Chapter 12\u00a0<\/p>\n
81\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lucas\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
I had just returned from a patrol along the southern ridge. A pointless exercise, honestly. The borders were tight, no scent trails out of place, but still I couldn\u2019t shake the unease crawling along my spine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maurine had asked me to keep her company that evening. She didn\u2019t like to be alone. Claimed she had nightmares. So there I was, standing outside her private wing like some mute statue while she toyed with luxury in every form-draped in velvet, sipping wine, scrolling through expensive trinkets on her crystal tablet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLucas,\u201d her voice rang like silver bells, soft and sharp all at once. \u201cWhere is that worthless thing with my tea?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She meant the rabbit hybrid she\u2019d picked up last week. A small creature, no older than sixteen, with trembling ears and big brown eyes that avoided contact. Maurine had insisted the boy would be her personal servant-said she needed \u2018someone delicate\u2019 to handle her things. \u201cHe\u2019s probably getting it, Maurine,\u201d I said carefully, trying to sound neutral.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maurine sighed as though the weight of the world pressed upon her. \u201cI told him two sugars and no lemon. If he messes it up again\u2026\u201d she trailed off.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then the door creaked open.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The rabbit boy shuffled in, carrying a porcelain tray in both hands. I saw the tremble in his fingers before he even took a step. His fear saturated the air like wet moss. I could smell it. \u201cMiss,\u201d the boy whispered, bowing his head. \u201cYour tea.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maurine stood. Her expression soured before the cup even reached her lips.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is this?\u201d she spat, sniffing it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s-it\u2019s the jasmine you said yesterday-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou imbecile!\u201d she roared and the teacup went flying. Hot liquid splattered across the floor and the porcelain shattered near the boy\u2019s feet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then, like lightning, Maurine raised her hand and slapped the boy across the face. The sound echoed like a whipcrack.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stiffened. My wolf rose, ears back, hackles prickling. The boy fell to his knees, whimpering, his cheek already swelling.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEnough!\u201d I barked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maurine turned to me, eyes wide with faux innocence. \u201cLucas, don\u2019t tell me you\u2019re taking his side?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stepped between them. My voice was low, but there was steel in it. \u201cHe\u2019s just a kid.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a slave,\u201d Maurine hissed. \u201cAnd a disobedient one at that. You know how these hybrids are-skittish and dumb. They need discipline.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3 19.4%\u00a0<\/p>\n
Discipline? My jaw clenched. No. This wasn\u2019t the Maurine I remembered. The shy, kind-hearted she-wolf always cast in Rebecca\u2019s shadow. This\u2026 this woman before me was callous, cruel, unrecognizable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s bleeding,\u201d I said, glancing back at the boy. \u201cHe\u2019s injured.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBarely,\u201d Maurine muttered, tossing her hand dismissively. \u201cHe\u2019ll heal. He\u2019s not even full-blooded.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
That was it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll take care of it,\u201d I said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maurine yawned and stretched. \u201cFine. Do whatever you want. I\u2019m going to bed. Have him scrub the floor after.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
As soon as she vanished into her chambers, I crouched beside the boy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHey,\u201d I said gently, placing a hand on his shoulder. \u201cCan you stand?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He flinched at first, but slowly nodded. His eyes met mine for the briefest second. There was no defiance there-only the weary submission of someone who expected to be hurt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked over my shoulder and mind-linked Reid. Come to the east wing. Bring a cloak. Quietly. Within minutes, Reid materialized at the balcony, dropping in like a ghost from the moonlit shadows. His wolf form shimmered just beneath his skin-always ready, always watching. \u201cWhat\u2019s going on?\u201d he asked, eyes locking onto the boy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe needs to be taken to Silvana Pack. We have healers there. He\u2019s not safe here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Reid blinked. \u201cAlpha, are you sure? If Maurine finds out-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe won\u2019t. I\u2019ll cover it. Just go.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Reid didn\u2019t question me again. He wrapped the boy in a cloak and helped him up. He looked at me one last time, and for a moment, his lips parted like she wanted to say something. But no words came.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They disappeared into the night.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I shut the balcony doors and leaned against them, heart pounding-not from fear of being caught. But from the sick churn in my gut.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What the hell had I been doing?\u00a0<\/p>\n
I had once painted Maurine in my mind as this delicate, misunderstood she-wolf. The girl who had suffered under Rebecca\u2019s coldness, the one who needed protection. But now\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now I saw something else.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The way she used others. The entitlement. The cruelty, masked in silk and smiles. I had convinced myself that Rebecca was the danger, the manipulator-but the only one who had drawn blood tonight was Maurine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And worse? I helped her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And fuck. I looked like a hypocrite for trying to save the boy when I didn\u2019t even bat an eye when I asked my men to hurt Rebecca back then. So why the heck was I acting like a hero\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 12\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3 19.4%\u00a0<\/p>\n
11:37 Wed, Jan 28 MB\u00a0<\/p>\n
now? Her kindness must be rubbing on me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kindness? I didn\u2019t even acknowledge it when she was still here.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I caught the rabbit boy like Maurine ordered me to. I carried out tasks that made my wolf restless in his cage. And all because I thought I was doing it for a bigger cause-for the mission. But when had that excuse stopped being noble and started sounding like a coward\u2019s justification?\u00a0<\/p>\n
I rubbed my face, then pulled out my phone. I stared at Rebecca\u2019s name in my contacts. Still no reply.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t want to hear anything from me that bad? Was she already in love with that almost dying man? The thought of Rebecca in love with another sent me into spiral.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Gone to marry a comatose Alpha whose fate was sealed with vampire hoodlum venom. Why\u00a0<\/p>\n
would she do that?\u00a0<\/p>\n
But suddenly, I realized-I didn\u2019t know her at all. Not really. Just like I didn\u2019t know Maurine. All my life, I had lived in shadows of assumptions. Guarding the wrong people. Trusting the wrong truths.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I shoved my phone away and went to the window. The moon hung high, casting long, pale light across the Pack lands.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And for the first time in a long while\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
I felt like I had done a terrible mistake.\u00a0<\/p>\n
11:37 Wed, Jan 28 MR\u00a0<\/p>\n
When My Alpha Ex-Husband Came Looking for Me by Mark Twain 12 Chapter 12\u00a0 81\u00a0 Lucas\u2019s POV\u00a0 I had just […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-unclaimed-luna-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23880","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23880"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23880\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}