Chapter 4: The Hunt Begins
1257 Words
-Lucian-
I found myself back in the dining hall. Everyone else had already gathered here except Angela, who spent all her time with her mother, offering whatever help she could.
Angela always had her meals brought to her. Sometimes one of us would deliver it, ensuring she had company. I hadn’t seen much of her lately. I used to think Angela was the one who got away, but now I realized I had no idea what I was talking about.
She paled in comparison to my fiery little beta, who seemed to enjoy evading me. But she wouldn’t get far. Cecilia would be mine, without a doubt.
“Lucian, you took your time,” Valerio teased.
I simply smiled and took a seat. I wasn’t particularly hungry, but I decided to give my mate a head start because when I pursued her, there would be nowhere for her to escape.
“Wait, where’s Cecilia?” Lara inquired, scanning the table.
“I scared her off,” I remarked.
Lara shot me an annoyed look, while some of the others chuckled. They probably thought I had attempted to seduce her, and while that wasn’t entirely untrue, my intentions were different. I didn’t want her in my bed for a quick fling. I wanted her there because she belonged there.
“Dammit, Lucian!” Lara exclaimed. “Do you know how hard it was to persuade her to come here?”
“Easy now, little luna. He probably didn’t even realize it was her,” James interjected, finding the situation amusing.
“I didn’t,” I confirmed.
“So you just flirt with any unfamiliar females who stumble into the castle?” Lara asked.
“Apparently so.”
This elicited laughter from some of the males around the table, but others didn’t seem as amused. I wasn’t ready to reveal Cecilia’s significance to me just yet. I needed to win over my little mate before sharing the news with everyone else, so I let them believe what they wanted.
“You’re going to fix this!” Lara insisted, pointing at me.
“Me?” I feigned innocence, inwardly smiling. Perhaps Lara would grant me access to the house after all. This hunt was going to be a breeze.
“Relax, Lara,” Selene intervened. “Anyone here could have inadvertently scared her away.”
“I know, but getting her here was no small feat!” Lara retorted.
“Perhaps it was too soon,” Selene mused.
“Too soon?! She’s been confined to that house since joining the pack!” Lara exclaimed. “She needs to interact with others. Don’t you want to see her out and about again?”
“Of course, I do,” Selene conceded. “I want my daughter to know who she’s named after, but we can’t force her.”
“Pushing her is exactly what we need to do, or she’ll never leave the house,” Lara insisted.
Selene shook her head with a smile, indicating she was finished discussing the matter. Lara turned her attention back to me, our eyes locking.
“I’ll bring her back, and you’ll apologize,” she declared.
“Apologize?” I chuckled. I had no intention of apologizing. If anything, she owed me an apology for running from me once I caught her.
“Exactly!” Lara affirmed.
“For what?” I feigned ignorance.
“For whatever you said that frightened her off,” Lara explained.
“She was the one sneaking around the castle. Why didn’t you keep an eye on her or warn me?” I countered.
“A warning?!”
I nodded, smiling smugly. It was rather amusing to be the only one who knew about Cecilia and me.
“You’re the one who brought her here,” I pointed out.
“Yes, and you scared her off. Now you have to fix it.”
“She’s quite cautious, isn’t she?” I inquired, hoping to glean more insight.
“She is, indeed,” Lara confirmed.
“Why?” I asked.
“Well, she had a mate once.”
“And?” I pressed.
“One who left her,” Lara clarified.
“I gathered that much, but who was he?” I probed.
Lara shrugged. “I’m not sure,” she admitted, turning to her sister.
Her sister raised her hands, looking bewildered. “I don’t know either. She didn’t share many details with me. Just that he left her for someone else.”
“I see...”
“Yes, so don’t try any of your tricks on her,” Lara warned, now brandishing a butter knife and pointing it in my direction.
“Or are you planning to stab me?” I joked.
“Stab you, cut you, throw it at you... I haven’t decided yet,” she retorted with a smile.
I glanced at James, surprised, but he simply shrugged, seeming somewhat proud of his mate.
“You should know better than to provoke my mate,” he remarked.
“I didn’t provoke her. I provoked her beta,” I corrected, offering Lara a smile.
Lara narrowed her eyes. “And if you provoke any member of my pack, I will stab you.”
“Aha, so you’re going to stab me after all,” I teased.
She shook her head, though a smile tugged at her lips, indicating she couldn’t be too upset with me if I could make her smile.
“Don’t try to distract me,” she cautioned, still using the knife to point at me. “Your charm doesn’t work on me.”
“So I have a lot of charm?” I quipped, eliciting laughter from a few.
Lara and I continued our banter, teasing each other, and I found myself glad I had decided to join dinner tonight, or else I wouldn’t have crossed paths with a certain someone.
“Fine, fine,” I relented. “I’ll make amends.”
“No, don’t say it like that,” Lara insisted.
“What?”
“Like that! Like you’ll use your flirty eyes and charming smile on her. That’s what scared her off in the first place!” she exclaimed.
“So I can’t even smile?” I asked.
“No! You need to look bored.”
“Bored?” I inquired.
“And uninterested,” she added.
“You have quite a list of rules,” I remarked.
Lara smiled and nodded. “Cecilia is like... a stray dog. She won’t just come running to you, trusting you. She needs time and space.”
But I wasn’t going to give either to her. Time and space? No way. She was my mate, and she needed to realize soon that I wasn’t letting her go. I had never encountered a female who could drive me as crazy as she did by telling me to go away. It was precisely the wrong thing to say because now I wanted her even more.
“I thought you said she needed to be pushed,” I pointed out.
“Not by you!” Lara exclaimed.
“It’s all very confusing.”
I shook my head, and Lara groaned in annoyance. Then, a little furball that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere leaped onto my lap, startling me. She gazed over the table with hungry eyes, taking it all in. I ran my hand down her head, and she looked up at me.
“Well done,” I whispered, finally understanding why she needed me to follow her.
- Writer
