Find us, Father."

He'd woken from a coma three years ago, the magical storm's haze choking him, only to find her gone, her name erased, his pack swearing she'd never existed. A curse, they'd said. A hallucination. But he'd seen her, felt her, his wolf claiming her as his.

Dax frowned, his grip tightening on his blade, rain dripping from his dark hair. "Amara? The surrogate? Boss, you said she wasn't real. After that storm, you were out of it..."

"She's real," Lucien snapped, his Alpha command surging, making Dax flinch, his knees buckling. "I saw her, Dax. Her green eyes, her defiance. And the kids..mine. Silver eyes, like me." His voice cracked, and he hated it, the weakness, but Kael's fear, Lira's whimper, Soren's strange calm,they were his, and he'd failed them in that alley.

"Lucien, you're half-dead," Dax said, stepping closer, his voice low, wary. "You need a healer. Let me call the pack. We'll scour this hellhole."

"No," Lucien said, his voice a snarl, claws extending. "This is mine." His children, his mate...though he'd never said it aloud. Three years ago, in the Oracle's chamber, her scent had driven him mad, her defiance a fire he wanted to tame.

He'd been cold then, a king of blood and fear, but she'd changed him, and he hadn't admitted it until she was gone. Now, she was here, running, and something...someone...wanted her dead.

Dax raised his hands, blade glinting.

"Alright, boss, but you're scaring me. Bleeding, talking about ghosts,where are we going?"

"Her scent," Lucien said, stumbling toward the warehouse district, the neon signs fading behind them. The air reeked of wet stone and blood, the underworld's alleys twisting like veins. Her scent was faint, mixed with fear, and something else,magic, sharp, unfamiliar.

"She's close. I can feel them."

"Them?" Dax asked, jogging to keep up, his boots splashing. "The kids? Lucien, you're not making sense. You said they vanished after the storm. No records, no proof"

"They're real!" Lucien roared, rounding on him, his silver eyes blazing. Dax froze, his blade half-raised, and Lucien's chest heaved, pain lancing his side.

"I saw them, Dax. Kael, Lira, Soren. My blood. My pack. Someone's after them,a creature, not a wolf, not a vampire. Red eyes, claws like obsidian. It's not natural."

Dax's jaw tightened, his dark eyes searching Lucien's face.

"Okay, I believe you. But a creature like that? Sounds like Oracle shit. You sure this Amara's worth it? She ran, boss. Left you to die."

"She didn't," Lucien said, his voice low, dangerous, his wolf snarling. "She was protecting them. I saw it in her eyes,fear, not for herself, but for them."

He remembered her in the alley, her green eyes fierce, shielding the triplets, her voice cracking,

"If you take us back, it'll destroy everything." What did she mean? The underworld? His empire? His heart twisted, a mix of fury and need. He wanted her safe, wanted her close, and wanted answers.

They reached the warehouse district, its crumbling buildings looming like ghosts in the storm. Amara's scent grew stronger, sharp and sweet, and Lucien's pulse raced.

"This way," he said, leading Dax to a rusted door, splintered and swaying. The warehouse smelled of damp wood and oil, moonlight spilling through a shattered skylight, casting jagged shadows.

"She was here," Lucien said, his voice soft, claws retracting as he stepped inside. The floor was scorched, crates shattered, and a symbol glowed on the wall,a crescent moon crossed with a star. His blood ran cold. Celestian. A race wiped out by the Oracle, their legends whispered in fear, their power tied to moon and stars.

"What the hell's that?" Dax asked, his voice tight, his blade raised, eyeing the symbol. "Looks like witch work, but... wrong."

"It's not witch," Lucien said, his voice low, his silver eyes fixed on the symbol. "It's Celestian. Extinct. Or so we thought."

Amara wasn't human. He'd known it, deep down, when she'd resisted his Alpha command, her green eyes unyielding, her scent too pure. Was she one of them? A myth made flesh? His wolf growled, possessive, protective, and he hated how much he wanted her, even now.

"Celestian?" Dax said, his voice skeptical, stepping closer. "Boss, that's fairy-tale shit. You're saying she's some lost race? Come on, you're hurt, seeing things..."

"I'm not seeing things!" Lucien snapped, his voice shaking the walls, his claws flashing. "She's real, Dax. The kids are real. And this symbol...it's hers. She's hiding something, and I need to know what." He knelt, ignoring the pain in his side, and found a trapdoor, its edges glowing faintly with runes. Her scent was stronger, mixed with Kael's fear, Lira's warmth, Soren's... strangeness.

"Lucien, this feels like a trap," Dax said, his eyes scanning the shadows, his blade steady. "That symbol, this place...it's not right. You go in there, you might not come out."

Then stay here," Lucien growled, prying the trapdoor open, his claws scraping metal. A tunnel yawned below, dark and damp, its walls carved with pulsing runes. He dropped inside, his boots hitting stone, the air cold and heavy. The runes' glow cast eerie light, and he remembered the coma...waking to silence, his pack's confusion, Amara's name a ghost. The visions had started then, the triplets' cries, their faces clear now,Kael's silver eyes, Lira's curls, Soren's distant gaze. He'd find them, no matter the cost.

"Lucien, wait!" Dax called, dropping after him, his voice echoing. "You're not doing this alone. If you're right, we're walking into a shitstorm."

"Then keep your blade ready," Lucien said, his voice low, moving forward. The tunnel twisted, the runes flaring, and a child's cry echoed, faint but sharp.

"Kael?" he called, his voice rough, his heart leaping. The cry came again, and he ran, pain forgotten, Dax's footsteps behind him.

"Boss, slow down!" Dax shouted, his voice tense. "You're bleeding out! What if it's a trick?"

"It's them," Lucien said, his voice fierce, his silver eyes glowing. "I feel them, Dax. My kids. My..." He stopped, the word mate catching in his throat. Amara wasn't his, not really, but his wolf claimed her, had claimed her three years ago in the Oracle's chamber, her scent driving him mad.

"They're close," he said instead, pushing forward.

The tunnel split, and Amara's scent sharpened, mixed with fear and magic. "Amara!" he bellowed, his voice shaking the stone, his wolf desperate. A scream pierced the dark,her scream, raw and terrified,and his blood froze. The runes flared, a magical barrier shimmering ahead, its light stinging his eyes.

"Amara, hold on!" he shouted, slamming his claws into the barrier, sparks flying. It held, pulsing with power, and Dax grabbed his arm, pulling him back.

"Lucien, stop!" Dax said, his voice urgent. "That's Oracle magic. You break it, you might bring this place down!"

"I don't care," Lucien growled, his claws slashing again, blood dripping. "She's in there, Dax. With my kids. I'm not losing them again." Amara's scream echoed, fainter, and a cold voice laughed, the same from the warehouse..."You're too late, Alpha."

His heart stopped, fear and fury choking him.