Chapter 81: Chapter 81: He knows something
Alina’s POV
"Lucian!"
My voice tore through the quiet of the woods, raw and cracking. I stumbled over a fallen branch, my vision blurred by tears, but I kept running, kept screaming his name into the empty trees.
Sammy caught me by the arm, pulling me to a halt. "Alina, stop. We need to go back. This place isn’t safe for you."
"I am not leaving!" I yanked my arm out of his grip, my chest heaving. "Not until Lucian comes back."
"We will find him," Sammy said, keeping his voice steady, though his eyes darted to the dark treeline. "The rogues are searching endlessly. He will be found, okay? Don’t worry."
His words buzzed in my ears, completely meaningless. I didn’t want reassurances. I wanted Lucian.
Footsteps crunched on the dry leaves. Ragnar emerged from the shadows, his expression grim. He looked at Sammy, then at me, and shook his head. "We can’t find him."
Blood rushed to my ears. I clenched my fists, marched straight up to Ragnar, and threw a punch directly into his face.
His head snapped back.
"Where is Lucian?!" I screamed at him.
Sammy grabbed me around the waist, dragging me backward before I could swing again. "Alina, stop! Ragnar wouldn’t lie about this. Lucian is like his brother."
"I don’t care!" I thrashed against Sammy’s hold. "I just want him back!"
"We found something!" a voice shouted from deeper in the thicket.
The argument cut short. We ran toward the shout, pushing through the dense brush until we reached a small clearing. One of the searchers stood there, holding up a piece of fabric.
It was Lucian’s shirt. Torn to shreds and stained with dirt.
The ground disappeared from under me. I collapsed onto my knees, a sound ripping from the depths of my chest. It wasn’t a sob—it was a guttural, agonizing growl. Inside me, my wolf roared out in pure torment, a sound so hollow and unnatural that the surrounding rogues instinctively stepped back, their faces pale.
I clawed at the dirt, tears streaming down my face. "Sammy... we need to find him. I know he’s alive. He’s somewhere."
"Maybe Aiden got to him," someone muttered from the crowd. "Maybe he’s being held captive."
The name acted like cold water. I wiped the tears from my face with the back of my hand and forced myself to stand. My hands curled into tight fists. "I won’t let Aiden hurt him. I’m going there."
Sammy stepped in front of me, blocking my path. "Alina, no. It’s too dangerous. I’ll go myself."
"No," I said, looking him dead in the eye. "Lucian is in this mess because of me. I am the one who needs to find him."
Ragnar wiped a drop of blood from his lip, his eyes narrowed. "Lucian is fine. Nothing will happen to him. No one can harm him."
I stared at Ragnar, a cold weight settling in my stomach. His voice was too calm. Too certain. I gave him a hard, suspicious look. "You better hope what you’re saying is true."
Turning back to my brother, I gritted my teeth. "If you’re coming, come now. I’m bringing Lucian back."
We didn’t waste another second. A group of the rogues fell into formation behind Sammy and me as we marched toward Aiden’s mansion.
The moment the iron gates of the estate came into view, the guards moved to block the entrance, their bodies tense. I didn’t care about them. I stepped onto the front lawn and screamed at the house.
"Aiden! Get out here!"
The security guards moved closer, but I didn’t back down. "Come out and face me!"
The heavy front doors swung open. Aiden walked out onto the porch. A smug smile grew on his face the moment he saw me standing there. He walked down the steps casually, completely unbothered.
The second he stepped within arm’s reach, I swung my hand and slapped him hard across the face.
The crack echoed in the open yard. Aiden’s head turned, his smile instantly vanishing, replaced by a dark, angry scowl. He clamped his jaw shut, his eyes flashing.
"Where the hell is Lucian?" I demanded.
Aiden let out a harsh, jagged laugh. He rubbed his reddening cheek, looking down at me. "Is that why you’re here? Lucian isn’t here. I have no idea where he is."
"You’re a liar," I spat. "Tell me where he is."
Aiden looked at me, a slow smirk creeping back onto his lips. "If I had Lucian captive, Alina, I would have killed him publicly in front of everyone. I wouldn’t hide it. I’m telling you the truth. I have no clue where he is."
I opened my mouth to yell at him again, but a sudden feeling washed over me. Deep down, my wolf stirred, sending a sharp wave of intuition through my mind.
He isn’t lying.
My breath hitched, sharp and unsteady, like my lungs had suddenly forgotten how to work,everything inside me shifted out of place at once.
If Aiden didn’t have him... then where the fuck was he?
Sammy grabbed my shoulder, gently but firmly pulling me back a step. "Alina, let’s go. We’re wasting time here."
I couldn’t move. My legs felt like lead, rooted to the spot as my mind raced. If Aiden didn’t have him, then the torn cloth in the woods meant something else. Someone else. I glanced back at Ragnar, who was watching Aiden with a strange, unreadable expression. No panic. No real worry. Just a cold, calculating stillness.
He knows something, my wolf whispered inside my head, the suspicion curling in slowly at first—quiet, almost careful—before tightening into something far more dangerous.
A sickening certainty settled in my chest.
Not guesswork. Not paranoia.
Truth, or something dangerously close to it.
"Alina," Sammy urged, his grip tightening. "Now."
I swallowed the lump in my throat, forced my fists to unclench, and took a step back. I kept my eyes locked on Aiden, refusing to let him see the sheer terror clawing at my chest. "This isn’t over," I muttered.
