Chapter 12: Chapter 12

Chapter 12

LUCIUS' POV

After my last encounter with Maia, I couldn't bring myself to face her again. Even Lucian blocked me and would not talk to me. I spent the whole week in my office, burying myself in paperwork.

A knock on the door interrupted my focus.

"Come in!" I exclaimed.

The door opened, and Neal entered.

"It's a full moon tonight. What are you still doing here in your office, Lucius?" Neal asked, sitting on the sofa.

"This is where exactly I should be. I need to finish this paperwork." I replied without looking up from the report I was reading.

"So, when are you planning on freeing your mate? She doesn't seem to be doing well in the attic. She's still a bit pale." he said.

I banged my hand on the table.

"You went to the attic?" I growled.

"Easy now. I just wanted to see if she was telling the truth or not. With Pamela arriving in a week, you need to come up with a perfect explanation on why there is a she-wolf in the attic and why is she not in the dungeons if she is a prisoner?" He replied.

"Cancel her visit. Tell her that I have a lot of work that I need to finish." I ordered.

"I don't think she'd be very happy," he commented.

"Just do it." I instructed.

"How's your investigation going, by the way?" he asked.

"I might have an idea of who it is," I replied.

"Care to share?" he asked, waiting for me to tell him some information.

"I need to confirm something first. Once I have, I'll let you know." I replied.

He stood up from the couch and was about to leave when I stopped him.

"Neal, stay away from the attic." I said.

"Yes, King Alpha." he replied, chuckling.

Once he was gone, I focused on the report that I was reading. After a couple of minutes, my mind drifted to the only evidence connecting the substance in my blood after the attack. I had found a small, empty bottle couple of feet from where I lost consciousness. When I had the pack doctor check what the substance inside the bottle was, she confirmed that it was the same one inside my blood - leprae.

Leprae was a potion that could only be created by a witch. The last time the witches existed was five years ago. I didn't know of any other witches alive up till now. If a rogue had access to a leprae, that could only mean one thing - there was a witch alive somewhere in Cruasia. The last time I had an encounter with a witch, I lost my mother.

My thoughts were once again interrupted by Neal.

'King Alpha, I suggest you start preparing for the full moon. The guards have already locked the castle. The pack doctor has already left your medicine in the black room,' he said through the mind link.

I looked at the time and saw that it was already 7 at night.

'Shit!' I cursed under my breath.

How could I have lost track of time?

I immediately fixed the papers on my desk and headed straight to the black room.

The black room was a modified cell specially made to withhold my strength and keep me locked inside during the full moon. Even though I was always chained to the wall during my shifting, it was very important that I was locked inside. A couple of years ago, I was able to break myself free from the chains. Since the door wasn't locked, I got out and went to the forest. That was when I subconsciously killed a she-wolf.

"King Alpha." Two of my best guards greeted me.

I entered the room and found Neal already waiting.

"Here I thought you weren't coming." he said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Really?" I asked as I shook my head.

"I just thought you would rather stay with your mate." he said.

"We don't even know if she can stop this curse or make it worse. Besides, she does not know about this." I replied.

"I doubt that she will make it worse. She is your mate. Mates are made to calm us down," he said.

"Right now is not the time to experiment. I'm warning you, don't you dare bring her here." I warned him.

"Okay. Okay. Now drink this so I can chain you already." he said.

I took the small vial and drank the medicine for it.

Over the years, the pack doctor was able to create an antibiotic of some sort that helped weaken the strength of the curse. It didn't completely make me weak, but it reduced the strength I got whenever I was under the curse.

I sat on the floor as I waited for Neal as he prepared the wolfsbane. A couple of hours before the full moon, Neal would always inject me enough wolfsbane to weaken me. After the injection, he would chain me with a silver chain soaked in wolfsbane.

The process of getting me ready for the full moon took an hour to two.

"See you tomorrow, champ. Try to keep it down for our visitor," he said with a wink.

"Whatever, ' I scoffed.

After two hours of waiting, the first wave of the curse hit me. About two hours before the full moon, it was usual for my body to start undergoing the process of shifting into the devilish monster I become. It was a much more painful process than a wolf's first shift. I always would feel my bones cracking and extending; and today was not any better. No matter how many times I experienced it, I could not get used to the pain; it was excruciating every damn time. My paws bled when my claws came out. The worst part of it was when the horns on my head came out. It felt like the horns were cracking my head open.

The whole room was filled with my growls and screams.

Whenever I was under the curse, I would not remember what happened. Unless Neal told me about it, I had no memory of what happened.

After the long, excruciating hours of pain, I woke up in my bed.

Wait! Why was I still in my bed?

'Shit! Shit! Shit!' I cursed in my head as I scrambled out of bed.

'Neal!' I yelled through the mind link.

"If you only looked around, there wouldn't be any need for you to scream in my head this early morning." He complained.

I turned around and saw him lying down on my sofa.

"What the hell happened, Neal? Why am I in my room?" I growled.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! Don't get mad at me. Get mad at yourself." he said, getting up from my couch.

I sat on the couch and looked at him.

"What did I do this time?" I asked.

"Do you really want to know?" he asked in return.

I glared at him, and he put his hand up in defense.

"Something happened last night. When you shifted, you were way stronger than before. It's like the wolfsbane,the chain and the medicine had no effect on you. You were banging on the door and you kept yelling for Maia. Even though we had already gassed the room with wolfsbane, it didn't calm you down. When you kept banging on the door, I knew what I had to do. I knew that you would kill me if I let anything happen to Maia, so I let her escape." he explained.

"YOU WHAT!" I growled.

"What was I supposed to do? I can't keep you safe and Maia at the same time. If only you had seen how strong you were the other night, you would have understood. All the guards on watch last night are still in the infirmary." He replied.

"How long have I been out?" I asked.

"Today is the 3rd day," he replied.

I stood up from the couch and glared at him.

"If you don't find her now and something happens to her, I will have your head hanging on my office wall." I threatened him.

He got up from the couch and ran out of my room. The only thing that was running through my head was Maia.

After taking a quick shower, I went to my office, where Neal and the trackers were waiting.

"You better have a location for me, or I will have you all staked." I threatened them.

I heard their heart rates spike up in fear.

"They were able to smell a faint scent of her King Alpha, but the scent was gone when it reached the outskirts of our forest." Neal said.

I let out a sigh and got up from my chair.

"Show me." I ordered, heading towards the doors.

They brought me to the last place they tracked her scent. Even the best tracker had its own limitations. For them, the scent was already gone, but for a King Alpha like me, I could still smell her scent. I dismissed the trackers and instructed Neal to follow me.

'Lucius, I'm really sorry for letting her escape. It was the only option I had. I swear I never meant to put her in any kind of danger.' Neal apologized through the mind link.

'She was there for a reason.' I replied before blocking him in the mind link.

The only thing I had in my head was Maia's safety.