Chapter 25: Chapter 25

Chapter 25- Rogue

LUCIUS' POV

After every full moon, it would take me at least three days to fully recover from the involuntary shifting. It would always take up all my energy, and I would end up being unconscious for the next couple of days.

When I first shifted during the full moon, I was unconscious for a whole week, and Neal and the pack doctor thought I was in a coma. It was so painful that it took my body that long to heal.

As soon as I woke up, Neal told me about what had happened. It turned out that even they had noticed changes during my shift.

"What changes are you talking about?" I asked.

"Your shift is becoming stronger each time. I do have some theory, but it is just a theory until proven," the pack doctor explained.

I looked at Neal and then back at the doctor.

"What is your theory?" I asked.

The doctor looked at Neal and waited until Neal gave her the approval.

"I think this has something to do with your mate, King Alpha," she said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"If you think about it, remember your first outbreak? It happened when Maia first arrived. Ever since that day, your shifts are becoming stronger and stronger. The antidote that the doctor has made is starting to lose its effect on you. Even the silver chains that have been soaked in wolfsbane are becoming useless. You just keep ripping them off yourself like they are just normal chains. We already wrapped 20 thick chains on you the other night, but it was still not enough. You are getting stronger, and the only reasonable theory we have is your mate," Neal added.

I sat down behind my desk and thought about their theory.

"So, how can we test if this theory of yours is correct?" I asked, looking sternly at them.

"It would require you to tell her about your curse," Neal replied.o t

"No!" I growled.

"There is no other way to test this theory, Lucius. Besides, are you just going to hide this from her forever?" he asked.

"Yes. I will keep this away from her until we find a cure or a way to undo this curse," I said.

"She's already asking questions, Lucius. I don't know how much longer I can keep her away from the truth," he argued.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"When you were thrashing around last night, I was worried that you might escape the chains just like last time. So, I went to check up on Maia. I found her awake. She heard your growls and got scared. I pretended that I did not hear anything in the hope of her letting it go. Unfortunately, she did not. Luckily, I was ahead of her. I told everyone in the castle that if she asks them about the growls, they will tell her that they heard nothing," he explained.

"Did she ask around?" I asked, intrigued by the information he told me.

"She did. You should have seen her face when I told her that I did not visit her the night before. She looked broken. She must be thinking that she is going crazy. I don't want to keep lying to her," he replied.

'You are doing an awesome job at being an asshole mate,' Lucian scoffed,

I let out a sigh and sat back in the chair.

"Try to upgrade the antidote, doctor. We need to test it before the next full moon," I instructed.

"Yes, King Alpha," she replied.

"Update me once the new antidote is good for testing," I said before dismissing her.

"Are you just going to keep her in the dark, Lucius?" Neal asked as soon as the doctor left.

"I don't have a choice, Neal. Do you think she will come running to me when she sees my demonic face?" I replied with a question.

When he did not reply, I scoffed.

"Just as I thought so," I said before heading outside.

I was about to go back to my room when Maia's scent hit my nose. I stopped by her room and slowly opened the door.

She was laying down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. She seemed to be lost in her thoughts because she did not notice my presence at all. Well, not until I laid beside her and asked her what she was thinking about.

I listened to her as she talked about how she thought she was going crazy. As much as I wanted to tell her that she was not, I couldn't. I didn't want her to find out about my curse. She might flat-out reject me once she sees me looking like a monster. Unfortunately, my plan of comforting her turned out to be fired back at me.

"Don't you get it, Lucius? I don't want to be here anymore. How long are you going to keep me here? If you can't let Pamela go, then please let me go," she asked.

I sat up and looked her straight in the eye.

"Why do you keep asking me to let you go? Don't you really want me? Is it something that Uriah said?" I asked.

When she almost rejected me in the garden, I wanted to mark her right there and then.

"Don't you see it? I don't belong here. I never did," she said.

"Why do you keep saying that?" I asked.

Just the fact that she thought that she did not belong here drove me mad.

"I am not cut out for this. Just let me go," she yelled.

"No! You are mine!" I growled.

"I am not yours, Lucius!" she yelled before storming off the room.

Instead of going after her, I went straight to the gym to blow off some steam. I blocked everybody from my mind-link so that I would not be disturbed.

I had not even started sweating when I sniffed Neal's scent approaching.

"What is wrong with you? I've been trying to reach you since earlier. You're not even answering your damn phone," he spat, moving the punching bag away from me.

"What the hell is wrong with YOU? You storm in here talking to me as if you are the damn King Alpha!" I yelled.

"Well, if you hadn't blocked all of us from your mind link or if you checked your phone, you would know why. There were some rogue sightings in the Northern side of the forest, and we have been trying to get a hold of you," he said.

"Shit! Maia!" I exclaimed.

"What do you mean 'Maia'?" He asked.

"Have someone check if she is in her room. Now!" I ordered, running to the clearing.

Neal followed behind me.

'She's not in her room,' Neal said through the mind-link.

Those words made my stomach churn in fear.

'If those filthy rogues lay a single finger on her, I will torture them for the rest of their lives,' I growled.

As soon as we entered the forest, her scent hit my nose. It was almost a faint smell, meaning it had been a while since she was in the area.

'Alert everyone to look out for Maia. Also, get me those filthy rogues!' I ordered through the mind-link.

I followed her scent until we were already deep in the forest.

'Where are you, Maia?' I asked myself.

'If you were less of an asshole, she would not have stormed off,' Lucian blamed me.

'Not now, Lucian. If you are not going to help, then just shut your mouth,' I snapped.

When her scent was becoming stronger, I knew that she was close. My eyes went dark with rage when I saw Uriah near her.

I shifted mid-air and ran towards Maia. A couple of more feet, and I would have reached Maia. However, she fell to the ground before I got to her.

I let out a growl before Uriah disappeared into the air.

I shifted back into my human form and checked her body for any wound or injection that caused her to faint.

"I have already alerted the pack doctor. She is on her way to the castle as we speak. I told her to head to her room," Neal said as soon as he arrived.

I gave him a curt nod before carrying Maia in my arms.

She wasn't heavy at all, so running in my human form while carrying her was just like lifting weights.

The pack doctor was already in Maia's room when I arrived. The room was already set up as well.

I laid her carefully down on her bed so that the doctor could do her job.

'Find Uriah and those filthy rogues!' I yelled through the mind-link.

Waiting by the door as they checked on Maia was the hardest thing I had to do. Lucian wanted to rip their heads off, even though they were just doing their job.

After half an hour of waiting, the doctor walked towards me.

"King Alpha, she was injected with rocuronium that was mixed with wolfsbane. These two combined can cause paralysis, heart failure, and worst - death in the long run. If we don't get it out of her system, she may die," The doctor explained.

"Then what are you waiting for?! Get it out of her! If she dies, you all die!" I yelled, threatening them.

"King Alpha, I will have to request that you step out of the room for us to do our job efficiently. Your wolf might go on a rage kill when you smell her blood," she said.

As much as I wanted to stay, I knew I had no choice. She was right. Lucian would go crazy if we smelled her blood.

"Your life depends on her life," I warned before heading out of the room.

'Neal, give me something good,' I said through the mind link.

'We caught one rogue, King Alpha. We are on the way to the dungeon,' he replied.

I went straight to the dungeon and waited for them to arrive. When they arrived, a familiar scent hit my nose.

I squinted my eyes as I watched them bring the rogue inside.

"Chad?" I asked, looking at the rogue that was chained in the dungeon.