Chapter 364: Golden Orbs
"What did the vampire look like?" Graeme asked quietly as the two males walked through the pack house.
"You were in Violet’s room?" Lucas scrunched his face up, scenting the female on his Alpha. "So did it help with your memory?" he nudged Graeme with his elbow, earning a sharp glare.
"I wasn’t in there for that," Graeme growled. "And I am asking you what the vampire looks like. Obviously my memory is the same as it was."
"That’s a missed opportunity," Lucas mumbled.
Graeme shot his arm out, slamming a hand against the wall next to Lucas so that his thick, veined forearm was blocking the male’s path.
"I have had enough of your smart mouth," he snarled threateningly, leaning in close to the male’s face. "I will not violate my mate bond. Do not speak of it again or you will lose parts of yourself that won’t grow back."
Lucas’ eyes went wide at the sudden explosion of Graeme’s temper. Perhaps he had indeed pushed the topic too far.
"I understand. I’m sorry, Graeme. I was just trying to help," he put up his hands in a show of submission.
"By suggesting I hurt my mate? Have you already forgotten what it was like to have one?" Graeme growled.
Lucas swallowed hard, a shadow of pain passing over his features. "No," he choked out. "I just—I thought you had."
"I still feel her," Graeme withdrew his arm. "I just can’t remember... anything about her. Or about us," his voice faltered at the end, and he cleared his throat as he started down the staircase toward the front door once again tonight.
"That would be hell. I can’t imagine," Lucas said quietly, following him. "Your mate is... spectacular, Alpha," he added, remembering how August had defended herself when she was surrounded by him and the other guards in the woods when they were instructed by the elders to bring her in. "I do not wish for her to be hurt or harmed, forgive me. She is a true Luna. She... visibly glows with the presence of your heir in her womb. She is strong and brave and if anyone can stop that bastard vampire, it is her," he nodded with the conviction of this truth. "The Goddess has chosen for you wisely."
Graeme huffed the rest of his frustration toward Lucas out of his nose. "I appreciate that," he said gruffly, feeling both pride and the painful longing for his own memories.
"If you are concerned the vampire has returned, I don’t imagine he would sneak around in the shadows. He seems like someone who goes straight for what he wants," Lucas told him.
"What does he look like?" Graeme asked again, seeing the golden orbs from Violet’s room in his mind. It had to have been his imagination, but he needed to be sure there wasn’t someone else trespassing on their land.
"He had dark hair and eyes, tall and thin, wearing black. Pretty vampirish in appearance, I guess," Lucas recalled. "Why are we checking around the pack house?"
"I thought I saw something outside Violet’s room, but I’m not convinced. It could have just been... a play of light. What do you know about what happened to her?" he asked, looking around to make sure no one was in the vicinity.
"Violet?" he asked. "I don’t know anything."
"It seems like a very long story—one she probably would not want everyone knowing. But someone might be after her," Graeme told him.
That sounded like a typical Violet predicament, Lucas thought, though he didn’t voice the cynical opinion. Perhaps she really was hurt. "What did you see?" his eyebrows pinched together in question.
Graeme arrived at the front door, looking out the side windows to see if anyone was around in the yard. "Golden eyes," he said distractedly.
"Like August’s?" Lucas asked.
Graeme’s eyes snapped to Lucas, but he didn’t respond.
"Have you considered that Violet may be lying? She is not exactly the most honorable female in the pack," Lucas mumbled.
"I had thought of it, yes, but I don’t believe she is lying. Her fear is genuine. Plus, it would not explain what I saw," Graeme replied. "Are you healed enough to do this?"
"Yes, sire," Lucas replied without hesitation.
Graeme opened the front door and both males slipped through onto the front deck. Graeme nodded, and they both shifted into their wolves before taking off in separate directions around the perimeter of the pack house before arriving back at the front. Lucas snorted, shaking his head to indicate that he found nothing.
Graeme shifted back. "Me either," he said, grabbing his clothes from the deck. "Not even a strange scent. Perhaps it was just my imagination."
Lucas shifted back more slowly, groaning as he did and clutching his side where his ribs were not yet healed. "Maybe it’s the story Violet has been feeding you. Is she trying to turn you against your mate?" he asked, slipping back into his clothes with some difficulty. It couldn’t be a coincidence that the boogey man had gold eyes, could it?
"I should not have asked this of you in your state," Graeme grimaced, watching the pain Lucas was in.
"No, I’m fine," Lucas said through clenched teeth. "I will always run with you, Alpha."
Graeme nodded his thanks. Lucas surprised him. Clearly whatever had occurred these last few months had changed the dynamic between them. He would have imagined Lucas resisting Graeme’s return and claim to leadership.
"Thanks for your help," Graeme said, silently considering the question Lucas asked about Violet trying to turn him against his mate. She had asked Graeme not look for her—to just let August go. She even went as far as to suggest that August was trying to manipulate him for power. "I should return to check on Violet," he mumbled.
"Can I make a suggestion?" Lucas asked, leaning against the wall as he continued to clutch his side.
Graeme stopped and waited to hear what the male had to say.
"If she is truly injured, have the healer or Sylvia stay with her," Lucas gritted his teeth, feeling the way his ribs were shifting to realign. "She will take advantage of your attention and this situation now that August is gone. Everyone in the pack knows how Violet is, always craving attention—especially yours. Somehow she continually finds herself as the victim. Don’t let her get in your head."
"I understand what you’re saying, Lucas," Graeme replied. "I will take it under consideration."
